Netflix Loves to Make TV Shows and Movies in the US — Just Ask It

Donald Trump, who frequently complains about media companies, doesn’t appear to be angry at Netflix at the moment.

Netflix would like to keep it that way.

Which may explain why the company spent a bit of time in its latest earnings report talking up its commitment to making its shows and movies in America.

In the streamer’s second quarter earnings report, Netflix officials made a point of emphasizing how much money it has spent making content in the US — $125 billion between 2020 and 2024 — and how much more it plans to spend in the near future — including new production facilities in New Mexico and New Jersey.

Does that have anything to do with the confusing announcement Trump made in May, when he vowed to slap a “100% Tariff on any and all Movies coming into our Country that are produced in Foreign Lands?” A Netflix rep declined to comment.

But you can check out the language the company used in its shareholder letter for yourself:

As we grow globally, our most significant investment remains in the US, which accounts for the majority of our content spend, workforce and production infrastructure. From 2020-2024, we estimate that we contributed $125 billion to the US economy. Our expansion in Albuquerque, NM—adding four new soundstages to a 108-acre site—and our plan to invest roughly $1B to develop a state-of-the-art production facility (including 12 new soundstages) in Fort Monmouth, NJ, underscore our ongoing commitment to production in the US.

This isn’t the first time Netflix has played up its interest in US production. That statement above includes a link to a report spelling out its investment in the US, which was published April 23 — less than a couple weeks before Trump came out with its Hollywood tariff plan.

And Netflix also discussed its US investments in its previous earnings report, which came out on April 17. But the language it used there was much lighter on superlatives, and much less America-centric. Compare and contrast:

While the majority of our content spend and production infrastructure investment is in the US, we now also spend billions of dollars per year making programming abroad. And instead of just licensing local titles, we’re now making local shows and films in many countries, commissioned by our local executives, that keep our members happy. And our local slates are improving each year.

If Netflix is trying to please Trump or his circle via corporate messaging, they wouldn’t be the first company to do so. In May, for instance, cable/broadband giant Charter went out of its way to describe its plan to acquire Cox as an explicitly pro-American move.

Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos, by the way, has said he had a “nice long dinner” with Trump in December at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, prior to Trump’s second inauguration. “He said Melania and [son] Barron were big fans,” Sarandos said.