Molly-Mae Series “Changed People’s Expectations,” Says Amazon UK TV Boss

The Molly-Mae documentary series “changed people’s expectations of her” and gave the influencer more space for her true self to come across, according to Amazon UK TV boss Hannah Blyth.

Blyth said popular docs like Molly-Mae: Behind it All about the influencer-content creator are helping the streamer reach younger, female audiences in the UK.

Behind it All, which launched last month, is a tell-all account of Hague’s time launching her fashion brand after she had her first baby and broke up with fiancée Tommy Fury – a break-up that generated plenty press interest over the two ex-Love Island stars.

“Molly is very endearing and people feel they know her well but it was important having the space for a long-form title where you see more into her life from a different angle,” Blyth said at MIP London. “The feedback we got was it changed people’s expectations of her and what they thought they knew.”

Amazon globally is leaning into the creator economy, Blyth said, pointing to the likes of Beast Games from top-watched YouTuber Mr Beast. “There’s no one size fits all and both are very different shows and are a very good example of how we are thinking about this,” she added.

With Molly-Mae: Behind it All, Amazon is trying to attract younger, more female audiences, Blyth went on to say.

Female thrillers

In the UK, Prime Video is known for male-skewing offerings such as Clarkson’s Farm but Blyth said “we are finding ways to make sure we are serving a female, younger demographic” while also looking at “broadening out our other titles.”

She cited two upcoming thrillers, Kill Jackie starring Catherine Zeta-Jones and The Assassin starring Keeley Hawes as shows that have a slight shift in tone and are “funny and warm.” The former, which is an adaptation of an Aidan Truhen book, switches the main character of the book from male to female. Elsewhere, Amazon made sports docuseries Married to the Game about the wives and girlfriends of big soccer stars, which has just been renewed.

Kill Jackie is an example of how Amazon is adapting to the current financial market, Blyth added. Amazon has “keystone territory” rights in the UK and Ireland along with a few other European territories while Fremantle is selling around the world bar the U.S.

Blyth said Amazon may not have global on titles like Kill Jackie but will still be involved editorially and in financing conversations from an early stage in order to get projects over the line. “Being involved from the script stage we’ll speak to producers, distributors and financiers,” she added. “We need these shows to get off the ground so are actively involved in that full process.”

Windowing has been a big talking point at this year’s inaugural MIP London and Blyth stressed the need to be “flexible” in this area. She said she is still happy to acquire shows in a more traditional sense such as Paris Has Fallen and Nautilus.

MIP London is into its fourth day and has so far featured talks from the likes of David Beckham, Netflix’s Bela Bajaria and the BBC’s Clare Sillery.