Ryan Murphy’s new Netflix series, Hollywood, has more than a few things in common with Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and some fans have definitely noticed. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood arrived in theaters last July and became a much-needed win for original films aimed at adults. Earning over $372 million worldwide, Tarantino’s ode to the Golden Age of Hollywood became one of the biggest films of the awards season. It earned 10 Academy Award nominations, including for Best Picture, and won 2 (Best Supporting Actor for Brad Pitt and Best Production Design). Once Upon a Time in Hollywood follows two best friends, actor Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his stunt double Cliff Booth (Pitt), as they grapple with the changing entertainment industry during the summer of 1969.
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Meanwhile, Murphy’s Hollywood takes things back a bit further, to post-WWII Hollywood. The limited series, arriving on Netflix on May 1, centers on a group of aspiring actors and filmmakers trying to make it big. The catch? They all represent people typically underrepresented in Hollywood, whether they’re women, people of color, or members of the LGBTQ community. It’s a revisionist take on Old Hollywood and will be the latest project to emerge from Murphy’s five-year deal with Netflix. Hollywood’s sprawling cast includes Patti LuPone, Darren Criss, Samara Weaving (Ready or Not), Laura Harrier (Spider-Man: Homecoming), Jake Picking, Jeremy Pope, and Jim Parsons.
Just from the titles alone, it’s clear the two projects have some things in common. However, Twitter user Ryan George noted that the thumbnails for their trailers are almost exactly the same, in that they both feature two men sitting side by side at the same exact bar. See the amusing similarity for yourself below:
At first glance, it seems like Netflix is trying to emulate Once Upon a Time in Hollywood by featuring a similar thumbnail. Aside from the difference in angles and the men themselves, the two trailers could easily pass for each other. This could be Netflix’s goal, since Once Upon a Time in Hollywood was so well-received last year. Netflix’s Hollywood positioning itself as an alternative or even follow-up to Tarantino’s film could pull in a solid amount of viewers.
Netflix’s chosen thumbnail could also just be a funny coincidence, but considering how massive Once Upon a Time in Hollywood was last year, that seems unlikely. The two projects have more in common beside their chosen settings and trailer thumbnails, as both of them offer alternate looks at history. In that sense, they could be seen as two pieces of entertainment that pair well together, and it certainly seems like Netflix wants people to think of Hollywood in that way.
