Nagenda joined the streamer in 2018 from Disney.
Tendo Nagenda is exiting his post at Netflix, where he has served as VP, original film for the past four years. Nagenda’s last day at the streamer will be Sept. 1, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.
Nagenda’s exit comes as Netflix is looking to streamline its film operations. Under film head Scott Stuber, Kira Goldberg and Ori Marmur will now run the studio film team, which handles the streamers big-budgeted features. The duo were upped in 2021 to run a team that was meant to focus on developing and producing big-budgeted films.
Elsewhere on Netflix’s film team, Niija Kuykendall, who joined the company in 2021, heads the features group focused on mid-sized film, while Netflix veteran Lisa Nishimura continues to head indie film.
Nagenda joined Netflix in 2018 from Disney, where he worked on both modestly budgeted features like Queen of Katwe and major tentpoles like the live-action versions of Dumbo and Mulan. During his time at Netflix, Nagenda worked on the streamer’s splashier fare like Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods and Charlize Theron’s action vehicle The Old Guard, which is getting a sequel at the streamer.
“Tendo joined the company four years ago and helped to build out our studio film team, who delivered movies such as The Harder They Fall, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, The Old Guard, Da 5 Bloods and Hustle. He was integral in our evolution from acquiring and licensing films to making movies ourselves. We wish him all the best for the future,” said Stuber in a statement.
Offered Nagenda: “I’m honored to have been a small part of a film team that has led in Oscar nominations for three years in a row, become the biggest producer of film in the world by any metric, lead the industry through a pandemic, and become the standard bearer for representation and inclusion both in front of and behind the camera. I wish Netflix the continued tenacity and audacity to take the big swings and tell the big and beloved tales that need telling. I plan to.”
The change on Netflix’s film team comes as the streamer continues to restructure, having already gone through multiple rounds of layoffs. In June, 300 employees were laid off, which was preceded by 150 employees being laid off in May. Prior to this, multiple full-time staff and contractors in Netflix’s editorial and marketing division were let go.
In a June 23 memo to staffers, Netflix co-ceo Reed Hastings noted that he wished the company was going through “a more gradual readjustment of the business” following slower than expected revenue growth.