Matt Loze of Halcyon Studios discusses what the next three years will look like in high-end scripted against the backdrop of a US presidential election and maturing AVoD market.

Matt Loze

Formed in 2020 by producer, distributor and AVoD operator Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment after it acquired the assets of Sonar Entertainment, LA-based Halcyon is laser-focused on high-end premium scripted TV with an international footprint.

Led by CEO David Ellender, the former head of Sonar, the company’s productions have included series such as Hunters for Amazon’s Prime Video, Mr Mercedes for Peacock and The Mysterious Benedict Society for Disney+.

Matt Loze, its president of scripted entertainment, has spent four decades in TV development and founded the television division of Propaganda Films, where he helped develop shows such as Twin Peaks and Beverly Hills 90210 before going on to work for the likes of Fox 21 Television Studios and BBC Worldwide Productions, where he was head of scripted entertainment.

Loze oversees Halcyon’s scripted line-up alongside fellow industry veteran Dara Cohen, VP of scripted entertainment, who joined the company earlier this year. The pair look after a slate that includes the projects Dinotopia, Under The Wave at Waimea, Death Line, The Old Man & the Sea and an as-yet-untitled James Ellroy project.

Loze believes its adaptation of Ernest Hemingway’s 1952 novella The Old Man & the Sea is indicative of the ethos that will drive the company’s storytelling over the next few years.

“It goes to the root of the company as we’re very talent-driven, very story-driven. The tagline for Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment is ‘Changing the world one character at a time,’ so we’re very conscious of using the media to try to inspire and leave the world in a better place,” says Loze.

The exec sees the AVoD industry maturing considerably over the next three years, with production companies like Halcyon having to strike the right balance between the “very expensive” shows commissioned by subscription-based streamers and the lower-budget series ordered by ad-supported VoD players. What will keep everyone on their toes over the next few years is the fact that some services will operate both kinds of business models.

Loze sees 2023 and beyond being defined by audience demand for lighter programming after a tough few years and increasingly worrying headlines, with the romance genre set to be the main beneficiary.

Amazon Prime Video drama Hunters

“There’s a strange unknown in that we could be on the precipice of a world war or an environmental disaster. The audience is exhausted and just wants to be entertained. And I think every broadcaster, streamer and cable [network] is conscious of wanting to give people entertainment.”

With a US presidential election coming in 2024, Loze expects political tribalism to only grow fiercer: “We’re competing with news and that’s going to get very loud and amplified.” Loze, however, is optimistic about the ongoing influence of non-English-language programming in the US and sees it only growing in popularity in the coming years.

“We’ve hit a new level of maturity where that content is just plain entertaining, whatever language it’s in, and I think we’re all the better for it,” Loze says.

Halcyon’s content is distributed by sister company Screen Media Ventures, while it also shares a parent with Crackle Plus, owner and operator of a variety of ad-supported and subscription-based VoD networks including Crackle, Chicken Soup for the Soul, Popcornflix, Popcornflix Kids, Truli, Pivotshare, Españolflix and FrightPix.

Halcyon’s content is not necessarily destined for these services, but Loze nevertheless believes there’s an opportunity for AVoD services to bring about a more positive consumer experience for audiences while watching ads. “There’s going to be a lot of evolution across the businesses and sometimes it will come from Europe and sometimes it will come from the US. People don’t necessarily dislike commercials, they just don’t like commercials that aren’t relevant to them,” says Loze.

The exec is interested to see how Amazon, which operates both Prime Video and the ad-supported Freevee, will continue to combine its retail muscle with its entertainment arm, as it has done on originals such as Making the Cut, with viewers able to shop for each episode’s winning garments online via Amazon Fashion.

“If I can get advertising that’s specific to me, that’s where the AVoD business can really come into play and be successful,” says Loze.