Picture: Curiosity Stream
It always feels a little odd writing about Netflix acquiring another streamer’s Original, but 2025 has already been full of surprises. Earlier this year, Netflix picked up Prime Video’s Sneaky Pete, and now we’re seeing another first. For the very first time, an Original series from Curiosity Stream is making its way onto Netflix. We’re referring to Titans: The Rise of Hollywood, which is set to touch down on Netflix US on August 5th, 2025.
First released in the summer of 2022, Titans: The Rise of Hollywood served as a follow-up to Titans: The Rise of Wall Street, which had been released several months earlier. Directed by Patrick Reams (Netflix’s Wyatt Earp and the Cowboy War), the six-part docudrama series tells the story of Hollywood as it was built throughout the early 20th century, as told by Hungarian-American film producer Adolph Zukor, with many of the studios and figureheads remaining as important today as they were during the inception of the motion picture industry.
The scripted series stars:
- Christina Leonardi as Mary Pickford (The Walking Dead: Dead City)
- Grant Masters as Narrator Adolph Zukor (Await Further Instructions)
- Vaden Thurgood as Jesse Lasky (Liberty or Death: Boston Tea Party)
- Samuel Dunning as Nick Schenk (Tim Travers & The Time Travelers Paradox)
- Natalie Shinnick as Mary Miles Minter (The Brutalist)
- James M. Reilly as Adolph Zukor (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit)
- Gary Lee Mahmoud as Sam Stern (The Sinner)
- Sonia Satra as Eve Leo Fox (Intrepid)
- Eric Rolland as William Fox (The Men Who Built America)
- Nicolas J. Greco as Harry Warner (Don Q)
- Stephanie Granade as Florence Lawrence (Chronicles Of)
- Daniel Ioffreda as Irving Thalberg (Phillie’s Diner)
- David Davino as Carl Laemmle (A Predator’s Obsession)
- James Zeiss as Otto Kahn (Victor!!)
- Maryann Marselles as Crying Woman (Secrets in the City)
- Rob Glauz as Al Jolson (Love Life)
- Steve Schroko as Thomas Edison (Echo Point)
The series features six episodes, which are as follows:
- Episode 1: Battling the Trust
- At the dawn of the 20th Century, immigrant entrepreneur Carl Laemmle looks to cash in on America’s growing fascination with moving pictures. But as he starts to build an industry, he comes up against a powerful cartel headed by Thomas Edison.
- Episode 2: Escape from New York
- Edison’s stranglehold on the moving picture industry forces Laemmle and his band of renegade filmmakers to flee to Cuba, but not before he signs a promising young actress named Mary Pickford. The Warners attempt to make their own pictures in St Louis.
- Episode 3: Rise of the Studios
- By 1914, movies are more popular than ever, and with Edison’s cartel out of the picture, the titans are free to make films wherever and however they want. To outdo his rivals, Laemmle builds a massive film factory in Hollywood called Universal City.
- Episode 4: Sin City
- As Hollywood goes from a dusty farm town to a bustling metropolis, the balance of power has shifted in favor of the stars. Now titans like Paramount’s Zukor are forced to pay huge contracts to top actors to keep them happy.
- Episode 5: The Talkies
- By 1925, Zukor’s Paramount Pictures, Laemmle’s Universal Pictures, and Mayer’s MGM are some of the most profitable businesses in the country. But the luckless Warner Brothers have stumbled upon a breakthrough technology that could shift the balance of power once again – sound.
- Episode 6: Fall of the Moguls
- The Warners’ film ‘The Jazz Singer’ proves to the world that ‘talkies’ are here to stay. And every other titan has to spend millions to convert their studios over to sound.
For more on what’s coming to Netflix in the United States throughout August 2025, keep it locked here on What’s on Netflix. Other licenses include new seasons of Sullivan’s Valley and Outlander, with more expected to be announced soon.
Are you looking forward to checking out Titans: The Rise of Hollywood on Netflix? Let us know in the comments.
