The Ankler Podcast

This week: Elaine Low, Sean McNulty and Natalie Jarvey unpack a wave of moves shaking up Hollywood. First, the team dissect Spotify’s latest push into video, including a leaked pitch deck showing the platform’s aggressive play to lure creators from YouTube — and what it means for the future of podcasts, revenue models, and digital windowing. Then, six months after the L.A. fires. Elaine talks to Nicole LaPorte about her wrenching interviews with the displaced from Hollywood, now struggling, surviving and rebuilding. Then: the California legislature signed off on a $750 million tax incentive expansion for film and TV produc...

Live from Cannes Lions, Like & Subscribe editor Natalie Jarvey interviews creator Josh Richards and CrossCheck Studios CEO Chris Sawtelle about building a Gen Z media empire on the back of TikTok stardom. “I don’t mean to be dramatic here, but broadcast television is dead,” Sawtelle, a former ICM agent, said to a packed crowd at ADWEEK House at Le Majestic Hotel. These days, reaching young audiences means partnering with creators like Richards, who talked about how he helped Amazon drum up excitement for Thursday Night Football and is developing series aimed at Gen Z. Other highlights: Richards’ plan for outla...

On the ground at Cannes Lions, Janice Min and Natalie Jarvey join Elaine Low to break down the big Rumble(s) on the Riviera. First up: YouTube CEO Neal Mohan fired back at Netflix's Ted Sarandos in Janice’s newsmaking interview (come for the fight, stay for the sports, pod and AI talk); then it was all those creators stealing the thunder (and money) from traditional celebrities as they sped-dated with brands amid a historical shift in ad spend. Plus: Is “authenticity” the most overused word of the era?; a spicy moment onstage with Alex Cooper; and Amazon and Netflix go back to TV b...

In the final edition of this season’s Hollywood Stories, Richard Rushfield got to talk about "The Traitors" — a show of which he is an unapologetic superfan — with executive producer Mike Cotton, the man who brought it to both the U.K. and U.S. Originally a Dutch format, Traitors landed in Cotton’s hands when he snapped up the rights and then “took that idea and helped supersize it for a U.K. and U.S. audience,” as he puts it. Cotton shares how the show’s contestants get sucked into the game, why his team takes a “hands-off approach” to...

Live from Cannes Lions, Ankler Media CEO Janice Min hosts a rollicking, wide-ranging conversation with YouTube CEO Neal Mohan about the platform’s growing dominance — both on TV screens and across culture — as ad dollars and audience swing decisively toward creators and away from traditional entertainment. Now that YouTube claims a larger share of TV viewership than Netflix, Mohan responds to Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos’ swipe that YouTube is for “killing time” while Netflix is for “spending time.” “Who am I to say what’s spending time, engaging time, quality time, killing time?” Mohan told a packed audience at ADWEEK House. “It’s all of us...

Green shoots are rare in Hollywood these days, but some writers and actors are cashing six-figure checks in a format as questionable as its new Luigi Mangione series. Welcome to the world of microdramas: 60-second, phone-first serialized soap operas. Elaine Low, Sean McNulty and Natalie Jarvey unpack the sudden rise of white-hot vertical series. How is it not a punchline like Quibi? And what does it say about the other dreaded Q-word holding back Hollywood: quality? Plus, Dealmakers’ Ashley Cullins joins with a scoop on Apple’s new competitive performance-based pay model — and why Jon Hamm is competing with... Jon Ha...

In this week’s Hollywood Stories, Richard Rushfield sits down with TV comedy legend Nell Scovell — creator of Sabrina the Teenage Witch and writer for everything from The Simpsons to Late Night with David Letterman.
Before breaking into TV, Scovell sharpened her voice at Spy and Vanity Fair, where editors Kurt Andersen and Graydon Carter taught her to “be funnier, go harder, be meaner.” She shares how she defied her agent to leave Vanity Fair and dive into the boys’ club of TV writers rooms, a dynamic she was still battling decades later — even on The Muppets in the 2010s.
She also opens...

In this bonus episode of The Ankler podcast, the second of two recorded live on May 18 at L.A.'s DGA Theater, The Ankler and the Directors Guild of America bring you a series of insightful and memorable conversations — presented by Threads — about the art of directing for television. You’ll hear Lesley Goldberg’s interview with Liz Garbus, who directed the pilot and the pivotal fifth episode of Hulu’s limited series “Good American Family,” and Elaine Low’s conversation with Jessica Lee Gagné, who made her directing debut on the second season of Apple TV+’s “Severance.” Katey Rich leads two Q...

In this bonus episode of The Ankler podcast, recorded live on May 18 at L.A.'s DGA Theater, The Ankler and the Directors Guild of America bring you a series of funny and memorable conversations — presented by Threads — about the art of directing for television. Lesley Goldberg interviewed Alethea Jones, who helmed the pilot for ABC freshman hit “High Potential”; Elaine Low spoke with Yana Gorskaya of FX's “What We Do in the Shadows”; and Katey Rich sat with Lucia Aniello of “Hacks” (who’s also co-showrunner of the HBO Max comedy). Despite the often loose tones of their shows, each of the...

L.A. may have lost its crown as the world’s production capital, but it’s still sitting on 8 million square feet of sound stages. So what to do with all that excess space? Think bar mitzvahs, weddings, YouTubers and cover shoots. Elaine Low, Sean McNulty and Natalie Jarvey explore how L.A.’s sound stages are the new dead malls and what that means for the future of production in LA., and who’s still filming locally (shoutout to Abbott Elementary and Grey’s Anatomy). Plus: What new layoffs at Disney and WBD mean.

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In this episode of Hollywood Stories: Tales From Television, Richard Rushfield takes us back to the heyday of the original “American Idol” in the aughts and early 2010s, when the Fox juggernaut dominated conversation everywhere from “Howard Stern” to the “Today” show and produced megastars like Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood. But there was one powerful figure behind the scenes whose quiet devotion touched future superstars from Katharine McPhee to Jordin Sparks: Pastor Leesa Bellesi. Through her American Idol Ministry, Bellesi not only prayed for the success of these contestants, but she also helped them and their families navigate the harsh sp...

Big-name agents haven’t been this bullish on indie film in years, while Marvel can barely crack $450 million per movie. So what’s changed? Dealmakers’ Ashley Cullins joins Elaine Low and Sean McNulty to dissect why optimism surged out of Cannes, and how Mubi, fresh off a splashy $24 million acquisition for Jennifer Lawrence’s latest, is viewed as a market signal. Meanwhile, Sean weighs the quality issues and audience shifts plaguing Marvel and its budget catch 22. Plus: Why directors are the new IP, and whether Fantastic Four reboot can turn the Marvel tide.

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For the second episode of Hollywood Stories’ sophomore season, Richard Rushfield talks to the brilliant and bawdy Bruce Vilanch, known as the longtime joke purveyor extraordinaire for the Oscars (plus the Emmys, Tonys and more). But before he became the go-to for Hollywood galas, Vilanch got his start in writing for the big variety shows and specials that peppered the network schedules of the 1960s and ’70s and represent the height of television’s most flamboyant and unhinged period. Expanding on some of the wildest misadventures chronicled in  his new book, “It Seemed Like a Bad Idea at the Time,” Vi...

Netflix just picked up Sesame Street, but this isn’t just about Elmo. It’s a calculated move in the high-stakes fight for kids’ attention — and future subscribers. Elaine Low, Natalie Jarvey and Sean McNulty dig into why streamers like Netflix and Disney+ are doubling down on branded kids content while others quietly exit, and why Paramount+ has untapped potential. From Miss Rachel to Bluey to Gabby’s Dollhouse, Paw Patrol to PBS, this episode unpacks how the battle for the youngest viewers is reshaping strategy — and why it matters more than you think.

Also: final thoughts on Final Destination...

Hollywood Stories is back! The Ankler pod series returns, this time focusing on untold tales from the world of TV as shared by the people who work in its trenches. In this debut episode of season two, Richard Rushfield hosts a revealing, in-depth interview with four creative minds behind Netflix’s hilarious, animated (but decidedly not-for-little-kids) hit, ‘Big Mouth,’ whose eighth and final season drops on May 23. Comedians and co-creators Nick Kroll and Andrew Goldberg swing by to discuss their silly, simpatico partnership that dates back to first grade, their own anxieties from puberty, and how they used their celebr...

Ad fab? Not quite. Still, even as the Upfronts lose glitz, stakes remain sky high. Ad buying happens year-round now, sure — but with Netflix, Amazon, and YouTube crashing the party and sports commanding ever-higher premiums, TV’s annual dog-and-pony is still a spectacle, drawing Elaine Low, Sean McNulty and Natalie Jarvey to the scene in New York. In this episode: their first-ever “Uppie Awards”; best (and worst) celebrity cameos (hello Lady Gaga and Snoop Dogg); who liked Netflix’s big pitch; HBO Max name-change whiplash; and whose afterparty delivered.

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Really believe Trump wants to bring production back stateside? Or that California Gov. Gavin Newsom can work with him to do it? Think again, says Richard Rushfield, who joins Elaine Low, Sean McNulty and Natalie Jarvey to break down the fantasy of a tariff or federal incentive, the impact already from the trade war, Newsom’s failings that precipitated all of this — and why Richard thinks any action to bring production back is 25 years too late.

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Overalls, first-look pacts and original films are making a comeback — on paper, at least. Deal volume is up, but value is down. And that original film revival? It’s starting to come from outside the studios. Ashley Cullins joins Elaine Low, Sean McNulty and Natalie Jarvey to unpack her two-part series on current deal trends, from Sinners’ mid-budget model to the studio execs evangelizing for self-releasing on YouTube.

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Natalie Jarvey, author of Ankler Media's creator economy newsletter, Like & Subscribe, sits down with Webtoon Entertainment COO David J. Lee and Wattpad Webtoon Studios' global head of entertainment, David Madden at NAB Show in Vegas. In this bonus episode they explore how Webtoon plans to expand the market for digital comics in the U.S. through Hollywood adaptations. Netflix's "Heartstopper" and "All of Us Are Dead" originated from Webtoon, and the company's studio is now making its own projects including Tubi's hit film "Sidelined: The QB and Me" and its upcoming sequel. Hear how Webtoon is capitalizing on global...

The rare creative exec job posting inspires a mad scrum, and TV writers are scrambling to get staffed. So Hollywood, why not consider the creator economy next door? Elaine Low, Sean McNulty and Natalie Jarvey discuss both how to stand out in traditional Hollywood, and how to stand out if sliding over to one of the many proliferating creator studio businesses, and the opportunities in and out of L.A. Plus: The deeply warped Sinners discourse and Comcast’s “who dis?” earnings call when it came to Hollywood.

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Hollywood writer and producer David Goyer — known for “Blade,” “Foundation” and his writing on Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight” Trilogy — explores new formats of storytelling that are bridging the gap between AI and traditional entertainment through his latest franchise project "Emergence" and the AI-powered platform Incention, powered by the Story blockchain. Live from NAB Show in Las Vegas, in conversation with Reel AI columnist and producer Erik Barmack (plus a lively audience Q&A), Goyer unpacks how technological and narrative innovation can activate fandoms and transform traditional IP structures to reach new audiences everywhere. The self-described "tech-adjacent" creative describes his expe...

The Ankler gets real about what’s happening in nonscripted TV, a diverse and thriving industry that includes documentaries, talent/competition/game shows and of course, reality TV. 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 Series Business writer Elaine Low to dissect the challenges and bright spots of the market on stage at NAB Show in Vegas. These top players — responsible for shepherding projects as varied as FX's "Welcome to Wrexham," Netflix's "Untold," A&E's upcoming "Duck Dynasty" reboot and the digital-fi...

Yes, Netflix is huge, but apparently it’s not huge enough for co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters, whose recent earnings call revealed a road map for total market domination. Elaine Low, Sean McNulty and Natalie Jarvey break down its plan to capture the 80 percent share of TV consumption not already happening on Netflix or YouTube (think creators and podcasts to eating the rest of cable’s programming). Plus: What to make of the Gen Z antics driving A Minecraft Movie, and Sean quizzes the crew on Netflix’s 2025 original movies.

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Live from Las Vegas! Exec editor Alison Brower headed into the ring with WWE president Nick Khan, and chief content officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque for The Ankler’s Business of Entertainment program at NAB Show, where the sports execs revealed why Netflix was strategically the right home for RAW, its flagship weekly showcase; how Triple H’s writers create distinctive and memorable characters and stories across shows (and platforms); what draws talent from the late Betty White (“a badass”) to Bad Bunny into the ring; and the physical and mental trials in auditions that reveal who can be a megastar...

Live from the stage at NAB Show in Vegas, Elaine Low talks with ‘Fire Country’ co-creators Joan Rater and Tony Phelan as well as CBS executives Bryan Seabury and Yelena Chak about the new boom in TV procedurals on broadcast and streaming. Hear about the inner workings of CBS Studios’ development process, what it takes to expand a storytelling universe and Rater's gentle but firm method of raising the creative bar. Says Phelan, who's her husband as well as her co-EP, "Joan is notorious in the writers room for saying things like, 'It's just not awesome.'"

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Storytelling remains fundamental to entertainment. But who tells those stories and how is shifting. A new era of influence revealed itself at The Ankler’s just-wrapped Business of Entertainment program, in partnership with NAB Show in Vegas. Execs, creators and stars behind WWE (Nick Khan and Paul “Triple H” Levesque), Tribeca Festival and Sphere (Jane Rosenthal), Universal Music Publishing Group (Jody Gerson), Webtoon (David J. Lee and David Madden) and AI startup Incention (David S. Goyer), among others, took the stage to reveal an optimistic view of opportunity outside the traditional studio system. Elaine Low, Natalie Jarvey and Janice Min...

Original movies in theaters? It’s true! Sean McNulty dials in from CinemaCon to tell Elaine Low about his reaction to Amazon’s bold film slate kickstarting a new era of studio leadership. Meanwhile, in L.A., Lesley Goldberg dishes with Elaine and Natalie Jarvey about the mess left in the wake of Jen Salke’s exit from Prime Video, and what agents and showrunners expect from TV head Vernon Sanders.

For more entertainment news, subscribe to The Ankler or apply to The Ladder, a members-only hub for early career entertainment professionals.

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TV shows take longer to develop, writers rooms are shorter and naturally “no one wants to continue to work for free,” says Lesley Goldberg, who joins Sean McNulty and Elaine Low to share her survey of top writers on how they’d fix TV. There’s Shawn Ryan’s proposal to better train showrunners in writers rooms; details on how Zoom pitching creates opportunities; and why once-loathed mini-rooms need to return. Plus: Amazon’s curious theatrical push.

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First, streamers wanted YouTube and TikTok’s screen time. Now they’re gunning for their talent. Like & Subscribe’s Natalie Jarvey joins Sean McNulty and Elaine Low to talk about MrBeast and Ms. Rachel’s streaming hits, whether Jake & Logan Paul and Benito Skinner are next — and what Hollywood has to give up for its shot at digital cred. Plus: Apple TV+’s just-revealed staggering losses and Snow White’s fake controversy.

For more entertainment news, subscribe to The Ankler or apply to The Ladder, a new members-only hub for early career entertainment professionals.

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Can Jeff Bezos be trusted with 007? Is James Gunn the hero DC needs right now? Will Casey Bloys help Harry Potter make it safely to TV? All of Hollywood’s signature IP franchises face uncertain, perilous paths forward, and Richard Rushfield, Elaine Low and Sean McNulty decide whether they’d buy, sell or hold these tentpoles plus Marvel and Star Wars. Plus: The crew guesses which five series earned the coveted writers’ streaming performance bonus.

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With the debut of Netflix’s With Love, Meghan, longtime royal observer Tina Brown and Ankler Media CEO Janice Min joined forces for a rollicking Substack Live conversation over at Brown’s Fresh Hell. Brown and Min appraise the Duchess of Sussex’s new career act (“always brilliantly behind the curve,” says Brown), debrief on the Academy Awards and Demi Moore, and analyze Conan O’Brien’s onstage nod to film craft that gave Hollywood “a real shot in the arm,” Min says. Plus: Why NYC’s 10 percenters are still all in on Trump and Elon Musk. “They love what he’s doing,” says...

Hollywood execs want more “aggression” out of their young proteges, but Gen Z — raised in remote work and new rules — came to age without traditional role models. The Ankler team shares advice from their interviews with Greg Berlanti and Ted Hope for young creatives to stand out, something even more essential as the state of showbiz is begging for a new round of visionary leaders.

If you’re a Gen Zer in Hollywood yourself, apply to The Ladder, our members-only hub for early career entertainment professionals.

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Broadcast TV may be what “your uncle and your mom watches,” but it’s a bright spot for the studios. Series Business’ Lesley Goldberg joins Elaine Low to discuss her interview with CBS President Amy Reisenbach, why all those spinoffs and reboots give producers an “edge” and how year-round development helps “get the creative right.” Plus: Elaine, Sean McNulty and Richard Rushfield discuss what the earnings of CBS parent Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery portend — no need for more sports, says Zaz! — and final Oscar thoughts before the big show.

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The New York Times gave author Michael Wolff’s new book a glowing review, but President Donald Trump disagrees, calling it a “total FAKE JOB, just like the other JUNK he wrote.” As with Wolff’s three earlier books about the president, All or None is filled with juicy tidbits with fly-on-the-wall accounts from the chaos inside Trump’s orbit. In unsparing words, he talks to Janice Min about woeful Democrats, Elon Musk, Melania, media’s current panic and the threatening phone call he received from Trumpworld.

Read the interview in an abridged Q&A format here. Subscribe to The...

Budgets for studio theatrical slates and TV lineups are disappearing as fast as federal agencies these days. But there’s hope! Dealmakers’ Ashley Cullins joins to break down the new rules for landing a greenlight for an original film today, while Elaine Low reveals ways to navigate new small screen realities, from acing that Zoom pitch to turning that blinking yellow light green. And despite the industry’s collective surrender, Sean McNulty explains why more data could flip the narrative of an industry perceived to be in decline.

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As President Trump seeks to banish diversity, equity and inclusion, Disney buried its initiative this week, and Amazon continues to “evolve” its own. Sean McNulty, Elaine Low, Richard Rushfield and contributor Nicole LaPorte dive into whether Hollywood was ever committed to the cause — as Nicole says, “the erosion of DEI here has been going on for a quite a while” — and how to tell a real pronouncement from a fake one. Plus: How the L.A. wildfires have fueled a real estate frenzy while TV workers debate whether to flee the city altogether.

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Disney started its latest earnings call with an uncharacteristically terse Bob Iger avoiding a trio of unpleasant topics: linear TV, declining Disney+ subscriber totals and Donald Trump. What wasn’t said spoke volumes, but a few messages rang clear: film keeps churning out hits, ESPN has good/less good news, and the streaming division is firmly in the black. Meanwhile, SEC filings paint a bleak start to the future SpinCo, and a look inside the do-or-die #StayinLA movement. Sean McNulty, Elaine Low and Richard Rushfield break it all down.

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Just two deals and Sundance is almost over? Ouch. Richard Rushfield, on the ground at the fest, gives his report on indie malaise and how to fix it. Plus: Sean McNulty, Elaine Low and Richard on Peacock and NBCU’s troubling Q4, and Netflix’s showy 2025 slate, while Natalie Jarvey, author of the new Like & Subscribe newsletter, on why Hollywood absolutely should “work with” the creators upending entertainment.

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Natalie Jarvey, author of Like & Subscribe, Ankler Media's new newsletter about the creator economy, speaks with YouTube stars Sean Evans, host of Hot Ones, and Rhett McLaughlin and Link Neal — aka Rhett & Link, hosts of Good Mythical Morning. With 40 million subscribers between them, these digital innovators unpack the opportunities — creative, collaborative and financial — that come with betting on themselves. "If we can be even a small part of the story of another creator taking back something that they initiated and then taking the reins and leading, that’s the type of story that we love and we want to champion," says...

The entertainment industry for years turned its nose up at brand-backed film and TV, but in a disrupted Hollywood scrambling for new business models and fresh voices, the tide is turning. Natalie Jarvey, the writer of Like & Subscribe, Ankler Media's new standalone newsletter about the creator economy, moderates a discussion with four top stakeholders — Oscar-winning producer Dan Cogan (“Icarus”), Adobe Chief Brand Officer Heather Freeland, creator Jordan Howlett and UTA Entertainment Marketing Co-Head Julian Jacobs — about how marketers, filmmakers and creators are collaborating on innovative and meaningful storytelling. “Everybody loves a good story, and brands are aligning with that in a lot of interest...