The election of Donald Trump is still sending shockwaves into the farthest progressive corners of America. Hollywood is still shaking, and it's made TV network executives sit up and take notice of a demographic they’ve long ignored.
The Hollywood Reporter learned that many of the major networks are rethinking their programming and are planning to court right-wing writers and gain more blue-collar viewers. One exec told THR that “everybody is taking a hard look.” ABC entertainment chief Channing Dungey “acknowledges that the rise of Trump and his blue-collar support forced her to question whether her programming was too focused on upper-income brackets.”
ABC Studios chief Patrick Moran called the creator of Black-ish, Kenya Barris, after the election and the two discussed their new project about “a pair of politically divided pundits who fall in love” and the “wake-up call” made them reassess if both political sides were represented fairly.
"In years past, it would be very easy to let one side [the conservative] feel like the cartoon and have the show assume that the audience is siding with the other [the liberal],” Moran said. As a result, his partner Barris is seeking conservative writers, saying, “There was no way I wanted to do something that was going to further the divide in this country.”
TLC president Nancy Daniels ran with the earthquake metaphor: "[The election] made the ground shake underneath media and now everybody is taking a hard look: Are we telling the right stories? Are we reaching the right people?"
Of course, THR doesn't believe that Hollywood is turning into a “safe space” for conservatives:
Nobody interviewed by THR is suggesting the TV landscape will be turned over to a slew of Roseanne rip-offs; but many do expect the working class, middle-America ethos to be better represented, particularly at the broadcast networks where Trump's 60 million supporters are key to success. Changes likely will be gradual, since the bulk of 2017 development already had been started by Nov. 8.
ABC’s Dungey assured that her network would continue the progressive path of showcasing racial, religious, ethnic, gender, and sexual diversity but said it would be more open to looking “through the prism of economics and of cities versus small towns.” As luck would have it, Dungey signed on Reba McEntire before the election for a drama set in the South.
As for NBC president Jennifer Salke, the mood of the country has spurred her to seek out more “feel-good comedies and broad, family-friendly fare.”
A&E CEO Nancy Dubuc said her network had already taken notice of the tonal shift in the country based on the successes of its hit shows Pawn Stars, American Pickers, and Duck Dynasty.
"People in the entertainment community have put their noses up at the kind of programming that we do," Dubuc said. "Maybe they would be better served by paying a little more attention to actually watching and understanding the stories that we're telling."
And then there are those who are most defiant, like Fox TV Group chairman Dana Walden:
"I've never had success trying to retrofit development to service some sentiment going on in the country, my community or the companies we work in.”
Producer Ryan Murphy told THR “it’s more important than ever to use the TV medium to promote progressive values.” He explained that his worldview is “in direct opposition to Trump’s message” and will be thoroughly explored in his script for his new show:
"I'm doing Feud [starring Susan Sarandon and Jessica Lange for FX] not just because of the larger-than-life characters but because it directly confronts ageism, sexism, female pay scale inadequacies, the glass ceiling. It's a show that asks for and demands rebellion."
Whether these networks actually change or not, and it's highly doubtful, TruthRevolt will be there to point it out.
