Representation of women and minorities in Hollywood streaming-service productions took a big dive last year, despite the success of runaway hits such as “KPop Demon Hunters,” according to a UCLA report released Wednesday.
The latest UCLA Hollywood Diversity Report found that women and people of color saw drops in representation in almost all categories, including lead actors, directors, writers and overall cast.
In the directing category, the study found that only 23.6% of streaming films were directed by women in 2025, the lowest percentage ever recorded by the report.
“After the big numbers we saw for diversity in streaming originals just a couple of years ago, we now see the path closing for people of color and women to premiere their film on a major streamer,” report co-founder Ana-Christina Ramón, director of the Entertainment and Media Research Initiative at UCLA, said in a statement.
People of color saw representation drops in all four employment categories, with the proportion of lead actors of color falling from 51% in 2024 to 36% last year. People of color represented 31.5% of film directors and only 21.3% of film writers, according to the report.
Women represented only 37.1% of streaming film writers last year, and 42.7% of streaming film actors.
The report’s authors noted that only 89 original English-language streaming films were released last year. The report traditionally examines the top 100 English-language films.
“This is an industry in flux — and in reverse, especially when it comes to diversification,” Darnell Hunt, UCLA’s executive vice chancellor and provost, an report co-founder, said in a statement. “Unfortunately, as we’ve seen with theatrical films, we’re now seeing the impact of this current political climate in very meaningful and concrete ways. As budgets tighten, opportunities for filmmakers of underrepresented backgrounds are always the first to be squeezed out.”
Researchers pointed to the ratings success of “KPop Demon Hunters” as an example of the popularity of films that feature diverse casts and crews.
“The film is a prime example of how culture circulates and how diverse representation doesn’t alienate audiences,” Nico Garcia, a doctoral candidate at UCLA’s School of Theater, Film and Television, said. “It can bring them in.”
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