Big Data is playing a major role in the newest TV shows and movies. According to Ad Age, Hollywood now uses social media data to turn the public into a massive focus group for its new content.

Producers can harvest social media data to identify trending topics and ideas to incorporate into new shows and movies. In addition, producers can also release idea-specific trailers for shows and gauge social media reaction to determine whether or not they are on the right track.

“If the entire Twittersphere is talking about this particular thing, or if there’s a trend in this area and we create a piece of content that talks directly to it, the logic suggests that those people will engage with it,” Matchbox Pictures director Chris Oliver-Taylor explained.

One example of a topical show that has done really well is Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN 0.25%’s “Transparent.” The comedy came out in 2014 and features a family with a transgender patriarch. The show’s release correlated with a large wave of social activity related to transgender issues.

Netflix, Inc. NFLX 3% also notoriously uses…

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