Brandon Stewart spent years working behind the scenes with creators to build out their YouTube channels and followings, all while mastering the craft of going viral. So when it came time to step in front of the camera, he opted not for YouTube or TikTok, but his own subscription streaming venture, Brandon TV.
The once digital media producer for Awesomeness TV tapped that internet savvy to build the platform, which he said has signed up 250,000 subscribers paying a monthly fee of $5.99 since it launched in October 2023.
While the subscription service is more akin to a traditional entertainment business, he said the nimbleness from his days working on YouTube have been the primary driver for audience growth — that and his reliance on social media as a primary marketing tool for series like female-centric reality show “Encore” and late-night talk show “Obsessed.”
“Most studios, it takes them six months. I can turn something around in 30 days,” he told TheWrap. “What they say they want to see, I give it to them. It’s pretty simple.”
Stewart’s streaming service — which airs new long-form unscripted content daily and is closer to Netflix than TikTok — illustrates how some creators are emulating elements of the entertainment world even as they amass considerable influence on social media. They’re building production studios that stand toe to toe with Hollywood facilities, and spending lavishly on higher-quality programming. Some of these stars, from MrBeast to Michelle Khare, also offer their content on more “traditional” platforms like ad-supported streaming platform Samsung TV Plus or, in the case of Benito Skinner and MrBeast, creating and starring in Prime Video shows themselves.
As a result, the top digital creators are no longer outliers in the entertainment industry — they are building empires that mimic the traditional Hollywood system.
“Content creators and digital media are now known as the breadwinning departments in the traditional landscapes of the entertainment ecosystem,” Nadi Filsoof, digital talent manager at Underscore Talent, told TheWrap.
The numbers reflect that, with the creator economy valued at $185 billion with an expectation to grow to $480 billion by 2027, according to Goldman Sachs. At the same time, traditional media companies and studios have had to deal with the challenges of declining legacy businesses such as linear TV.
But for many creators, legacy Hollywood still has the allure of legitimacy and success in the entertainment industry. Internet personalities like Skinner and Jake Shane have crossed over into the traditional entertainment realm, but not without scrutiny. As studios and executives have their ears to the ground within the digital landscape, opportunities for creators are more readily available and prove to be mutually beneficial.
And even if they aren’t starring in blockbuster films, creators understand that what works in Hollywood can work in their entertainment too.
High-value content rules
Lasting success on social media is impossible without quality content to back it up. A flash-in-the-pan viral moment is often just that unless the creator is able to capitalize on the moment. Today’s top creators looking for longevity in the digital space are investing in high production values that rival Hollywood studios.
Take Khare, whose YouTube series “Challenge Accepted” brings cinematic ambition to the creator space. In her most recent episode, “I Trained Like a Samurai,” Khare undergoes rigorous training for a stylized 47-minute video that’s more film than vlog.
“It’s going to feel cinematic, but every moment we are thinking about the living room experience of watching something on YouTube,” Khare told TheWrap, saying she constantly asks herself: “Is this scene engaging enough? Should we cut things out of it? Should we make it longer? How can we really play to that competitiveness of when someone sits down on their couch when they have a thousand options.”
It’s noteworthy that she mentioned “living room” and not “phone,” a nod to how creators are thinking about the more traditional way of consuming media as more Americans are viewing YouTube content as mainstream television — and, increasingly, on their TVs instead of their phones.
For her most daunting episode to date, in which she performed Tom Cruise’s deadliest “Mission: Impossible” stunt, she had a crew of 42. Her experience on Hollywood sets as a former production assistant gave her the knowledge and confidence to command larger production teams as her videos have leveled up to match her ambition.
Her high bar has paid off, as her episodes regularly reach millions of views from her more than 5 million subscribers. But one thing she still values is her relationship with her internet community, which gives her feedback in real time. Implementing their comments, critiques and praise in the moment has allowed her to make real-time edits to episodes mid-season.
That ability to move fast — while still thinking big — defines a new breed of creators going Hollywood. MrBeast has taken his digital-first mindset into traditional media spaces most recently with his competition series “Beast Games” that has been renewed for two more seasons at Prime Video. He has translated his multi-million dollar cash prizes from YouTube to streaming with the same production and entertainment value that his 419 million subscribers have come to expect.
For other creators like Dhar Mann, high quality and output are both key ingredients to success.
“The margins that these creators work at and the volume they have to work at – making something bespoke for every single platform is very difficult, unless you get a certain amount of scale,” CEO of Dhar Mann Studios Sean Atkins told TheWrap.
Atkins emphasized the creator mindset as a differentiator from traditional Hollywood: “It requires that sort of entrepreneurial mindset outside of the ecosystem,” he said. “They own the growth by sheer force of entrepreneurial will.”
Can a creator go Hollywood?
For many digital creators, the line between a traditional Hollywood star and top-tier social media personality is blurring. Mann and Khare, for example, now have channels on Samsung TV Plus, found on the company’s smart TVs. MrBeast, of course, is a massive celebrity regardless of platform and medium, reaching fans everywhere from TikTok to Prime Video to Target.
UTA’s Mahzad Babayan told TheWrap that after years working as an agent in the creator space, she feels like executives are finally understanding her clients’ content and work ethic more.
“The amount of times I’ve seen a studio executive who is pretty high level, reach out to say, ‘I’m obsessed with Jake Shane,’ or ‘I love Delaney Rowe. Can I meet her?’” she said. “It happens a lot.”
These executives recognize that creators have a unique bond that Hollywood stars don’t necessarily foster. That dynamic was reflected in the 2025 Digital Media Trends report that showed 52% of Gen Z-ers said they feel a stronger personal connection to social stars than to TV personalities or actors. And 56% said social content is “more relevant” to them than TV series or movies. The mystery behind Hollywood celebrities is antithetical to why audiences love digital creators – they feel relatable rather than unattainable.
As more upper level executives consume this digital content themselves, Babayan said the requests for Hollywood projects become more readily available for clients. But she warned that a sizable following is not always a golden ticket onto a set.
“It’s twofold. Yes, they have built-in audiences, and I think that’s extremely attractive, but also they have the talent and the ability to cross over,” she said. “You can’t just plug into a film or television show because you have a social following. We’ve learned over the years that that doesn’t work.”
Babayan discovered Jack Innanen, a TikTok creator known for comedy videos that he shares with his over three million followers. She encouraged her department at UTA to build a team around him, and this spring he starred in his first series regular role in FX’s “Adults.”
Other UTA digital clients have made the leap, including Shane who appeared in “Hacks” and Netflix’s Lena Dunham series “Too Much” and Rowe who is set to appear in Amazon’s “You Deserve Each Other.”
Skinner wrote, created and starred in Prime Video comedy series “Overcompensating” this spring based on his one-man-show about his closeted college years. First gaining a platform as a digital creator as @bennydrama7, his college comedy series was well-received and renewal talks are underway.
Filsoof noted that Hollywood’s continued bet on creators gives them leverage to use their followings to their advantage.
“Hollywood is slowly diving into hiring influencers and people with a high following into roles because they really want to use and leverage social media as a promotion,” he said. “The benchmark for them is high engagement and a following count that is sizable, that is impactful in the markets they’re trying to attract.”
The pipeline between Hollywood and the creator world is now a two-way street. Creators aren’t begging for a seat at the table — they’re being courted.
