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Network notes ‘turn off A-listers’

NATPE: US networks must cut down on notes and provide more creative freedom if they want to attract A-list talent to their shows, according to leading Los Angeles talent agent Dan Erlij.

Dan Erlij

Dan Erlij

Streamers such as Netflix and cable networks including HBO are increasingly turning to movie stars, both behind and in front of the camera, to define their scripted offerings – something UTA partner Erlij expects to continue.

“Talent wants to do streaming and cable based partly on their perception of what is cool, quite frankly,” he said, adding that US broadcast shows had been largely shut out of the awards season over recent years.

“It’s the creative freedom, it’s the budgets streamers have for shows, it’s the fact they are ordering straight to series, so a client going there knows their show will get made.”

Erlij, who has worked on shows including Netflix’s Jessica Jones and One Day at a Time, said the greatest single issue that would need to change before A-list talent starts to consider broadcast is the amount of notes provided by channel executives.

“The biggest thing that has to change is that broadcast networks still give broadcast network notes, and they still think they know how to do a show better than the creators,” he said.

“If you’re looking to attract an A-list director or writer coming into this space that they have never been into before, they can’t operate in the same way. Until that happens, those kinds of people will want to be on cable or streamers.”

However, Erlij, a 20-year veteran at UTA, also suggested broadcast networks were pursuing a strategy that largely ignores A-listers.

“Broadcast networks are doubling down on shows that work for them,” he said. “I definitely don’t think they are looking to compete with HBO or Netflix right now. They are going back to thinking about how they maintain the audience they have.”

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