Jobs! TV Writer, Creator Economy Opps; Shari on the Brink; Mike & Pam Morons
Plus: The streamers winning and losing the new franchise battle
In the end, jobs and the people in them are what make the world go ’round. And we know that few things are of higher value than understanding the job market right now in this changing industry and where you fit in. Following Elaine Low’s Creative Exec Survival Guide a few weeks back, Lesley Goldberg and Natalie Jarvey both delivered must-read pieces this week for paid subscribers that hit home.
Lesley’s “How to Get Staffed in a Writers Room Today” unlocked insiders’ practical strategic advice on what to submit today, and how to win over a showrunner and execs in a meeting (featuring tips from the Yellowjackets team and many more):
If you recall, Ted Sarandos recently outlined Netflix’s mission to bring creators onboard to compete with YouTube, which his streamer considers its real competition moving forward (sorry, Hollywood). To that end, Natalie cleverly considers Hollywood workers’ pivot to the world of plentiful creator economy jobs in “Jobs! Talent Ditches Hollywood for the Creator Economy” for her Like & Subscribe newsletter. She appraises the many creator production studios hiring, talks to those who’ve made the leap — and outlines the tradeoffs and rewards. Imagine: Dhar Mann Studios in Burbank has 13 (!!!) open positions, including a general counsel and CFO at around $300k annual comp, a bonus and equity. Says its CEO Sean Atkins about creators:
“You should be watching them, understanding them, following all the people who write about them.”
I wholeheartedly agree, especially the part about learning from the people who write about them. Start with a subscription to Natalie’s Like & Subscribe!
(Click on QR code below to take you there too 👇)
Let’s be real: Are you going to find another outlet as committed to your success as Ankler Media? Let’s keep working together to make this place better for all of us, not worse, okay? Pinky promise.
Now, without further ado, ICYMI, our best of the week:
Series Business: TV’s Hot New Doc Genre
As docs broadly struggle for greenlights, one particular strain of nostalgia docuseries — those about influencers, child stars and yes, Diddy — have been thriving. Elaine Low details the typical per-episode budget for this kind of accountability docuseries; how to pitch one, and what Netflix has to do with it:
European producers hate President Trump’s trade policies, and Manori Ravindran reveals their “sharp elbows” strategic response, including the impact of a proposed U.K. streaming levy and a retaliatory move that could hobble Hollywood. As one French producer railed to her: 'Buy fewer Teslas and U.S. shows, and more Peugeots and European series!':
Rushfield: Sinners Sinners; Dishin’ with Lena Dunham
Richard unpacks Mike & Pam’s Sinners success — and why Hollywood and the trades can’t let go of their toxic narrative (don’t miss Richard’s Substack Live discussion with Sean McNulty either), as well as Shari Redstone’s crucible. Plus: Ankler superfan Lena Dunham joins The Rushfield Lunch for a rollicking chat about her deep slate of future projects, Girls and her sage advice for the post-millennials:
ESG: Bridgerton, Yellowstone & TV’s Lucrative World Building
Tentpole shows are no longer just series, but the start of “TV universes” essential to winning the next phase of the Streaming Wars. Entertainment Strategy Guy ranks the seven major streamers in terms of franchise strength; which streamer is best at turning its hits into spinoff successes; and the one with fewer franchises than you’d think:
Reel AI: China’s Insane AI Tool Should Freak You Out
The Chinese startup Kling AI rocked the internet this month as a tool in the U.S.-China tariff war, producing best-in-class video and viral memes at the speed of culture. Erik Barmack breaks down (paid subscribers only) how Kling could be more disruptive to Hollywood than TikTok and what China having the world’s best video AI means for movies and TV:
Notable: A TikTok Star’s Hit-Filled Debut
Ahead of A24’s Overcompensating premiering on Prime Video, creator and star Benito Skinner — a.k.a. TikTok breakout Benny Drama — tells Rob LeDonne about the comedy’s hit-filled soundtrack, the letter he wrote to Britney Spears and the process of collaborating with Charli XCX:
Prestige Junkie: Murder (and Laughs) in the White House
The White House these days may not be a comedy haven, except on screen as Katey Rich explores with Uzo Aduba, star of Netflix’s The Residence. Plus: How showbiz satires like The Studio fare at the Emmys:
THE WAKEUP
Why did Comcast execs not talk much about its entertainment divisions with Wall Street this week? Sean McNulty unpacks what the near silence meant and what else you need to know from its quarterly earnings, from the studio division’s performance to Peacock’s sub growth (with an asterisk):
🎧 PODCASTS
THE ANKLER
Hollywood Jobs 2025: Good, Bad & Who's Hiring Fight with 500 applications for every job or pivot to the industry next door:
Like and subscribe on Apple Podcasts
THE ANKLER x NAB SHOW
AI, Hollywood & New Worlds of Storytelling Writer and producer David Goyer, in conversation with Erik Barmack (plus a lively audience Q&A), unpacks how technological and narrative innovation can transform traditional IP structures and his own experiment with AI as a mission to "build some guardrails and some use cases that aid the creator."
Reality Check: Inside Non-scripted TV with Top Execs Boardwalk Pictures founder Andrew Fried, Pantheon CEO and Velvet Hammer co-founder Jen O’Connell, Propagate founder Howard Owens and Wheelhouse president of entertainment Courtney White join Elaine Low to dissect the challenges and bright spots of nonscripted TV:
MARTINI SHOT
The Leakiest Business Silicon Valley's hard lessons about how Hollywood operates:
👓 THE OPTIONIST BY ANDY LEWIS
FINAL HOUSEKEEPING!
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