Netflix chief Reed Hastings announced on Thursday that he would step down after over two decades at the company.

While the news of his departure comes as a shock, Hastings noted that Netflix had planned its next era of leadership “for many years” in the announcement shared on the company’s blog. The announcement came as Netflix unveiled a significant rise in subscriber numbers at the end of last year.

With money tight, people were expected to cut back on streaming services. But Netflix bucked that trend, adding more than seven million new subscribers, far more than analysts expected. Shows such as Harry and Meghan, Wednesday and the film Glass Onion boosted subscribers for the streaming platform.

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