I interviewed Furious showrunner Liz Meriwether and AMC chief content officer Dan McDermott, and I wrote about Netflix’s latest viewership data dump and the industry debate over the streamer’s binge model. Email me at lesley.goldberg@theankler.com
“The only positive when it looked like the merger was happening soon was that there’d be clarity in the world, and all this uncertainty was about to be gone.”
But instead of closing its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery this month — and resolving questions around streaming and studio leadership — Paramount Skydance agreed to hit pause on the $111 billion deal until antitrust lawsuits from 12 state attorneys general (as well as the Writers Guild of America) are resolved or June 2027, whichever comes first.
That means more than 35,000 employees at WBD — plus top showrunners like Bill Lawrence (Shrinking, Ted Lasso), Mindy Kaling (Running Point) and Chuck Lorre (Stuart Fails to Save the Universe) — remain stuck in limbo, as an insider notes above. It’s a pause filled with anxiety but also ripe with opportunity as A-list talent, both in the executive and creative ranks, could seize the moment to gauge their value in the marketplace, make their claim on WBD’s dwindling resources and maneuver for a stronger position whether the merger closes or not.
Some have already made moves to solidify their futures — Abbott Elementary creator and star Quinta Brunson jumped ship to Disney amid the uncertainty at her longtime home at Warner Bros. TV, which this week locked in The Pitt boss John Wells into the next decade. But other showrunners as well as executives at the storied TV studio and corporate siblings HBO/HBO Max find themselves in a disquieting limbo. They’re also facing the increasingly real possibility of the merger deal falling through. Despite Paramount’s protestations that its delay represents “a win,” most observers see the company’s position weakened by the move.
On Friday, marketing exec Pia Barlow left her home of more than two decades at HBO (save for a brief detour at Netflix) to become head of original series marketing at Amazon’s Prime Video. Given that Barlow was still under contract through Oct. 31, 2027, WBD sued Amazon for poaching employees including her and claimed that “Amazon is currently in the process of attempting to interfere with the term employment contract of at least one other WBD executive.” HBO EVP of drama Francesca Orsi, as I previously reported, was eyed to be second in command to Prime Video global TV head Peter Friedlander.
So has Paramount’s delay effectively opened poaching season on WBD’s executive and creative ranks? Today, I spoke with executives, agents, writers and industry veterans to find out how the unstable ground at WBD could impact the company’s all-star roster — and why insiders say anyone who hasn’t met with David Ellison should be taking every meeting.
Today, what the Paramount pause has set in motion:
- The WBD execs with visibility into David Ellison’s thinking — and the new survival rule for those who don’t
- How WBD is maintaining some stability as “the right execs are staying”
- WBTV chief Channing Dungey’s strategy to keep key talent close even as some big names slip away
- The showrunner shuffle: Why you can’t poach top talent “for a bargain” — but company values, resources and the right deal can spur a move
- Reps getting ahead of further disruption and seeding opportunities for creator clients
- A brutal reality for restless WBD staffers: “All our chairs are rented”
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