There are a lot of doom-and-gloom headlines in traditional and new media talking about the contraction of the entertainment industry, and asking, “Is this industry committed to scripted projects today?”

The simple answer is: yes!

Making and releasing projects is the core of the entertainment industry. But this doesn’t mean that companies aren’t also heavily invested in unscripted projects and other forms of entertainment. There are several reasons why the industry has slowed and will greatly impact how the industry moves forward.

As creatives, we need to know where the industry is headed so that we can make opportunities happen for ourselves.

The Demand for New Scripted Projects Is Higher Than Ever

There are more networks, cable, premium cable, and streaming platforms than ever before. To justify why the audience should watch, studios and companies have to regularly release new films and series to their schedules and libraries. If all they needed was a static library, then Netflix would never have gotten into original series to begin with.

But with more platforms comes a more fractured audience. With budgets skyrocketing, the amount of profit attainable becomes fractured as well.

For executives, choosing the wrong projects that don’t win over viewers or stir up conversation on social media, could mean you’re on the chopping block if your company faces layoffs and budget cuts. They want to make great new shows and movies, and they want their projects to be successful, but producing a movie or show that’s not considered successful can be an expensive “mistake.”

What’s With the Slowdown?

There are several reasons behind the slowdown from studios and production companies when investing in new projects, but one of the biggest is trying to understand where audiences are going. That’s where everyone is going to want to put their energy.

For years, traditional network television and cable ruled with a show’s longevity determined by what percentage of the audience share is watching. But those share ratings have been in steep decline. Major studios writing down about $15 billion this year for their cable channels. This, of course, has been largely propelled by the rise of streaming networks over the past decade.

On the big screen, there seems to be a regularly flowing conversation in media over how few “blockbuster hits” there have been, blaming audiences for not wanting to go to the theater or “superhero fatigue,” and, again, the rise of streamers.

There is less discussion about a shorter and shorter window from theatrical release to streaming, which removes any urgency to see a film in theaters since it’ll be available via streamer on your home big screen in just a few weeks.

There is also the rising costs of going to movie theaters as ticket prices continue to rise. While it’s not as massive as it once was, the previous success of the subscription service MoviePass (allowing subscribers to see multiple movies a month for only $10) showed that people would love to go to the movies. But as people struggle with finances and prices of tickets and concessions continue to rise, going to a theater to see something that will be on Netflix in a few weeks doesn’t make much financial sense.

However, as seen with “Barbenheimer,” if you give audiences a reason to go, they will go. So studios are taking their time to figure out what a good reason is.

Read More: Your Favorite Writing Format Could Be Holding Back Your Career

Unscripted Television

During the 2007-2008 Writers’ Strike, the reality television industry exploded because it was considered so much more inexpensive to make than scripted television. Considering the strikes that occurred last year, you might think that there would be another explosion today, especially with so many reality shows getting social media attention like Love Island, The Traitors, and Selling Sunset, among others.

That said, with IATSE only recently ratified a new contract and other unions still at odds with producers, productions have slowed down across the board and reality television is impacted the same as anyone else.

So, What is Changing?

If the industry is still committed to making scripted projects despite all of these struggles, then what is changing? As you consider your next steps and opportunities, as yourself:

• What is money being spent on?
• Where are the productions happening?
• Where are the audiences going?

Reading the trades daily will let you know that lots of projects are still getting made, but what you’ll see are the typical IP and sequels, but also projects that are packaged with great attachments.

Another thing to consider is whether or not you can produce a project independently as studios and streamers will buy finished projects to fill out their libraries instead of putting in the money upfront to develop something in-house. This also means there are fewer people involved in your development process.

Productions are not happening in Los Angeles nearly as much as they once were. States outside of California, like Georgia, provide great tax rebates that make producing there more appealing. There are also studio spaces being built all over the world, including Mark Wahlberg investing in a massive studio space in Las Vegas that made a recent deal with Warner Bros. Discovery, bringing more productions to Nevada.

But no project is a success without people watching it so the most important thing to do is look at where audiences are going. Right now, television is still the number one choice with adults.

However, Jeff Sagansky, Co-Founder of Eagle Equity Partners, recently noted that for Gen Z “only 17% of their entertainment time is spent watching TV.” He predicts that Gen Z will not be willing to pay for multiple subscriptions as prices continue to rise, leading to a contraction of streamers.

At the same time, YouTube is investing in the traditional TV style so that creators can organize projects as “seasons” just as they would in television. This elevates independent creators alongside traditional outlets who have content on YouTube.

So traditional television isn’t going anywhere but it is evolving. Can you expand your view of what a television series looks like to evolve with new viewers? Consider making scripted projects for YouTube or scripted verticals for social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok.

You can also see opportunities to make series independently, much like how the faith-based program The Chosen utilized Kickstarter to raise funds and then release through a niche app to target their specific audience while growing their base.

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It can feel daunting and overwhelming to consider all the reasons things are happening the way they are (and this article barely scratches the surface of the conversation) and even more overwhelming thinking about all the different ways it could go. But aren’t all those possibilities kind of exciting?

Humans have always found ways to tell stories and entertain themselves. The need for scripted projects isn’t going to go away, it’s just going to evolve, and you have the chance to be at the forefront of it, so long as we open our minds to the many ways it can go.

Read More: Should Screenwriters Specialize or Diversify in the Age of Streaming?