Page 30 - ARUBA TODAY

A30 PEOPLE & ARTS
Monday 2 SepteMber 2019
Freeform finds audience with its millennial-first approach

By KATIE CAMPIONE explore it in the show.
Associated Press The idea would soon come
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Yara to fruition in an episode
Shahidi had a question: that had Shahidi’s Zoey
Why did it seem like men and her friends grappling
were disproportionately la- with the issue. It would also
beled geniuses compared remind the 19-year-old ac-
to women in the same pro- tress that she works for a
fessions? network that fills a gap in
As it turns out, the writers television by not only cre-
on Shahidi’s Freeform series ating content for young
“grown-ish” were wonder- people, but by giving them
ing the same thing, and the a voice behind the scenes,
actress’ mention of the top- too. The result is shows that
ic made the writers want to they, and their audience,

This March 3, 2018 file photo shows actress Yara Shahidi at the Chanel Pre-Oscar Dinner in Los
Angeles.
Associated Press
feel represented by. and Gen Zers (anyone born That means they’re also on
The approach has allowed after 1996) has allowed the track to become the most
Freeform to gain an audi- network to tell more relat- desirable and most tar-
ence with TV’s most valu- able stories. geted television audience,
able age demographic. “They’ve always pushed said TV analyst Larry Ger-
From May 2018 to May the envelope, I think more brandt.
2019, Freeform had nine of than people gave them With the rise of streaming
the top 50 original scripted credit for, but now it’s just platforms, younger genera-
series among women aged like this really special thing tions are also becoming
18 to 34, which was more where you get to see so less likely to have a cable
than any other cable net- many different types of subscription at all, so Free-
work, according to Nielsen people represented and form sends all of its content
ratings. different stories,” Dee said. next-day to Hulu. “These
Freeform’s top shows in- Before the switch to Free- days you have to differen-
clude “grown-ish,” a spi- form, the network pushed tiate yourself somehow to
noff from ABC’s “black-ish” boundaries with shows stand out,” Gerbrandt said.
about a group of college like “The Secret Life of The young characters on
students navigating issues the American Teenager,” Freeform aren’t solving
from systemic racism to which debuted in 2008 and small-town crimes or ward-
defining relationships; “The tackled teenage preg- ing off evil spirits. They’re
Bold Type,” which follows nancy. From there, shows finding jobs, going to col-
three young women navi- like “Pretty Little Liars” and lege classes, and defining
gating careers in maga- “The Fosters” offered a relationships — and the sto-
zine journalism; and “Good less restrained portrayal of ries don’t always end in the
Trouble,” a spinoff from themes from sex and sexu- characters’ favors.
ABC Family’s “The Fosters” ality to race and class. While millennials have been
that focuses on an unlikely Actress Francia Raisa, who branded by some as en-
group of friends who share appeared on “Secret Life” titled and lazy, at Freeform
a communal living space in and now stars in “grown- they are revered.
downtown Los Angeles. ish,” said the rebrand has “This is a generation that
Freeform, formerly known led to bolder storytelling. probably has more on
as ABC Family, rebranded “Even some of the stuff that their plate than any gen-
in 2016 to lose the “fam- we were talking about as eration since the Vietnam
ily” appeal and narrowly the seasons progressed War, honestly, in terms of
target new adults — or, (on ‘Secret Life’), I saw that environment, politics, gen-
as Freeform President Tom they were still kind of trying der...” ‘grown-ish’ creator
Ascheim describes them, to dim it down a little bit like Kenya Barris said. “If any-
“basically legal adults” who it was too much,” she said. thing, I think this is a really
“haven’t quite yet found “I’ve definitely seen it grow interesting time for them to
their way in the world.” and progress, and I love it talk about things from safe
Since then, very little is off so much because they’re places to this and that. Why
limits on Freeform. Charac- really trying to target that are we not sort of embrac-
ters may explore their sexu- younger audience and it’s ing that conversation?”
ality and navigate white not so much of a fantasy Barris said that he takes in-
privilege in the same epi- anymore.” spiration for the show from
sode. Millennials are projected his Gen Z daughter, who
“The Bold Type” actress to surpass Baby Boomers Shahidi’s character, Zoey, is
Aisha Dee said that un- as the largest age demo- based on. For him, authen-
abashedly targeting young graphic in the United States ticity is everything. Even the
millennials (anyone born this year, according to the writers’ room is predomi-
between 1981 and 1996) Pew Center for Research. nantly millennials.q