☀️ Rice’s NETFLIX Film Options As Wall Street Places Bets

Mornin! This is Sean McNulty, and here’s the Hollywood + Media news to know on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026.

Where I hate to scoop the Prestige Junkie column here at The Ankler, but I’m sorry to report that we may be losing one of the world’s most prestigious awards!

Yes, the future of the FIFA Peace Prize is in jeopardy after . . . one year.

The FIFA Council has entrusted a committee to reassess the award in general and/or whether to adjust the criteria from someone whose actions “unite people all over the world in peace,” as the award’s inaugural honoree has done in 2026.

So, it turns out Trump may finally have an award that actually has some value, in that it was potentially . . . the only one ever created.

THEN: Congrats to the TAMPA BAY RAYS on advancing to the World Series to take on the team that everyone outside of Florida will be rooting for, the MILWAUKEE BREWERS (the smallest market team in the MLB).

• The first game is Friday on FOX, and this is only the 2nd World Series in the past 20 years where neither team is among the league’s 10 most valuable franchises.

AH: U2 is the halftime entertainment for the NETFLIX Thanksgiving Eve game next month in L.A., when the RAMS host the PACKERS.

WOW: How is this for 2 Venn diagrams coming together? LETTERBOXD’s favorite auteur John Wilson has been shooting footage at the Harry Styles MSG residency for a doc project from UNIVERSAL PICTURES CONTENT GROUP. Good luck with that one, internet!

AND: SKYDANCE extended Jon Stewart’s contract at The Daily Show through the Presidential election season to the end of 2028.

MEANWHILE: Christiane Amanpour is leaving CNN in June after 43 years.

ALSO: Laurene Powell Jobs is now not just a SKYDANCE Board member; she’s also a SKYD investor to the tune of $250M.

OH: DISNEY is doing an animated Star Wars-themed Super Bowl alt-cast of the action on the field this February on DIS+ and DISNEY CHANNEL (it’s been done before with Simpsons characters and others).

YEAH: Turns out that the Saudi national arrested for bugging OPENAI has ties to the Saudi Arabian royal family, according to U.S. prosecutors. The Saudi military arranged for his wife and child to fly to Qatar soon after he was arrested.

• The judge ruled that he must remain in jail while awaiting trial, without bail — which the Saudis also offered to cover.
• He made $385k a year at OPENAI, plus a $2.2M stock equity package that had yet to vest.

THEN: Christina Applegate learned that she does not have MS, and doctors are now trying to figure out what’s been causing her ongoing symptoms for the past 5 years. About 20% of folks diagnosed with MS turn out not to have the disease.

KUDOS: To Jason Segel and Kayla Radomski, who got married this weekend in San Marino, California.

SO: Bit of a PSA for the kids out there from 34-year-old Selena Gomez, who revealed that excessive vaping has caused a permanent change in her voice.

HUH: This was an interesting Digiday read about how Thursday Night Football has indeed helped AMAZON’s ad business grow by association:

• Brands that advertise products on AMAZON but haven’t traditionally advertised in the NFL have expanded to TNF as part of larger ad sales packages.
• TNF has also been a way to open up doing brands with businesses that don’t advertise on AMAZON (AMEX, etc).
• Given TNF‘s strong audience showing this year — that certainly helps! More details on that below in today’s Sports Media section.

FINALLY: Gotta love this stat from REELGOOD — apparently the HBO MAX and PAR+ movie libraries only have . . . 4 titles of crossover in the U.S. among nearly 5,900 titles in total. Turns out, they both agree the Police Academy movies fell off after the 4th movie.

• Ok fine, they’re shockingly Tom Cruise pics — Risky Business, The Firm, War of the Worlds and Mission: Impossible.

---

💼 Get A Job

Ok! A lot of new folks are looking for jobs this week, sadly, so I’m doing a jumbo job list today.

ALSO: Just an additional note that if you’re among the recent rounds of layoffs in town and we’ve worked together/known each other in the past — while I’m not really always sure how I can be of help, please don’t hesitate to drop a note anytime, as someone who has both also been affected by a layoff, and known many former WBD colleagues affected by them in the great Zaslav era.

Even if just a note for a gif to lighten the mood one day.

AND: If you’re looking to hire someone — drop me a note to be included here! seanmcnultynyc@gmail.com or connect with me on LINKEDIN here.

• INSTAGRAM — Global Head of Marketing ($296k to $356k)
• NBCU — VP, Corporate Comms ($190k to $235k)
• GAP — Sr. Director, Head of Celebrity & VIP Relations($196k to $265k)
• STARZ — SVP, Physical Production ($350k to $450k)
• SIRIUSXM — Group VP, Consumer Marketing ($229k to $300k)
• STARZ — VP, Social & Audience Growth ($220k to $260k)
• NEON — Sr. Director, Film Marketing & Strategy ($120k to $150k)
• META — Strategy & Operations Director ($227k to $296k)
• DOW JONES — Head of Programming & Content ($275k to $330k)
• BET — VP, Marketing ($205k to $255k)
• SIRIUSXM — VP, Consumer Strategy ($213k to $280k)
• VOX — VP, Head of Podcast Go-To-Market ($175k to $250k)
• OMNICOM — VP Social Strategy ($180k to $190k)
• APPLE TV — Film Production Exec ($156k to $299k)
• MGM+ — Head of WW Growth & Programming Strategy ($147k to $198k)
• MACRO — Head of Content (no salary listed)
• NY TIMES — Hollywood News & Awards Reporter ($113k to $125k)
• BRIT BOX — VP Marketing & Growth Strategy ($200k to $220k)
• A24 — Production Tax & Incentives Exec ($120k to $150k)
• DISNEY THEATRICAL — VP, Producing & Development ($233k to $301k)
• NBC NEWS NOW — VP, Programming ($215k to $280k)
• UTA — Director, Talent Partnerships ($150k to $160k)
• TUBI — Director, Creator Growth ($184k to $250k)
• FIFTH SEASON — Director, Production Finance ($150k to $160k)
• NBCU — Sr. Exec Producer, Rock Studios ($130k to $165k)
• CONDE NAST — Senior Director, Creative Production ($155k to $205k)
• CBS NEWS — Director, Digital Video ($140k to $160k)
• ROKU — Creative Director, Brand (no salary listed)
• AMAZON — Production Manager, Live Sports ($85k to $109k)
• AMC NETWORKS — Coordinator, Scripted ($50k to $55k)
• NBCU — Coordinator, Global Publicity ($55k to $65k)
• PARAMOUNT PICS — Coordinator, Theatrical Marketing ($52k to $62k)
• UNI TV — Coordinator, Drama Development ($56k to $60k)
• AMAZON MGM — Creative Development Assistant ($25 to $34/hr)
• AMAZON MGM — Production Finance Coordinator ($70k to $99k)
• SUNDANCE — Festival Coordinator ($22/hr)
• UTA — Assistant to Partner ($22 to $25/hr)
• MUBI — Comms Coordinator ($52k to $55k)

BONUS:

Ankler Managing Editor Christopher Rosen and I dove into the more intriguing data points beyond the $15M number in the You Can See Everything box office results in my Monday Morning Quarterbacks pod yesterday — including a case for how the pic shares some Borat DNA, just for a different time. And I send a mea culpa out to Brad Pitt. 🙏

The pod is 15-20 minutes and released Mondays, perfect for an L.A. or NYC commute (well, maybe not the video aspect, but you can always just listen).

---

🎥 The Executive Suite

NETFLIX Films’ post-Dan Lin future, and what’s ahead as it meets Wall Street today

Well, you can’t say NETFLIX isn’t a company that moves swiftly, as NETFLIX Films head Dan Lin has now also exited the company.

Peter Rice will oversee the Films group starting this week, until the company chooses a new leader.

This leaves US/CAN Scripted TV series Head Jinny Howe and Nonfiction/Sports head Brandon Riegg as the 2 remaining names of the Bela-Jinny-Dan-Brandon NETFLIX programming leadership quartet — and clearly nods to Ted & Greg seeing this as a creative reset moment for the company, with likely more to come as Peter is just walking in the door.

As for who’s to blame here about engagement, make your arguments as you like.

• Yes, NETFLIX’s emphasis on things like podcasts and video games in the UI has coincided with the dips in engagement seen in TV & Films numbers, so you could put some of that blame on messing with the secret sauce and rolling snake eyes.
• The new, more cost-conscious Films approach also led to a summer without a banger — that new approach was also a remit from top management that Lin was simply brought in to implement . . . although from many emerging reports, his executive skills to massage that new strategy with talent may not have been the right fit.
• Conversely, regardless of the above, heads of creative need to deliver buzzy hits that get talked about, lauded, or ideally both. Full stop.

But we are where we are.

So, I’ll dive into:

• Film leadership directions to consider.
• The TV Drama re-org under Jinny Howe.
• A bigger-picture look at what a move to expand NETFLIX Films could theoretically look like under Rice, and how it could bring some 🔥 back to the company’s momentum.
• Where the Wall Street options money seems to be going leading into today’s call, and what to expect there.

SO, WHO’S NEXT IN THE FILMS SEAT?