Netflix’s The Get Down jumps from “very expensive” to “ludicrously expensive”

Now, Deadline is reporting that The Get Down’s cost was even higher than originally believed. Factoring in the millions the company paid to acquire the exclusive international intellectual property rights for the show, the series appears to have cost Netflix $16 million for each of its six episodes. (Again, for comparison: NBC could have doubled the famous $1 million per episode it was paying each cast member for the final seasons of Friends, and still have cost less than Netflix is shelling out right now.)

Netflix hasn’t directly commented on this latest report on the show’s costs, although CCO Ted Sarandos did acknowledge, “It’s an expensive piece of television” during the company’s quarterly earnings call. Deadline does note, though, that the show matches Netflix’s goal of targeting under-served demographics and drawing them in. While the service keeps its ratings secret, as ever, sources inside the company have said that the show performs well among African American and Hispanic viewers, and also among the young.