You’re invited! Now’s the time to RSVP for the Prestige Junkie After Party, Katey Rich’s lively new standalone hub for awards lovers and obsessives, launching with a bonus podcast episode Aug. 1. Sign up here to get all her insider coverage for just $5 a month, plus you’ll have VIP access to Ankler and Prestige Junkie events, members-only call-in shows and much more. (Don’t worry, Katey’s regular essential Prestige Junkie content, always so smart, will still be available to current subscribers to The Ankler.)
While we’re celebrating Katey’s exciting new expansion, where Ankler deputy editor Christopher Rosen will be a regular (check out Friday’s Substack Live for their final takes on the Emmy nominations), we’re also looking ahead. A day after Lesley Goldberg and Claire Atkinson’s dishy report on the future of all those distressed cable brands — from the MVP channels that research shows resonate with consumers still, to their scoop about the CEOs and investors kicking the tires — Paramount announced the cancellation of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, a grim chapter in the long, slow goodbye of linear TV. (Look out this week for Lesley’s analysis on the tick-tock of this decision and what’s next for late night.)
But even as some Hollywood stories end, others begin in fresh spaces. Actual spaces, that is. Matthew Frank surveyed the exploding landscape of IRL entertainment, from Netflix Houses opening in Dallas and Philly to a coming Top Gun experience in Las Vegas, and interviewed top execs from WB, Netflix, Lionsgate, Uni and Paramount about their strategy for grabbing a slice of the Gen Z-driven $52 billion-and-growing experience economy. What’s yours?
Speaking of Gen Z, you should also head over to Like & Subscribe and read Natalie Jarvey’s deep dive into golf’s big swing for younger fans. As creators like Josh Richards hit the links, PGA pros become social stars and media startups see lots of green ahead, the once-stodgy sport is teeing up new followers. Meet the savvy players behind this generational pivot.
Now, without further ado, ICYMI, the rest of our best of the week:
Series Business: HBO Wish List
After diving into what shows Apple and Amazon are looking to scoop up, Elaine Low gets into HBO & HBO Max (and clears the confusion about what each actually wants): their comedy and drama buying strategies, Casey Bloys’ greenlight teams at each and who key players are:
Reel AI: Making Sci-Fi at Indie Prices
Tye Sheridan’s character in Ready Player One was on tech’s cutting edge, and now the actor is, too. Erik Barmack reveals how Wonder Dynamics — the company Sheridan founded in 2017 with VFX pro Nikola Todorovic and sold last year to the software giant that backed Avatar — puts sci-fi and genre in the hands of indie creators:
ESG: How YouTube Could Go Sideways
He laid out the worst-case scenario for Disney two weeks ago, and now Entertainment Strategy Guy details the dangers — regulation, AI and more — looming large for America’s biggest streamer, YouTube:
Richard Rushfield: Zaslav Vindication
After a big opening weekend for a tentpole like Superman, standard practice for a studio head is to keep your head down and let the team take credit. Not Warners Disco’s David Zaslav. But given non-stop abuse from the press — until they suddenly pretended they never doubted him — Richard says, let him enjoy the victory lap:
Prestige Junkie: Emmy Noms Analyzed
Severance is a juggernaut, Apple’s up, Amazon’s down and it’s mano e mano in the comedy race. Katey Rich breaks down the takeaways from the noms and also shares her chat with the season’s most unexpected contender — Somebody Somewhere’s Jeff Hiller:
The Wakeup
Sean McNulty took issue with Nielsen’s list of the top 20 movies streamed on TVs in the U.S. in the year’s first half. So he put together the actual top 20 from his data — and explains why length and theatrical release are key:
Weekly Shows
Monday Morning QBs: This week, in our live show with Richard & Sean about what just happened at the box office, the duo assesses Superman’s strong start — and how David Zaslav’s bet on talent proved right:
The Rushfield Lunch: Priyanka Mattoo has been around the Hollywood block. The former agent at UTA and WME became Jack Black’s producing partner at Electric Dynamite, and now she’s a memoirist. She joins Richard to talk agenting, filmmaking and becoming a writer late in life:
🎧 PODCASTS
THE ANKLER
The Epic Cable TV Swap Meet Begins Inside the grim arbitrage about to begin; plus: Emmy nom winners and losers:
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
MARTINI SHOT
When Will the Young Lions Finally Attack? The African savanna has a lot in common with the industry, says Rob Long:
📱 LIKE & SUBSCRIBE FROM NATALIE JARVEY
Golf’s Big Swing: YouTube, Gen Z & Creators Over Country Clubs – Like & Subscribe from Natalie Jarvey
👓 THE OPTIONIST BY ANDY LEWIS
IP Picks🔎: A Mars Mission Goes Haywire; College Secrets Comeuppance – The Optionist
FINAL HOUSEKEEPING!
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