Movies about brands are being greenlit and it feels like we’re in an episode of ‘30 Rock’

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  via Ahmer Kalam

  Atlas statue at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, where the fictional TV show 30 Rock takes place.

  _{The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.}

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  via JacobQKnight

• One of the best examples of a successful IP adaptation is the box-office darling, the Barbie movie. There have been some flops too, like Unfrosted: The Pop-Tarts Story. In case your favorite brand hasn’t cobbled into a TV show or movie, don’t worry, it probably will be.

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  via cosmicjester
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  via Chuberdunkus2

• Game titan Hasbro announced in 2025 that they were planning movies or shows for roughly 50 of their toys and games, including ones that sound difficult to actually conceptualize. For example, there are two different projects based off of the Monopoly games. But how does one adapt a TV show about other toys, like the Magic 8 Ball? How will audiences feel about Daniel Kaluuya producing a live action Barney movie, while Ayo Edebiri is slated to write the script, reportedly in the style of an A-24 horror movie rather than a children’s flick?

• Movie studios and brands have found an easy way to print money by just collaborating and turning every possible existing product into a movie. There are both Hot Wheels and Matchbox Car movies in the making right now. Are we excited to see John Cena and Jessica Biel star in Matchbox: The Movie, coming to streaming services October 2026? Do you want to see Vin Diesel write and produce a Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots movie? I’m genuinely curious how a movie based on the Uno card game, or the Whac-A-Mole game, will get shoehorned into nostalgia-fueled motion pictures.

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  via BHills_03

• There have been rumblings online about the “30-Rock-ification” of movies. This describes a film that seems like it would be in the background as a gag in the hit TV show 30 Rock. And these kinds of films are actually getting greenlit... Many of these examples above contain ludicrous pairings that would fit perfectly into one of 30 Rock’s signature comedic styles. The joke template evolved from the ridiculous supporting characters of the show, Jenna or Tracy, who are the two stars of the fictional TV show, run by the main character named Liz Lemon. The two characters always have zany excuses as to why they can’t do something for the show, but now these excuses seem to be turning into real life films.

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  via Karna6e
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  via NedPerkypal
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  via WontSayNoToFree
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  via NopeSignal

• The release of a trailer for a Milton Hershey biopic got the Twitter crowd giggling, and it’s not hard to see why. Biopics are just too easy to make fun of. They’re often mawkish, over the top, and self-important. This trailer just falls easily into that trap. “Candy is not just my business. Candy is my obsession,” begins the trailer. The self-importance is baked right into the script, and the Hershey’s trailer looks all too predictable. 

  One person pointed out that the similarities go deeper than just Twitter parodies! There’s even a 30 Rock episode that alludes to something hilariously similar.

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  via mcbc

• The mockery has a lot to do with the way that movie and TV creation happen these days. Despite that, young generations are clearly hungry for fresh material, just check out the hype around the 2025 Netflix movie KPop Demon Hunters, for example. This original musical has become Netflix’s most-watched original movie ever, garnering more than 500 million views to date. How refreshing to see an original idea capture so much attention! 

  And yet, in general, studio execs seem determined to only green-light the safest bets, therefore only feeding audiences reheated nachos. We’re really pushing the limits on how much nostalgia-bait media consumers can swallow. In 2027, decades after Star Wars was in its prime, a new Star Wars movie is on the slate. There’s a Mandalorian and Grogu movie coming out, and a new season of Star Wars: Ahsoka. It’s interesting to watch as these properties get recycled over and over and over again, creating entirely new amalgamations out of the decades-old lore. 

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  via CouldNeverBeMe

• Just to punctuate how funny this scenario has gotten, a new, hilariously meme-able horror movie has just been announced: Hungry. This is a horror movie unofficially based off of the board game Hungry Hungry Hippos. As with every announcement made on Twitter, I had to check news outlets to see if it was real, and sure enough, it is! Another IP has been plucked from the basket of brand names yet to have a movie wrung out of it, though admittedly it is twisted into something quite different from its source material. And so, here we have it, the next 30 Rock punchline is only a Tweet away. 

  I do wonder if the 30-Rock-ification joke will spurn any cultural change, even in the smallest of ways. Poking fun at the ridiculousness of nostalgia-bait or slop movies could eventually sway studio opinion. I’m hoping that Gen Alpha gets seriously tired of being given a diet of largely recycled media. Don’t they deserve fresh movies and TV shows? I think so, and the more we poke fun at movie-making decisions we don’t care for, the closer we get to having fresh artistic visions take root.

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  via BDisgusting

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