
The duo first met when Bajaria’s Universal TV moved Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt to Netflix after NBC passed on the Ellie Kemper comedy. Sources say Bajaria and Holland’s relationship was strained from the start. (Though sources say that was never presented as an option.) Rumors of tension between Bajaria and Holland have persisted for some time, even though Bajaria had, upon arrival, shrewdly negotiated a position where she, like Holland, reported directly to Sarandos. With room for only one exec at the top - Bajaria - there was no job for Holland as multiple sources believe she would have been highly unlikely to shift and report to Bajaria. Sources say the restructuring was the result of a desire on Sarandos’ part to implement a clear hierarchy at the streamer as well as increase its focus on global expansion. Sony Pictures Quarterly Profit Drops to $115M
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But as Sarandos looks to Netflix’s future, it’s Bajaria, a veteran Hollywood executive who has made a series of key programming decisions since joining Netflix less than four years ago, whom he believes is ultimately the right woman for the job. Holland, after all, had worked alongside Sarandos at Netflix for nearly 20 years and many considered her the obvious choice to one day take over for her boss as chief content officer. Netflix rank-and-file - as well as a group of senior leaders whom Sarandos met with before the town hall - were devastated and shocked by the sudden change in leadership. It was something that had been on his mind since he took on his larger role at the streaming giant earlier this summer. He had decided to promote Bela Bajaria to vp global television and say goodbye to his longtime right-hand Cindy Holland, he told staffers, because he wanted to streamline the reporting process within the TV group.

On Wednesday, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos gathered employees for a virtual town hall to explain the rationale behind the TV executive shake-up that had rippled through Hollywood the evening prior.
