In a crowded market, known brands are safe bets. The Marvel Cinematic Universe, Star Wars , The Walking Dead , and Game of Thrones spin-offs dominate because they bring pre-built audiences. Streaming services are not just competing on quality but on IP libraries . Witness the “streaming wars” (Disney+, Max, Peacock, Paramount+) where legacy media companies pulled their content from Netflix to launch their own platforms, creating a fragmented subscription economy.
Podcasts like Serial popularized true crime as a narrative genre. Docu-series ( The Jinx , Making a Murderer ) are treated like thrillers. Meanwhile, “influencers” present curated, semi-scripted versions of their daily lives. The line between documentary and drama, news and entertainment, is now porous. This has fueled both deep engagement and dangerous misinformation.
