The Ankler Podcast

The strangest thing about the new iteration of ChatGPT? The sudden and full-throated embrace by once-squeamish execs and writers, says Reel AI columnist Erik Barmick (just ask around about the “GPT-5 pass”). Elaine Low, Sean McNulty and Natalie Jarvey dig into how writers and producers are using GPT-5, which jobs likely will vanish, and how guilds are gearing up for the next AI fight (after missing on the last agreement). Then, Lesley Goldberg joins to reveal the 10 most influential showrunners right now, according to top execs and agents, and the surprising names who didn’t make the cut. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Forget the government shutdown — President Trump is back to targeting entertainment, from YouTube’s $24.5 million settlement with him to a floated “100 percent tariff” on foreign-made films. Host Elaine Low, Sean McNulty, and Natalie Jarvey parse what a “Made in America” movie even is anymore, while Gen Z correspondent Matthew Frank (writer of our coming Crowd Pleaser newsletter about audience), unpacks how under-25s are actually discovering shows in the fast-twitch age of clips and feeds. And finally: Taylor Swift takes on Leonardo DiCaprio and Dwayne Johnson at the box office, exposing the industry’s Gen Z blind spot in real time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Six days. That’s all it took for Jimmy Kimmel to be yanked off the air by Disney under FCC pressure — and then rushed back after Hollywood revolted. Now Trump is circling, affiliates are defying ABC in a game of chicken, and Disney’s succession drama involving negotiators Dana Walden and Bob Iger is suddenly back in the spotlight. Elaine Low, Sean McNulty, Natalie Jarvey, and Richard Rushfield unpack the week that shook late night — and what it means for free speech, politics and the future of Hollywood. And no, this is nowhere close to being over. For more entertainment news, subscribe to The Ankler or apply to The Ladder, a members-only hub for early career entertainment professionals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Late on Sept. 17, the news broke: Disney’s Bob Iger made the decision to “indefinitely” suspend one of its marquee stars, Jimmy Kimmel of Jimmy Kimmel Live! from ABC. The news followed FCC chair Brendan Carr’s suggestion that the federal agency would move against the company if its leadership didn’t take action against the host’s remarks about Charlie Kirk. In this emergency pod, host Elaine Low is is joined by a rotation of our best and brightest to break down the shocking news and its chilling aftermath: Sean McNulty on Nexstar and Sinclair’s decision to not air Jimmy Kimmel Live on affiliate stations; Lesley Goldberg with a play-by-play on Disney’s decision to pull Kimmel off ABC; Katey Rich on the historical precedent and impact to the creative community; and Natalie Jarvey on how political creators on YouTube and elsewhere might react. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There’s a multibillion-dollar business growing right under Hollywood’s nose: microdramas, those soapy, 60-second episodes Gen Z binges on their phones with storylines that can sound like bad 'Twilight' fan-fiction. Vertical dramas are a booming market in China, and now entertainment vets stateside like Lloyd Braun and Susan Rovner are getting in on the action. Elaine Low, Natalie Jarvey and Sean McNulty tackle the big questions for the micro-curious: How seriously should Netflix view microdramas as a rival? Can anyone actually make a profit? And will it take household names to make them succeed — or is this another Quibi-in-waiting? Plus, Richard Rushfield makes his glorious return to the podcast with tales of TIFF: the best films, the Criterion Closet and his all-important Sydney Sweeney selfie. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From Telluride mountaintops to Toronto’s Tim Hortons, awards season is officially here. Before jetting to TIFF, Prestige Junkie’s Katey Rich joined Elaine Low, Sean McNulty and Natalie Jarvey to dissect the quirks of each fest and how they influence not just Oscar voters but box office, too. Plus: the crew autopsies a limp summer box office that fell behind last year, and looks ahead to whether Nolan, Spider-Man, Baby Yoda and even the Minions can save summer 2026 — or if movies are still stuck in a death spiral. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

And here you thought Hollywood might coast into Labor Day. Instead, summer’s final days delivered both the inevitable — Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s engagement — and the unexpected: Netflix OG veteran Peter Friedlander’s exit after 14 years. Elaine Low, Natalie Jarvey and Sean McNulty break down the business stakes of both before running through the five biggest stories of the summer you need to know into the fall, from the ongoing rise of microdramas to Paramount’s high-stakes reboot with Cindy Holland, to Gen X as Hollywood’s Rodney Dangerfield generation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Comedies, dramas, animation and reality may be Hollywood’s bread and butter, but when it comes to what Americans actually watch the most, it’s live sports — and now, an avalanche of shoulder programming to support it. As ESPN, NBCU and Amazon spend $76 billion on NBA games alone over the next 11 years, Manningcast spawns imitators and sports docs and series eat up space once reserved for scripted, Elaine Low, Sean McNulty and Natalie Jarvey reveal the aftershocks to traditional TV (hint: grab the hot dogs and peanuts). Then Dealmakers’ Ashley Cullins dives into the wild state of entertainment M&A right now, including why insiders are hyped about Hailey Bieber’s $1 billion Rhode sale, and what they’re saying about investors’ sudden interest in management companies, who’ll win the old media Hunger Games, and what in the world happens with Lionsgate. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s the end of an era — again — as the surprise finale of And Just Like That has fans bidding farewell (once more) to Carrie Bradshaw & Co. Elaine Low, Sean McNulty and Natalie Jarvey share their takes on the messy send-off (spoiler warnings!), and why Hollywood romance isn’t going away like Aidan just yet. In fact, the once-dormant rom-com is in the midst of a 2025 shopping spree, with Netflix, Amazon and others stocking up on meet-cutes to satisfy comfort-craving audiences. The team unpacks what the divisive Sex and the City spinoff says about the market, the genre’s economic appeal, and the next gen of rom-coms headed for your queue. Plus: They go inside Hollywood’s big four agencies’ war to rep digital creators like MrBeast, Alix Earle and Addison Rae, and the brutally honest scoop on whom digital stars choose (and don’t) when internet fame tips into “call my agent” territory. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brad Pitt, fast cars and Expensify receipt management software logos: Three things that go great together… when you’re shoring up millions to fund your F1 movie. On this week’s episode, Dealmakers’ Ashley Cullins breaks down how ad viewing is down but brand spending is up in hits from F1 to Superman to Jurassic World Rebirth in ways that go far beyond the usual logo slap: They’re narrative tie-ins where the ad is part of the story (host Elaine Low likens it to “hiding the pill in the peanut butter” for dogs, though, yes, Superman’s mutt, Krypto, hawks Milk-Bones). Plus: Elaine, Sean McNulty and Natalie Jarvey unravel Disney’s latest moves — including a farewell to the Hulu app, a hello to ESPN’s standalone streamer and other shakeups from the company’s mic drop earnings call. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After just three years, the newlyweds known as Warner Bros. Discovery are headed for splitsville. Who gets the house? The dog? Elaine Low, Sean McNulty and Natalie Jarvey break down the Hollywood divorce — including the surprising answer to which new company (Warner Bros. or Discovery Global) is making more money, why the film studio is laying off staff after a blockbuster summer, and what happens next. Then, the gang bops to the soundtrack from KPop Demon Hunters and dives into how this unexpected Netflix hit rewrote the rules for animation, fandom, and original IP — and why its lack of A-list stars should send a shudder down Hollywood’s spine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What do Stephen Colbert and an entire generation of Hollywood veterans have in common? They're both facing abrupt career disruption. Elaine Low, Sean McNulty and Natalie Jarvey explore the existential crisis facing Gen X, as careers stall out amid consolidation, AI and a Boomer blockade — and reveal what’s coming next for millennials. Then, Lesley Goldberg breaks down the shocking cancellation of The Late Show, revealed days after a $16 million Paramount settlement with President Trump. Was the ouster of late night’s highest-rated star really just a matter of money? And why didn’t his manager tell him about it for weeks? Plus: Sean checks in on summer box office, where The Fantastic Four is about to face the audience. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Elaine Low and Lesley Goldberg dive into the world’s biggest media swap meet about to start: the great cable TV sell-off. They reveal who’s selling the declining assets, who’s actually buying them and why. Elaine is also joined by Natalie Jarvey, Sean McNulty and Katey Rich, who keep score of the recent Emmy noms including the triumphs, snubs and why, despite heavy campaigning, YouTube couldn’t get voters to “like” them. Also, the team breaks down Superman’s opening weekend and its impact on the summer box office. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the Paramount–Skydance merger lurches toward an Oct. 4 deadline, Elaine Low, Sean McNulty, Lesley Goldberg and Ashley Cullins break down the latest on who’s in, who’s out, what Cindy Holland will do when she takes creative control of Paramount+ as expected, and Hollywood buzz about “New Paramount”: Who’s actually buying shows and who’s riding out the clock, and what the new org chart and spin-offs will look like. Plus: is a Peacock–Paramount+ hookup still on the table, is Skydance really calling the shots, and can any streamer survive without merging? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We kick off this holiday weekend on The Ankler Podcast with Matthew Frank exposing a rebellion brewing in film schools, where young cinephiles are shunning AI, while their mentors encourage them to embrace the new technology. Later, Sean McNulty breaks down the box office battles this July 4th, with Jurassic World Rebirth trying to take pole position away from Brad Pitt’s F1. But the real bombshell? Lesley Goldberg’s exclusive scoop: Neil Druckmann, the co-creator of Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us games and the Emmy Award-winning HBO series, is abandoning the TV adaptation ahead of season three. Lesley, Elaine Low and Natalie Jarvey dissect how Druckmann helped shape The Last of Us, why he’s leaving now, and where that leaves the show and co-creator Craig Mazin ahead of its next chapter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 production. What’s in the deal, who benefits, and will it really bring jobs back to the state? Plus: a look at the summer box office’s first big flop: Pixar’s Elio, and if Brad Pitt’s F1 can defy the haters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 outlasting his 15 minutes of social media fame ("You'll get lightning in a bottle, but you don't know how long you're gonna be able to hold that there"), how he's building his own IP and the investment advice Ashton Kutcher gave him. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 basics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 let the drama develop — and what might lie ahead for Peacock’s breakout hit. “What I love about this show is it’s a really rich world,” Cotton says. “We can take inspiration from murder mysteries, from thrillers, from horror movies, and we’re constantly thinking of what we can do different.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 as consumers — the 2 billion people that come to YouTube every single day — we get to decide how to spend our time.” (YouTube Originals shut down in 2022 before Mohan took the CEO seat.) Other highlights: Mohan answers whether YouTube’s reported $2 billion per year NFL Sunday Ticket deal is paying off; teases plans for global sports rights expansion; and breaks down how the company has quietly captured massive podcast market share from Apple and Spotify. And stick around until the end — for his final swipe back at Netflix. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices