Kimberly Owczarski

Netflix’s AI deal puts the global VFX workforce at risk

Rest of World  online

2026-04-20

Some industry experts have argued that AI efficiency gains will lead Netflix and other streamers to commission more productions, creating new work to replace what is lost. The logic falls apart against the reality of an industry that has been contracting, not expanding, Kimberly Owczarski, an associate professor of film, television, and digital media at Texas Christian University, told Rest of World.

The jobs AI creates may not be the same — or as many — as the jobs that it replaces in the coming years.”

Los Angeles County alone has lost 41,000 film and television jobs in three years, a quarter of its entertainment workforce.

“That seems unlikely, given the shrinkage in the overall number of film and TV series productions in recent years across the globe,” Owczarski said.

View More

Netflix acquires Ben Affleck's AI company

NPR  online

2026-03-06

Kimberly A. Owczarski, an associate professor at Texas Christian University who studies media franchises, told NPR in an email that Netflix's decision to partner with a filmmaker of Affleck's prominence sends out a positive message to an industry reeling from the threats posed by the growing adoption of AI across the entertainment landscape.

"His status in the industry as a star, filmmaker, and producer gives substantial weight as he promotes a responsible use of AI in filmmaking," Owczarski said.

View More

How "Landman" has been a boon to TCU

Axios Dallas  online

2026-02-24

“For students who want to stay here [in Texas], it’s been a boon because now the productions are here,” said Kimberly Owczarski, associate professor of film, television and digital media. “They don't have to travel all the way to New York or L.A. for those kinds of opportunities.”

View More

‘I will tell my stories my way’: Taylor Sheridan, authorship and the role of the writer–producer in the streaming television era

Despite the success of the show Yellowstone (2018–24) and its spin-offs, creator Taylor Sheridan is a controversial figure in the industry due to his unconventional approach to TV series production. By rarely employing writers’ rooms and taking on the daily activities of showrunning on multiple series simultaneously, he has bypassed traditional chains of command with regard to drama production. In an interview that came out weeks into the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike, Sheridan asserted his status as the sole voice on his productions and refused to play by any industry rules that affect his authority. As he tells his stories in his own way, Sheridan provides a key case study of the role of the branded showrunner in today’s contentious television landscape.

View More

Boomtown: What Fort Worth, Texas, Teaches Us About the Role of Film Commissions in the Era of Mobile Production

This article argues that local film commissions in the United States are increasingly stepping beyond their traditional roles as facilitators of location scouting and permitting to become active agents shaping the long-term viability of media production in their regions. Using the Fort Worth Film Commission and its collaboration with Taylor Sheridan and 101 Studios as a case study, the essay demonstrates how commissions are engaging in legislative lobbying, workforce development, and infrastructure planning to compete in the unpredictable landscape of mobile production. Through interviews, economic data, scholarship, and legislative analysis, the article reveals how Fort Worth's film commission has helped transform a city with no major production infrastructure into an emergent media hub—offering a template for how commissions in politically conservative or under-resourced regions might sustain production beyond one-off projects. Ultimately, the case study provides new insights into the evolving functions of film commissions in shaping where and how contemporary media production takes root.

View More