Why Reboots Aren't Working for Generation Z ?

Since the dawn of time, humans have longed to fulfill their natural sense of curiosity through entertaining themselves and others. With very little in the way of technology these days, humans of today see and experience stories in the present through reboots where intellectual property (IP) can be resurrected in an entire second life, even after the original IP creators have passed on. From unique film formats to the emergence of talk radio in the form of podcasts, Gen Z has clearly shown themselves to be a particular and ever-changing audience to please with these reboots.

Why has Hollywood relied so heavily on pre-established IP, reboots, and old ideas to make movies? One word comes to mind; risk aversion. 

According to a recent study hosted by advertising-based video-on-demand (AVOD) platform Tubi, 74 percent of millennials and Gen Zers prefer to watch original content rather than franchises or remakes. With this in mind, more risk-averse studios have used pre-existing IP as a means of tapping into a “pre-existing” or “baked-in” audience over starting a new franchise or investing in original IP, in need of huge marketing campaigns. What some overzealous studio executives and literary agents fail to realize, however, is the fact that most of Gen Z (the top movie going audience in the US) are truly a different breed of consumers altogether. And needs programming to surround their “anti-studio” viewing habits. While the study was conducted in partnership with TUBI, AVOD juggernaut of the streaming world, we must contend that the appetite for new, original content is not only ripe but required for studios and production companies to stay afloat. To maintain a competitive advantage, studios and streamers alike must take more chances on original IP or drown in an oversaturated and overstimulated marketplace of reboots, remakes, and “all grown up” series. 

With VOD (video on demand) platforms like Netflix and Hulu streaming nostalgic shows like “Friends” and "The Office ', it’s clear that “timeless shows” that were on linear network television almost 20 years ago, are outpacing new studio series on streaming. While many viewers watching Friends today may have never seen Friends while it aired on linear television, Streaming allows these timeless shows to live a second life due to Gen Z binge watchers. Perhaps many have seen these numbers about nostalgic shows and thought “reboots are the way to go” and that “nostalgia can be repackaged and sold to a younger generation.” However, that might not be exactly true. What made these shows great was timelessness and relateability. Producing a reboot with the restraints of the contemporary worldview of today renders most reboots dead on arrival. 

We need to understand when is the “right time” for a reboot and what is the potential return on investments for a reboot series. Versus an investment in an experimental show, backed by data and good storytelling. Does the means of a “winback play” justify the end of the potential flop?

In many cases, these shows perform mediocre at best and still require huge marketing campaigns to make a splash at the box office. 

According to the same Tubi report, 71% of those respondents said they want film and TV shows that are either “independent or from smaller creators.” Could this mean that viewers are moving away from larger studio movies and leaning toward the indie studio system? It certainly isn’t a far-fetched idea considering that indie studios like A24 and MonkeyPaw continue to dominate cultural conversations that are being steered by Gen Z’s interest online. Not to mention the licensing and acquisition taste buds of today. With unique marketing efforts and a diverse point of view from filmmakers, we find that A24 movies like “Civil War” are trendy and popular.  They also tend to generate the same responses that blockbuster films generate with only a fraction of the production budget. While A24 is certainly a unicorn on its own, we have to understand that smaller budgets and unique storytelling both cut down the budget and cash coming in on syndicated streaming deals. 

Future programming is going to require an even more critical eye than before, as Gen Z continues to command the commercial advertising market as well. After a recent Netflix Animated series “Good Times” hit the platform, many viewers, young and old,  voiced their concerns about racial insensitivity and horrible stereotypes that are present in the new adult animation. 

Doing a reboot like this is hard, especially when trying to uphold the features of the original storyline while at the same time mixing in a post-BLM “pro-black” (and I use that term loosely) point of view into the story makes me believe that the reboot is often destined to fail if we try to jam the social conventions present into a idea from the past.