Seriencamp 2024: TV executives grapple with how to bring Gen-Z digital creators and YouTube-born IP to the small screen
By
Max Goldbart
Baker's choice. Dense with flavour, light on filler.
Summary
The article reports on Seriencamp, a TV industry conference in Cologne, Germany, where the main topic of discussion was the rise of a new generation of Gen-Z digital-native creators (like Kane Parsons with 'Backrooms', Curry Barker with 'Obsession', and Markiplier with 'Iron Lung') who are finding success at the box office through content originating on platforms like YouTube and Reddit. The key question for TV executives was how to translate this wave of internet-born creative talent and IP to traditional television (the "small screen"). The analysis explores the tension between digital-first content creation and the established TV industry.
Key quotes
· 3 pulledThe question, for experienced and less experienced TV executives both from Germany and beyond, was how this wave can be introduced to the small screen.
The power of Backrooms extends beyond the global box office and to TV markets in Germany.
This week's Cologne confab Seriencamp, which has become a crucial cog in the international TV calendar machine, was replete with chatter about the new generation of creatives propping up the box office.
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