In today’s edition: Fed officials on rate cuts, Gatorade studies women’s sweat, and Fortune MPW editorial director Ellie Austin on how The Hunting Wives became a surprise hit for Netflix.
– Streaming success. A month after it debuted on Netflix, The Hunting Wives has become one of the most talked-about shows of the year. And with good reason! It lays bare the lightning rod issue of America’s culture wars in a way that is both wildly entertaining and surprisingly even-handed. (There is lots of bad behavior and hypocrisy, yes, but characters on both sides of the aisle are at fault.) Yet, only a couple of months ago, the racy whodunnit about a troupe of glamorous, gun-slinging Texan women and the softly-spoken, liberal East Coaster who infiltrates them (played by Brittany Snow), didn’t have a streaming home.
An adaptation of a 2021 novel by May Cobb, the series was greenlit by Starz in 2023. At that point, the network was owned by Lionsgate. However, in May of this year, Lionsgate separated its studio and Starz businesses into two standalone, publicly-traded entities. Lionsgate reacquired the rights to the show, which also stars Malin Akerman, Chrissy Metz and Dermot Mulroney, and immediately started shopping it around. “It’s noisy, it’s commercial…it’s going right into the teeth of the gale but in a non-threatening way,” Lionsgate Television Group chair and chief creative officer Kevin Beggs told me, explaining why he was determined to get the show on screens.
Netflix snapped up the U.S. rights and within a few weeks, and following what Beggs calls “a scrappily put together” marketing campaign led by Lionsgate, the show was available to stream. It quickly became a hit. At one point, it was not only the most popular show on Netflix, but the most-streamed series across the U.S., according to the data and analytics company Luminate. While there are no official statistics regarding the political makeup of this audience, its scale indicates that the show is appealing to “all cultural perspectives,” Beggs says.
“The series shows that [political] labels don’t get into what’s really going on with these women and their deep psychologies, desires, secrets and family life,” says Suzanne Leonard, a professor of race, gender and sexuality at Simmons University in Boston. “It shows how superficial those labels are, while at the same time, having some real fun.”
The show’s creator, Rebecca Cutter, was braced for criticism from viewers on both sides taking issue with the show’s representation of their politics. So far, it hasn’t come. “I guess fun, sexy, murder mystery trumps political affiliation,” she told me. “Everyone can see themselves in this show…I wasn’t setting out to mock anyone.”
And therein lies a key to The Hunting Wives’ success. The women at its center, whether MAGA-coded or left-leaning, are both messy and aspirational. They are capable of being cruel one second and kind the next. It’s this refusal to judge along party lines (as well as outlandish plot twists), that makes the show so watchable—and fresh. It’s a good lesson for our polarized times. Here’s hoping for a second season.
Ellie Austin
ellie.austin@fortune.com
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ALSO IN THE HEADLINES
Two Fed officials disagree on the economy. Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack says inflation is rising, the labor market is reasonably good, and she would not support cutting rates. Meanwhile, Boston Fed President Susan Collins signaled an openness to lowering rates. Wall Street Journal
Gatorade is studying women's sweat. The Gatorade Sports Science Institute wants to understand the specific hydration and sodium needs of female athletes. Sports Business Journal
One hundred and thirty-one organizations are pushing for the Clinical Trial Modernization Act. The legislation would allow the Department of Health and Human Services to issue grants to help reach underserved populations in clinical trials.
Sephora is dealing with fallout from Huda Beauty. The brand's founder Huda Kattan posted an antisemitic TikTok monologue, in which she theorized that Israel could have been responsible for World War I, World War II, and 9/11. She has apologized, and Sephora now has to decide how to handle the future of a major brand on its shelves. Puck
MOVERS AND SHAKERS
MarginEdge, a restaurant management and bill payment platform, named Tara Clever chief revenue officer.
ON MY RADAR
Apple fitness chief accused of toxic culture and harassment New York Times
Hooters' $30 million turnaround hinges on it becoming less risqué Wall Street Journal
Katie Porter leads California's governor's race, boosted by former Kamala Harris supporters Politico
PARTING WORDS
"The very idea that there will be some people who say, ‘She doesn’t need this, she shouldn’t be on it,’ is why she’s perfect for it."
— Ro cofounder and CEO Zach Reitano on why Serena Williams is the face of the telehealth company's new campaign for GLP-1 drugs. The tennis star disclosed she has been taking a GLP-1 as part of a partnership with the company.
