duplicate a folder/file structure using a placeholder file

I have a large library of digital media. Most of it is kept "offline" but the library software I use (Plex) uses media files to build the library and so I need to use placeholder files. Using 30 second "this file is archived" videos I can easily catalog offline movies in Plex. I "rsync" the directory structure without files and then "do cp" a placeholder into each movie directory and rename using the parent folder name. For TV shows this isn't practical as there can be hundreds of episodes per show. I would like to know if there is a way to duplicate the folder/file structure of a tv show, with many episodes under a single folder, using the same placeholder file. I think there is a way to create folders from the filenames, then copy the placeholder into each new folder, rename using the folder name and then move the files back out to a single directory, but I don't know how.