Warning: Major spoilers for Netflix's Hollywood!
Netflix's Hollywood is inspired by true events from Golden Age Hollywood history, but it's not technically a true story. The American drama comes from the minds of Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan. Rather than focusing solely on an important chapter during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the series takes a different approach by presenting an alternate reality of sorts.
Hollywood follows six fresh faces in Hollywood – four actors, a screenwriter, and a director – chasing a life-changing opportunity. At the center is Ace Studios, a big name in the industry that often plays it safe when it comes to its projects. When a new figure takes over, the studio has a chance to change Hollywood forever by producing Meg, a story about a black actress who contemplates suicide after failure. Ace puts its heart and soul into Meg, with the goal of evolving the standards when it comes to the stories they tell on the big screen.
The Netflix series stars a stellar ensemble cast headlined by Darren Criss, Patti LuPone, and Jim Parsons. With it being deemed a miniseries, the chances of a season 2 are slim to none. That said, viewership could change that notion and Netflix could have a new anthology in their midst. For those wondering about the true details in Hollywood, here's what inspired the story and what was made up.
Netflix's Hollywood Is A Mix Of Fact & Fiction
As the case with some of Murphy's previous TV titles, Hollywood is a fictionalized take on a certain point in history. The creator enjoys taking memorable moments in history and using them as the basis for his projects. In this situation, it was the Golden Age of Hollywood when silent films were in the rearview, and TV had yet to revolutionize entertainment. The Netflix series is set in the post-WWII era when studios were trying to match the success of Gone with the Wind. Becoming a movie star was met with widespread notoriety, so there was an influx of aspiring actors willing to do anything to get their shot. Hollywood takes some of those stories and dramatizes the journey through fictional figures for a deeper message.
Some Of Hollywood Is Based On Scotty Bowers
Hollywood features a man named Ernie West who runs a gas station, the Golden Tip, which doubles as a secret brothel. The character played by Dylan McDermott once had dreams of making it big in Hollywood, but had since opened the station to set up discreet meetings with clients. He hires young good-looking men and essentially serves as a pimp while the clientele comes by looking to go to "Dreamland," a code word for paid sexual favors. Ernie later leaves the business behind after getting another chance thanks to his performance in Meg, but his character and the relationships he set up are based on a real man named Scotty Bowers.
Bowers was a Marine vet who owned a gas station in Hollywood during the 1940s. He secretly set up encounters for some of the biggest movie stars so many of them could hide their sexualities. Bowers had many contacts in the industry and he caught hold of a lot of the gossip. Rather than expose his clients, he kept their secrets until well after they were dead. Bowers and his various claims were the focus of the 2017 documentary, Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood.
Although Ernie's character isn't used to directly hide many of the secrets going on in the industry, his business comes in focus when Jack Castello and Archie Coleman look to earn money as they await their big break. His gas station workers are often hired for big parties, but in Hollywood, the industry's abundance of gay men seems to be its worst-kept secret. Only one key figure has his future threatened due to his sexuality, but his choices were far different than those of his real-life counterpart: the real Rock Hudson.
The Real Figures In Netflix's Hollywood
Out of all the young Hollywood professionals featured in the series, Rock Hudson is the only one based on a real person. The character was based on Roy Scherer Jr., a Navy vet from Illinois who aspired to become an actor. In 1947, talent agent Henry Willson signed the young man as a client, but encouraged him to change his name to Rock Hudson since it had more movie star potential. In the series, Jake Picking plays Roy Fitzgerald, a wannabe actor who transforms into Rock Hudson after being signed by Henry Willson, portrayed by Jim Parsons. The real Rock Hudson got his first gig in 1948 and struggled in the first few years before becoming one of the biggest stars of the '50s. Like Picking's character, Hudson was gay and Willson fought to keep his client's secrets out of the press.
Other than Hudson and Willson, the other real figures that appear in Hollywood include a few well-known actors. Queen Latifah portrays Hattie McDaniel, the first person of color to win an Oscar, whereas Michelle Krusiec plays Anna May Wong, a prominent Chinese-American actress. Other actors included Vivien Leigh, played by Katie McGuinness, and Tallulah Bankhead, who is played by Paget Brewster. They were joined by fictionalized versions of directors George Cukor (Daniel London) and Noël Coward (Billy Boyd). Hollywood also features First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, played by Harriet Harris. Like the real Eleanor, her TV counterpart fights for equal rights opportunities by convincing Avis in developing a movie with a black actress in the lead.
Netflix's Hollywood Tries To Rewrite The Script
Even with the inclusion of characters based on real people, Hollywood takes a "what if" approach by showing how the industry could have changed if powerful figures dismantled the dynamics. Ace Studios wasn't real, but it is meant to represent some of the most influential voices from that era. Avis Amberg takes over the decision-making and green lights Meg, a movie written by a black gay man, Archie Coleman, with a black actress, Camille Washington, in the lead. The group is well aware of the controversy they will stir up, but they power through to shine a light on the underrepresented groups in the country.
Despite a few struggles, Meg becomes a record-breaking hit. Most of the cast and crew involved are nominated for Academy Awards. Archie Coleman, Raymond Ainsely, Anna May Wong, and Camille Washington win for their respective categories, and Meg wins for Best Picture. Avis and her team keep riding the tide of change as she reunites the cast and crew for a new romantic film about two men. Hollywood gives a glimpse of the industry had it took more risks from the start by prioritizing inclusion and diversity. In reality, the nation wasn't ready for that type of change. Gentleman's Agreement won big at the 20th Academy Awards, and there were no films that paved the way for a culture change like with the case with Meg's prominence in Hollywood.