5 Burning Qs: What The Netflix-Warners Bombshell Means for Creatives, Execs & Shows
The deal would put showrunners, revered execs and piles of priceless IP under one roof, and it’s going to be messy
I cover TV from L.A. I wrote about the ruthless business of holiday TV movies, the Netflix debate over the release of Stranger Things’ final season and got the inside dope on Ryan Murphy’s legal drama All’s Fair. Email me at lesley.goldberg@theankler.com
Welcome to the third installment of my new Friday column, where you’ll get my take on the big stories of the week, plus some you might have missed — but there’s no way you’ve missed today’s bombshell. I’ve got a lot of questions about Netflix’s landscape-shifting $82.7 billion plan to acquire of Warner Bros.
There’s a long road ahead, and Netflix surely faces regulatory challenges, not to mention resistance from Hollywood stakeholders at every level. But people I’ve spoken to so far aren’t betting against the behemoth. “After the threats, lawsuits, outrage from Trump and many in the creative community, this will happen,” one Hollywood power player told me early Friday. “As Yoda would say, ‘Unexpected, this is!’”
Typically this column is “TV in 3,” but for news this big, I’m busting the format, so read on for the five big questions this deal raises for the small screen.
I’ll do my best to unpack the following here:
What happens to the showrunners?
Will Netflix Bros. sell to third parties?
Will Netflix become The Syndicator?
An HBO tile on Netflix?
How will the exec suite shape up?