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Oooh la la, Team Ankler had a big week at Cannes Lions. Up and down the Croisette and beyond, Janice Min and Like & Subscribe’s Natalie Jarvey hosted panels and soirees packed with star creators (Adam W, Brittany Broski), Hollywood execs (Fox Entertainment’s Rob Wade, YouTube’s Mary Ellen Coe, Netflix’s Amy Reinhard) and brand builders (NFL CMO Tim Ellis, MediaPlacement’s Britt Johnson, SharkNinja’s Laura Dyer). Netflix vs. YouTube, AI vs. Hollywood, creators vs. gatekeepers — we tackled the fault lines shaping entertainment’s next chapter.

Janice also joined ADWEEK CEO Will Lee as co-host of the ADWEEK Creative 100 Reception celebrating this year’s top marketing minds.

You can catch up on all our can’t-miss conversations and chic hangs from Natalie’s daily dispatches (including ad-market insights from Claire Atkinson):

• Cannes Lions to Hollywood: Did My Ad Actually Work? Prove It

• Day 1: Charlie Collier’s Fox-Roku Debut; 4 Top Marketers With Creator Cred

• Day 3: ‘It’s Hot AF.’ So Is the Creator Dealmaking

• Cannes Lions Finale: Netflix vs. YouTube Boils Over, CAA Moves In, Oprah’s OG Vibes

And while Cannes supplied the rosé and unrelenting Riviera heat, the week’s big Ankler reads were about power and money back home: Elaine Low wrapped up her indispensable Spring Sellers’ Guides with a look at Amazon MGM Studios…

• Sellers’ Guide: Peter Friedlander’s Amazon MGM Reset — and What He Wants Now

… and Dealmakers’ Ashley Cullins dove into what this year’s big box office means and the five ways to get paid your fair share:

• Box Office Is Back. Now Comes the War Over Who Gets the Upside

Now, ICYMI, the rest of our best of the week:

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Series Business

• Amazon’s Elle Woods YA Bet — and the Tricks to Make a Prequel Work As the Legally Blonde series prepares to debut July 1, Lesley Goldberg talks to co-showrunner Caroline Dries about creating a show that honors and amplifies iconic IP.

• TV in 3: Mindy Kaling’s Slow Start Tests Hulu, Peacock’s World Cup Win Lesley assesses the future of Hulu’s new Mindy Kaling-produced comedy, Not Suitable for Work.

The Wakeup: A24-Google & Hot Deals Summer

And the deals keep coming. One of the most intriguing? Google’s investment into A24. Sean McNulty takes you inside the ins and outs, in addition to the week’s other tie-ups:

Friday → HULU’s Huge June Spending Bender

Thursday → SONY, COMCAST Enter Hot Deal Summer Fun

Wednesday → Ari’s New $6B Deal Murmurs, PSKY EU Approvals Advancing

Tuesday → Inside the A24, GOOGLE Deal

Sunday → Toy Story: Behind the Big Numbers

Richard Rushfield

• Tom Rothman, Hollywood & the YouTube Epiphany Movie execs are finally ready to tap into the world’s biggest platform, 21 years too late, as Richard makes the case that we’ve seen this story before.

Second Acts After a Hollywood Career

• Roll Credits: What’s Next After a Hollywood Career Fades As jobs shed, three industry veterans talk to David Eckstein about the messy, humbling, sometimes liberating work of starting over.

Para Bros. Risk Points

• What State AGs Could Dig Up on Paramount-WB Sean takes a division-by-division look at where a lawsuit could find consumer harm — that the DOJ didn’t — from HBO to movie screens to (bad) news.

Cheers to a Legend

• James Burrows Knew When ‘We Got Nothing’ and How to Fix It Martini Shot host Rob Long spent four seasons writing on Cheers, where he learned all about the TV maestro’s gift for wringing out the funny with finesse.

Prestige Junkie

• The Pitt Mom Who Self-Submitted for an Emmy — and More Wild Card Campaigns As Brittany Allen, who played a dying mother on the series, makes her own case for awards recognition, Katey Rich evaluates this year’s most unpredictable campaigns.

• Plus, Katey is joined by film critic Katie Walsh to break down the new ways fandoms are reshaping the movie industry:

• Connor Storrie, Reggie Dinkins & 8 Last-Chance Emmy Underdogs to Love As nominations voting came to a close, Katey and Christopher Rosen offered up their favorite dark-horse picks.

Prestige Junkie on Apple Podcasts

Shows

Rushfield Lunch

L.A. mayoral candidate and city councilmember Nithya Raman lays out her plan to bring production back to L.A. — and highlights how City Hall has failed:

Monday Morning QBs

Thirty-one years after its start, the Disney-Pixar Toy Story juggernaut hit a high-water mark with its fifth entry. Sean goes inside the numbers with The Bulwark’s Sonny Bunch:

The Optionist

Andy Lewis’ latest IP picks

• A True-Crime Tragedy That Blends Adolescence & Big Little Lies

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When Fox’s $22 billion plan to acquire Roku hit Hollywood inboxes last Monday morning, it instantly became the head-spinning deal everyone in media was trying to decode: Was Lachlan Murdoch buying a streaming ad engine, a connected TV distribution weapon, a Tubi growth machine — or all of the above?

Team Ankler moved fast to get inside the story.

• Lachlan Murdoch’s Fox-Roku Surprise — and Who Survives the Shakeup

Next, Elaine Low, Natalie Jarvey and Sean pulled the threads together on Ankler Agenda, assessing the deal’s winners and losers and why spending on distribution — and not content a la Netflix — may be the next phase of the Streaming Wars.

The deal is sure to be Topic A at Cannes Lions this coming week, where Ankler CEO Janice Min will have buzzy interviews with two execs near the center of it all: Roku Media President Charlie Collier, Monday morning at 9:45 a.m. at Brand Innovators Showcase Stage at Armani Caffè (RSVP here), and Fox Entertainment CEO Rob Wade, along with FOX Creator Studios Head Billy Parks, Tuesday at 2 p.m. at The Impact Lounge at La Muse Restaurant (RSVP here). Read all about our plans, and get ahead of the game with Natalie’s first annual list of the Croisette’s must-meet creator economy power players:

• Cannes Lions Power List: 14 Investors, Brand Experts & Creator Insiders to Know

The Fox-Roku question was already in the air in Denver at StreamTV, where I moderated three keynote Q&As — with YouTube’s outgoing VP Americas, Tara Walpert Levy, Radial Entertainment CEO Jeff Shultz and Tubi chief content officer Adam Lewinson, who (no surprise) offered a bullish take on his parent co’s big move. “The deal is an extension of a strategy we executed on a decade ago,” said the exec, who joined Tubi a few months after Fox acquired it in 2017. “Combining Fox and Roku creates a next-generation media company.”

Now, ICYMI, the rest of our best of the week:

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Series Business

• Sellers’ Guide: The Shows NBC and Peacock Want Now Elaine reveals what NBCUniversal’s network and streamer are looking for, as reps cheer NBC’s pilot revival and Peacock’s drama wish list includes “white wine thrillers.”

• TV in 3: Inside Quinta Brunson’s WB Defection — and Coogler’s Jump to Netflix Lesley reveals the tick-tock of Brunson’s new Disney deal, and what led Ryan Coogler to leave the Mouse House. Plus, what to know about the week’s big studio shakeups.

Sports, En Español

• The World Cup Is Exposing Sports Media’s Big Blind Spot As Telemundo smashes records with its Spanish-language coverage, Erik Barmack asks a pivotal question: What if the distinction between Spanish- and English-language media is disappearing?

Richard Rushfield

• 6 CEOs Will Soon Control the Media’s Fate. What Could Go Wrong? Every major information source has a Trump-adjacent leader at the helm. With democracy in the balance, Richard explores where we might be headed — and what you can do about it.

Crowd Pleaser

• Comedy Got Old. Now It Wants Its Own Backrooms Moment As Hollywood sticks to R-rated comedies for and by an older demo (see Scary Movie and Jackass: Best and Last), Matthew Frank covers the upstarts lining up to run horror’s disruptive playbook.

Reel AI

• The Hottest AI Video Startup Calls B.S. on the Movie-in-a-Prompt Fantasy Luma COO Caroline Ingeborn tells Erik why the company’s $4 billion valuation is a bet on Hollywood pros, advertisers and creative teams.

Boomers vs. the World

• Baby Boomers Keep Oufoxing the Young Onscreen. Why? From F1 to Hacks, baby boomers eclipse younger generations at every turn these days. Christopher Rosen assesses the cultural and economic forces behind the trend — and why whenever Hollywood plays it safe, the material ages up.

Prestige Junkie

• Matthew Rhys’ Widow’s Bay Character is ‘Braver Than You Think’ The star, and show creator Katie Dippold, tell Katey Rich about being trapped in TV’s funniest haunted house and how it happened.

• JFK Jr., Carolyn & Jackie: How Love Story Escaped TV’s Pilot Trap In conversation with creator Connor Hines and director Max Winkler, Katey looks at how the drama captured Kennedy mythology — but also far more elemental forces of love and family.

• Plus, Katey chats with Shrinking star Michael Urie, who broke out on Ugly Betty, about the “magical chemistry” that makes the Apple TV comedy-drama so special:

• Matthew Rhys, Jason Segel and an Emmy Actor Race Going Sideways Plus: Director Colin Hanks tells Katey about his John Candy doc and capturing the real story behind the comedy legend.

Prestige Junkie on Apple Podcasts

The Wakeup

Sean breaks down all the week’s TV news, from NBCU and Disney studio disruption and the overall deals shuffle to Netflix’s goodbye to The Boroughs — and whether Fox is overpaying for Roku:

Friday → UNI’s 1-Day 📽️ Buying Spree; Huge TV Overalls Shuffle

Thursday → NETFLIX Axes Duffer Series, HBO Gets KNICKS Project

Wednesday → NBCU Merges TV Groups, Trims Staff

Tuesday → FOX’s Cable TV Escape Plan: ROKU

Sunday → UNI’s Disclosure Day Opens With Cloudy Outlook

Shows

Monday Morning QBs

Sean and Chris dive into the less-than-stellar start for Disclosure Day and its prospects for the weeks ahead:

Rushfield Lunch

Ahead of next month’s Minions & Monsters, Illumination CEO Chris Meledandri joins Richard for a discussion about his long career, the animation behemoth and the future of film:

The Optionist

Andy Lewis’ latest IP picks

Palm Springs Meets Happy Death Day In This Fantastic Time-Loop Thriller

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Team Ankler is headed to Cannes Lions this month in a big way, but back at HQ, the week’s biggest stories captured an industry in full scramble: nepo babies tightening their grip on shrinking entry-level jobs, showrunners getting spooked by Paramount chaos, and executives throwing dumb money at YouTube creators after a trio of breakout horror hits.

• Nepo Babies Are Taking Hollywood’s Last Entry-Level Jobs

• ‘Fear and Fire’: Paramount’s Chaos Is Spooking Showrunners

• ‘Embarrassing’: Hollywood’s Dumb-Money Creator Gold Rush — and 7 Names Worth the Bet

Now, on to the Croisette, where we’ll have a packed slate of programming June 22-25 featuring Fox Entertainment CEO Rob Wade, Netflix top ad exec Amy Reinhard, Bravo & Peacock unscripted chief Frances Berwick, Roku president Charlie Collier, Summer House’s Lindsay Hubbard and more C-suite and creative standouts. Read all about our plans — including panels and soirees in partnership with the Impact Lounge, Brand Innovators, ADWEEK and Whalar — and RSVP to join us below. And look for Ankler Media CEO Janice Min and Like & Subscribe’s Natalie Jarvey amid the Palais and plages.

• The Ankler @ Cannes Lions: Netflix, Roku, Fox & Bravo C-Suite

The Ankler was out in force this week too: Christopher Rosen interviewed YouTube daredevil Michelle Khare at Tribeca X, Richard Rushfield sat down with The Housemaid director Paul Feig at Alliance of Women Directors’ Back to Set symposium, and Elaine Low joined Katie Aselton there for a conversation of her own (she’ll have more on that Monday).

And in New York, we hosted our latest Documentary Spotlight with Thom Powers at Roxy Cinema, featuring Rafa filmmaker Zach Heinzerling, Mr. Scorsese director Rebecca Miller and more. Catch up on all of Thom’s great conversations below. 👇

• Rafa, Scorsese & the Women Exposing Diddy’s Deeds

Next up: I’m headed to StreamTV in Denver this week for keynote conversations with Tubi chief content officer Adam Lewinson, Radial Entertainment CEO Jeff Shultz and YouTube’s departing VP, Americas, Tara Walpert Levy. Say hello if you’ll be there.

Now, ICYMI, the rest of our best of the week:

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Series Business

• The Paramount-HBO Max Pitch Scramble: A Sellers’ Guide In Elaine’s latest Spring Sellers’ Guide, she reveals what CBS, P+, HBO and its streaming sibling are looking for as the proposed Para-WBD merger redraws Hollywood’s programming map.

• British TV’s YouTube Trap Is Coming for Hollywood The BBC, ITV and Channel 4 are growing on YouTube via short-form titles. But the more they succeed, the less leverage they have. Manori Ravindran weighs British broadcasters’ digital paradox.

• TV in 3: Could YouTube Steal the Emmys?; Connor Storrie’s Loophole With the current broadcast ‘wheel’ deal expiring, sources tell Lesley Goldberg multiple options for the awards telecast are on the table.

Dealmakers

• Wasserman’s Final Knife Fight — and the Horror Chart You Have to See Ashley reveals who’s still in the fight as binding offers for The Team come due. Plus: Breadwinner director Eric Appel on why comedy needs a Blumhouse.

Runaway Production’s True Cost

• The Hell of Runaway Production on Families: ‘Not a Way to Live’ Writers and crews are spending longer, lonelier months away from home, Nicole LaPorte reports — and the toll lands hardest, again and again, on women.

Richard Rushfield

• In a five-part series on the vast television landscape — with tips, explainers and insights into its inner workings — Richard walks you through…

  • How to: Win the Secret Game of Hollywood Meetings

  • How to: Survive TV Development Hell in Hollywood

  • TV Won the Prestige War. Movies Are In Their Revenge Era

  • Scripted TV’s Hazy Future: 3 Burning Questions

  • TV’s Mount Rushmore, According to 50 Hollywood Insiders

• YouTube Horror Kids vs. Nolan: Beware of Summer’s Wrong Lessons Plus, Richard takes stock of the outsized buzz around Backrooms and Obsession — and why calling twentysomething horror auteurs the industry saviors isn’t the answer.

Prestige Junkie

• Jason Bateman Has Seen It All — And Probably Directed It, Too The Black Rabbit star and, yes, director, tells Katey Rich what he’s learned through decades of shifting models and audiences.

• Braced for Violence: The Traitors Scene That Had Everyone on Edge Katey tells all from her backstage peek at the reality hit’s wild season four finale.

• Lisa Kudrow’s Comeback vs. the AI Hellscape Katey chats with the HBO comedy’s creator, Michael Patrick King, about the fears that spurred the series’ revival.

• Plus, All Her Fault star Dakota Fanning explains how the crime drama defied stereotypes and talks sharing a production company with her sister, Elle — and Spider-Noir co-showrunner Oren Uziel, with cast members including Lamorne Morris and Jack Huston, share their best Nicolas Cage stories from the set of the genre-bending series:

• Jimmy Kimmel’s Still Fighting for Late Night Jimmy Kimmel Live EP Molly McNearney reflects on the show’s Trump satire, Colbert’s exit and what’s left in late night.

• YouTube Is Still Waiting for Its Emmy Moment. Is This the Year? Katey interviews four creators and sees signs the digital-first storytelling breakthrough is almost here.

• Stranger Things for Seniors? The Boroughs Is Netflix’s Answer Creators Will Matthews and Jeffrey Addiss tell Katey about their bold gambit of a sci-fi drama with big stars and a hint of Spielberg.

Prestige Junkie on Apple Podcasts

The Wakeup

The Paramount-WBD merger is far from over, and Sean McNulty breaks down the additions to Paramount and the California AG’s office, along with PSKY’s late-stage concessions to get the deal over the finish line:

Friday → PAR, LGF Go Deeper on AI

Thursday → CAA, TPG Re-Team To Spend In Creator Biz

Wednesday → WARNAMOUNT Deal Army Adds Firepower

Tuesday → PSKY Considers Deal Concessions, U.K. Launches Probe

Sunday → AMAZON’s Masters Disaster, Latinos Power PAR’s Scary Big Wknd

🎧 Podcasts

Ankler Agenda

Elaine, Natalie and Sean dive into Netflix and Spotify’s podcast strategy as a bulwark against YouTube — and why streamers are betting that video pods are really just the next generation of low-cost talk shows:

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Shows

Monday Morning QBs

Sean and Chris break down last weekend’s biggest winners and losers, from Paramount’s nostalgia-fueled Scary Movie success to Amazon MGM’s Masters of the Universe flop:

Rushfield Lunch

L.A. Confidential author James Ellroy helped define Los Angeles noir, and the legendary crime writer joins Richard to discuss his career, process and Red Sheet, the latest installment in his ongoing saga of the city:

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YouTube’s Prestige TV Quest Runs Through Daredevil Michelle Khare

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The Optionist

Andy Lewis’ latest IP picks

An Eco-Terrorism True-Crime Story with a Judas and the Black Messiah Twist

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A pair of YouTubers are giving Hollywood something to talk about as the industry cheers the box office bonanza for Backrooms and Obsession — both closing in on $200 million worldwide, and both from Gen Z filmmakers who got their start with social video.

• Sean McNulty broke down exactly what these hauls mean (and don’t)

• Ashley Cullins ran the numbers on horror’s history of eye-popping multiples

• Matthew Frank, who reported on this phenomenon before it even happened, broke it down in an interview with France 24 that spread worldwide

Coming this week: Look for Ashley’s collab with Like & Subscribe’s Natalie Jarvey as they reveal the next wave of digital creators crashing the big screen — and how they’ll shake up showbiz dealmaking.

Natalie had another sharp deals take with her Netflix podcast sellers’ guide, a deep dive into what kinds of shows the streamer is looking for — and what it’s paying to lure top talent away from YouTube in this booming arena.

• Netflix Podcast Sellers’ Guide: What They Want — and How Much They’re Paying

Meanwhile, ahead of Friday’s news that several state attorneys general, led by California’s Rob Bonta, will sue to block Paramount Skydance’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, Lesley Goldberg took a look at the seismic impact on the internal power ranks if David Ellison’s merger does go through. In our top story of the week, she games the odds on Bloys vs. Holland and the other key battles to come.

• Paramount-Warners: 3 Exec Showdowns About to Explode

But heyyy, Hollywood, the shows must go on! And Team Ankler took the stage at two standout events this week that were all about great storytelling — first, on Wednesday, our Prestige Junkie Live screening and Q&A with the stars and showrunner of Prime Video’s Spider-Noir, hosted by Christopher Rosen; and then, on Friday evening, YouTube’s FYC-palooza, where Katey Rich — introduced by Janice Min — sat down with top creators Brittany Broski, Kareem Rahma, Julian Shapiro-Barnum and Cleo Abram. Read more about both happenings in Prestige Junkie this week as Emmy campaigning heats up.

Now, ICYMI, the rest of our best of the week:

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Series Business

• Microdramas: Writers’ AI Canary in the Coal Mine Elaine Low on how vertical production is accelerating use of the disruptive tech (even among writers), with hard lessons for Hollywood.

• TV in 3: Amazon’s Data Drip; HBO Max’s Bare Shelves Plus, Lesley weighs if Netflix’s Pop Culture Jeopardy daily drops paid off.

Dealmakers

• Wasserman’s Final Knife Fight — and the Horror Chart You Have to See Ashley reveals who’s still in the fight as binding offers for The Team come due. Plus: Breadwinner director Eric Appel on why comedy needs a Blumhouse.

Richard Rushfield

• Bari Weiss and the Trojan Horse Plan for Hollywood Showbiz outrage over the CBS News teardown hides a far uglier truth, Richard Rushfield writes: An industry that has lost its way as deeply as this one invites the wolves in, and they are here.

Crowd Pleaser

• Old Dogs, New Clips: How Stars Are Turning Past Roles Into Fresh Fame Matthew Frank goes inside the new playbook for turning a catalog of film and TV work into a modern social-media following.

Reel AI

• Call My Agent: Hollywood’s Data Wants a Deal New middlemen are breaking the standoff between studios and Big Tech, Erik Barmack writes, and bringing in millions for clients.

Prestige Junkie

• Inside Task & Brad Ingelsby’s Delco Crime Universe Katey chats with Ingelsby, the creator of the Heat-inspired drama, about its powerful sense of place in Pennsylvania.

• Braced for Violence: The Traitors Scene That Had Everyone on Edge Katey tells all from her backstage peek at the reality hit’s wild season four finale.

• Plus, Euphoria’s and The Four Seasons’ Colman Domingo spoke with Katey about his extremely busy season (including a turn in Steven Spielberg’s Disclosure Day), and The Girlfriend’s Robin Wright reveals how she kept audiences engaged as star, director and EP says of the Prime Video series:

• Industry Almost Ended. Then It Blew Up Bigger Than Ever Chris goes deep with Industry creators Mickey Down and Konrad Kay on their explosive HBO drama, and not caring what the audience thinks.

• Chad Powers & the Sports Comedies That Go Beyond the Game Co-creator Michael Waldron tells Katey how the Glen Powell Hulu comedy took inspiration from Succession & Tootsie.

Prestige Junkie on Apple Podcasts

The Wakeup

Backrooms/Obsession mania is trickling down to the rest of the theatrical business, too. Sean lays out AMC & Cinemark’s huge May boosts and the NBA Finals studio marketing surge:

Friday → ☀️ NETFLIX Pauses Denzel Pic, PEACOCK Revisits All Her Fault Well

Thursday → ☀️ Upfronts Budgets Trimmed, Big NBA Movie Ad Buys

Wednesday → ☀️ Hollywood’s Testosterone September at the Box Office

Tuesday → ☀️ Movie Theater Stocks Pop, NETFLIX, HULU, AGBO Exec Moves

Sunday → ☀️ Indie Horror Summer on 🔥 with Backrooms, Obsession

🎧 Podcasts

Ankler Agenda

Elaine, Sean and Natalie dive into the YouTube revolution, then examine the growing disconnect between what Hollywood says about AI in public vs. how creators and more are really using it:

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TikTok’s Sundance Microdrama Marriage; YouTube’s Money-Shaming Hit

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The Optionist

Andy Lewis’ latest IP picks

Promising Young Woman for the TMZ Era & Hollywood Actresses in a Deadly Feud

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Anyone who’s read Elaine Low’s Series Business column (or her Instagram) on the regular knows she’s kind of a little bit obsessed with tennis — so no wonder she aced it this week with a story about Netflix’s sports strategy, timed to Rafa, the Rafael Nadal docuseries that premiered Friday. Elaine’s interviews with execs Adam Del Deo and Gabe Spitzer reveal how the streamer’s evolving strategy — from MLB to WWE Raw — is meeting the surge in sports viewership.

• Rafa to Raw: Netflix Execs Reveal Their Shift in Sports Strategy

Meanwhile, over on the scripted side of the small screen, execs and producers are working to get series back on an annual cadence as the traditional broadcast schedule shows its strength with audiences (not to mention its efficiencies). Lesley Goldberg has the goods on which shows are speeding up the clock — and how — plus she scoops the new frontrunner for the role as Amazon TV head Peter Friedlander’s lieutenant:

• The Pitt Effect: A Scramble to Get Shows Back on Air Faster

• TV in 3: Amazon Search for Friedlander’s No. 2 Narrows

Friday’s “TV in 3” includes a special guest turn from Ankler contributor Claire Atkinson, who spoke to the troops at CBS News and other media insiders about 60 Minutes’ surprising new boss, Nick Bilton. Claire also took a dive into James Murdoch’s recent acquisition of New York magazine to suss out whether it’s the start of a real empire or a very expensive reputation cleanse.

• James Murdoch’s Revenge Tour Starts at New York

And finally, L.A. or NYC, you’re invited! The Ankler team has two lively FYC events coming up this week — first, deputy editor Christopher Rosen will be at the London West Hollywood on Wednesday, June 3 to host a Prestige Junkie Live Screening and Q&A with the co-showrunner and stars of Prime Video’s Spider-Noir. Then, next Sunday, June 7, Pure Nonfiction’s Thom Powers is back with the latest edition of our Documentary Spotlight at New York’s Roxy Cinema featuring Colin Hanks’ John Candy: I Like Me, Rebecca Miller’s Mr. Scorsese and four other Emmy-contending docs. RSVP below to join us!

• You’re Invited: Spider-Noir Screening + Live Q&A June 3

• You’re Invited: Documentary Spotlight From The Ankler & Pure Nonfiction Returns to NY 6.7

Now, ICYMI, the rest of our best of the week:

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Dealmakers

• Tax Incentive Showdown: The Global Money War Heats Up Ashley Cullins talks with lawyers, agents, execs and production finance experts to go country to country and uncover where runaway production is going, the financial sweeteners available — and why the savings are impossible (even irresponsible) to resist.

Richard Rushfield

• The Original Movie Rebellion Is Here. The Pope Saw It Coming From breakout horror flick Obsession to A24’s The Drama, the box office is producing more original hits than it has in a long while. Richard breaks down the root causes.

• Bass, Raman, Pratt: Three Pitches to Fix Hollywood’s Mess Richard goes candidate by candidate, evaluating each contender’s positions on saving Hollywood — and the surprising champion hiding in plain sight.

Prestige Junkie

• Brett Goldstein on Shrinking and the Good Hang Comedy Boom Katey Rich chats with Brett Goldstein about joining the Shrinking ensemble and juggling multiple projects with humor.

• 🎧 The Audacity Puts Tech Bros on Blast Katey chats with the team behind AMC’s very funny, very topical new series.

• Plus, Riz Ahmed tells Katey how his new meta comedy Bait became a form of “therapy”:

• The Pitt, Hacks and the Emmy Races Where Chaos Will Reign As Emmy season hits the track, Katey and Christopher Rosen swap takes on the most competitive races.

Prestige Junkie on Apple Podcasts

The Wakeup

Sean McNulty lays out the flurry of deals this week from HBO, Netflix and Paramount, including “Insta-docs,” Netflix’s fast-turnaround 20/20 for streaming:

Friday → HBO, A24 Collab On ’80s IP, PAR’s Next Movie Buy

Thursday → HBO MAX Enters David E. Kelley Biz, NETFLIX Launches Instadocs

Wednesday → NETFLIX Gets Biggest Doc Viewership In Years

Sunday → Obsession Soars On Buzz As Mandalorian Hits Target

🎧 Podcasts

Ankler Agenda

Richard joins Elaine and Natalie Jarvey to break down what each major L.A. mayoral candidate has said about showbiz challenges and whether anyone at City Hall can save local production:

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Spotify’s Podcast Boss on the Pivot That Paid Off — and the Video, AI & Memberships Bet

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The Optionist

Andy Lewis’ latest IP picks

A Future Dad Movie Fave That’s Tom Clancy Meets Point Break

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The job struggle is real for everyone in Hollywood, but for those at the lowest rungs of the ladder, doors seem to be closing at every turn. Leila Jordan’s survey of 50+ early-career entertainment workers and job seekers became our top story of the week, and struck a major nerve on Instagram.

• 50 Young Hollywood Workers Tell All: ‘My Bank Account is So Sad’

Also high on the Ankler charts: two great showrunner interviews. First, Manori Ravindran — with the ink barely dry on her final report from the Cannes Film Festival — scored an exclusive post-finale sit-down with SNL UK showrunner James Longman, plus cast members Emma Sidi and Celeste Dring, about how the Brit team made the iconic U.S. sketch format their own. Then, Lesley Goldberg dug into the details with Louisa Levy, who heads up Prime Video’s Off Campus, about the buzzy college hockey romance’s franchise potential.

• Exclusive: SNL UK Showrunner & Cast on Surviving the Skeptics

• Amazon’s Hockey Romance Off Campus Has a Bridgerton Plan

And finally, with Cristian Mungiu’s Fjord winning the Palme d’Or, that’s a wrap on Cannes 2026. Watch our starry Croisette Conversations, hosted at the Armani Caffè in partnership with Brand Innovators, on The Ankler YouTube, featuring Katey Rich‘s interviews with the likes of Coward filmmaker Lukas Dhont (whose two leads, Emmanuel Macchia and Valentin Campagne, shared the fest’s best actor award), Academy CEO Bill Kramer, Club Kid star Diego Calva, Clarissa directors and cast including David Oyelowo, and more. Plus, catch up on our Cannes Dailies here.

Now, ICYMI, the rest of our best of the week:

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Series Business

• Disney TV Sellers’ Guide: What ABC, FX & Hulu Actually Want In part three of Elaine Low’s Sellers’ Guide (parts one and two covered Apple TV and Netflix), top reps reveal the smart strategies to break through at the Mouse House broadcast network, prestige cabler and general entertainment streamer.

• TV in 3: Shonda’s Disney-Netflix Throuple — And Why Everyone Wins Lesley goes inside the Bridgerton queen’s return to ABC with a Grey’s Anatomy spinoff. Plus, Colbert’s sign-off and a chat with Netflix’s Little House on the Prairie showrunner.

Richard Rushfield

• How Survivor Outplayed Hollywood for 50 Seasons Outwit, Outplay, Outlast isn’t just for the reality juggernaut’s contestants. Richard, who attended season 50’s finale, chats with creator Mark Burnett about how the long-lasting hit beat the broadcast odds.

• What Could Save the Industry? Fin-Syn The independent TV spirit of the ’90s can live again, Richard argues — we just need to bring back one piece of critical regulation.

Crowd Pleaser

• Star Wars’ Disney+ Hangover: A Fight to Make the Galaxy Feel Big Again This weekend, the franchise marked its big-screen return with The Mandalorian and Grogu. With the box office looking… not so Force-ful, Matthew Frank reveals what television has to do with it.

Reel AI

• James Harden, Carmelo Anthony & the AI-Powered Hollywood Pivot An AI-generated animation about the NBA star’s career is redefining how athletes can bypass the traditional production company model, Erik Barmack writes.

Cannes Dailies

• Deal Scene: Hot Titles, Who’s Buying & the Market’s ‘800-Pound Gorilla’ Manori talks to Richard Lorber and others in the know about the state of top players — Amazon and Black Bear to Warners’ Clockwork — as high market hopes fade.

  • PLUS: Don’t miss Ashley Cullins’ film finance panel, “The New Greenlight Economy,” with Submarine’s Josh Braun, 30West’s Micah Green and Gersh’s Jessica Lacy.

• Adam Driver Deflects Dunham, Markiplier Mobbed Plus, Manori and Ashley take stock of the Paper Tiger buzz, the Croisette’s waves of creators and a new attitude around AI.

Prestige Junkie

• Adam Driver’s Paper Tiger Role Started With an Email Katey chats with the star about Cannes and his acclaimed performance in James Gray’s fest darling.

• Plus, The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins star Daniel Radcliffe tells Katey how he found his way opposite Tracy Morgan in NBC’s acclaimed sitcom — and lists his favorite half-hour comedies:

• 7 Cannes Movies to Watch; Sarah Snook’s Post-Succession Power Play Katey lists the fest titles worth keeping an eye on and chats with the star of Peacock’s thrilling miniseries All Her Fault.

Prestige Junkie on Apple Podcasts

The Wakeup

As Netflix commits to theatrical runs for Greta Gerwig’s Narnia and David Fincher’s Cliff Booth — plus a live morning show — Sean McNulty analyzes the streamer’s latest growth push:

Friday → NEON, ROW K In Distro Talks; IMAX Explores Sale

Thursday → What NETFLIX’s New Theatrical, Live Daily TV Moves Indicate

Wednesday → WB’s Big Cannes Buy, NETFLIX Sets ’70s Remake

Tuesday → NETFLIX, AMAZON Cannes Action, DISNEYFOX Enlists Feig

Sunday → Obsession Pops with 18-34s, BLACK BEAR Woes Continue

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Ankler Agenda

Elaine, Sean and Natalie Jarvey make their picks for the coming biggest hits in a summer box office draft:

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New York’s YouTube TV Moment: Brandcast, Babish & NYT Cooking’s Glow-Up

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The Optionist

Andy Lewis’ latest IP picks

The Lord of the Flies Goes Friday Night Nights & a Deadly Beauty Pageant

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Bonjour, Hollywood! If you’re in Cannes, I hope you’ve had a chance to attend The Ankler’s terrific Croisette Conversations, presented with Brand Innovators, at our studio in Armani Caffè. Catch them also on The Ankler YouTube and in our Cannes Daily newsletters.

• Cannes Remix: New Buyers, Mubi Mystery & Indie Film’s Math Reset

• Quiet Croisette, Hot Market: Dealmakers See Demand Rise

• StudioCanal Throws Down: Lit Hits, Gen Z Bait & U.S. Buyers

Our studio, helmed by Ankler executive producer Jennifer Laski, so far has welcomed Club Kid star Diego Calva, Academy CEO Bill Kramer and president Lynette Howell Taylor, OpenAI’s Critterz directors, David Oyelowo, dealmaker Josh Braun, and so many more, all in conversation with our own Katey Rich and Ashley Cullins. Look for another Cannes Daily in your inbox later today and also tomorrow.

Meanwhile, back here in L.A., there’s a Palais-worthy cinematic political drama brewing ahead of our June 2 mayoral primary. Reality TV star Spencer Pratt is, against all odds, surging. Matthew Frank broke down the latest list of donors to Pratt’s campaign, and it was full of surprises — from Haim and Cheryl Saban to Lucian Grainge and many longtime Dem stalwarts.

• Spencer Pratt’s Surge: The Hollywood Donor List

Richard Rushfield also had a sharp take on Pratt’s insurgent run and what it bodes for showbiz’s own hapless leaders:

• Spencer Pratt is a Warning Shot for L.A. — and Hollywood

And finally, before she jetted off to Cannes, Katey touched down in L.A. for a Prestige Junkie Live screening with Prime Video’s The Girlfriend, featuring star, director and EP Robin Wright and star Laurie Davidson. Hats off to the hardest-working awards editor in the business.

Now, ICYMI, the rest of our best of the week:

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Series Business

• Upfronts Winners & Losers: Scripted TV Gets Sacked After a week in NYC, Elaine Low assesses the presentations, the posturing — and the David Ellison elephant looming over it all.

• TV Shocker: Broadcast is Growing Again — and the Numbers Prove It As broadcast shows renewed vitality, Lesley Goldberg maps out what the Big 4 are offering up now.

• TV in 3: Friedlander’s Amazon Goals Revealed; TV Studio Scorecard Lesley’s take on the Prime Video exec’s first twirl for Madison Ave., plus Vin Diesel‘s Fast & Furious overshare.

Richard Rushfield

• Katzenberg’s Last Currency On the outs in Hollywood circles and among Dems, Jeffrey Katzenberg held a Santa Barbara confab featuring none other than Palantir’s Alex Karp, a major player behind Trump’s would-be security state.

L.A. Ratatouille

• L.A.’s Rat Attack: Panic Hits Hollywood’s Hot Tables From San Vicente Bungalows to Peninsula Beverly Hills to Dan Tana, industry-favored eateries are seeing a troubling rise in vermin. Degen Pener investigates why.

Fire Fest: Wasserman & LA28

• How Casey Wasserman’s Olympic Agenda Warped L.A.’s Fire Recovery The Optionist’s Andy Lewis excerpts Jonathan Vigliotti’s Torched, revealing how Gavin Newsom, Karen Bass and the industry scion prioritized LA28’s Olympics over future safety as wildfires ravaged the city.

Prestige Junkie

• Euphoria to Hacks: Wait, That’s the Same Actress? Busy character actor Alanna Ubach tells Katey why she takes pride in being “the potatoes, butter and broccoli on the side.”

• Plus, Christopher Rosen chats with Wonder Man star Yahya Abdul-Mateen II about his superhero turn:

• Indie TV Takes Center Stage at SeriesFest — Serial Killers and All Katey shares her experience in Denver for the 12th annual TV confab, where she talked to The Testaments’ Amy Seimetz and Devil in Disguise’s John Wayne Gacy, Michael Chernus.

Prestige Junkie on Apple Podcasts

The Wakeup

Sean McNulty got into the nitty-gritty of each Upfronts presentation, from NBC’s scripted TV revival to Disney’s star power and Netflix’s new ad tech:

Friday → NETFLIX Builds AI Animation Biz; VERSANT Q1 Library Bump

Thursday → Woof: NETFLIX vs. WBD in Upfronts Day 3

Wednesday → DIS Upfront: 2027 Sports & Spectacle Onslaught

Tuesday → NBC v. Amazon Ad Battle: Upfronts Day 1

Sunday → Prada Strong, Kombat Soft, Sheep Baa!

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Ankler Agenda

Live from New York! Elaine, Sean and Natalie broke down the Upfronts’ major themes from Disney, Netflix, WBD & YouTube:

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Rushfield Lunch

Richard sat down with Stick creator Jason Keller for a wide-ranging conversation about Owen Wilson’s “writer’s brain” and the long road Keller took to Hollywood:

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New from Natalie Jarvey’s creator economy newsletter

Cannes Lions’ Creator Boom Meets 2026’s Budget Buzzkill

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The Optionist

Andy Lewis’ latest IP picks

Michael Clayton Meets Indiana Jones & Ocean’s 8 for Student Loan Debt

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Ooh la la, Team Ankler is in Cannes this week hosting our Croisette Conversations — live panels and discussions with top filmmakers, talent and leaders, including Diego Luna, David Oyelowo and Academy CEO Bill Kramer — in partnership with Brand Innovators at the Armani Caffè.

• Tom Quinn to Diego Luna: The Ankler’s Croisette Conversations Debuts at Cannes With Brand Innovators

Check out our full programming (updating daily) and RSVP to attend here, and watch your inbox for our Cannes Daily newsletters, including videos of our conversations, from Prestige Junkie’s Katey Rich, Dealmakers’ Ashley Cullins and international correspondent Manori Ravindran.

Also, a few fun bits of Ankler in the news this week:

• If you’ve ever wondered how Sean McNulty does The Wakeup day after day, you can read about his unique POV and process in an interview with LinkedIn’s Andrew Murfett: “The newsletter Hollywood wakes up to.”

• Katey popped on NPR’s Morning Edition to talk Met Gala magic and the Jeff Bezos of it all.

• The Rapid Response podcast ahead of The Devil Wears Prada 2 featured our own Janice Min and WSJ magazine editor-in- chief Sarah Ball to talk the good, the bad and the beautiful of the glossy magazine glory days that launched the OG 2006 film. “I was the devil,” Janice jokes of her storied tenure atop Us Weekly, “and I did wear Prada.”

• Lastly, Mark Ruffalo and Matt Stoller’s New York Times op ed about the Paramount-Warner merger had a perfect shout-out to The Ankler and our own Richard Rushfield.

Now, ICYMI, our best and buzziest stories of the week:

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Series Business

• Netflix, Obamas & the Death of Vanity Deals — Yes, Writers Win Hollywood belt-tightening has come for A-listers’ production deals with studios and streamers, Lesley Goldberg reports, as top showrunners and non-writing producers cash in.

• Inside Netflix: How to Sell a Show There Right Now For part two of Elaine Low’s Sellers’ Guide (part one covered Apple TV), she reveals what’s in demand at Netflix and the execs who decide.

• TV in 3: Sneaky Strategies Behind The Bear Bonus, HBO Harry Potter Plan Lesley games how FX’s surprise prequel boosts the series’ Emmy chances. Plus, Fox goes all in on faith with Jason Katims.

Crowd Pleaser

• Horror! A24’s Youngest Director Ever Started on YouTube Studios are finding the next under-30 horror auteurs online. Matthew Frank talks to Jason Blum about the trend and explains why Backrooms could open huge.

Reel AI

• USC to NYU: AI’s Stealth Film School Takeover Has Begun Adobe, Google and Runway are funding adoption of their tools across top institutions’ curricula, Erik Barmack writes, onboarding students into a tech-driven industry future.

Prestige Junkie

• The Woman Who Found Martin Scorsese’s Soul Katey talks to Mr. Scorsese director Rebecca Miller about the making of the five-part doc series, and why the auteur finally agreed to it.

• Plus, Christopher Rosen catches up with Industry stars Myha’la and Marisa Abela to find out what’s next for the HBO juggernaut

• No Dragons: How Knight Flipped the Game of Thrones Formula Katey interviews A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms showrunner Ira Parkes and star Peter Claffey about the little Thrones show that could.

Prestige Junkie on Apple Podcasts

The Wakeup

In the thick of earnings season, there is no one better at crunching the numbers and gaming out takeaways than Sean. This week: Paramount, AMC Theatres, Disney and WBD:

Friday → AMC, STARZ Biz Losses Mount in Q1 As TKO Sees UFC Boost

Thursday → WBD Q1 Big TV Losses > Streaming Gains

Wednesday P.M. → Takeaways: DISNEY’s D’Amaro Meets the Street

Wednesday → AMC THEATRES Enters Concert Biz Amid Elusive Profits

Tuesday → PAR Cuts Spend to Boost Profit in Q1

Sunday → Millennials Lift Prada as Michael Keeps Soaring

🎧 Podcasts

Ankler Agenda

Elaine, Sean and Natalie Jarvey break down what earnings at Disney, WBD and Paramount signal, from Disney’s “super app” ambitions to the looming Warner-Paramount merger:

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Monday Morning QBs

Sean and Chris take stock of Devil Wears Prada 2‘s $77 million opening — and why Gen Z said no:

Rushfield Lunch

American Cinematheque’s Grant Moninger joins Richard Rushfield to discuss the L.A. nonprofit at ground zero of the city’s revival screening boom — and its plans for public screenings at Fox Village Theater in Westwood Village this summer:

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New from Natalie Jarvey’s creator economy newsletter

Media’s Devil Wears Prada Era Is Over. Women’s Sports Is Next Former Condé Nast exec Pam Drucker Mann gives Natalie the details of Reign, a new women’s sports media venture poised to tap the arena’s projected $3 billion in revenue.

How a Survivor and Traitors Alum Built Reality Fandoms Into a Podcast Empire Natalie chats with Rob Cesternino for a look at his new book and a business with more than 60 pop culture shows.

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The Optionist

Andy Lewis’ latest IP picks

Two Twists on Succession & Megachurch Secrets Revealed

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It was a big week here at Ankler HQ with our unveiling of a new website, subscription platform and sophisticated visual upgrade (courtesy of design director Kelsey Stefanson). The changes made a LOT of news in various corners of the media — and Janice and Richard explain it all here:

Meanwhile, our No. 1 mission hasn’t changed at all: to provide indispensable news and analysis to our subscribers, the kind of premium information you can’t get anywhere else.

Case in point: Dealmakers’ Ashley Cullins delivered the must-read of the week — a gaming-out of the frontrunners in the Wasserman sweepstakes, with insiders-only details about who’s coming to the table with the strongest hand:

• Wasserman Deal: Final Bidders, Frontrunners Emerge

Then, in Series Business, Elaine Low kicked off her must-read Spring Sellers’ Guide — which reveals the wish lists of every major TV buyer right now — with Apple TV (paid subscribers can tune in tomorrow for her report on the big kahuna, Netflix):

• Cracking Apple TV: The Shows It Wants Now

We hope you agree our newsletters and modern, intuitive site look pretty amazing. Remember to add newsletters@mail.theankler.com to your contacts to be sure you’re receiving everything in your subscription — and let us know what you think of our new digs!

Now, ICYMI, the rest of our best of the week:

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Series Business

• Scandal, Loyalty & Summer House: Frances Berwick’s Bravo Playbook NBCU’s top unscripted exec unpacks her winning strategy for Lesley Goldberg — franchises plus volume — and teases a juicy “new scene” on Summer House spinoff In the City.

• YouTube Series Are Hijacking Reality TV. Studios Want In Banijay bets on French YouTuber Squeezie’s Stop the Train as Manori Ravindran breaks down how creators are reshaping the global format business.

• TV in 3: The Messy Truth Behind Amazon’s ‘Apprentice’ Fantasy Lesley gets inside discussions at the streamer about a Donald Trump Jr.-led reboot and why they fizzled.

Richard Rushfield

• The Case Against Paramount-WBD Keeps Getting Louder Richard lays out five reasons to keep fighting.

• Kimmel Fights. Tech Bros Bow Before The King A who’s who at the state dinner tells us what we need to know about CEOs vs. creatives in Hollywood, Richard writes.

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• Alex Cooper’s Unwell Deals: What the Contracts Reveal — and Why Talent Thinks Twice Her feud with Alix Earle isn’t the only controversy swirling around the Call Her Daddy star. Like & Subscribe‘s Natalie Jarvey breaks down what she saw in an Unwell podcast contract — and speaks with multiple sources familiar with the company’s deals. The terms explain what’s really happening behind the scenes and why some talent reps are steering their clients away from Unwell.

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Prestige Junkie

• The Santos & Whitaker Moment You Missed on The Pitt Katey Rich chats with Isa Briones and Gerran Howell about deleted scenes and what’s next for their characters. Plus, Patrick Ball joins the Prestige Junkie podcast to tell Katey about all the Langdon stans out there and his long road to success on the show.

• Dan Levy’s Big Mistakes & Crime’s New Comedy Boom The Schitt’s Creek creator and Taylor Ortega bring Katey in on their Netflix caper as more shows skirt the wrong side of the law

Prestige Junkie on Apple Podcasts

The Wakeup

It’s a Gen X world — at least on the Netflix film charts. A Charlize Theron wilderness thriller is just the latest Gen X-starrer to top the rankings, and Sean McNulty lays out all the other recent hits:

Friday → ☀️ A24 Sets Another Wedding Movie, NETFLIX’s Next YT Series Deal

Thursday → ☀️ NETFLIX, Claire Danes Re-Team, Exec Private ✈️ Use Rankings

Wednesday → ☀️ NETFLIX Gen X Blitz Continues With Charlize

Tuesday → ☀️ SONY Tarantino Expansion, Diller’s IAC Layoffs, Rebrand

Sunday → ☀️ Michael Soars As Most Box Office Falls Off Cliff

🎧 Podcasts

Ankler Agenda

Elaine, Sean and Ashley break down the Wasserman bidders, the stakes for the representation business and what the multibillion-dollar price tag reveals about the industry — and who has the juice:

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📹 Ankler Shows

Monday Morning QBs

Lionsgate’s Michael scored the biggest opening in biopic history at $97 million. But Sean and Christopher Rosen break down why the rest of the box office lags way behind:

Rushfield Lunch

In almost every part of the industry, “we’re seeing the numbers go backward” in working women, says Kirsten Schaffer, the CEO of WIF (formerly known as Women in Film Los Angeles). She explains what’s behind the dreary figures:

Katey & Chris on the New Oscar Rules

The film Academy announced changes to the Oscars on Friday, and Katey & Chris went live to break down what they mean for actors, AI, international feature and more:

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The Optionist

Andy Lewis’ latest IP picks

A ‘Hacks’ Procedural & the Medical Drama Goes on the Road

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It was a jackpot week for Team Ankler in Vegas, where our Media and Entertainment stage at NAB Show became a hub for conversations about where the business is headed next.

Across panels and interviews, a few themes kept surfacing: AI’s growing role (and its limits), new models for building media businesses and the increasingly fragmented paths to audienc…

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If you’re in Vegas today, look for some familiar Ankler faces. Tonight, Janice Min, MS NOW’s Ari Melber and NAB EVP Karen Chupka host a private dinner for top speakers and guests amid our all-star roster of programming Sunday-Tuesday in NAB Show’s Business of Media and Entertainment Theater. Check out Melber, Jen Psaki, Markiplier, JB Smoove, Funko CEO …

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Headed to CinemaCon? Keep an eye out for Richard Rushfield, Sean McNulty and Matthew Frank, who’ll be in Vegas to take in all the exclusive screenings, star turns, theater news and — Richard’s specialty — snack innovations at the massive cinema confab. Matthew’s reporting last week on the power of fandoms should give all those studio execs prowling Caes…

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Happy Easter and Passover — and it looks like there’s one more thing to celebrate this weekend as the WGA and AMPTP reach a tentative four-year agreement. The deal, struck after just three weeks of negotiations, still needs guild approval and member ratification, but the relief across Hollywood is palpable — a rare bit of good news after a brutal stretch for the workforce.

That strain was front and center in one of our biggest stories of the week. Elaine Low’s millennials edition of her Disappearing Ladder series struck a nerve with subscribers — and sparked a heated debate on our Instagram (@theankler). Gen X, you’re next! Reach out to Elaine if you’ve got insights.

Lesley Goldberg also made a splash this week with her sharp take on Peter Friedlander’s quiet — too quiet? — tenure as Amazon’s global head of TV. Six months in, the respected exec has yet to signal a strategy and the “mystified” town is getting restless. See also: Lesley’s scoops on The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power and a RoboCop series greenlight.

The week’s other big talker? Gen Z “hipsters” are on the town puffing cigarettes. Degen Pener hit the clubs to understand what’s happening:

Reminder: The Ankler is at NAB Show (April 19–20) in Vegas with exclusive programming in the Media and Entertainment Theater that includes MS NOW anchors Jen Psaki and Ari Melber with top exec Marcus Mabry; JB Smoove; YouTuber and Iron Lung filmmaker Mark Fischbach (aka Markiplier), Akela Cooper and Atomic Monster’s Michael Clear; CEOs from Funko, MicroCo and Asteria; and showrunner Eric Robles. Stay tuned for more big names. Bonus: Ankler readers get $60 off a show pass with code ANKLER26.

Now, ICYMI: even more stories that had the industry buzzing — and subscribing — this week:

Dealmakers: Indie Film Intel

• Ashley Cullins talks to CAA’s Roeg Sutherland, UTA’s Rena Ronson, Gersh’s Jessica Lacy, Bleecker Street CEO Kent Sanderson and more about 2026 budgets, buyers — and an unexpected opportunity:

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Series Business: U.K. Streaming Wars, Pitt Ills

• As streaming’s Battleground Britain welcomes a new entrant, Manori Ravindran takes you inside WBD’s bet that mass IP can outperform local storytelling — while Netflix, Amazon and Disney double down on local:

• Plus, Lesley weighs Supriya Ganesh’s exit from The Pitt and why it sent fans into code red, along with April’s Emmy-contender pile-up:

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Arsenio’s Battle Over Blackness

• With an exclusive excerpt from Arsenio Hall’s memoir, The Optionist’s Andy Lewis recounts how the late night host was squeezed in the early ’90s by Paramount, Black stars and the NAACP — each demanding the “right” amount of Blackness on his pioneering talk show:

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Prestige Junkie: 2027 Oscar Buzz

• On her Prestige Junkie podcast, Katey Rich gauges next year’s Oscar hopefuls. Two among them: The Odyssey and Dune: Part Three, both of which star Robert Pattinson and Zendaya — who find themselves in a never-ending promo cycle with this weekend’s A24 rom-com The Drama:

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The Wakeup: Who Could Replace Jeff Shell?

• Sean McNulty names some familiar names as the beleaguered Paramount president appears headed for the exit:

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📱 LIKE & SUBSCRIBE BY NATALIE JARVEY

• Natalie’s revealing interview with Chernin Group partners Greg Bettinelli and Maureen Sullivan revealed what drives their bets on creator-led businesses and where they see the next opportunities:

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🎧 PODCASTS

ANKLER AGENDA

• Elaine and Sean debate which generation really has it worst in today’s business — and whether boomers are to blame:

• Mike Judge and Alec Berg join Elaine to dissect how their iconic 2010s HBO comedy, Silicon Valley, nailed its prescient takes on AI and Big Tech:

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📹 Ankler Shows

• Monday Morning Quarterbacks: It was a good run for Warner Bros., but Sean and Christopher Rosen analyze how — following a dismal debut for The Bride! and last weekend’s flop They Will Kill You, the heater is over:

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👓 THE OPTIONIST BY ANDY LEWIS

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FINAL HOUSEKEEPING!

As an Ankler subscriber, you are automatically subscribed to all of our newsletters and podcasts by default. Not interested in all of them? Customize which ones would like to receive notifications for. It’s easy to do.

1. Log into your Substack account from a desktop or laptop, select “Settings” from the drop-down menu.

2. Under Subscriptions, click on The Ankler to review the sections you’d like to subscribe to/unsubscribe from.

3. On the next page, click on the toggles next to each newsletter and podcast you want to receive emails for. A gray toggle indicates notifications are off.

   

4. Alternatively, when you get an email newsletter, select “Unsubscribe” in the footer of the email and click on “Turn off emails” next to each section you’d like to unsubscribe from.

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It’s worth saying again: Independent media matters. Your job and nothing short of this industry’s future depends on it.

Mediaite took note of this fact this past week, highlighting Richard Rushfield’s leading coverage of the Paramount-WBD merger in a moment where most other media mindlessly accepts it as a done deal — even cheerleading it — no questions…

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Two major M&A narratives have their grip on Hollywood — and they’re rife with more drama, hubris and crazy twists than anything Taylor Sheridan could dream up. Consider this week’s developments on the Paramount-Warner deal and the Wasserman sale, with Team Ankler bringing scoops and keen analysis on the daily:

• The “objectively insane” price Casey Wasserm…

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Happy Oscar Sunday! I’ve filled out my Oscar pool, placed my first-ever Kalshi bet (on the best actor race) and am excited to watch the big show alongside Prestige Junkie’s Katey Rich and Ankler deputy editor Christopher Rosen — join them live at 3 p.m. PT on YouTube, where they’ll start with the red carpet and stay on through the telecast and beyond, t…

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By now, you know one of the hallmarks of The Ankler is our fearless commentary and reporting, often led by Richard Rushfield, who I’d argue is the preeminent moral conscience of Hollywood today.

Last fall, two columns he wrote about directors touched off small firestorms:

On Friday, we invited top members of the DGA and other industry bigwigs to join th…

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Hollywood heads are still spinning from the news that Paramount won the battle for Warner Bros. Discovery. With a stated $6 billion in “redundancies” and a combined nearly $90 billion in debt, we can expect a brutal shakeup of jobs and priorities. Team Ankler circled the big issues:

• Sean McNulty came out of the gate with his top-tier analysis of the awf…

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What’s next for Wasserman? It’s the question ricocheting across Hollywood since Casey Wasserman announced he’s selling his agency. Ashley Cullins’ in-depth reporting tapped top attorneys, bankers and more insiders to break down the company’s value (in whole or in pieces) and who’s circling — and then whizzed around inboxes in town:

Don’t take just my wo…

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This Presidents Day weekend has me thinking about power — who has it, how they use it, how they abuse it. Our top stories from the week have a lot to say about all that. First, Richard Rushfield offered a keen-eyed, must-read accounting of which studio brass is cozying up to Trump and how — and the dire consequences to the industry.

Then, contributor All…

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