A few years ago, it seemed every week there was a new eight- to nine-figure deal between a high-profile writer-producer and a Hollywood studio or streaming service.
These lucrative pacts made people like Shonda Rhimes, Ryan Murphy and J.J. Abrams essentially in-house producers for entertainment companies that were in an arms race to lock down top-tier talent for the streaming wars.
Even people with limited to no experience in entertainment secured rich deals based largely on name recognition, such as former First Family Barack and Michelle Obama and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. But lately such deals have fallen out of fashion among some executives, as media and entertainment companies rethink how they spend their resources.
