Fresh off his Oscar win for Sinners, Ryan Coogler is bringing his television operation to a new home. Proximity Media Television, the banner Coogler founded with his wife Zinzi Coogler and Sev Ohanian, has signed a multi-year exclusive deal with Netflix to develop series, departing Disney where the company had been under a five-year overall TV deal that expired earlier this year.
The move is a significant win for Netflix and a blow for Disney, which touted the original 2021 deal with then-CEO Bob Iger calling Coogler a “singular storyteller.” The two companies have now effectively traded Ryans, as Ryan Murphy moved from Netflix back to Disney a couple of years ago.
Proximity’s TV division, run by vice president of television Simone Harris, has been busy. The company is behind Marvel’s Ironheart on Disney+, the animated Eyes of Wakanda and National Geographic docuseries Hurricane Katrina: A Race Against Time. Two projects are also in the pipeline heading into the Netflix era: a reboot of The X-Files starring Danielle Deadwyler and Himesh Patel, which landed a Hulu pilot order in February, and a live-action adaptation of Southern Bastards starring Kevin Bacon, Erin Kellyman and Tim McGraw, which also has a pilot order.
On the film side, Coogler is riding high. Sinners, his vampire fantasy starring Michael B. Jordan, grossed $365 million at the global box office, making it the highest-grossing original feature of 2025, and earned him his first Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. Zinzi Coogler and Ohanian both produced the film alongside Ryan. Zinzi is a Golden Globe-winning producer whose additional credits include Ironheart, Judas and the Black Messiah and Creed III. Ohanian is a Golden Globe-winning screenwriter and producer behind Searching, Run and Missing.
“We started Proximity Media with a simple goal: to tell event-driven stories that bring people in close proximity with often overlooked subjects,” the three said in a joint statement. “We’re thrilled to partner with Netflix, a company that has consistently demonstrated its commitment to distinctive creators and original storytelling.”
“Proximity Media has built a remarkable reputation for championing visionary creators and producing stories that resonate deeply with audiences worldwide,” said Jinny Howe, Netflix’s head of U.S. and Canada scripted series. “We are excited to welcome the entire Proximity team to Netflix and look forward to bringing their next slate of groundbreaking series to life.”