‘Studio City’: Sean Kanan Explains Why He Has to Charge .99¢ per Episode to Save Show
Cobra Kai Season 5 and The Bold and the Beautiful are two very different shows on which to see Sean Kanan but Studio City is the show he created himself. Kanan plays an actor playing a doctor on a soap opera. Rest assured, there’s as much drama off screen as there is on. Episodes of Studio City are available for $0.99 each on Prime Video. But, Kanan wishes Prime would just include them with subscriptions.
Kanan spoke with Showbiz Cheat Sheet on Aug. 16 about his return to Cobra Kai. After discussing his return to The Karate Kid show, The Bold and the Beautiful, and his book, The Way of the Cobra, Kanan explained why he had to charge a buck for Studio City.
If Sean Kanan didn’t charge for ‘Studio City’ it would disappear
Studio City episodes are 10-17 minutes each. Amazon decided to cut all those short shows. They didn’t consult Kanan on the price.
“I have to tell everybody that I was really unhappy about that,” Kanan told Showbiz Cheat Sheet. “Amazon was going to get rid of all the short-form content on their platform. So without even telling us, they just arbitrarily slapped this .99 cent fee on all the episodes. We were as surprised to find out about it as anyone.”
Sean Kanan appreciates your ‘Studio City’ support
Between the two seasons of Studio City, there are 17 episodes. That was as little as Kanan could charge and keep the show on Prime.
“I wanted to get it out there so as many people could see it as possible and build a following,” Kanan said. “I can assure everybody that I’m not building my house in Malibu based upon the 99 cent fee that it’s generating. But, we didn’t want to take it off of Amazon. So we’re left with having to have people reach deep in their pockets and pay that $17 for the first two seasons.”
That’s the reality of the streaming world. It’s hard enough to make your show, but not everybody gets featured in the streaming service. If you like the work just outside the studio system, your dollars support its continued production, and keep it available to buy.
It’s not a takedown of ‘The Bold and the Beautiful’
They say write what you know, and Kanan knows what it’s like to be on a soap opera. He’s been playing Deacon Sharpe on The Bold and the Beautiful for over 20 years. He’s also been a working actor since the ‘80s. And he tells some personal stories in his book about living above the Whisky A Go Go. Kanan said not to read too much into the soap opera part of Studio City.
“The character is sort of an amalgamation of a lot of my experience on daytime, other people’s experiences and a healthy dose of dramatic license with a pinch of satire,” Kanan said.
