Hollywood used to treat influencers as a cheap way to promote a movie. Now it is casting them, hiring them to make shows and handing them development deals. According to The Hollywood Reporter‘s Seija Rankin, the trade’s third annual Creator A-List names 25 social media stars who matter most to the entertainment business right now.
A list built on Hollywood work, not follower counts
THR says it changed the formula this year. Instead of ranking creators by audience size, the list zeroes in on the comedians, sketch writers, actors, TikTokers and YouTubers who are booking roles, selling scripts and becoming must-stops on press tours. The magazine puts the creator economy at a projected $310 billion this year, up 23 percent from 2025, and says creators have gone from outside disrupters to part of the industry itself.
According to Net Influencer‘s Dragomir Stojkov, that shift is the real story: the list frames creators as people who get cast in scripted roles, run their own development slates and sign exclusive content deals directly with major studios, not just as marketing tools.
From sketches to series
Benito Skinner is THR’s model for the jump. He spent years posting sketches to Instagram before building Overcompensating, the Prime Video campus comedy based on his own life, with A24 and Amazon Studios. A second season is on the way with Kyle MacLachlan and Connie Britton returning.
Amelia Dimoldenberg is winding down Chicken Shop Date to star in and produce a romantic comedy at Amazon MGM Studios’ Orion Pictures. TikTok comedian Grace Reiter is joining Saturday Night Live, and Veronika Slowikowska is heading into her second season there after being cast off her TikTok sketches. Noah Beck, the former Sway House member, stars in the upcoming Baywatch reboot.
Deals, Netflix shows and an Oscars gig
Alix Earle went from TikTok “Get Ready With Me” videos to her own Netflix reality series, Earle Meets World, which THR says reached the streamer’s top 10 in its first week. Dhar Mann landed a deal to make 20 episodes of his short-form videos exclusively for Disney. Colin Rosenblum and Samir Chaudry of Colin & Samir hosted a sold-out creator summit on the Fox lot and are developing projects with Lionsgate and A24.
Reece Feldman, who started as a production assistant shooting behind-the-scenes clips on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, was named the Academy’s Oscars ambassador and will host the official red carpet. Kareem Rahma’s Subway Takes earned an Emmy nomination this year for short-form comedy, drama or variety series.
What creators say they would miss
Several stars told THR the thing they value most is control. Quenlin Blackwell said the plan “was never creator or Hollywood, it’s both, and I own the show.” Mina Le said she likes being able to self-publish when an idea feels timely, because “it takes a long time to make a movie.” Mann said he sometimes misses the days when his “biggest production problem was convincing a friend to hold the camera.”
The takeaway
The creator-to-Hollywood pipeline is no longer a long shot. It’s a career path with studios actively shopping for talent that already has an audience. For independent creators on any platform, the lesson is the same one these 25 learned: own your audience and your voice first, because that is exactly what the big companies are now paying for.
Image: AI-generated illustration.
