HOLLYWOOD RADIO & TELEVISION SOCIETY (HRTS) FIRESIDE CHATS WITH JOHN WELLS, COURTNEY A. KEMP, AND PETER FRIEDLANDER
Left to Right: John Wells, Courtney A. Kemp, and Peter Friedlander
“I make up fake people and they say fake words and I get paid real money” – Courtney A. Kemp
Los Angeles, CA (June 7, 2022) Picture if you will a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind, a place where content meets revenue through a door that may be locked by a lack of training and unlocked with the key of multiple models. There’s a signpost up ahead, your next stop: the Beverly Hilton.
HRTS President Odetta Watkins and HRTS Chair Dan Erlij presided over the first in-person HRTS event since 2020, with industry heavyweights gathering together on June 7, 2022 in a beautiful outdoor garden space at the Beverly Hilton for the HRTS Presidents Luncheon – Fireside Chats.
The two HRTS leaders shared joyful news about the formation of The HRTS Foundation, a charitable organization dedicated to identifying, developing and nurturing creative talent from underrepresented groups in a diverse, equitable and inclusive way.
The al fresco fireside featured Moderator Michael Schneider in one-on-one chats with legendary multi-hyphenate John Wells; Courtney A. Kemp, Creator & Executive Producer of the Power Universe Franchise; and Peter Friedlander, Netflix Head of Scripted Series for the US and Canada.
WHAT THEY SAID:
John Wells related how when he started (as a writer on a self-described ‘knockoff of Moonlighting’) there were 150 scripted series on the air whereas today there are 600 but the difference is that in the older broadcast model they were continuing shows with full 22-episode seasons, as compared to today’s limited series with 10 episodes per season.
And so as a result, nascent showrunners have less opportunity to get experience, to get on-the-job training before being tapped to run a show of their own. Wells said you’d be on a show for 7 years before you were ‘allowed to sell anything’ whereas today on a Tuesday you can be given $40 million and told to hire 150 people in fourteen days. And with the proliferation of buyers there is a huge amount of demand for a limited supply of top tier talents and so episode production costs continue to rise. Wells considered the Cost Plus business model and predicted that the industry will go back to shared rights at some point.
Courtney Kemp noted that there’s a big difference between being a good writer and being a good showrunner. She agreed with Schneider’s suggestion that in the present day there is more focus on showrunners, they are more out front, and said that a focus on the showrunner allows for a focus on story. She shared how she considers herself to be an entertainer, a grounded perspective, chuckling as she shared that “the times I have tried to write high art, the network did not pick it up.” In terms of building a writers room, Kemp said that her goal is to hire people who have different perspectives. Diversity of thought in the writers room, and conflict in the room leads to authentic conflict between the show’s characters. And without conflict, there is no drama and without drama there is no story. Kemp stated then later reiterated the joy of how she gets to make up fake people who say fake words and then “you all pay me real money.”
Peter Friedlander has been at Netflix since 2011 and was their first dedicated original content executive. He shared that the last decade has been surreal, and that the business is different now in so many ways. Netflix culture has shifted as they’ve grown and hired more people and become a global-scale company, something which is in the DNA of the company since “the culture that we have built was set up to evolve.” In terms of release models, and specifically the binge model versus the weekly model, Friedlander said that the binge model is still fundamental to what they want to provide, since “we want to give our members the choice in how they view.” In terms of awards, Friedlander shared how in 2011 they weren’t even sure if House of Cards would be eligible for an Emmy nomination and then cut to 2021 and Netflix was the most-nominated network and the most-winning network across the board.
Here is a selection of coverage from the event: Deadline | Variety
GO TO THE VIDEO: HRTS Members, you may log in and watch the full event video via Perigon HERE
– Chris Davidson
About HRTS
Led by a Board of Directors comprising TV and entertainment’s most distinguished leaders, Hollywood Radio & Television Society is the premier networking, education and mentorship association in the industry. Our membership community includes 60+ Corporate Members and 2100+ individual members, representing the top companies across the landscape. We build on HRTS’ rich, 75-year tradition of providing an unparalleled forum for conversation and community through events, our best-in-class mentorship program and other initiatives for professionals at all career stages — from student to C-suite — in Los Angeles, NYC and around the world.