Ryan Murphy, the television megaproducer behind hits like \u201cAmerican Horror Story\u201d and \u201cMonster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story,\u201d is poised to move his operation to the Walt Disney Company, five years after he stunned Hollywood by decamping to Netflix for a $300 million deal.<\/p>\n
The contract talks with Disney are not finished, according to three people briefed on the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private negotiations. No deal is expected to be completed until after the screenwriters\u2019 strike in Hollywood is resolved, one of the people said. (Unionized film and television writers have been on strike since May 1.)<\/p>\n
But the talks between Mr. Murphy and Disney are advanced, the people said. Mr. Murphy\u2019s contract with Netflix expires at the end of the month. Renewal talks with Netflix never got off the ground.<\/p>\n
Representatives for Mr. Murphy, Disney and Netflix either declined to comment or did not return calls. Bloomberg reported Mr. Murphy\u2019s likely move to Disney earlier on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
A deal with Disney would formally reunite Mr. Murphy with executives he worked closely with for more than a decade. Disney owns the FX cable channel, which is home to his \u201cAmerican Horror Story\u201d franchise, which started in 2011. (The series also runs on Hulu, which Disney controls.) ABC, the Disney-owned broadcast network, recently bought the rights to \u201c9-1-1,\u201d a drama that Mr. Murphy created for Fox in 2018.<\/p>\n
When Mr. Murphy signed his Netflix deal, in February 2018, it was just six months after another star producer, Shonda Rhimes, had signed her own nine-figure contract with the streaming company. The back-to-back signings were an emphatic statement by Netflix that it was in the business of paying any price for big-name writers. In the process, it set off a Hollywood arms race (which, amid broader concerns about the streaming business and the writers\u2019 strike, has mostly cooled off).<\/p>\n
Mr. Murphy\u2019s tenure at Netflix got off to a bumpy start. Misfires included \u201cThe Politician\u201d and \u201cHollywood.\u201d It was not until last September that Mr. Murphy served up bona fide hits in \u201cMonster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story\u201d and \u201cThe Watcher.\u201d Both series are among the 10 most-watched Netflix originals ever, according to the streaming service.<\/p>\n
Mr. Murphy, who continued making shows for Disney even though he was under contract with Netflix \u2014 new seasons of \u201c9-1-1\u201d and \u201cAmerican Crime Story\u201d continued apace \u2014 would likewise continue to make shows for Netflix after a move to Disney. The next edition of \u201cMonster\u201d will focus on Erik and Lyle Men\u00e9ndez, the brothers serving life sentences for killing their wealthy parents in 1989, and \u201cThe Watcher\u201d has been renewed for another season.<\/p>\n