Photographed by Chris Patey (10) This Next Gen class is behind some of the year's biggest entertainment. You can thank Carina Sposato for the tears you cried watching the Netflix drama Adolescence, while Olivia Heighten spurred your car obsession after that Imax screening of F1. But maybe more impressive than their credits and A-list clients - CAA's Ben Levine handles all things Martha Stewart - is their ability to navigate an industry that continues to experience gale-force headwinds. There are fewer names from traditional studios like Warner Bros. and Paramount, as corporate cost-cutting continues to cull young talent, but these 35 upstarts are building their own companies (see: Mad Realities' Alice Ma and Redefine's Max Goldfarb) and making award-winning projects independently, like Anora producer Alex Coco. Just like the alums of this list - Donna Langley, Bela Bajaria and Ari Emanuel - they no doubt will lead this industry. And if they can survive (and thrive!) in Hollywood in 2025, then the future is in steady hands. Braden Bochner, 30 Image Credit: Photographed by Chris Patey Senior vp film and creative production, Unwell LOGLINE Produces everything from features like Tommy Dorfman's directorial debut to podcast tours at Alex Cooper's company Unwell. THE ARC This October, Bochner found himself in Las Vegas juggling showgirls, Thunder Down Under dancers and several Real Housewives. "I like dreaming up entertainment that might seem weird but also weirdly makes sense," says the New York City native of producing a live variety show for super podcaster (and boss) Cooper. In a time when experiences are as important to Hollywood as film slates, the Emerson grad has built the ideal résumé, filling his workdays producing films like the upcoming Netflix holiday movie Jingle Bell Heist and ideating new podcasts with talent like Owen Thiele. After starting his career at Hello Sunshine, Bochner was hired by Unwell co-head Matt Kaplan and produced his first feature, Tommy Dorfman's I Wish You All the Best, which wrapped right before the Hollywood-halting labor strikes. With production shut down, Bochner, a self-proclaimed lover of tennis and "overpriced sweatpants," was tapped to plan Cooper's first multi-city tour and produce what would become a multi-part documentary, Call Her Alex: "I'd never done a tour or a documentary, and now I'm doing both of these things at the same time." The tour sold out, and the doc sold to Hulu. FICTIONAL CHARACTER I IDENTIFY WITH "Shoshanna from Girls. Type-A, neurotic and always loyal." Ben Brown, 30 Image Credit: Photographed by Chris Patey Head of scripted TV and film, Omaha LOGLINE Growing scripted offerings with crowd-pleasers like Chad Powers at the Peyton Manning outfit. THE ARC Brown has long been confident in his ability to impact the sports world. Back in middle school, this led the lifelong Laker fan and son of a William Morris agent to write late owner Jerry Buss with suggestions for fixing the team. After a few more letters, Buss actually responded. "He said, 'Don't worry, the Lakers will be on top again soon,' " Brown recalls. "A couple of weeks later, they traded for Pau Gasol. It taught me persistence." Now, the uber-ambitious University of Oregon grad, who did time at CAA and WWE, is busy building out Omaha's slate via its deal with 20th TV. First up was the Glen Powell-starring Hulu comedy series, which Brown executive produces. Brown says Omaha's slate won't be strictly sports-focused, and he praises the NFL Hall of Famer head, saying, "You could not have more of a dream boss than Peyton." I'D LOVE TO TRADE PLACES WITH FOR A DAY "Ina Garten's husband, Jefferey, or the location scout for The White Lotus." TALENT I'D KILL TO WORK WITH "Jerry Seinfeld. I also believe life's greatest mysteries are found in breakfast cereal and parking garages." Mikaela Burton, 32 Image Credit: Photographed by Chris Patey Domestic programming exec, Apple TV LOGLINE Helps steer shows like Shrinking and Margo's Got Money Troubles for the streamer. THE ARC Burton's first love was theater. Growing up in San Jose, she was, by her own admission, a huge theater nerd, though she knew early on that, as she puts it, "I was not meant to be in front of any sort of camera." So, she began producing plays in high school, and, later, made her way to Chapman University, where she set her sights on becoming a TV exec. After a series of internships (Sony, The Late Late Show) and early gigs (Paradigm, Lionsgate), Burton found herself on the ground floor of Apple TV. She remembers those early days fondly. "Six of us in a room being like, 'What are we going to do?' It was so blue-sky and, honestly, so magical," she says. In the eight years since, the now married exec, who still carves out plenty of time for theater, has been integral to projects like Shrinking, which, with all due respect to her husband, she calls "the love of my life." Up next: a Margo's Got Money Troubles adaptation with Elle Fanning and