Key Points
- Netflix received two People’s Choice Awards from the American Council of the Blind for audio description in “Happy Gilmore 2” and the fifth season of “Stranger Things.”
- The awards recognize audio description that helps blind and low-vision audiences follow visual storytelling, including physical comedy and suspense.
- “Happy Gilmore 2” premiered with audio description in 14 languages, while “Stranger Things” Season 5 offered the feature in 15 languages.
Netflix has received two People’s Choice Awards from the American Council of the Blind for its audio description work on “Happy Gilmore 2” and the fifth season of “Stranger Things,” the company announced on Friday.
The awards, presented during the Audio Description Awards Gala, recognized “Happy Gilmore 2” in the film category and “Stranger Things” in the television series category.
Audio description provides spoken narration of visual elements during pauses in dialogue, allowing viewers to follow actions, expressions and other details that might otherwise be missed.
For “Happy Gilmore 2,” Netflix worked with Descriptive Video Works (DVW) to develop narration that captured the film’s physical comedy without interrupting dialogue or explaining the jokes. The film premiered with audio description available in 14 languages.
“There’s also the challenge of describing the joke in a way that’s funny, and making sure we don’t over-describe it,” Melissa Hope, the Client Services Manager at DVW, said in a statement.
For “Stranger Things,” Netflix partnered with International Digital Centre (IDC) to develop narration that maintained the show’s suspense and visual atmosphere.
Christina Stevens, an audio description writer at IDC, said she deliberately revisited language from the show’s first season while describing a previously unseen scene involving young Will Byers’ encounter with the Upside Down.
“I wanted them to feel the same misty woods, barren trees, and red lightning as the first time we saw it,” Stevens said.
The fifth season was released with audio description in 15 languages across all three of its staggered premieres.
Netflix says its catalog now includes more than 75,000 hours of audio description across more than 50 languages, counting individual language versions separately. The company is also developing Originator Studio, an audio description production tool designed to work with screen readers, allowing blind and low-vision professionals to participate more directly in writing and production.
Netflix has additionally supported training programs for audio description writers, narrators and quality-control specialists, including initiatives in South Korea and Taiwan.
