Kurt Russell has a clear view of the streaming landscape after returning to TV for the first time in nearly 40 years, and his verdict may surprise those who assume that movies carry more risk than TV.
Speaking at the Monte-Carlo Television Festival, where he received a Lifetime Achievement Crystal Nymph Award, the 75-year-old actor argued that streaming shows are actually a bigger gamble than movies.
“With movies back then, it was like, ‘If you fail at it, so what? Nobody’s probably going to see it,'” he told reporters at a standing-room-only news conference.
“There’s a feeling in Hollywood now that making streamers might be a little less risky than movies. Not true.”
The reasoning is simple: “There are a lot of eyes on it, and when you make a streamer that’s not good, it’s going to be there as long as you want it there.”
Russell is currently headlining two shows simultaneously, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters on Apple TV and Madison on Paramount+, his first lead TV roles since acting Elvis in the 1979 John Carpenter film of the same name.
The contrast between the two shows’ audiences has caught his attention.
“With Monarch show it is really dominated by the 40 and under crowd and Madison is dominated by 30 and up,” he noted.
Madisoncreated by Taylor Sheridan, has been a particularly enjoyable experience.
“It’s really fun to do and Michelle is incredible,” he said of co-star Michelle Pfeiffer, adding that working with Matthew Fox, who he previously did Bone Tomahawkhas been equally rewarding.
“It’s just a dream experience. It’s just amazing from top to bottom, which is very rare.”
