Hitmakers is a documentary-style reality show that began airing on Netflix on July 24, 2025. The show features a group of songwriters and music producers who work together to write, produce, and record demo songs. These songs are then pitched to recording artists such as John Legend, Shaboozey, Usher, and Lisa.
Premise
A group of songwriters and music producers gather in a "songwriting camp" to create, produce, and record sample recordings for new songs that will be shared with recording artists John Legend, Shaboozey, Usher, and Lisa. They live together and work in short sessions lasting several days in The Bahamas, Cabo San Lucas, and Nashville, Tennessee. Each session uses different groups of participants. At the end of each episode, there is a listening session where the creators share and discuss their work.
Cast
The participants in the series are successful songwriters and producers who have written or produced songs for famous artists and bands, including Beyoncé, Justin Bieber, BTS, Lee Brice, Chris Brown, Noah Cyrus, Drake, Equinox, Fifth Harmony, Nelly Furtado, Ariana Grande, Alicia Keys, Adam Lambert, Dua Lipa, Little Mix, Jennifer Lopez, Rita Ora, Parmalee, Katy Perry, Pharrell, Kelly Rowland, Ed Sheeran, Skrillex, Trey Songz, and Usher. They are:
- Jenna Andrews
- Tommy Brown
- Trey Campbell
- Ferras
- Harv
- Ben Johnson
- Stephen Kirk
- JHart
- Whitney Phillips
- Sevyn Streeter
- Nova Wav, a group made up of Brittany “Chi” Coney and Denisia “Blu June” Andrews
Production
Hitmakers was created and produced by Adam DiVello, who previously created the real estate-focused reality TV show Selling Sunset.
Reception
Steven J. Horowitz of Variety described Hitmakers as "a well-intentioned and entertaining yet not very deep look inside the hit factory." He noted that the show highlights the luxury and glamour often found in the songwriting process but does not focus much on the more common challenges, such as low income. Horowitz wrote that the show is strongest during the songwriting sessions, explaining that "each writer has their own strengths, and it’s like watching top athletes from different sports work together to turn small ideas into complete songs." He added that Hitmakers aims to show the human side of songwriting and that the writers clearly enjoy their work. Their excitement and moments of brilliance are clearly visible on screen as the pieces of a song come together.