Together with
Box office boost. Welcome back, FutureParty people. How was everyone’s weekend? Hopefully, you were able to escape the heat and stay indoors. Speaking of places void of sunlight with AC, did anyone go to the theaters to experience ‘Barbenheimer?’ Based on the latest numbers (and our social feed), it seems like everyone and their mother were at the movies this weekend — giving the summer box office a much-needed boost.
In other news… Network TV scrambles to fill programming, next-gen comics take over TikTok, and tiny communities go big in Florida.
Top Trends
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ENTERTAINMENT
Hollywood strikes deflate the fall TV schedule
The Future. With the actors and writers strikes putting the kibosh on scripted shows in production, the broadcast networks are pivoting their schedules to program whatever they can, including reality shows, game shows, live sports, and reruns. The resulting blow to the legacy networks (and the inevitable stock drop) may be one of the key things that resume negotiations between the studios and the Hollywood unions.
Reality bites
Without new scripted shows, this fall’s network TV season will be slim pickings.
Fox is showing WWE matches on Friday nights and leaning hard on animation.
CBS will play episodes of the Paramount Network’s breakout hit, Yellowstone.
ABC is putting episodes of the Disney+ series Ms. Marvel into rotation.
Only NBC has a few scripted shows ready to go, including the remainder of Magnum P.I.
All in all, the dearth of shows is a blow to TV audiences (mostly older Americans) hoping for a return of any number of Dick Wolf series and to advertisers who rely on scripted hits to get the most eyeballs.
The consequence could be many traditional TV viewers may finally move to streaming in search of something new to watch. And with pay-TV subscriptions only in 58.5% of US households (the lowest since 1992), it may be a death knell to the whole system.
SOCIAL MEDIA
LaughTok // Illustration by Kate Walker
TikTok platforms tomorrow’s comedy stars
The Future. The popularity of TikTok has brought attention to a new crop of unlikely comedians. With the platform being an ideal place to show clever, creative, and brief content, it may be ideally suited to comedians whose styles don’t neatly fit into the standup format.
Repeat laughs
Variety spotlighted some up-and-coming comedians who have made their marks by going viral on TikTok.
DeMarcus Shawn (@artbydemarcusshawn) has six million followers keeping tabs on his skits, with celebrities like Steve Lacy and SZA counting themselves as fans.
Jake Shane (@octopusslover8) uses his comedy chops across skits, PSAs, food reviews, and more, building an audience of over two million.
Rahul Rai (@therealrahulrai) has leveraged her digital popularity to score acting roles on Barry and The Upshaws.
Chrissy Allen (@csapunch) has turned dancing — specifically, ‘90s R&B — into a form of comedy.
And of course, the OG of the TikTok explosion is Sarah Cooper, who rode a wave of virality to land her own show, Sarah Cooper: Everything’s Fine.
We have no doubt every comedy rep in Hollywood is scrolling to find their next client.
TOGETHER WITH LALA
LALA x The Wolf of Wall Street — Drop 001: The Hustle
LALA is the world’s first digital collectible marketplace that allows fans to own royalties from movies and TV shows — shaping a new era of fan ownership.
LALA was founded in 2022 by Hiram Vazquez and launched in 2023 with $3 million in funding led by Alexis Ohanian’s venture capital fund, Seven Seven Six.
Their mission is to provide fans with an opportunity to become even more deeply ingrained into their favorite movies’ and shows’ ecosystems — by owning a piece of their revenue streams via collectibles.
LALA is partnering with The Wolf of Wall Street for Drop 001, happening tomorrow (starting at 10am EST). Don’t miss your chance to own a piece of this iconic film!
HOUSING
Courtesy of Escape Homes
Tiny communities may be a housing savior
The Future. Escape Tampa Bay Village, an in-the-works community of four neighborhoods, is a big step forward for normalizing tiny homes. As these types of areas begin to grow in both size and demand, younger buyers may finally be able to start building wealth through owning a home… for roughly the same price they would pay for rent in any typical metro.
Small space, big gains
One of Escape Tampa Bay Village’s neighborhoods, The Oaks, comprises 33 homes all under 400 square feet.
The entire neighborhood nearly sold out within two months, with the units going for between $95,000 and $160,000.
The homes, which contain all the amenities of a regular-sized house and can sleep up to four people, also include an outdoor deck, yard space, and driveway.
The units are also on wheels, so they can be moved… but don’t even think about putting them up on short-term rental platforms like Airbnb and Vrbo.
Additionally, the neighborhood has community amenities, such as a pool, office space, and extra storage.
Jeff Kruth and Murali Paranandi, architecture professors at Miami University, said these types of homes — accessory dwelling units or “granny flats” — could be a transformative opportunity for the “missing middle” to finally be able to afford housing again.
It sounds like the millennial American dream come true.
Highlights
The best curated daily stories from around the web
Media, Music, & Entertainment
Because of Hollywood’s double strike, Luca Guadagnino’s Challengers, starring Zendaya, is moving from September to early summer 2024… and more films may follow. Read more → variety
Drake and Dave’s Hot Chicken (which Drake is an investor in) are teaming up to give away tickets to his It’s All a Blur tour. Read more → complex
AMC gives up on charging moviegoers more for wanting to reserve the middle seat. Read more → bloomberg
Fashion & E-Commerce
Beyoncé continues her global domination with the release of her first fragrance in ten years, Eau de Parfum. Read more → bof
Sotheby’s is auctioning off a rare pair of sneakers made by Apple (yes, we’re serious) for $50,000. Read more → hypebeast
Arrive Recommerce raised $16 million to help retailers handle the logistics of reselling their returns so they don’t end up in landfills. Read more → forbes
Tech, Web3, & AI
Reps from seven tech companies, including Google and OpenAI, trekked to the White House to agree to the Biden administration’s proposed AI guardrails and to commit to policing themselves… but the move may just shield them from stricter regulations. Read more → thr
Apple isn’t a fan of the UK’s proposed updates to its Investigatory Privacy Acts, threatening to remove services such as iMessage and FaceTime from the UK if they pass into law. Read more → bbc
A group of investors are finalizing a deal to purchase crypto-focused media company CoinDesk for roughly $125 million. Read more → wsj
Creator Economy
Roblox reports creators on the platform have earned a total of $182 million within the first three months of 2023. Read more → tubefilter
Despite a sky-high debut, engagement on Threads looks to have dropped by a steep 70%. Read more → wsj
Pokémon GO is introducing user-made routes for catching them all and acting as a fun way to give people tours of their communities. Read more → theverge
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Today’s email was written by David Vendrell.
Edited by Nick Comney. Copy edited by Kait Cunniff.
Published by Darline Salazar.