Back in 2021, Netflix acquired the rights to the entire Roald Dahl catalogue, building on an animation-specific arrangement the streamer struck with the Roald Dahl Story Company in 2018. The reportedly billion-dollar deal meant the author’s beloved books for children, which include Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, James and the Giant Peach, The Witches, and Fantastic Mr. Fox—all of which had already been adapted prior to 2021, some of them more than once—would be fair game for future projects.

The Netflix-Dahl deal hasn’t exactly been prolific so far, but the quality of its yield has been high, including the Emma Thompson-starring Matilda the Musical and a series of shorts by Wes Anderson (one of which, The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, won an Oscar). There was also the animated feature The Twits from director Phil Johnston (Wreck-It Ralph).

On the horizon is another animated feature, Charlie vs. the Chocolate Factory—co-written by Taika Waititi; he’ll also voice Wonka—and a recently announced but as-yet-untitled series inspired by Dahl’s stories for adult readers.

All of this would make you think Netflix is being admirably selective while deciding how to best tap into one of its most valuable IPs. But then Wonka’s The Golden Ticket, whose clunky title already hints at disaster ahead, came along. The reality show competition debuted on the streamer this week with its first seven episodes, with the final two arriving September 30.

That staggered release strategy is an odd choice for the streamer, which heavily favors binge releases, though there have been exceptions.

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