Lesley Goldberg

Paramount acquiring Warner Bros. has Hollywood asking hard questions about jobs, streaming survival and even the company’s new name. “It’s going to be worse than you think,” one longtime exec tells @snoodit.bsky.social, who lays out 10 key questions and predictions theankler.com/p/10-burning...

TV in 3: Is Pilot Season Taking Off Again? Network by network, I reveal what’s happening at the Big Three as an old system returns

Is Pilot Season making a comeback? My analysis theankler.com/p/tv-in-3-is...

Today's column is just for you, M2.

Thank you for the kind words. @thefienprint.bsky.social & I miss it, too.

What Makes a Hit in ’26? These 20 Buzzy New Series Bet on the Answer Stars, sequels, and more from Ryan Murphy, Taylor Sheridan are set to test the market

Capping off 2025 with a look ahead at 20 shows with big stakes coming in 2026: theankler.com/p/what-makes...

What Makes a Hit in ’26? These 20 Buzzy New Series Bet on the Answer Stars, sequels, and more from Ryan Murphy, Taylor Sheridan are set to test the market

Capping off 2025 with a look ahead at 20 shows with big stakes coming in 2026: theankler.com/p/what-makes...

28 Top Execs Recommend the Best TV Series to Binge Over the Holidays From Frances Berwick to Francesca Orsi: C-suiters reveal the can’t-miss shows they can’t stop watching (even from competitors)

Your TV what to watch guide for the holiday break, as determined by 28 executives who make it theankler.com/p/28-top-exe...

Heated Rivalry and Pluribus are probably THE two shows of the moment, and they're both deeply queer, and yet I keep hearing America doesn't want these stories?? So, I guess we need to turn to Canadians and Vince Gilligan to get our fix!

I Think ‘Heated Rivalry’ Deserves Emmy Recognition — Too Bad About This Catch The breakout drama, streaming on HBO Max and Canada’s Crave, might be put in the penalty box for TV’s biggest awards

The question of whether Heated Rivalry can win Emmys is actually far more complicated than I ever expected — but don't give up hope yet! Huge thanks to @memles.bsky.social for inspiring this piece and giving expert Canadian TV guidance

Why Bell Media Execs Went All in on ‘Heated Rivalry’ — and How the Bet Paid Off CEO Sean Cohan and VP content Justin Stockman on how the gay hockey drama scored globally and without financial partners: ‘We kept ponying up until we owned it’

The success of #HeatedRivalry has done wonders for Crave and its parent, Bell Media: "There was a bit of a legacy in Canada of, ‘We’re just honored you wanted our show. We wanted to get over that.

theankler.com/p/why-bell-m...

Rob Reiner was one of the key people behind the effort to go to court to overturn California's anti-marriage equality Proposition 8 when it passed in 2008.

Working with Chad Griffin, they founded the American Foundation for Equal Rights and got Ted Olson and David Boies to team up to fight Prop 8.

TV in 3: HBO’s Horny Hockey Hunks Go Viral; CBS’ Showrunner Scramble Plus: Starz’s Shohei Ohtani home run

How would #HeatedRivalry have been different if it was made in the U.S.? "It would have been about a whole team with 20 other players and their wives and anything to dilute the essence of what this was."

theankler.com/p/tv-in-3-hb...

TV in 3: HBO’s Horny Hockey Hunks Go Viral; CBS’ Showrunner Scramble Plus: Starz’s Shohei Otani home run

Obsessed with #HeatedRivalry? Me too! I spoke with the showrunner about what U.S. buyers can learn from its success: "The surprise is that the horniness works because of the intimacy and not because of it being just endlessly titillating."

theankler.com/p/tv-in-3-hb...

12 C-Suite Execs on the ‘Existential’ Fallout of a Warners Deal and the ‘Least Bad’ Outcome Private whispers about why the acquisition could be as destabilizing for the buyer as it is for the rest of Hollywood

“It’s a very disruptive move but it will also disrupt them": My latest on a potential WB-Netflix deal for @theankler.com theankler.com/p/12-c-suite...

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

What happens if Netflix Bros. decides to make all WBTV programming exclusive to its platform? That and many, many more questions about today's game-changing deal for @theankler.com

LIVE NOW: Netflix-WBD: Panic, Chaos, Plan Elaine Low on Substack

The Ankler team is LIVE right now reacting to Netflix's deal to acquire Warner Bros. and what it'll mean for the entertainment industry: theankler.com/live-stream/...

Why 34 Million Tuned In: Secrets Behind NBC’s Thanksgiving Ratings Shocker EVP Jen Neal unpacks the strategy behind ‘our entertainment Super Bowl.’ Plus: my ‘Showrunner Sessions’ with 'Diplomat’ creator Debora Cahn

This week for @theankler.com: #StrangerThings did 60M views over five days. A 99-year-old parade did half that in just three hours.

Plus the launch of 'Showrunner Sessions' featuring The Diplomat's Debora Cahn!

theankler.com/p/why-34-mil...

The Ruthless Biz of TV Holiday Movies: Lots of Joy — But ‘They Want Snow for Free’ The Grinch brings fewer films on tighter budgets, but for writers, the pay can feel like Christmas morning: ‘Sometimes money floats down from the heavens’

This week for @theankler.com: A deep dive into the business of holiday programming theankler.com/p/the-ruthle...

Turkey, NFL & ‘Stranger Things’: Netflix Holiday Stunt Overrides Duffers’ Push for Weekly SCOOP: What the creators wanted as industry insiders spill on the final-season strategy and the streamer’s new openness to moving beyond the binge

Scoop: Netflix considered a weekly drop for the final season of #StrangerThings before moving to a three-part holiday release for one of its signature hits. That and more this week for @theankler.com --> theankler.com/p/turkey-nfl...

Which TV Show Has the Best Coaching Tree? Vince Gilligan is eternal proof of the strength of the ‘X-Files’ writers room. But frankly, that room has a ton of competition across television history.

For The Ringer, I wrote about the best TV coaching trees, from series that did the best job of finding and nurturing writers and/or directors who would go on to make great shows of their own:

TV in 3 Acts: ‘Mad Men’ Returns, ‘Poker Face’ Folds, More Paramount Carnage My new weekly wrap on the small-screen headlines worth your time

Miss me breaking down the big TV news of the week? Look no further! I'm back with another weekly column launching today at @theankler.com!

Check out the first installment of TV in 3 Acts -->

theankler.com/p/tv-in-3-ac...

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$100 Million Hate-Watch: Inside Hulu’s ‘All’s Fair’ Trainwreck — and How It Turned Around SCOOP: I have the budget, cast paydays and behind-the-scenes drama from Kim Kardashian's critically-savaged series that's gone ‘zero to hero’

#AllsFair, complete with its $100M price tag, is a fascinating case study in how to cut through in 2025. But is it all worth it? My column for @theankler.com --> theankler.com/p/100-millio...

Beatrice Springborn’s Bet: A ‘Flexible Model’ to Win Talent, Outsmart Streamers & Go Global SCOOP: Universal Content Productions’ chief reveals projects with Yara Shahidi, the Obamas, Sam Esmail, Matt Charman — and the state of Seth MacFarlane’s overall

New on @theankler.com: My scoop-filled Q&A w/ UCP chief Beatrice Springborn, who spills on #MrRobot's Sam Esmail tackling David Cronenberg’s 1983 cult fave 'Videodrome,' the Obamas & Yara Shahidi taking on 'The Trees' & the future of Seth MacFarlane's deal

theankler.com/p/beatrice-s...

Inside Warner Bros., the mood is “quiet panic.” @snoodit.bsky.social reports on how staff are bracing for another ownership change, what David Ellison’s bid could mean for jobs, and why “business as usual” doesn’t feel so usual anymore: theankler.com/p/warner-bro...

TODAY AT 11 A.M. PT: Kristen Stewart joins Richard Rushfield on The Rushfield Lunch to chat about her sharp directorial debut 'The Chronology of Water' and her views on the state of the entertainment industry. Add to your calendar: open.substack.com/live-stream/...

Breaking: Netflix has won a big bidding war for a hostage thriller starring Adam Driver and from Peter Craig (Top Gun: Maverick) and the Emmy-winning director of #Adolescence. More details coming shortly in this week's column for @theankler.com.
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What would Paramount Skydance look like if it swallowed up Warner Bros. Discovery? And could that potential behemoth go head to head with Netflix? @snoodit.bsky.social spoke to insiders about David Ellison's dream merger and the fallout to come theankler.com/p/supermerge...

Supermerger: Inside the Deal That Would Finally Give Netflix a Real Rival Industry insiders reveal their excitement over David Ellison’s Paramount-WBD dream and a rebalance of power: ‘My enemy’s enemy is my friend’

This week's column for @theankler.com: What a super-charged Paramount would look like if the Ellisons can make a deal for Warner Bros. Discovery — a true rival to Netflix theankler.com/p/supermerge...

Battle for NBC’s Soul: Dick Wolf vs. the NBA (Final Score Inside) I crunch numbers on 30 Rock’s $2.45B sports gamble and Wolf’s TV empire — and call a winner in the scripted-sports showdown

This week for @theankler.com: Which brings better value to NBCUni, the NBA or more Dick Wolf procedurals? The answer may surprise you! theankler.com/p/the-battle...