Thoughts On How YouTube Helped Seeking Persephone Become Hit on Prime

November 2026

 

This is not so much a review...

 

As it is a confession...

 

And a comment about how the film distribution landscape is changing...

 

But first, I have to admit I binge watched Seeking Persephone...

Which is probably not an admission one would make in certain company...

 

Because Seeking Persephone is basically a romance novel brought to your screen...

 

With a plot point that involves bacon... and a horse...

 

Now I don’t read romance novels... although many do...

 

But I’m a sucker for films set in Jane Austen land...

 

Where the rolling hills of the English countryside...

Are populated with sheep...

Big houses...

And men running around in high collars and waistcoats...

 

So the lush scenery...

The grand and formidable castle...

And the handsome leading man, played by Jake Stormoen...

Who had just enough of that Mr. Darcy/Rochester vibe to make him interesting ...

 

And who only occasionally let his Minnesota accent come through...

 

Along with the leading lady, Ryann Bailey...

Who is charming... and could really turn on the tears when needed...

While playing a character who thought the solution to every problem...

Was to take a nap...

 

Were what drew me to this Regency drama...

 

But what was most notable...

 

Is that Seeking Persephone...

 

Showed up on my YouTube feed...

 

Which was quite a surprise...

Because to date the YouTube algorithm...

Thinks I’m a man...

 

Most likely because all I watch on YouTube are NFL highlights and political and sports podcasts ...

 

And I never got into Bridgerton...

Because the alternative casting for that Regency drama...

Along with its Shondra Rhimes’ roots..

Made this series not a draw...

Because I have already lost too many years to Greys Anatomy...

 

So I am at a bit of loss as to why Seeking Persephone

Suddenly... and seemingly out of the blue...

Showed up on my YouTube feed...

 

And not as trailer... but as two full episodes of the four-part series...

 

A release I suspect was not authorized...

But which was enough to get me hooked...

And then willing to pay Prime for the rest...

 

Now Seeking Persephone was not done on the cheap...

But with the kind of quality production design and costumes...

One would find in a theatrical release...

 

And this is despite the fact that this series was crowd-funded...

 

It is not Pride and Prejudice...

 

Because it has a basic generic romance novel plot...

Of the kind a lot of people read in a day...

 

But there is massive audience for these books...

 

But ever since the Vanguard Group...

And other vulture capitalists became the largest shareholders...

In most of the Hollywood studios....

 

We have been served a steady diet of sequels and spinoffs...

In order to maximize shareholder value...

 

Which has meant that catering to niche markets...

Like the romance novel crowd...

Or taking any kind of creative risk...

Rarely makes it past the pitch...

 

But now stories like Seeking Persephone can be crowd-funded...

Find their way to YouTube...

And then the algo...

 

Can introduce them to their target audience...

At a fraction of the cost of advertising a big studio film...

 

But the real genius in marketing Seeking Persephone...

Which was likely not intentional...

But, nevertheless, very effective...

 

Was putting a couple of episodes for free on YouTube...

That enticed you to finish the series on a subscription service...

 

And that worked... at least for me...

 

But I still remain curious...

As to how the YouTube algorithm ...

 

Finally figured out I have interests other than football...

 

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