Vanessa Agabo-Davalos has spent hours watching the dystopian drama “Squid Game” on Netflix. However nothing may put together the 21-year-old faculty scholar for seeing one of many present’s actors stroll the purple carpet a number of toes in entrance of her.
She discovered herself starstruck within the presence of Kang Ae-sim, who portrays Geum-ja (Participant 149) on the South Korean thriller. All of the extra so after they snapped a photograph collectively.
“You forget everything. You forget how to talk — it’s just like ‘Wow, I saw you on TV,’” mentioned Agabo-Davalos, who traveled an hour from the Inland Empire and might’t wait to see the ultimate season this month. “I feel like it’s a dream come true for the ones that really enjoyed these shows.”
She was among the many greater than 9,500 Netflix followers who gathered Saturday on the Kia Discussion board in Inglewood for Netflix‘s Tudum live event, an hours-long extravaganza meant to hype up audiences for upcoming series, movies and returning franchises.
People traveled from all over the world to celebrate their love for shows including “Squid Game,” Addams Family series “Wednesday” and sci-fi show “Stranger Things.”
During Netflix’s variety-show like program onstage on the famed venue, the corporate confirmed off how its laptop animated model of Tony Tony Chopper, a toddler-sized reindeer-boy character within the dwell motion pirate sequence “One Piece,” would seem within the upcoming season.
Oscar-winning director Guillermo del Toro unveiled a brand new teaser trailer for his November Netflix film, “Frankenstein,” starring Oscar Isaac and Mia Goth, who each appeared onstage with the filmmaker. Followers additionally noticed the primary six minutes of the primary episode of Season 2 of “Wednesday,” which can be launched in August.
The occasion, named after the sound that performs earlier than a Netflix program begins (“tuh-dum”), was a part of Netflix’s ongoing effort to harness the keenness its viewers have for its hottest packages and encourage them to maintain streaming.
“It is about celebrating fans and giving something back to them,” Netflix’s Chief Advertising Officer Marian Lee advised The Instances after the occasion. “Of course it is also about promoting … we have a huge slate coming up.”
Netflix hosted the primary Tudum occasion in 2020 in São Paulo, which got here from the corporate’s Brazil staff, which had an thought for an occasion that rewarded the streamer’s followers of younger grownup exhibits. That later led to Tudum evolving into totally different codecs together with festivals and livestreams, occasions that had been extra like a fan conference.
In 2023, Netflix held Tudum once more in São Paulo, drawing greater than 35,000 attendees and greater than 78 million views by Netflix’s social channels.
However Saturday’s festivities in Inglewood took Netflix model promotion to a brand new stage.
It was the primary time Tudum was livestreamed immediately on Netflix, reasonably than on YouTube or social media shops. The occasion performed like a roughly two-hour dwell selection present, that includes “ask me anything” segments, in addition to performances from music artists together with Woman Gaga, who seems within the subsequent season of “Wednesday.”
Xavier Woods, left, and Kofi Kingston attend Netflix Tudum 2025: The Dwell Occasion on the Kia Discussion board on Saturday in Inglewood.
(Emma McIntyre/Getty Pictures for Netflix)
There was loads of cross promotion of Netflix content material through the present, as WWE wrestlers talked about why individuals ought to tune into their weekly dwell present on the platform, whereas additionally talking about their love for “One Piece,” primarily based on manga.
Tudum host Sofia Carson touted her upcoming Netflix film, “My Oxford Year,” which additionally stars Corey Mylchreest, recognized for portraying King George III in Georgian period romance sequence “Queen Charlotte” from the “Bridgerton” universe. Sesame Avenue‘s Cookie Monster also made an appearance with actors Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, who star in the new Netflix movie “The RIP.”
“I don’t assume one other studio can pull this off in the best way that we did,” Lee mentioned. “Fandoms can be unique and distinct. They’re putting all those fans in a room together, WWE fans next to [mystery movie] ‘Knives Out’ fans next to Lady Gaga fans for ‘Wednesday.’ That’s an incredible achievement. That is something only Netflix can do.”
To some individuals, Tudum is a web page borrowed from Walt Disney Co., which hosts the biennial D23 fan conference in Anaheim, pulling collectively disparate fandoms (Disney princesses, Marvel, Pixar, Star Wars) to converge in the identical place. It raises the query: Does Netflix, a streaming service that produces exhibits from nearly each style for nearly each type of viewers, have followers in the identical manner that Disney does?
Over time, Netflix has expanded its dwell occasions and in-person experiences to maintain viewers engaged. These have included “Bridgerton” balls, Netflix-themed eateries and retail shops promoting merch primarily based on “Stranger Things” and different exhibits.
Lee declined to say how a lot Netflix spent on the occasion. Some followers purchased tickets, starting from $25 to $75, whereas others mentioned they scored free tickets. Netflix mentioned tickets offered out in a couple of week.
Netflix doesn’t have iconic animated characters like Mickey Mouse or storied franchises like “Star Wars” or Marvel. However Netflix’s technique is to have one thing for everybody, and due to that, persons are reluctant to give up it, business observers say, at the same time as financial anxieties run rampant.
“That is the competitive advantage of Netflix,” mentioned Larry Vincent, a advertising professor at USC Marshall College of Enterprise. “It really has become the big tent of streaming. They’ve invested pretty significantly to develop a stockpile of content.”
The streamer mentioned final yr it had greater than 301 million subscribers globally. On Saturday, the attendees mirrored that expansive viewers.
Netflix Tudum 2025: The Dwell Occasion on the Kia Discussion board on Saturday in Inglewood.
(Adam Rose/Netflix)
Followers dressed up as their favourite characters from Netflix exhibits. Individuals wore black clothes just like Wednesday’s apparel, straw hats in assist of “One Piece” and inexperienced tracksuits like those gamers put on within the lethal “Squid Game.”
When Cookie Monster appeared behind a DJ sales space on the “N” formed purple carpet to sing “‘C’ is for Cookie,” adults in “Squid Game” tracksuits joined within the refrain.
“It’s all-encompassing and global and passionate,” Tudum host Carson, recognized for starring in Netflix films together with “Carry-On” and “Purple Hearts,” mentioned in an interview after the occasion ended. “It is truly extraordinary to feel the love from every single part of the world — it crosses languages, it crosses cultures.”
Shaheidi Jimenez, 21, got here to the Netflix occasion as a fan of “Wednesday” and “Squid Game.” She hadn’t watched “Stranger Things,” however seeing the screaming followers for the present’s actors on the purple carpet made her extra curious concerning the sci-fi sequence.
“When I see the cast, it makes me want to watch it now,” Jimenez mentioned. “I’m familiar with them more. It makes me want to watch the show and probably get into it.”
