One of the most consequential Paramount+ dramas right now isn’t one you can stream—it’s unfolding behind the scenes, with Cindy Holland in the starring role. The former Netflix original content chief helped transform her former employer into a prestige powerhouse with hits like Mindhunter and The Crown. Now, after her abrupt 2020 ouster following an 18-year tenure, she’s making a high-profile return to streaming as head of Paramount’s direct-to-consumer division. Her comeback comes at a pivotal moment: Paramount’s merger with Skydance has just closed; the streamer faces deep cost cuts and a creative reboot; and Hollywood is watching closely to see if Holland can pull off her magic again—this time at a smaller, scrappier platform.
The $8 billion Paramount–Skydance merger ended the Redstone family’s long-running control of the media giant. And the new Paramount will be relauched around Skydance CEO David Ellison’s tech-forward vision—one that includes A.I.-assisted production and a rebooted Paramount+. In a mission statement shared Thursday, Ellison emphasized plans to scale up both Paramount+ and Pluto TV—a free, ad-supported service with hundreds of live channels— into “powerful, profitable global players.”
Paramount is betting that a trusted creative force like Holland can revive its struggling streamer while navigating the impact of roughly $2 billion in budget cuts. Whether she can replicate her Netflix-era success remains one of the biggest questions looming over the company’s future.
Based on her track record alone, hiring Holland was a coup that could pay big dividends for Paramount. She was the Netflix executive who recognized the potential of prestige originals long before it was standard for streamers to build deep libraries of their own. At Netflix, she also signed Shonda Rhimes to a $100 million deal that produced Bridgerton and oversaw a slate of originals that not only made Netflix a household name but also reshaped the way Hollywood does business.
Journalist Gina Keating, whose book Netflixed: The Epic Battle for America’s Eyeballs tells the story of Netflix’s rise to streaming dominance, says Holland was central to shaping Netflix’s early reputation as a cutting-edge, creator-friendly studio. “She presided over content creation at a crucial time for Netflix. Her choices of character-driven shows like House of Cards, Orange Is the New Black, and Narcos showed that Netflix was aiming for something different—richer and riskier storylines than most studios would attempt in those days,” Keating told Observer.
With nearly 78 million subscribers and a library anchored in CBS staples plus more than half a dozen Taylor Sheridan–created dramas, Paramount+ is still something of an underdog in a crowded streaming market. Holland’s arrival signals ambitions to aim higher toward the kind of prestige programming she once championed at Netflix.
Even before her official appointment, Holland was already shaping Paramount’s direction. In addition consulting Skydance during its takeover, she had reportedly influenced renewal decisions on shows like Showtime’s Yellowjackets, per The Ankler. Her current mission is to balance proven hits with riskier originals, giving Paramount+ the creative identity it has long lacked.
To vault Paramount+ into the top tier of streamers, Holland will have to navigate lean budgets, battle rivals with deeper pockets, and win over an audience far harder to impress than in her early Netflix days. Achieving that would mark a shift in the platform’s ambitions, from playing it safe with familiar franchises to swinging for the fences in search of the next cultural phenomenon, not just the next Yellowstone spinoff.
Paramount+ at a glance
- Launched: March 4, 2021 (rebranded from CBS All Access)
- Parent company: Paramount, now a Skydance Corporation
- Subscribers: around 78 million (as of mid-2025)
- Original hits: 1923, Tulsa King, Halo, Special Ops: Lioness
- Sister service: Pluto TV (free, ad-supported, 250+ live channels)
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