{"id":401676,"date":"2026-03-24T16:56:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-24T16:56:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/401676\/"},"modified":"2026-03-24T16:56:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T16:56:10","slug":"hollywood-going-backwards-on-representation-caroline-hollick-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/401676\/","title":{"rendered":"Hollywood Going “Backwards” On Representation, Caroline Hollick Says"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tHollywood<\/a> and high-end TV are \u201ctaking steps backwards in terms of the quality of representation we are seeing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThat was the verdict of ex-Channel 4 drama boss and North Road executive Caroline Hollick<\/a>, who told a Series Mania<\/a> panel she is not happy that \u201cfilms about women having nervous breakdowns\u201d are back in fashion.<\/p>\n

\n\tHollick was speaking on a panel questioning whether negative stereotypes have returned because of the growth of AI<\/a> and microdrama, but she said she worries more about the traditional gatekeepers.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI am more concerned about high-end TV and Hollywood taking steps backwards not only in terms of taking down DEI initiatives but in terms of the quality of representation we are seeing,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhile there are \u201cincredible female film directors out there,\u201d Hollick, who commissioned 50% female creators during her time at Channel 4, said at a recent film fest there were \u201cfour or five films about women having nervous breakdowns.\u201d \u201cIt\u2019s not that they\u2019re not beautifully made and performed, but we have to be vigilant in the stories we are telling about women.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tOn the TV side, and without naming names, Hollick called out a show that sounded very much like Sky and Peacock\u2019s The Day of the Jackal, which she said could do better on female representation. \u201cThe male lead ran around Europe shooting people and had a hot wife at home living in Spain,\u201d she said. \u201cThe female lead went back home to her husband who tapped his watch and said, \u2018What time do you call this?\u2019 Obviously I\u2019m paraphrasing but if you dig deep into female representation in that show we should be doing better than that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIn a \u201crisk-averse environment,\u201d Hollick blamed commissioners \u201creverting back to tried and tested writers who are often white, middle class, middle aged men.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tHollick called for a \u201cfemale version of The Secret Agent,\u201d the Wagner Moura-starring hit Brazilian movie that was Oscar nominated. She urged commissioners to greenlight at least 50% women creatives, which will help avoid \u201ccultural stereotypes getting perpetuated at every level.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tHollick was ostensibly on a panel to discuss negative stereotypes in microdrama but said she feels this will improve over time, comparing stereotypes in microdrama today to what slasher horror was like in the 1980s.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201c[Slasher horror] was women in negligees covered in blood and the Black character dying in the first five minutes, but it evolved to [diverse films like] The Babadook, Get Out and Sinners,\u201d she added. \u201cThat took 40 years and I think people are already making microdramas more representative.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tShe cited Issa Rae\u2019s Awkward Black Girl as a diverse, short-form web series that catapulted its creator to superstardom and said commissioners need to get wise to short-form shows for younger audiences. \u201cWe have to learn from that and stop making remakes of Jane Austen,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m all about targeting talent in a format young people are watching. It\u2019s on us legacy media to catch up a bit.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tRecycling the stereotypes of the past<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tElizabeth Le Hot, the CEO of France\u2019s Adami who has previously written a report on AI for the French culture ministry, was far more critical of the influence of AI and short-form on stereotypes.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cAI amplifies stereotypes on a massive scale,\u201d she said. \u201cThey are based on decades-old, biased representations of women and as a result they do not challenge the biases. They recycle the stereotypes of the past.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tHollick also spoke on the panel alongside BAFTA-nommed producer Nadine Marsh-Edwards, who said \u201cwe should call people out when they make things that are inappropriate.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tShe celebrated Netflix\u2019s upcoming Pride and Prejudice adaptation for doing things in an \u201cironic, knowing way.\u201d \u201cWe have to ask for higher standards,\u201d she added. \u201cIf we don\u2019t watch certain shows then they won\u2019t get made again. We have to come up with storylines that are a bit broader.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Series Mania forum kicks off today and finishes Thursday. Russell T. Davies, Hugo Blick, Disney Europe boss Angela Jain and HBO\u2019s Sarah Aubrey are set to address the fest in the coming days.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hollywood and high-end TV are \u201ctaking steps backwards in terms of the quality of representation we are seeing.\u201d…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":401677,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[268],"tags":[291,289,182162,434,10016,18,117,1239,19,17,159326,37985,71941],"class_list":["post-401676","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-ai","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-caroline-hollick","tag-celebrities","tag-diversity","tag-eire","tag-entertainment","tag-hollywood","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-series-mania","tag-techline","tag-tv-markets"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116285210423692215","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/401676","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=401676"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/401676\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/401677"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=401676"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=401676"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=401676"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}