The Washington Post

The creator economy was already exploding. Then Hollywood went on strike.

The last big strikes reshaped the movie business and fueled the rise of reality TV. The latest walkout likely will help turn established actors into TikTok stars — and vice versa.

By Drew Harwell

 and 

Taylor Lorenz

July 23, 2023 at 6:00 a.m. EDT

Strikers outside the Netflix headquarters in Hollywood this month. (Sean Scheidt for The Washington Post)

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The historic double strike that is paralyzing Hollywood could supercharge the creator economy, the wildly popular market of online influencers and video makers who increasingly rival industry titans for money, attention and cultural power.

The fast-growing cast of amateur and professional creators — chefs, comedians, models, musicians and many others — already attracts tens of millions of fans on platforms like YouTube and TikTok without the resources or support of more established mass media.

Now, as American film and TV production grinds to a halt, possibly for months, they stand at the center of a major shift that could change entertainment and further blur the lines between traditional and digital fame.

Studios and producers are scrambling to recruit creators to help fill a content void, stoking tensions over scab work and changing styles of storytelling. But striking actors and writers are increasingly less reliant on Hollywood, too, experimenting with new ideas on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and Twitch in ways that could net them lasting followings — if not steady paychecks — that go beyond traditional industry success.

The last Hollywood strike radically reshaped the media landscape by fueling the rise of unscripted content, like documentary series and reality TV shows, that were cheaper to make and easier to mass-produce, such as “Cops” in the late ’80s and “The Celebrity Apprentice” in 2008.

“The Celebrity Apprentice” in 2005. (Courtesy of NBC-TV/Kobal/Shutterstock)

The ongoing walkout of tens of thousands of actors and writers, Hollywood’s first double strike in 63 years, could have similarly sweeping ripple effects, by potentially eroding Hollywood’s institutional advantages and elevating a new generation of stars.

Creators once saw online virality largely as a way to break into established TV or movie gigs. But some now make so much money selling sponsored content, merchandise or monthly subscriptions that traditional entertainment, with its uncertain paychecks and relevance, can seem like less of a draw.