TV in 3: Warners’ ‘Tone-Deaf’ Town Hall; Falchuk on ‘Famous Last Words’
Fallout and leadership fails roil the studio. Plus: Do actors really need GoFundMe pleas?
I wrote about the org chart from hell of a combined Warner Bros.-Paramount, mapped the three budget buckets running TV now and laid out 5 burning Qs about Dana Walden’s plans in her new Disney role. Email me at lesley.goldberg@theankler.com
What a week. Today, I’ve got a look at the immediate (and stunned) reaction to Paramount’s industry-changing deal for Warner Bros. Discovery from staffers inside the storied studio, plus feedback on this morning’s “tone deaf” town hall with company brass as the org chart from hell with “30 executives vying for five chairs” that I wrote about earlier this week heads closer to reality. And, after sobbing through Eric Dane’s interview on Netflix’s Famous Last Words, I’ve got a conversation with Brad Falchuk, the Glee and American Horror Story co-creator who not only brought the series to the streamer but also conducts the interviews. Plus, after some misinformed criticism of GoFundMe drives for the families of Dane and James Van Der Beek, Alyssa Milano perfectly captures the reality of an acting career and why even beloved stars may find themselves struggling, especially amid a serious medical diagnosis. Compassion is the theme here today, and if Paramount’s acquisition of Warner Bros. goes through, the town is going to need a lot of it.