The Hollywood Files: This Isn't Chaos. It's a Correction.

Why Hollywood’s “collapse” is really an industry reset—and how to survive it.

Hollywood is bleeding. Stock prices are tanking. Layoffs everywhere.

Every week, someone asks me the same thing:

“What’s going on? Why all the cuts? Is this the end?”

Here’s my honest answer—from someone who spent six years inside CBS, ViacomCBS, and Paramount, with a front-row seat to the choices that shaped streaming, advertising, and content strategy.

I watched stock prices plummet. Teams gutted, strategies scrapped, and brilliant people walk out the door. Eventually, I became one of them.

The Part People Forget

Most legacy media companies didn’t choose streaming. They were forced into it.

As linear ratings and ad revenue declined, streaming became a survival strategy—not a passion project (looking at you Apple TV+). Netflix had already changed consumer behavior, and everyone else had to play catch-up. Fast.

Linear TV advertising in the U.S. dropped from $61.7 billion in 2019 to $60.6 billion in 2024 (Statista, 2025), with total U.S. TV station revenue projected to fall another 9.3% in 2025 (TVTech, 2025).

Studios went on a content bender, buying big, hiring fast, spending more than they could sustain. Peak TV wasn’t a creative renaissance. It was a race. And it wasn’t sustainable.

The number of U.S. scripted series released dropped 14% to 516 in 2023 from 600 in 2022 (New York Times, 2024), marking the end of the Peak TV era. Global content commissions also fell by 5% in 2024 (Senal News, 2024).

The binge was over.

When subscriber growth slowed and Wall Street got spooked, the mandate shifted: Path to Profitability.

Shareholders stopped rewarding expansion. They started demanding cuts. U.S. SVOD subscriptions grew by only 11% from March 2024 to March 2025, a slowdown from prior years, as platform fatigue set in (Deadline, 2025).

What’s Really Happening

Yes, the layoffs are real. They’re painful. Especially after a global pandemic, dual Hollywood strikes, and most recently, the LA fires.

But these cuts are not random. They’re systemic. This is still show business.

Nearly 25,000 U.S. media jobs vanished in 2024, down by 30% compared to the year prior (Statista, 2025). As Deadline’s “List of Hollywood & Media Layoffs From Paramount to Warner Bros Discovery To CNN & More” (2025), shows layoffs across the industry have continued to bleed into this past year.

This doesn’t mean TV or film is “dead.” They aren’t.
What’s dead is one-size-fits-all content.

Audiences are fragmented. Platform fatigue is real. Tentpoles are rare.

What’s working? Targeted, niche content with brand equity. Streamers today are ecosystems. They need Young Adult. Kids & Family. Unscripted. Creator-led IP. As I highlighted in What CEOs Can Learn from MrBeast and Ms. Rachel a few weeks ago:

• MrBeast’s Beast Games drew 50M views in 25 days on Prime Video (Forbes, 2025).

• Ms. Rachel went from YouTube to Netflix, delivering the platform’s top kids’ engagement since 2023 (Fortune, 2025).

The old economics don’t work anymore. New ones are taking shape.

By 2028, advertising will account for about 28% of global streaming revenues, up from 20% in 2023 (StreamTV Insider, 2025). The video streaming market will grow from $674B in 2024 to over $811B in 2025 (Exploding Topics, 2025).

What You Can Do in the In-Between

If you’re in this industry, the question isn’t whether the reset is real. It’s what you’ll do with the in-between.

Here’s what I did, and what you can do too:

Go back to school.
Not necessarily a degree, but short courses or certifications in areas that expand your range. I took TV and Film Development courses at UCLA Extension, and completed a year-long writing program that sharpened my skills and gave me confidence at a time when my identity felt tied up in a job title. For you, it might be learning production finance, audience analytics, or screenwriting—anything that broadens your toolkit and signals to yourself (and others) that you’re still moving forward.

Advise, get on a board or mentor.
I became an advisor for smaller media companies, and joined the board of a nonprofit. It gave me a way to use my expertise without waiting for the next corporate door to open. You never know who you’ll meet or what those conversations might spark. Mentor emerging talent, join advisory boards, or offer guidance in your niche. It keeps you connected, visible, and valuable.

Experiment with a side hustle.
I started writing. Maybe for you it’s photography, pottery, or launching a YouTube channel. Or maybe it’s packaging your expertise into a digital product or becoming a coach. Ask yourself: What do people already say I’m really good at? That’s often the seed of something marketable. Don’t focus only on monetization—focus on proving to yourself you’re more than your last paycheck. Many people I know turned “hobbies” into income streams that carried them through the downtime.

Learn AI.
This isn’t optional. I immersed myself in AI tools, from content workflows to audience insights. Even if you’re not technical, you need fluency in how AI is reshaping entertainment. The people who can marry creativity with AI will future-proof themselves.

Build your personal brand.
I leaned into building a voice outside of corporate titles. For me, that meant writing on Substack, speaking on podcasts and at conferences, and showing up publicly on Instagram. For you, it might be creating LinkedIn content, showcasing case studies, or publishing thought pieces. In an industry that’s resetting, your reputation becomes your resume.

Find consulting or freelance work.
I picked up projects that matched my expertise, which kept me relevant and opened unexpected doors. Consulting gave me autonomy while keeping me tethered to the industry.

Join a job search council or association.
The job search is lonely, and that loneliness amplifies anxiety, fear, and insecurity. Those emotions quietly chip away at your confidence. That’s why I joined Never Search Alone, a volunteer-led movement started by Phyl Terry that’s grown to over 25,000 members. It’s free, peer-driven, and grounded in mutual support. I also completed the WIF Business Fellowship, which kept me connected to the industry and expanded my network when I needed it most. For you, it might be a fellowship, professional guild, or peer group in your field. The point is: find your people. You’ll feel less alone, stay accountable, and tap into opportunities you won’t find scrolling job boards at 2 a.m.

Each of these steps gave me momentum when everything felt stalled. They widened my network. And they built a foundation I could carry forward when the next opportunity came.

This moment is terrifying. It’s liberating. The kind of fear that signals growth. If you work your courage muscle now—by doing the things that terrify you—you’ll thank yourself later.

Who Will Lead the Next Era

The leaders who thrive in entertainment over the next 5–15 years will be:

• Curious about why audiences stay, not just what they watch.

• Fluent in AI, digital funnels, and new storytelling formats.

• Focused on building communities around content, not just launching IP.

SOURCE: Grand View Research Report, 2025

The global AI market in media and entertainment is projected to reach nearly $100 billion by 2030 (Grand View Research Report, 2025). That’s not a side note. It’s a blueprint.

The Reset Is Here

This isn’t collapse. It’s correction.

And correction means opportunity, for the bold, the curious, and the ones willing to rewrite the rules.

Hollywood isn’t ending. It’s rewriting itself. And if you’ve made it this far, you’ve already survived enough to know: you can rewrite with it.

You’ve done hard things before.

You can do this too.

With Courage,

Maryam

If this resonates, send it to someone in the industry who needs to hear: it’s not them, it’s the system. And if you’re in the middle of reinventing yourself after a layoff, I’d love to hear your story.