From Shonda Rhimes to Taylor Sheridan: 7 Hitmakers Shaping Hollywood’s Future

Much like in baseball, Hollywood is a hit-driven business in which home runs generate multiples more value than singles and doubles (and subsidize all those strikeouts). As such, consistent hitmakers are absolutely vital to the good health and longevity of a studio. Given the volatile state of the entertainment industry today, now is a perfect time to update my article from 2021 by identifying each studio’s most valuable creator.

Generally speaking, these creators are either on first-look or overall deals with a given studio and are providing consistent returns on investment via successful multi-season TV series and/or theatrical box office revenue. Shall we dive in? 

Netflix: Shonda Rhimes

Shonda Rhimes is the only answer for Netflix (NFLX) after reportedly following up her four-year, $150 million deal in 2017 with 2021’s five-year deal that could reach up to $400 million (total compensation including bonus). Miraculously, both are completely justifiable on the balance sheet—all Rhimes does is deliver winners. 

Miniseries Inventing Anna, all three seasons of Bridgerton and spin-off Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story have all spent time among the streamer’s self-reported Top 10 most-watched English-language series of all time. Over the first half of 2024, all three Bridgerton seasons and Queen Charlotte were among Netflix’s top 30 most-watched seasons of TV globally (regardless of language), per Netflix’s Engagement Report. According to Nielsen, Grey’s Anatomy was the fourth most-watched show on streaming in the U.S. in 2023, with 38.6 billion hours, or roughly 105.75 million hours per day. (Rhimes created Greys for ABC, where it still airs on linear TV, but its library largely streams on Netflix.) Bridgerton is designed to run for eight seasons; additional spin-offs are in the works; and Rhimes will soon return with political murder mystery The Residence. The results speak volumes. 

Her 2021 extension with Netflix not only reinforced her dominance in TV but also expanded her creative reach into feature films, gaming, virtual reality, branded merchandise, and live events and experiences, underscoring her multifaceted value to the platform. Rhimes’ queendom at Netflix stretches far beyond just the small screen. 

Disney: Jon Watts

This Is Us and Only Murders in the Building co-creator Dan Fogelman, who is working under a 2019 five-year, nine-figure deal, is a great candidate here. But I’m going with a curveball in the filmmaker Jon Watts. 

Watts, who signed a first-look feature deal with Disney in September, helmed Tom Holland’s three Spider-Man solo films for Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios. The trilogy has grossed more than $4 billion. While Sony gets the lion’s share of that box office revenue, the warm reception to this new iteration of Spidey has worked wonders for Disney’s Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

Since 2020, Spider-Man: No Way Home (1st) and Spider-Man: Far From Home (5th) have been among the top five most in-demand MCU entries globally across film and TV series, according to Parrot Analytics, where I work as Senior Entertainment Industry strategist. 

Along the way, Watts has also executive produced FX’s The Old Man, which scored the best cable premiere since 2021 for its rookie debut and recently returned with a second season for the Disney-owned network, and Disney+’s upcoming Star Wars: Skeleton Crew. Should the latter perform better than The Acolyte’s expensive disappointment, Watts will generate a whole lot of goodwill from the C-suite and fan communities. 

Paramount Global: Taylor Sheridan

Buyer’s remorse on rich overall deals in Hollywood is as common as plastic surgery. Yet Paramount (PARA) Global is rightfully still smitten with Taylor Sheridan, the prolific creator whom it re-upped in 2021 on a nine-figure deal. 

Yellowstone remains the most popular show on cable TV with north of 10 million viewers. Four of Sherdian’s Paramount+ originals have made at least one weekly Nielsen Top 10 streaming list since 2023 (and Tulsa King Season 2 is en route to becoming the most-watched P+ original). From Q4 2023 to Q3 2024, Sheridan and Jeremy Renner’s Mayor of Kingstown led all titles on the platform in total UCAN subscribers added and retained, per Parrot Analytics’ Content Valuation.

The creator’s knack for attracting big old-school names for neo-westerns and crime thrillers has created a strong consumer brand perception of Paramount+ originals. Sheridan will be a major asset across linear, streaming and theatrical (remember, he writes screenplays, too) for the incoming Skydance owners. 

NBCUniversal: Dick Wolf and Chris Meledandri

On the TV side, it’s impossible to argue against the multi-decade dominance of Dick Wolf, the godfather of the sprawling Law & Order, FBI and Chicago franchises that stretch across broadcast television and into the depths of streaming. The Picasso of procedurals currently has upwards of nine shows (!) airing in 2024 alone. Eight rank among the top 2.7 percent of all TV titles worldwide in demand this year, while one ranks in the top 0.2 percent, per Parrot Analytics. Such elite success is needed, given Wolf’s $1 billion NBCU deal. 

On the film side, Illumination CEO Chris Meledandri is simply on fire. The Super Mario Bros. Movie not only became the highest-grossing film in Illumination history ($1.36 billion worldwide), but the third highest-grossing global movie for Universal Pictures of all time. Ten of Illumination’s 15 theatrical features have grossed at least $500 million worldwide. Not a single one has bombed based on production budget. That type of theatrical consistency is virtually unheard of, which makes Meledandri’s looming potential free agency a hot topic. 

Warner Bros. Discovery: Chuck Lorre or Bill Lawrence

Take your pick between Chuck Lorre (Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory, Young Sheldon, Bob Hearts Abishola, etc) and Bill Lawrence (Ted Lasso, Shrinking, Bad Monkey, etc.). Both have delivered a steady stream of winners for WBTV that command high licensing/sales fees.

Lawrence signed a five-year, nine-figure deal to remain at the company in 2022. Lorre is also still under contract, though no deal figures have been reported in recent years. Lawrence’s Ted Lasso (co-creator) was the most-watched streaming original in the U.S. last year (16.9 billion hours), per Nielsen. Lorre’s The Big Bang Theory was the most popular comedy on TV across 12 seasons on CBS and was the sixth most-watched licensed series on streaming (27.8 billion hours) in 2023. These are grand slams by any measure. 

Lorre is a master at delivering broad-appeal linear sitcoms that score well in live viewership and help feed engagement to streamers. Lawrence has become incredibly adept at tweaking and modernizing the sitcom formula for streaming exclusives. Earlier this year, Netflix announced a new Lorre comedy led by Leanne Morgan, while the second Big Bang Theory spinoff—Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage—recently debuted on CBS. A fourth season of Ted Lasso is in development; the second season of Shrinking recently premiered; and a new installment of Lawrence’s Scrubs is reportedly in the works.

At a time of great uncertainty and challenge, Hollywood’s future will continue to hinge on these key creators. As the industry evolves, the studios that build strong, long-term relationships with their MVPs will be best positioned to succeed.