Your one-stop, weekly drop into the creator economy.
Another year, another Emmys snub for "Hot Ones." But this time around, it wasn’t just Sean Evans who felt this distinct burn. Just like "Hot Ones," both Rhett McLaughlin and Link Neal’s "Good Mythical Morning" and Michelle Khare’s "Challenge Accepted" were Emmys eligible, and all three ended Tuesday without a nomination.
It's not entirely surprising. Out of all the old-school institutions in Hollywood, awards voters are among some of the most hesitant around new media. "Asking Emmy voters to nominate a YouTube show is kind of like asking a Boston Red Sox fan to cheer for the Yankees," Reza Izad, the CEO of Underscore Talent, told me.
But while these snubs may be a loss in the present, they represent a victory for the future. For the first time ever, creators were seriously part of the awards conversation. All three of the aforementioned shows were all bestowed big flashy For Your Consideration billboards around Los Angeles, and YouTube hosted a FYC event that was well-attended and positively covered by the press. That alone indicates that the doors of Hollywood are creaking open. And the Emmys themselves have proven in the past that they’re open to change.
"There was more of a conversation and opportunity for it this year than there has ever been. That's something for the community as a whole to celebrate," Neil Waller, co-CEO and co-founder of Whalar Group, told me.
A little over 10 years ago Netflix made awards history, becoming the first streamer to score an Emmy nomination. In 2013, Netflix scored 14 noms for "House of Cards," "Arrested Development" and "Hemlock Grove," including a directing win for David Fincher. Those nominations broke an unseen barrier. Two years later, Uzo Abuba won Outstanding Supporting Actress for "Orange Is the New Black," and Jeffrey Tambor won Outstanding Lead Actor for Prime Video’s "Transparent." By 2020 — seven years after its first nomination — Netflix had more than cemented itself as a major awards player, setting a record for the most nominations produced by a single network in a single year.
When Netflix scored its first nomination, streaming was in a similar — albeit less developed — place that the creator ecosystem is in now. Back then, everyone in the industry understood that audiences were streaming more as cable subscriptions declined. TV is on that precipice once again. In June, YouTube broke yet another Nielsen record, accounting for 12.8% of overall TV viewership and continuing its two-year lead over the rest of its competitors. Advertising dollars have also been moving away from traditional linear formats, like broadcast and cable, and moving to creators. This year, creators, not film and TV stars, were the must-see celebrities at Cannes Lions, the annual advertising festival. Once again, every indicator is pointing that the future of entertainment is changing. All that’s missing is a show in this space that’s undeniable, like what "House of Cards" was for Netflix all those years ago.
Everyone I’ve spoken to both in Hollywood and in the creator industry is confident that a creator nomination will happen eventually. But the problem right now is about voter education and creator opportunities. Many Emmys voters still don’t see YouTube content as a serious awards contender, a problem that shifting viewer habits or the right project can fix. There’s also the matter of how expensive these campaigns are. These awards pushes often involve months of advertising, press events and magazine photoshoots. Typically, networks and streamers cover the campaigning costs, which can range from $150,000 to $500,00, but that steep bill is more difficult for an independent creator to foot.
That’s why YouTube’s buy-in has made all the difference this past year, but even that comes with a caveat. The nature of awards season requires networks to literally bet their money on a select few nominees that can go the distance. That’s a difficult approach for YouTube to swallow, an industry insider told me. Guessing what will resonate with Emmys voters can’t be measured by an algorithm, and picking favorites goes against how YouTube — a platform that prides itself on being available to everyone — typically operates.
In spite of that, YouTube has made it clear that it’s gunning for an Emmy, and it’s not giving up on this goal. "Creators are the new Hollywood. They’re taking over television screens and finding big audiences," YouTube CEO Neal Mohan wrote last year in his THR op-ed. "If creators are not acknowledged by the Emmys, then we should ask ourselves if the awards represent the future of TV or just its past."
"There's always a lag to these things," Waller said. Just how long that lag will be remains to be seen.
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Kayla Cobb
Senior Reporter
kayla.cobb@thewrap.com
P.S. You don’t want to miss a livestream roundtable I'll be moderating, "Creator Power: The Business of Influence," at noon PT on Aug. 14. Sign up today here.
What's New
CAA snags Rhett and Link and funds an AI research firm
Rhett and Link may not have an Emmy nomination, but they have big news. The comedy duo as well as their 100-person media and production company Mythical moved from WME to CAA. McLaughlin and Neal are best known for hosting “Good Mythical Morning,” which has secured over 34 million subscribers and 14 billion lifetime views. Big news, considering CAA has been ramping up its creator roster. In other CAA news, the agency was one of several companies to back Moonvalley, a research firm that specializes in building AI video models and tools trained on licensed content. Alongside CAA, General Catalyst, CoreWeave and Comcast Ventures raised $84 million in funding for the company.
Influencers may be a recession indicator
It’s no secret that the U.S. economy feels a bit shaky right now. Back in May, JP Morgan put the probability of a 2025 recession at 40%, a drop from its previously scarier 60% prediction. NPR’s Kristian Monroe broke down how that financial insecurity may be cropping up in the creator space from influencers facing backlash for posting luxury goods to certain brands pulling back on their advertising spends. The advice from creators who weathered similar economic waves in 2008? Diversify.
A lawsuit accusing TikTok of manipulating children looks like it’s going to court
A New Hampshire judge tossed out TikTok’s request to dismiss a lawsuit that accuses the viral app of implementing features designed to manipulate children and teenagers. The suit alleges that the platform includes “addictive design features” designed to keep the app’s younger audience on it for longer and pointing them towards more ads and the TikTok Shop. A spokesperson for the app countered that the lawsuit "presents outdated and cherry-picked claims." TikTok is far from the only app that’s been at the center of a legal battle over children’s viewership and child safety measures. Meta, SnapChat and Discord have all faced similar suits
Platform Updates
Roblox creators can now make money off "Squid Game" and "Stranger Things" games
The online game creation platform Roblox launched a new licensing platform that allows IP rights holders to partner with video game creators. That means if you create a "Stranger Things" game on the platform — or one based on "Twilight," "Saw," "Now You See Me" or "Squid Game" — you’ll be able to earn a portion of the revenue that game makes. The Roblox License Manager and Licenses catalog is launching with partnerships with Lionsgate, Netflix, Sega and the manga hub Kodansha. Licensing these major titles is part of Roblox’s overall goal of having 10% of global gaming content revenue flow through the company’s ecosystem. Roblox creators are on track to earn over $1 billion from their games this year.
Facebook is cracking down on post stealing
Facebook is following in the footsteps of YouTube and cutting down on "unoriginal content," aka accounts that steal content from other creators. Last week, YouTube announced that accounts that post unoriginal content risk being kicked out of the platform’s monetization program. Facebook then announced on Monday that accounts improperly reusing videos, photos or text posts will lose access to monetization on Facebook and will receive reduced sharing distribution. This is all part of an ongoing effort from Facebook to decrease inauthentic content on the platform. In the first half of 2025, the platform responded to roughly 500,000 accounts that engaged in either “spammy behavior or fake engagement” and took down nearly 10 million profiles that were impersonating larger content producers.
Google’s Veo 3 AI model can now turn photos into eight-second videos with sound
Last week, Google rolled out its most sophisticated Veo 3 model to Google AI Pro subscribers in over 150 countries. But this week, the company launched a photo-to-video capability in Gemini, allowing static photos to be transformed into video clips with sound. The feature is only available to Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers in select countries, but it continues Google’s commitment to bringing AI to its users. Between its AI overlays in Google Search and the AI tools offered to YouTube creators, the tech giant continues to be all-in on artificial intelligence.
Who to Watch
Jay Renshaw
Peacock may be working on a followup to “The Office,” but the best corporate cringe is currently on TikTok. Jay Renshaw, known to his fans for playing the bowl-headed, over-eager office weirdo Chit, has been going viral lately for his sketches. His likeness and “Do it, lady” catchphrase have become so popular they’ve even appeared on the TikTok shop.
At first glance, a Groundling alum making great comedy isn’t anything notable. That’s kind of what they do. But what sets Renshaw apart is his meteoric rise on TikTok. Though he’s only posted 22 videos on the platform since late May, he has 1.5 million followers and over 16 million likes. It’s also not unusual for his video viewership to hit eight-digit figures. Any executives looking for a buzzy comedy should be looking up Renshaw’s agents.
Bonus Content
Inside Zuckerberg’s AI Playbook: Billions in Compute, a Talent Arms Race, and a New Vision for Meta (via The Information)
Judges Don’t Know What AI’s Book Piracy Means (via The Atlantic)
How Social Med