Netflix live experiences chief Greg Lombardo exits after seven years

Greg Lombardo has left Netflix after more than seven years as its head of live experiences. Deadline reported the exit as an exclusive on 8 October, saying it had learned of the departure. Lombardo held the title of vice-president, Head of Live Experiences, and led the streamer’s move into in-person events and its later expansion.

His biggest build was Netflix Houses, permanent physical venues in Philadelphia and Dallas. The sites combine live activities and dining linked to Stranger Things, Wednesday, Squid Game, Bridgerton and KPop Demon Hunters, alongside branded merchandise. The idea is simple. Fans step into the worlds they usually watch on television.

Lombardo spearheaded Queen’s Ball: A Bridgerton Experience, an in-costume ball tied to the period drama. He was also behind the upcoming KPop Demon Hunters world tour. His earlier credits include Stranger Things: The Drive-Into Experience, a car-based event built when audiences stayed apart, as profiled by the Television Academy.

The work formed part of a wider programme. Netflix unveiled Netflix at The Grove in Los Angeles in 2022 as its first multi-title immersive experience, meaning one venue hosting several shows at once, according to Netflix. It announced Stranger Things: The First Shadow, a new story staged for theatres, in 2023. Later that year it opened its first Stranger Things store in Latin America.

In Netflix’s own materials, Lombardo’s title shifted slightly with the project. Its newsroom called him vice-president of Experiences in coverage of the Philadelphia House opening. Its fan site Tudum listed him as vice-president of Live Experiences in its Bridgerton engagements coverage.

Lombardo arrived with long experience in out-of-home entertainment. He previously served as chief executive of Offshore Surf and as senior vice-president for global location-based entertainment at Fox Filmed Entertainment, a role covering attractions linked to films. He joined Netflix in 2019 with more than 25 years in the business.

He was not the only exit that week. Pam Levine, vice-president of Marketing and Publicity, also left Netflix in the same week. No reason for either departure was given in the reporting.

For fans who buy tickets, this is a change at the top. The team turning series into nights out has lost the executive who built it.