TV Industry Buyers And Sellers Size Up “Strange Bedfellows Era”, Share Takeaways From Emmys And 2023 Strikes As Reborn NATPE Kicks Off In Miami
16.01.2024 - 21:01
/ deadline.com
Beef and The Bear, the shows that joined Succession in a three-way domination of Monday night’s Emmy Awards, have a surprising amount of shared DNA.
“I think there’s a real yearning for authenticity right now,” said Elaine Frontain Bryant, EVP and Head of Programming Genres for A&E, Lifetime and LMN. Beef and The Bear “have a vibe that feels like you’re a fly on the wall.”
Bryant’s comments came during a panel discussion Tuesday at the reborn NATPE Global conference in Miami, which has returned under new ownership after two dark years due to Covid and financial woes. The exec was joined onstage by Courtney Thomasma, EVP, Streaming, at AMC Networks; Jens Richter, CEO of Commercial and International for Fremantle; Paolo Koelle, Head of Prime Video Latin America; and Scott Herbst, Head of Scripted Development and EVP at Lionsgate Television.
The conversation touched on a range of topics in programming, distribution and strategy, as well as streaming’s coexistence with linear TV and the impact of 2023’s dual strikes.
Emerging from the challenges of the strikes, budgets are being watched more closely than ever, the panel agreed. Herbst said The Bear was not only inviting to viewers; it was appetizing to its corporate backers because it was done “for a price.”
Escapist fare, the panelists agreed, will continue to be in demand given the economic uncertainty, anxiety about multiple wars upending much of the world, and the insidious march of AI on the minds of viewers. Beef may not be a light show, exactly, and The Bear is awfully sober for a comedy, but both offer a lot of stylistic panache and heightened aesthetics.
Thomasma said “a broader reset” is under way, especially of the streaming wars. “How much volume do you need?”