In mid-November, on the rooftop of the Mandarin Oriental Residences in Beverly Hills, a clutch of Hollywood’s most powerful players gathered to observe Matt Belloni, the author of Puck’s flagship What I’m Hearing franchise, engage in a spirited, one-on-one chat with Netflix’s Chief Content Officer, Bela Bajaria. There was, of course, much to discuss: Bajaria is on the very short list of television’s most powerful executives, in charge of overseeing and dictating the dominant streamer’s industry-defining content strategy.

Matt’s conversation with Bajaria—the second installment in our new The Powers That Be: Live series, featuring private conversations with some of the most high-profile, plugged-in figures across the nation’s power corners—was technically off-the-record. But those inside the room were offered a privileged view of Bajaria’s decision-making process: how she measures success, whether Netflix is going to pursue live sports, and why she’s betting on crossover international hits to fuel their next phase of growth.