The week began as it ended: with hope that both sides are an inch away from putting the writers strike, closing in on the title of longest in history, behind us. (That leaves SAG-AFTRA, but let’s save that for another day.)
Meanwhile, we asked questions including where are the Democratic politicians, why don’t the legacy studios split off from the streamers, and what does “best and final offer” really mean anyway?
Yet, outside this one all-consuming action, entertainment kept moving along: the Murdochs’ real-life Succession drama, of course, but also big, macro moves in the world of sports and cable TV melt; and at Amazon Prime Video. Our team was out and about to talk about it: Janice on GMA and CNBC’s Power Lunch, Sean McNulty on NBC, Elaine Low on CBS, and Claire Atkinson on Sky News.
Gmar tov to those observing Yom Kippur, as we present the best of our week:
The seismic news of Rupert Murdoch, 92, stepping down as chair of News Corp. and Fox made our excerpt from Michael Wolff’s upcoming new book, The Fall: The End of Fox News and the Murdoch Dynasty, especially a must-read.
And don’t miss Wolff In Conversation with Janice in Santa Monica on Oct. 16 at Zibby’s Bookshop.
Meanwhile, we’ve written before about the tenuous relationhip between agents and showrunners during the strike.
Peter Kiefer’s Friday night story about an explosive text message sent to clients by agents, including WME President Ari Greenburg, during ongoing AMPTP-WGA negotiations, further underscored a sense of mistrust between the agencies and the WGA in the aftermath of the guild’s action that ended packaging fees in 2020. (The WGA denied the details of the text were true.)
When this ends, does the mini-room remain? A top Emmy-winning showrunner writes for The Ankler on the controversial studio crutch:
President Joe Biden is visiting Detroit Tuesday to manage the new UAW strike, but hasn’t set foot in strike-crippled L.A. since March. Peter reports on why he’s stayed out of the Democrats’ richest fundraising territory:
Richard explains the reasons why the legacy studios didn’t break off during negotiations:
☀️The Wakeup
Sean McNulty had a bonus newsletter this week for paid subscribers explaining Max’s addition of a sports into its line-up, and how it foretells (further) doom for the cable TV bundle, and don’t miss his explanation why Amazon’s move into an ad tier for Prime Video is a much, much bigger deal than you think:
🎧 Podcasts
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THE ANKLER
Transcript here
Listen here: Apple | Spotify | Google Podcasts
MARTINI SHOT
Transcript here
Listen here: Apple | Spotify | Google Podcasts
🪧Strikegeist
👓 The Optionist
IP Picks🔎: A Coming-of-Age Bumper Edition Plus, an in-flight teen murder mystery and a look inside the grueling world of management consulting.
