Ted Sarandos on bringing Samay Raina’s India’s Got Latent to Netflix: ‘Big built-in audience’

‘It came with a very big built-in audience’

Ted Sarandos said Netflix viewed YouTube not as a competitor, but as a place where exceptional creators and ideas are discovered. “The only thing I think about for YouTube is that it’s sometimes a place to discover things. It’s no different than a film festival, film school, or an open casting call. So, in this case, the team was very excited about the show.”

Explaining why Netflix chose to back India’s Got Latent 2 despite its free availability on YouTube, he added: “It came with a very big built-in audience and a very, very popular host, as you know. So it had all the elements that people, I think, wanted, and we were able to bring it. So we’re excited about it.”

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The second season of India’s Got Latent has featured several high-profile guests so far in its four episodes, including Alia Bhatt, Sharvari, Raghav Juyal, Tanmay Bhat and Vishal Dadlani, alongside host Samay Raina.

About the India’s Got Latent controversy

In 2025, India’s Got Latent became the centre of a nationwide controversy after a remark made by Ranveer Allahbadia during one of the episodes was criticised by many as obscene. The backlash escalated quickly, leading to multiple FIRs being filed against Allahbadia, Samay Raina and several other panellists associated with the show. In the aftermath of the controversy, Samay took down all episodes of the show’s first season from YouTube.