After a year and a half of COVID-19, those in the Hollywood content business seem to have adopted a new set of requirements to work in today’s entertainment industry: Test negative, but think positive.
“Are you ready to hear the latest mandates from studios, streamers, and financiers? They are all looking for ‘blue sky,’ ‘aspirational,’ ‘uplifting,’ and ‘wholesome entertainment,’ ” read a promotional email earlier this month from Stage 32, a global community of entertainment content creators and content buyers that offers seminars, workshops and one-on-one advice for those looking to sell their first big idea to Hollywood.
Stage 32 CEO Richard Botto said he’s heard it so many times it’s become a running joke: “I hear from a lot of executives, and every single person says they want the next ‘Ted Lasso,’” Botto told TheWrap.
At the same time as the pandemic streaming boom has fueled huge demand for more content, it has also fueled a boom in demand for projects that are upbeat, romantic, heartwarming, family-oriented — anything that provides an escape from the fear, anxiety and continuous mourning of the past 18 months or so.