Ted Sarandos joined many in the entertainment industry in honoring David Lynch, who died on Thursday at the age of 78. Netflix co-CEO Sarandos shared a tribute on Instagram honoring one of his “favorite filmmakers of all time” and noted that Lynch has been in contact with the streamer to direct a limited series. Production could not be achieved due to complications caused by the Covid pandemic, and later “health uncertainties”. In 2024, Lynch publicly revealed that he had been diagnosed with emphysema after smoking all his life, and that any future directing would have to be done remotely.
“He came to Netflix for a limited series, which is what we jumped at,” Sarandos wrote. “It was a David Lynch production, and it was full of mystery and risk but we wanted to go on this creative journey with this genius. First Covid, then some health uncertainties meant this project was never produced, but we made it clear that as soon as he could, we were all We are ready.
It’s worth noting that there were rumors about a Netflix project from Lynch in the years leading up to his death. In November 2020, an issue of Production Weekly (which publishes not-always-entirely-accurate listings about upcoming shoots) detailed a limited series from Lynch called “Wisteria.” This title was later revealed to be a codename given to the project by Netflix, and the project was also known as “Unrecorded Night”. According to the listing, Lynch had planned to write and direct 13 episodes of the series, with “Lost Highway” and “Mulholland Drive” cinematographer Peter Deming.
In November 2021, Deming revealed in an interview that the project had been shelved due to the Covid pandemic, but noted that he “presumably will come back to life at some point.” In May 2024, Lynch’s longtime producer Sabrina Sutherland shared in a Q&A that “there’s always a chance” that Lynch would return to the limited series, but that he was “enjoying his artwork and musical endeavors.” Whether or not the project Sarandos remembers is actually “Unrecorded Night” remains uncertain. Broadcast representatives were not immediately available for comment.
In his tribute, Sarandos also referenced his first meeting with Lynch, back when Netflix was primarily a DVD-by-mail company. The executive approached Lynch to stock copies of his first film, “Eraserhead,” as it was out of print.
“We agreed that we would buy the bulk of Eraserhead and that Netflix would produce a DVD of all of his visionary short films. After we agreed to make this happen, David took me on a tour of the house and his art. He then asked me if I wanted to look at a part Early in his upcoming film, “I thought he meant some scenes. He brought me into his screening room and played a clip of Mulholland Drive for about three hours. I wasn’t planning on staying there all day, but I was amazed that I was there At David Lynch’s house and in his screening room to watch his new unreleased movie and after about two hours I realized he had left I watched the rest of the movie and took myself out.