It was only a matter of time before the market discovered the hottest new asset class: fictional hockey players with a soft centre. This week’s breathless headlines touting a “revolution” in British screenwriting, where men are written with the emotional depth women actually want, might seem a world away from the Square Mile. But let’s examine the fundamentals.
We are witnessing a capital flight from the tired tropes of the male gaze to a more efficient, higher-yielding narrative structure. Call it the ‘Ted Lasso effect’ writ large, with more ice and fewer biscuits. The UK’s creative sector is, for once, delivering a product that commands a premium in a crowded global market.
American streamers are bidding up the price of any script that passes the Bechdel test and also features a power play. This is pure supply and demand. The market for emotionally intelligent male protagonists has been chronically undersupplied.
British screenwriters, ever the arbitrageurs, have spotted the gap and are filling it with characters like a salary-cap expert signing a free agent. The result: a bull market in subplots involving delayed flights, shared earbuds, and the agonising tension of a third-period tiebreaker. But let’s not get carried away.
This is still a volatile sector. One misjudged meet-cute, one too many slow-motion shots of a Zamboni, and viewers will flee to another streaming service. The Bank of England might not be watching, but the CFO of Netflix certainly is.
The long-term viability of this genre depends on fiscal discipline: can the writers keep the emotional balance sheet in check without resorting to a dramatic trade or a career-ending injury? The early data suggests a strong opening quarter. But as any prudent investor knows, past performance is no guarantee of future returns.
For now, the sector remains a growth buy, but I’d hedge it with a short position on predictable happy endings. The market hates being manipulated, even by a charming British accent.
