Hollywood contraction arrives in Star TV packages

After the strikes ended, agents, managers and producers moved quickly to assemble large packages to take to what was expected to be a frothy market after six months of inactivity. But even though there have been a few bidding wars and big sales, and a few more pending, the level of demand hasn't been what many expected. The biggest victim of this tight market: the packages to which leading stars are attached.

“It’s been a real headache,” one officer said of the situation. Agencies are keeping track of all the star packages that have been handed out and failed to generate interest in recent months, despite the level of talent that has included Oscar and Emmy winners and nominees, in front of or behind the camera, stars of hit films and iconic television series. series and, in a few cases, famous IPs. The total now exceeds 20.

“We call it the casualty list,” one official said of the casualty list.

The dry spell may be rooted – at least partially – in the current state of streaming TV evolution.

It was the rise of streamers that led to the proliferation of star-driven packages. Netflix announced itself in the original series arena in 2011 by outbidding HBO for Card castle, headlined by then-topping Kevin Spacey with a two-season order. Other streamers have also turned to flashy, star-driven packages as they establish themselves, including Apple TV+ with The morning showwith Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon, Amazon with Back homeheadlined by Julia Roberts, both of whom also have two-season orders.

The streaming arms race has largely abated as media and tech companies have shifted their focus from building scale to profitability, unwilling to overspend on talent and projects.

“Money is so scarce everywhere. These are huge investments, massive packages, and a lot of them aren't necessarily the best ROI,” one agent said, noting that streamers haven't seen an increase in subscribers on the basis of these expensive originals. Most of the groundbreaking series, which increased the number of subscribers on the platforms, like Stranger Things, Game of Thrones/House of the Dragon And Reachhave not been star vehicles but star creators.

With widespread budget cuts amid an unfavorable economic backdrop, “there is fear, leaders are afraid to spend that kind of money,” another representative said. “They don’t want to be the first to jump in and spend if they don’t need to.”

According to the representative, this new resistance probably takes into account the massive success of a lower cost acquisition like Suitswhich has far outperformed star-led series that cost more than $100 million per season, making streamers even more reluctant to spend big on packages.

“There’s a little more rationality in the market,” said one buyer. “Previously, the packages would come in, and before it was Netflix that would buy them, or now it's Apple that would buy them. But we're seeing things come out that don't find any buyers, which is unusual. This hadn't happened in a while.

As for why: “I think it's the ability and willingness to meet expectations. What would have been straight up a series may now be a development,” the person said.

Indeed, while Tina Fey Four Seasons; Margo has money problemss, starring Elle Fanning and Nicole Kidman, with David E. Kelley as showrunner; The good girlheadlined by Jessica Biel, recently landed series orders at Netflix, Apple and Peacock, respectively, with most of the high-profile packages that sparked post-strike interest and bidding resulting in development deals.

That may not be a bad thing, since most of the biggest hits in streaming and premium cable have come from in-house development. With a big package and a big commitment, it might be more difficult.

For studios that sign packages, there is a certain level of expectation, especially if the auspices are great,” one agent said. “In the development cycle, there are many layers and cooks in the kitchen, but the [auspices] I don't want to take notes.

With the market not flush with cash, network executives are more inclined to take on a cheaper project that they can develop and take ownership of, the person added.

Plus, in the past, the only way to get a big star was to attach it to a package. Now, an actor of virtually any caliber can be brought into the casting process.

For example, Steve Carell has just been cast opposite Fey in the Netflix series. Four Seasons. His two most recent series, Space Force And The patientwere both recovered with him on board, and he has been attached to at least one other package removed since then.

Meanwhile, a series like HBO's The White Lotus proved that a show can be very successful without spending a fortune on top talent. Even after the huge success of the first two seasons, the series remained loyal to its modest acting fees, leading to some rejections.

But the strategy has worked well for the Mike White series, whose actors regularly earn Emmy nominations in the acting categories.

There's another potential reason behind the recent wave of package refusals: the glut of limited editions.

In 2012, HBO launched a limited series package, True Detective, which had Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson attached to star. Its success led to a series of limited series featuring A-list talent that sparked bidding wars, including Big little lies starring Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon, which also went to HBO.

It has become the preferred way for movie stars to make “prestige television” with a limited time commitment. This is evident from the list of Emmy Award winners in the long-running lead actor/actress categories over the past seven years, which includes Nicole Kidman, Regina King (twice), Michelle Williams, Kate Winslet, Amanda Seyfried, Ewan McGregor, Michael Keaton and Mark. Ruffalo — all for limited runs.

With strikes delaying new seasons of drama series, premium networks and streamers have leaned heavily on limited series over the past six months, creating a logjam in the genre and one of the most competitive Emmy fields never reunited with successes like True Detective: Night Country, Griselda, Shōgun, Chemistry Lessons, Fargo, Expats, Baby Reindeer, The Regime, Airbenders, Ripley, Under the bridge, The sympathizer And Apples never fall.

“Everyone is supported by the strike, limited runs have no stock value – and that's what all the stars want to do,” said one buyer, calling most limited runs a “terrible business model for everyone involved.

“We want big hits recorded,” the person said.