Dhar Mann

2026 will go down as the year traditional broadcasters waved the white flag. Faced with declining audiences and younger generations taking their attention elsewhere, some of the biggest names in entertainment have increasingly looked to creators for answers. It is unsurprising, then, that Dhar Mann, whose scripted videos reach hundreds of millions of viewers, has been one of the biggest beneficiaries.

This past year has seen Mann secure a run of television projects that would make even the most seasoned Hollywood producer jealous. In January, Dhar Mann Studios struck a multi-year deal with Fox Entertainment to produce 40 scripted micro dramas, retaining ownership and final creative control over the content. Disney followed in August, commissioning a 20-episode original series, while the studio has also launched its own free, ad-supported streaming channel on Samsung TV Plus.

Mann has found room to expand his own output too. In May, he launched What Happens Next, a weekly interview podcast. Then, in October, he became Advertising Week New York’s first chief creator officer, using the role to set an ambitious target of brokering $100 million in creator-brand deals during the event. The appointment placed Mann at the centre of an industry gathering historically built around the traditional advertising business, another sign of how far creators have moved into its mainstream.

The pièce de résistance came at Advertising Week. Mann unveiled Creator City, a four-acre production campus in Los Angeles due to open in February 2027, complete with five soundstages and facilities for production and live events. His ambition is to give the creator economy a physical home comparable to those that have formed around other major industries. It is an audacious idea, but also a logical extension of what Mann has spent years building: a creator-led studio operating at a scale that increasingly resembles Hollywood itself.

Mann enters the Elite tier having spent the year proving just how much the relationship between creators and traditional entertainment has changed. Hollywood may be opening its doors to creators, but Mann is already building a city of his own. It’s as Elite as Elite gets.

Representation: Dhar Mann and Dhar Mann Studios are represented by the Creative Artists Agency (CAA)