What We Want – And Why Aren’t We Getting It

We, the global film and TV audience are making it very clear what we want to watch, yet the people creating the content don’t seem to be listening. What’s going on?

Tubi released a survey last month – it’s the ad-supported 'free’ streamer owned by FOX - that revealed interesting tidbits our content overlords seem to be entirely ignoring.

96% of people surveyed liked ‘nostalgia watching’ – movies and TV that are more than ten years old. And 67% of millennials and Gen Z’ers said they like it because…”the style and quality is good.”

These same youngsters and not so youngsters also said when it came to new content, they want to support more independent/smaller creators (in financial size, not stature) and diverse voices.

Seems pretty clear – if nuanced. They’re saying they’re into the old stuff, they’re open to new stuff, but they’d prefer the new stuff come from smaller creators. And they like the old stuff because it’s well made. Makes them feel safe I would argue. Which implies they think most of the content created during the recent streaming “boom” is not as good as the older stuff.

Which explains why desperate streaming eyeballs decided Suits was high-quality entertainment. Can we all now agree the boom, where streamers decided quantity was the same as quality delivered almost nothing we’ll want to watch in ten years?

But what are the studios and giant streamers hearing when given this information? OH…YOU WANT REMAKES! So we get Roadhouse – a perfect example of a movie no sensible person thought “this needs to be rebooted.”

Have you seen Disney’s upcoming slate? I swear I’m not making this up. Between now and the end of the decade – they’ve lined up – Frozen 3, Toy Story 5, Mandalorian and Grogu, Inside Out 2, Moana 2, Moana live-action, Snow White live-action, another Tron and another Zootopia. And some Marvel movies. Please don’t show anyone working at Disney their own shadow – it would probably kill them.

We are officially in a period where gigantic corporations are clinging desperately to past glories hoping to recapture magic that cannot be recaptured, and blaming us for growing tired of a relationship that stopped feeling fresh before the global pandemic.

It's fascinating. The audience is making themselves heard. The people with the money are grimly refusing to listen – apart from the odd Barbie related exceptions.

Want more? How about the ratings bonanza the Hallmark Channel had last Christmas. Their 2,500 Christmas romance movies (I’m exaggerating) did so well, at times they were among the highest rated of all cable channels. What about the success of ‘Anyone But You’ at the box office? The most generic of rom-com ideas earned more than two hundred million dollars globally and thrashed a bunch of much more expensive movies. We are making our voices heard.

What’s Warner Bros doing with this info? Letting James Gunn loose on a bunch of wildly expensive Superman related reboots. Yeah – that’s exactly what we want.

It’s laughably obvious what the audience wants. And laughable obvious the corporations aren’t listening…yet. Appreciate this moment because it simply can’t last.

Here are my bold predictions – let’s see how time judges me.

The first studio that makes one less $250 million rehash and uses that money to make 10, or even 20 smaller-budget movies will win the immediate future. But only if they take creative risks, and introduce new talent into the studio system. I bet at least one of those movies will resonate, new voices will rise, and we’ll probably discover exciting new content directions.

The first studio that lets all sequel and remake projects languish for – let’s say two years, will also win. It’s time studios. Please stop spending so much cash on stuff we’ve made it very clear we don’t want anymore.

The world is in an uncomfortable place. We’ve been here before, but right now, we’re worried about a lot of stuff. Are you noticing the projects succeeding globally are mostly positive in tone? Barbie, Wonka, Anyone But You, Ted Lasso, re-runs of Friends, etc?

We’ve had an extended period of grim entertainment. So many assassins, serial killers, violence, zombies, dragons, and so much end-of-the-world stuff. Seriously, how many more abandoned cars on highways do we need to see? Why would smart money people think during a time of uncertainty in our daily lives, we really want to see the world ending over and over on TV and in the theatres? There will always be a place for drama and violence. But there’s also a place for romance, beauty, and positivity. Now would be a great time to explore those adjectives.

I get it. Relying on what’s worked, and hiring people who have had success, or at least finished projects in the past makes sound economic sense. In theory. Defying death and battling evildoers is way easier to create and sell. But drama and stakes come in many forms, it just requires more work and…dare I say it…imagination. And a willingness to take risks. We’re talking about entertaining a fickle public, not making dishwashers. We once loved Westerns with all our hearts. You can’t figure out what we want next if you don’t try to find out.

Oh, and Disney – we don’t want sequels and remakes. You’ve burned that bridge with too many horrible attempts. We like the originals. They were well-made and make us feel good. We are happy watching them over and over. But we also want new characters, new well-made stories. I promise.

I’m optimistic. There’s too much pent-up box office money, and too many people hoping to look back at this era of TV and enjoy it because “the style and quality is good”. So let’s close our eyes, and dive into the creative unknown. It literally could not be any worse than "Toy Story 5" and "Superman – who gives a crap”.