Netflix, looking to differentiate themselves from Amazon and Hulu, have begun to develop original series, with an unspoken benefit of a (mild) lessening of the hold that content providers (such as Starz which is pulling their content from the network in 2012) currently have.

The development of original series is a smart move for the network, the announcement of which helps to distract from some of the recent terrible managerial decisions  that have hurt the company’s reputation and sent its stock price to new lows.

The first of those original series, “House of Cards,” is still in development, though the resumption of “Arrested Development” is probably most on people’s minds.  It’s due in 2013, and I think that most of the original cast will be present.