The Ankler
@theankler.com
Hollywood’s insider newsletter. Don’t eat lunch in this town without it. theankler.com | http://instagram.com/theankler
The case for ‘Heated Rivalry’ as an Emmy contender runs straight into a rule problem. Katey Rich breaks down how the HBO Max and Crave hit found its audience, delivered a defining episode, and still might miss the race
theankler.com/p/i-think-he...
theankler.com/p/i-think-he...
December 22, 2025 at 8:11 PM
The case for ‘Heated Rivalry’ as an Emmy contender runs straight into a rule problem. Katey Rich breaks down how the HBO Max and Crave hit found its audience, delivered a defining episode, and still might miss the race
theankler.com/p/i-think-he...
theankler.com/p/i-think-he...
In Series Business @elainelow.bsky.social gathers candid predictions for Hollywood in 2026, including fears about AI, frustration with consolidation, and hard-earned advice for surviving a reshaped industry theankler.com/p/hollywood-...
December 22, 2025 at 6:21 PM
In Series Business @elainelow.bsky.social gathers candid predictions for Hollywood in 2026, including fears about AI, frustration with consolidation, and hard-earned advice for surviving a reshaped industry theankler.com/p/hollywood-...
SCOOP: United Talent Agency has dropped intimacy coordinators from its roster, @elainelow.bsky.social reports. Former clients say the move comes as less intimacy is being written into TV and film, even as the role gains new union protections. Read more: theankler.com/p/uta-united...
SCOOP: UTA Drops Intimacy Coordinator, Choreographer, Dancer Clients
As Hollywood reduces sex onscreen (Gen Z’s not interested, thanks), one worker tells me ‘less intimacy is being written’
theankler.com
December 19, 2025 at 8:44 PM
SCOOP: United Talent Agency has dropped intimacy coordinators from its roster, @elainelow.bsky.social reports. Former clients say the move comes as less intimacy is being written into TV and film, even as the role gains new union protections. Read more: theankler.com/p/uta-united...
ATTN Ankler Agenda listeners! We’re recording a mailbag ep on Thu. Dec. 18. Please send your burning questions for Elaine, Sean and Natalie — they’ll let fly their unfiltered thoughts on this pod holiday (or as Sean calls it, Tuesday). Reply here or email podcasts@theankler.com
December 17, 2025 at 7:16 PM
ATTN Ankler Agenda listeners! We’re recording a mailbag ep on Thu. Dec. 18. Please send your burning questions for Elaine, Sean and Natalie — they’ll let fly their unfiltered thoughts on this pod holiday (or as Sean calls it, Tuesday). Reply here or email podcasts@theankler.com
Holiday parties can feel brutal when you’re out of work. They can also help you land what’s next. Lacey Leone McLaughlin lays out how to talk about job loss, show up confidently, and use this season to build forward theankler.com/p/hollywood-...
December 16, 2025 at 6:50 PM
Holiday parties can feel brutal when you’re out of work. They can also help you land what’s next. Lacey Leone McLaughlin lays out how to talk about job loss, show up confidently, and use this season to build forward theankler.com/p/hollywood-...
Hollywood is changing faster than film schools can update their syllabi. @elainelow.bsky.social reports on professors rewriting courses around AI, vertical storytelling, and the creator economy as traditional career paths collapse
theankler.com/p/hollywoods...
theankler.com/p/hollywoods...
December 15, 2025 at 9:26 PM
Hollywood is changing faster than film schools can update their syllabi. @elainelow.bsky.social reports on professors rewriting courses around AI, vertical storytelling, and the creator economy as traditional career paths collapse
theankler.com/p/hollywoods...
theankler.com/p/hollywoods...
LIVE: @kateyrich.bsky.social, @chrisjrosen.bsky.social and @richardrushfield.bsky.social have gathered to share memories of Rob Reiner. Join us: theankler.com/live-stream/...
LIVE NOW: Remembering Rob Reiner
Katey Rich on Substack
theankler.com
December 15, 2025 at 7:10 PM
LIVE: @kateyrich.bsky.social, @chrisjrosen.bsky.social and @richardrushfield.bsky.social have gathered to share memories of Rob Reiner. Join us: theankler.com/live-stream/...
The deaths of Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner arrived amid a weekend already defined by violence and fear. @richardrushfield.bsky.social writes through the shock and the grief to see what this moment says about the world we’re in theankler.com/p/rob-reiner...
December 15, 2025 at 4:37 PM
The deaths of Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner arrived amid a weekend already defined by violence and fear. @richardrushfield.bsky.social writes through the shock and the grief to see what this moment says about the world we’re in theankler.com/p/rob-reiner...
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"Look at Ahmed al Ahmed, the unarmed hero of Bondi Beach, and know that evil can still be confronted and stopped. We don’t have to be okay with our world being like this.
In the spirit of Michele and Rob Reiner, let’s all think about how we can be present for each other today."
In the spirit of Michele and Rob Reiner, let’s all think about how we can be present for each other today."
Rob Reiner and a Terrible Weekend
The shocking deaths of the director and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, cap two days that reveal a world stripped of humanity
theankler.com
December 15, 2025 at 4:00 PM
"Look at Ahmed al Ahmed, the unarmed hero of Bondi Beach, and know that evil can still be confronted and stopped. We don’t have to be okay with our world being like this.
In the spirit of Michele and Rob Reiner, let’s all think about how we can be present for each other today."
In the spirit of Michele and Rob Reiner, let’s all think about how we can be present for each other today."
SCOOP: A pending Netflix-iHeartMedia deal would shift roughly 20 video podcasts off YouTube and onto Netflix, according to sources. @natjarv.bsky.social breaks down the agreement and how video podcasts are reshaping the platform hierarchy theankler.com/p/scoop-netf...
December 13, 2025 at 12:34 AM
SCOOP: A pending Netflix-iHeartMedia deal would shift roughly 20 video podcasts off YouTube and onto Netflix, according to sources. @natjarv.bsky.social breaks down the agreement and how video podcasts are reshaping the platform hierarchy theankler.com/p/scoop-netf...
Disney has licensed hundreds of its characters to OpenAI and invested $1B in the company. Erik Barmack explains why Bob Iger is making this move now, how it gives OpenAI access to century-old IP, and what it means for every other studio theankler.com/p/when-micke...
December 11, 2025 at 9:04 PM
Disney has licensed hundreds of its characters to OpenAI and invested $1B in the company. Erik Barmack explains why Bob Iger is making this move now, how it gives OpenAI access to century-old IP, and what it means for every other studio theankler.com/p/when-micke...
Reposted by The Ankler
This is great work by @theankler.com Matthew Frank really showcasing the corrosive impact of market power.
theankler.com/p/small-town...
theankler.com/p/small-town...
Small-Town Theaters vs. Studios: ‘It Doesn’t Feel Like the Industry Wants Us to Survive’
Cinema owners tell me the two-week mandatory run for movies is crushing them. And that’s even before Warner Bros. falls into new hands
theankler.com
December 11, 2025 at 6:49 PM
This is great work by @theankler.com Matthew Frank really showcasing the corrosive impact of market power.
theankler.com/p/small-town...
theankler.com/p/small-town...
Reposted by The Ankler
“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...
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
theankler.com
December 10, 2025 at 7:56 PM
“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...
Disney’s ‘Tron: Ares’ flopped, but many one- and two-screen theaters still had to play it for 14 days. Matthew Frank reports on how rigid studio terms, tight windows and merger fears are hitting rural exhibitors hardest theankler.com/p/small-town...
December 10, 2025 at 5:36 PM
Disney’s ‘Tron: Ares’ flopped, but many one- and two-screen theaters still had to play it for 14 days. Matthew Frank reports on how rigid studio terms, tight windows and merger fears are hitting rural exhibitors hardest theankler.com/p/small-town...
Reposted by The Ankler
If you work in TV development, what’ve you been most concerned about?
A Netflix–WBD tie-up has agents bracing for a new ice age in development. @elainelow.bsky.social gathered what reps are telling clients, where they see risk, and where they see opportunity
theankler.com/p/not-good-a...
theankler.com/p/not-good-a...
December 8, 2025 at 7:12 PM
If you work in TV development, what’ve you been most concerned about?
Golden Globes voters embraced the stars and the songs from ‘Wicked: For Good’ but left it out of best musical or comedy. @kateyrich.bsky.social explains why the sequel may have catching up to do, plus more Golden Globe nomination takeaways theankler.com/p/golden-glo...
December 8, 2025 at 8:19 PM
Golden Globes voters embraced the stars and the songs from ‘Wicked: For Good’ but left it out of best musical or comedy. @kateyrich.bsky.social explains why the sequel may have catching up to do, plus more Golden Globe nomination takeaways theankler.com/p/golden-glo...
TODAY: @wgawest.bsky.social president Michele Mulroney joins @elainelow.bsky.social at 12 P.M. PT on Substack Live to break down what a Netflix — or Paramount — acquisition of WBD would mean for the industry theankler.com/p/today-wga-...
December 8, 2025 at 7:16 PM
TODAY: @wgawest.bsky.social president Michele Mulroney joins @elainelow.bsky.social at 12 P.M. PT on Substack Live to break down what a Netflix — or Paramount — acquisition of WBD would mean for the industry theankler.com/p/today-wga-...
A Netflix–WBD tie-up has agents bracing for a new ice age in development. @elainelow.bsky.social gathered what reps are telling clients, where they see risk, and where they see opportunity
theankler.com/p/not-good-a...
theankler.com/p/not-good-a...
December 8, 2025 at 5:25 PM
A Netflix–WBD tie-up has agents bracing for a new ice age in development. @elainelow.bsky.social gathered what reps are telling clients, where they see risk, and where they see opportunity
theankler.com/p/not-good-a...
theankler.com/p/not-good-a...
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/...
LIVE NOW: Netflix-WBD: Panic, Chaos, Plan
Elaine Low on Substack
theankler.com
December 5, 2025 at 6:32 PM
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/...
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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...
Plus the launch of 'Showrunner Sessions' featuring The Diplomat's Debora Cahn!
theankler.com/p/why-34-mil...
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
theankler.com
December 3, 2025 at 7:11 PM
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...
Plus the launch of 'Showrunner Sessions' featuring The Diplomat's Debora Cahn!
theankler.com/p/why-34-mil...
Jane Fonda writes in an exclusive op-ed that the stakes of the Warner Bros. Discovery sale reach far beyond one company. Consolidation could reshape who gets heard, who gets hired, and who gets silenced. Her message to Hollywood: speak now theankler.com/p/jane-fonda...
December 4, 2025 at 7:04 PM
Jane Fonda writes in an exclusive op-ed that the stakes of the Warner Bros. Discovery sale reach far beyond one company. Consolidation could reshape who gets heard, who gets hired, and who gets silenced. Her message to Hollywood: speak now theankler.com/p/jane-fonda...
Richard Rushfield pulled a decade of box office data and found a pattern studios can’t ignore. The biggest North American hits are earning a shrinking share of their money overseas, and the trend line is pointing one way: down. Read the column: theankler.com/p/one-chart-...
December 2, 2025 at 6:35 PM
Richard Rushfield pulled a decade of box office data and found a pattern studios can’t ignore. The biggest North American hits are earning a shrinking share of their money overseas, and the trend line is pointing one way: down. Read the column: theankler.com/p/one-chart-...
Reposted by The Ankler
This week for @theankler.com: A deep dive into the business of holiday programming theankler.com/p/the-ruthle...
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’
theankler.com
November 26, 2025 at 6:13 PM
This week for @theankler.com: A deep dive into the business of holiday programming theankler.com/p/the-ruthle...
Reposted by The Ankler
Me and Griffin Newman nerding WAY out on Avatar? Yes, I know you’re thankful
🎬 What If ‘Avatar’ Is Underrated?
On this week’s subscriber-only episode, I chat with ‘Blank Check’ co-host Griffin Newman about our favorite franchise and what’s next for the Na’vi
open.substack.com
November 28, 2025 at 7:10 PM
Me and Griffin Newman nerding WAY out on Avatar? Yes, I know you’re thankful
Director Chloé Zhao tells @kateyrich.bsky.social about building her creative mindset, from studying psychology and Greek mysticism to embracing a “volcanic” phase of ideas. She explains how that sparked her vision for 'Hamnet' and its transcendent finale: theankler.com/p/chloe-zhao...
November 25, 2025 at 8:23 PM
Director Chloé Zhao tells @kateyrich.bsky.social about building her creative mindset, from studying psychology and Greek mysticism to embracing a “volcanic” phase of ideas. She explains how that sparked her vision for 'Hamnet' and its transcendent finale: theankler.com/p/chloe-zhao...