"Hitmakers" is a music documentary-style show that first aired on Netflix on July 24, 2025. The series follows a group of songwriters and music producers who work together to write, produce, and record sample recordings for new songs. These songs are then shared with recording artists John Legend, Shaboozey, Usher, and Lisa.
Premise
A group of songwriters and music producers gather in a "songwriting camp" to create, produce, and record demo songs. These demos are intended for recording artists John Legend, Shaboozey, Usher, and Lisa. The participants live together and work in different locations, including The Bahamas, Cabo San Lucas, and Nashville, Tennessee. Each session lasts a few days, and the groups are arranged differently for each event. At the end of each episode, there is a listening session where the creators present and discuss their new songs.
Cast
The people in the series are successful music creators 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 made and directed by Adam DiVello, who had made before a reality TV show about real estate called Selling Sunset.
Reception
Steven J. Horowitz of Variety described Hitmakers as a show that is well-meaning and enjoyable but does not go into much detail about the real experiences of songwriting. He noted that the program shows the luxury and glamour of creating songs but does not talk much about the common challenges, such as earning little money. Horowitz said the show is strong in showing the songwriting process, writing, "Each writer has special talents, and it’s like watching top athletes from different sports work together to turn small ideas into complete songs. Hitmakers aims to show the personal side of writing music, and the writers clearly enjoy their work. Their enthusiasm and moments of creativity are clear on screen as songs are created piece by piece."