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 today. 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.
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:
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.
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!
Now, ICYMI, the rest of our best of the week:
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.
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:
Like & Subscribe
New from Natalie Jarvey’s creator economy newsletter:
↑ Spotify’s Podcast Boss on the Pivot That Paid Off — and the Video, AI & Memberships Bet
The Optionist
Andy Lewis’ latest IP picks:
↑ A Future Dad Movie Fave That’s Tom Clancy Meets Point Break
