So I talked to Tara about this, too, but we’ve seen recently the impermanence of streaming. Stuff is leaving streaming services and it’s available nowhere. How do you feel about that as a TV creator now? You made this TV show for a streaming service. Do you have any concern that this is just going to go away at some point? Or are you just praying that everything gets a physical release now?
I’m confused about it. I think at the end of the day, as much as we don’t want to acknowledge the obvious, if no one wants to watch these things, then they cease to exist. So it’s like if you write a book that nobody wants to read, it’s very hard to find in the bookstore. If you write a book that everybody wants to read, it’s there in the standee. I think that ultimately, we’re migrating towards — you’re an industry professional; I could name ten TV shows and you could probably tell me what platforms they exist on. But most people that I know, particularly my parents or even friends that I have who are outside the business, I’ll be like, “Watch ‘Severance.’ It’s on Apple [TV+].” And they’ll be like, “How do I watch that?” They know that the “Star Wars” shows are on Disney+ and the Marvel shows are on Disney+, and that “Stranger Things” is on Netflix. Or maybe “The Last of Us” is on HBO.
Yeah. But that’s the gift of branding for those. That’s like the pillars for those streaming services. But then everything else…
Right, so it’s like, I’ve got a new show coming on. It’s on Peacock. They’re like, “Oh, hey, is that NBC?” No, that’s not NBC. “So is it going to be on NBC?” No, it’s just on Peacock. “Why can’t it be on NBC?” Well, the content. There’s cursing, and there’s violence, and also they’re trying to be exclusive. It’s like “Poker Face.” “What’s that?” I’m like, “Ugh, I thought everybody knew about ‘Poker Face.'”
Yeah, it was already hard not to be able to talk about TV because everyone’s watching things at different clips now. And yet you’re right.
But the branding becomes irrelevant. All that matters is the show. “Twin Peaks: The Return” was on Showtime. [The original] lived on ABC. “Westworld” has now left HBO Max, and it’s going to be on some FAST [free ad-supported] streamer.
Roku, I think.
Yeah, but all that matters is that “Westworld” still presents as a prestige, high-budget [show]. It still looks different than “The Expanse.” That isn’t bad, I love “The Expanse.” It’s just all that matters is the content. Where it lives, and how people access it, is anyone’s guess. I just want people who want to see the show to be able to watch it without spending an arm and a leg.
I know you’re not going to be able to say anything about it, but I always say that “Star Wars” is as close as I get to religion. I don’t have memories that go back further than “Star Wars.” I’m not going to ask you about what your movie is about. But what is it like getting to craft something in that galaxy, particularly as you’re not beholden to the Skywalker saga right now. What is that like?
I will just say that for reasons that I can’t get into on this Sunday morning, on this day, the degree of difficulty is extremely, extremely, extremely high. If it can’t be great, it shouldn’t exist. That’s all I’ll say, because I have the same association with it as you do, which is, it’s the first movie I saw sitting in my dad’s lap, four years old, May of ’77. I think it’s possible that sometimes when you hold something in such high reverence and esteem, you start to get in the kitchen and you just go, “Maybe I shouldn’t be cooking. Maybe I should just be eating.” We’ll just leave it at that point.
I think you had said something similar before “Watchmen,” and you absolutely pulled that off.
By the hair of my chinny-chin-chin.
