Netflix has already proved its appetite for video-podcast formats with originals like The Pete Davidson Show, a casual, garage-shot interview series that leans into the comedian’s off-script rapport with famous guests, and The White House, a sports-and-culture talk show that blends analysis with pop-culture commentary.

Both titles helped establish Netflix as a home for long-form conversation in a short-form, screen-oriented package. Building on that early traction, the platform is now aggressively set to expand upon this strategy, rolling out a broader slate of video podcasts.

That will deepen its push beyond traditional scripted series and into the evolving podcast ecosystem.

Netflix’s newest video-podcast push centers on established audio talent migrating to its screen-first format. The streamer is launching The Rotten Files, a true-crime series from Stephanie Soo, known for her Rotten Mango podcast, which will dig into high-profile modern cases. It is also bringing back Evan Ross Katz’s Shut Up Evan, a twice-weekly show mixing celebrity interviews and a Friday group-chat segment, now produced specifically for Netflix.

Both titles lean into Soo’s and Katz’s existing fan bases while fitting Netflix’s short-form, repeatable viewing cadence. Elsewhere on the slate, NBC News reporter Ellison Barber premieres Allegedly, a weekly true-crime video podcast where she unpacks headline-making cases with experts and people involved, starting with new angles on the Gabby Petito situation and the Alexander brothers' real estate investigation.

Netflix is also debuting The Puzzle Room With David Kwong, a puzzle-game-style show in which Kwong builds custom brainteasers for celebrity duos and walks viewers through solutions, ending each episode with a mentalist-style trick or illusion. 

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As Netflix expands its video podcast slate, the platform’s financial outlook also remains strong.

Netflix is projected to post a roughly 15.5 %jump in first-quarter revenue, hitting about $12.18 billion, with around $634 million of that coming from its relatively young ad business, according to analysts surveyed by LSEG. The streamer’s recent U.S. price hike in March could not only push full-year guidance higher but also slowly steer more subscribers toward the cheaper, ad-supported tier, even as ad revenue still represents a small slice of the overall pie.

So far in 2026, Netflix’s stock has climbed about 13%, and it is up roughly 26% since the company backed out of a proposed $72 billion Warner Bros. deal, underscoring investor confidence in its current strategy. Investors now expect the platform to lean harder into live content, especially sports and events, to expand its ad reach and turn its global audience into one of the largest advertising surfaces in digital video.

The quarter saw a BTS concert from Seoul attract 18.4 million viewers, and the 2026 World Baseball Classic become the most-streamed baseball game worldwide, proof that live programming can draw mass audiences. That same logic applies to Netflix’s push into video podcasts: by adding shows from established hosts, the company widens its live-adjacent, engagement-driven catalog and strengthens its case as both a content and ad-tech platform.

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What do you think about Netflix’s video podcast push? Let us know in the comments.