In 2022, John Hammond and Ari Cagan applied the legacy playbook to the creator economy.
They developed and produced a scripted vertical series called Cobell Energy — an office sitcom set inside a Texas oil company.
When it launched, Variety called it the first Hollywood-backed scripted vertical series ever made. They got Adam McKay to executive produce. They were funded by a sustainability nonprofit called Yellow Dot Judd Apatow reposted the first episode. It looked exactly like it was supposed to.
Didn’t move the needle.
The twist of setting an office sitcom inside a Texas oil company — cowboy boots, southern accents, the whole thing — created enough confusion in the first three seconds that audiences scrolled before they understood what they were watching.
“The second the audience starts to feel confused,” said Hammond, “they’re like, I don’t know what this is, next thing.” The concept registered. The spin was one beat too many.
The McKay attachment was supposed to do work it couldn’t do …
