Robert Franke: Kane Parsons and Curry Barker’s Success Is Resonating With Older Executives
German executive Robert Franke said the growing success of YouTube creators and other digital-first talent is weakening the influence of veteran media executives who once relied on traditional distribution pipelines to deliver audiences. Speaking at Seriencamp in Cologne, Franke said the industry is experiencing a “loss of influence” as content consumption becomes more fragmented and viewers are no longer concentrated in a limited number of channels.
Franke argued that experienced decision-makers can no longer assume their instincts are universal or that authority alone guarantees authentic storytelling. He said creators must understand that they cannot “own” the stories they are trying to make, and that humility is essential when working across different communities and audiences. He referenced breakout creator-led projects such as Kane Parsons’ Backrooms, noting that while these successes may look disruptive, they still often operate within established studio systems.
He also pointed to the rise of smaller, risk-tolerant projects becoming major cultural hits, citing Adolescence as an example of a title that grew from the edges of the platform landscape into a broader phenomenon. According to Franke, this reflects a changing commissioning environment in which decision-makers can take bets that are less likely to be punished if they fail, but that can still break out and resonate widely.
Franke, who previously spent a decade at ZDF before taking over The Swarm producer Intaglio Films last year, appeared on a panel titled “Rethinking Story Development Through Culture Thinking” alongside Banijay’s Steve Matthews. Matthews said traditional scripted production must accelerate development and learn from unscripted television, which can move much faster from idea to screen. He said lengthy development cycles make it difficult for scripted projects to capture the moment, even when the material is high quality.
The discussion also turned to marketing and fandom. Jeannette Bohné and Franziska Gregor of German creative agency Serviceplan said modern campaigns should involve fans from the beginning rather than treating them as an afterthought. They cited Heated Rivalry as an example of a series that successfully mobilized its book fanbase through social media and included them in the promotion strategy.
Bohné said marketers and creators should avoid reducing a project to a simple identity label or trend, arguing that genuine storytelling depends on narrative tension and on being written from within the community it represents. She also pushed back against assumptions about audience demographics, saying it should not be surprising that women enjoy a queer romance centered on gay characters.
Seriencamp continues through June 11, with further industry talks expected in Cologne.
