Vanessa Agabo-Davalos has spent hours seeing the dystopian drama “Squid Game” in Netflix. But nothing could prepare the 21 -year -old university student to see one of the actors of the Red Carpet program a few feet in front of her.
He was made of sinking in the presence of Kang AE-SIM, who portrays Geum-Ja (player 149) in the South Korean thriller. Even more when they took a photo together.
“You forget everything. You forget how to talk, it's like 'Wow, I saw you on television,” said Agabo-Davalos, who was traveling an hour from the inner empire and can't wait to see the last season this month. “I feel it is a dream come true for those who really enjoyed these shows.”
It was among the more than 9,500 Netflix fans who met on Saturday at the KIA forum in Inglewood for the Netflix Tudum Live event, an extravagance of a one -hour duration aimed at promoting audiences for the next series, movies and franchises that return.
People traveled from all over the world to celebrate their love for the programs, including “squid game”, the Addams “Wednesday” Family series and the science fiction program “Stranger Things”.
During the Netflix variety show program on stage in the famous place, the company showed how its animated version of Tony Tony Chopper, a small-sized reindeer character in the live action series “One Piece”, would appear in the next season.
The winning director of the Oscar, Guillermo del Toro, presented a new Teaser advance for his November Netflix film, “Frankenstein”, starring Oscar Isaac and Mia Goth, who appeared on stage with the filmmaker. Fans also saw the first six minutes of the first episode of “Wednesday” season 2, which will be launched in August.
The event, named for the sound that is reproduced before a Netflix (“Tuh-Dum”) begins, was part of Netflix's continuous effort to take advantage of the enthusiasm that their spectators have for their most popular programs and inspire them to continue transmitting.
“It's about celebrating fans and returning something to them,” said Marketing director of Netflix, Marian Lee, The Times after the event. “Of course it is also about promoting … we have a great blackboard that is coming.”
Netflix organized the first Tudum event in 2020 in São Paulo, which came from the company's Brazil team, which had an idea for an event that rewarded Streamer fans of shows for young adults. That then led Tudum to evolve to different formats, including live festivals and broadcasts, events that were more as a fan of fans.
In 2023, Netflix had Tudum again in São Paulo, attracting more than 35,000 attendees and more than 78 million visits through Netflix's social channels.
But Saturday's festivities in Inglewood brought the promotion of the Netflix brand to a new level.
It was the first time that Tudum was transmitted directly on Netflix, instead of on YouTube or in the media of social networks. The event was played as a live variety program of approximately two hours, with segments of “Ask Me Anything”, as well as performances by musical artists, including Lady Gaga, which appears in the next “Wednesday” season.
Xavier Woods, left, and Kofi Kingston attend Netflix Tudum 2025: the live event at the Kia forum on Saturday in Inglewood.
(Emma McIntyre/Getty images for Netflix)
There was a lot of cross promotion of Netflix content during the program, since WWE fighters talked about why people should tune into their live weekly show on the platform, while talking about their love for “One Piece”, based on manga.
The presenter of Tudum, Sofia Carson, promoted her next Netflix film, “My Oxford Year”, who also starred by Corey Mylchreest, known for portraying King Jorge III in the romantic series of the Georgian era “Queen Charlotte” of the “Bridgerton” universe. Sesame Street Cookie Monster also appeared with actors Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, who star in the new Netflix movie “The Rip”.
“I don't think another study can achieve this in the way we did,” said Lee. “Fandoms can be unique and different. They are joining all those fans in a room, WWE fans by their side [mystery movie] The fans of 'Knives out' with Lady Gaga fans for 'Wednesday'. That is an incredible achievement. That is something that only Netflix can do. ”
For some people, Tudum is a page borrowed from Walt Disney Co., which houses the D23 Biennial Fans Convention in Anaheim, gathering disparate fandoms (Disney princesses, Marvel, Pixar, Star Wars) to converge in the same place. It raises the question: Netflix, a transmission service that produces programs of almost all genres for almost all types of audience, has fans in the same way as Disney?
Over the years, Netflix has expanded its live events and experiences in person to keep the spectators committed. Those have included “Bridgerton” balls, Netflix theme restaurants and retail stores that sell merchandising based on “Stranger Things” and other shows.
Lee refused to say how much Netflix spent on the event. Some fans bought tickets, ranging from $ 25 to $ 75, while others said they obtained free tickets. Netflix said the tickets were exhausted in approximately one week.
Netflix has no iconic animated characters like Mickey Mouse or historical franchises such as “Star Wars” or Marvel. But Netflix's strategy is to have something for everyone, and therefore, people are reluctant to leave it, they say the observers of the industry, even when economic anxieties are unbridled.
“That is Netflix's competitive advantage,” said Larry Vincent, marketing professor at the USC Marshall School of Business. “It has really become the large transmission store. They have invested significantly to develop a content reserve.”
The streamer said last year that he had more than 301 million subscribers worldwide. On Saturday, attendees reflected that expansive hearing.
Netflix Tudum 2025: The live event at the KIA forum on Saturday at Inglewood.
(Adam Rose/Netflix)
Fans dressed as their favorite Netflix characters. People wore black dresses similar to Wednesday's outfit, straw hats in support of “One Piece” and green track suits such as those that players wear in the mortal “squid game”.
When Cookie Monster appeared behind a DJ cabin on the “N” red carpet to sing “'C' is for Cookie”, adults in “squid game” jackets united in the choir.
“It's all that covers and is global and passionate,” Tudum's host, Carson, known for starring Netflix films, including “Cape-on” and “Purple Hearts,” he said in an interview after the event. “It is really extraordinary to feel the love of each part of the world: it crosses languages, crosses cultures.”
Shaheidi Jiménez, 21, arrived at the Netflix event as a fan of “Wednesday” and “Squid Game”. I had not seen “Stranger Things”, but seeing fans shouting for the program actors on the red carpet made her more curious about the science fiction series.
“When I see the cast, I want to see it now,” Jiménez said. “I am more familiar with them. I want to see the program and probably enter it.”
