Shows / Ankler Agenda
Ankler Agenda
"Ankler Agenda" breaks down the headlines, trends and creativity shaping the evolution of Hollywood, the creator economy and entertainment. The show is hosted by Elaine Low, author of Ankler Media’s popular “Series Business” Substack newsletter, who is joined weekly by her colleagues Sean McNulty (“The Wakeup”) and Natalie Jarvey (“Like & Subscribe”) -- in addition to Richard Rushfield, the Ankler himself. Episodes will also be available every Thursday on YouTube.
Episodes
Ankler AgendaIs Everyone Leaving L.A. (Or Is That Just Your Group Chat)?
One year after the L.A. fires and three years after the strikes — with another round of labor drama looming — it can feel like every creative you know is…
Ankler AgendaYEAR-END HOLIDAY MAILBAG: Your Burning Questions, Answered
Which business trends are giving the Ankler crew hope in the New Year? Is the 2023 writers’ strike responsible for the current shaky entertainment economy?…
Ankler AgendaSUPER-SIZED HOLIDAY SPECIAL: Hollywood’s 2025 Winners & Losers
Netflix, YouTube, horny hockey hunks — even amid rough economic terrain this year, these industry standouts and more not only survived through ’25, but…
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BONUS EP: 2025 Creator Economy Winners and Losers with Natalie Jarvey and Lia Haberman
In a year when creators surged fully into the mainstream, ICYMI’s Lia Haberman joins Like & Subscribe's Natalie Jarvey for a Substack Live recap of the biggest…
Ankler AgendaHe’s Just Not That Into You: How Zaslav and Ellison Fell Apart
Some guys can’t take a hint. After half a dozen proposals and a hostile bid, Paramount Skydance got a definitive “no means no” from Warner Bros. Discovery’s…
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BONUS EP: The Oscars Go to YouTube, with Prestige Junkie Katey Rich
Prestige Junkie's Katey Rich and Natalie Jarvey jumped on Substack Live to discuss why the Academy struck a deal with YouTube to air the Oscars, who might win…
Ankler AgendaBONUS EP: Remembering Rob Reiner, 'A Towering Career'
Richard Rushfield, Katey Rich and Christopher Rosen taped a special Prestige Junkie episode to discuss what Richard rightly hailed as Rob Reiner's “towering…
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BONUS EP: Scoring Big: How Noah Beck and Jordan Chiles Built Fandom (and Careers) Off the Field
Creator and actor Noah Beck and Olympic gymnast Jordan Chiles join Natalie Jarvey to break down how athletes are building fandom — and entire careers — beyond…
Ankler AgendaTick, Tick: The 10-Day Siege of Warner Bros. Begins
Like sand through the hourglass, so are the mergers of our lives. With the Warner Bros. board now in a 10-day window to respond to Paramount’s newly hostile…
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BONUS EP: WGA Prez’ Dire Warning on Netflix-WB: ‘We Know How This Movie Ends’
WGA West president Michele Mulroney has a message for Netflix chief Ted Sarandos and Warner Bros. Discovery head David Zaslav: “We want there to be…
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BONUS EP: Netflix-WBD Panic & Chaos in a Hollywood ‘Looking for Some Answers’
Elaine Low, Natalie Jarvey, Sean McNulty and Lesley Goldberg all gathered Friday morning for a special live episode of Ankler Agenda to break down the…
Ankler AgendaEnter The Warner Bros. Thunderdome
One studio to rule them all and in the darkness bind them: Netflix, Paramount Skydance and Comcast have submitted new bids to buy Warner Bros. Discovery, part…
Ankler AgendaHow ‘Wicked’ Women Saved the Movies
After ignoring weeks of theatrical disappointments, moviegoers fell under the spell of Wicked: For Good last weekend to the tune of almost $150 million in…
Ankler AgendaThe Clock Strikes Midnight for Warner Bros.
How long before Warner Bros. becomes another studio swallowed up by David Ellison? With final bids for WBD due this week, all eyes remain on Paramount Skydance…
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BONUS EP: ‘The Rushfield Lunch’ with Mike De Luca & Pam Abdy on Making Box Office History in the Face of ‘Surreal’ Criticism
In this special bonus Ankler Agenda episode, Richard Rushfield chats with Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group co-chairs Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy about…
Ankler AgendaAI Warning Signs — and How Hollywood Invited the Enemy Inside
Hollywood had its eyes on Web Summit Lisbon this week — where Tilly Norwood creator Eline van der Velden joined Ankler Media EIC Janice Min to showcase her AI…
Ankler AgendaBari Weiss, MS Now & the Sad Battle for the Last TV News Viewer (Age: 70)
Election Day had New York City’s Gen Z cheering in the streets as proud socialist Zohran Mamdani crushed the Democratic establishment (in the form of disgraced…
Ankler AgendaHollywood Alarm as Recession Indicators Rack Up
Thousands of jobs lost at Paramount Skydance and Amazon, quiet panic on the Warner Bros. Discovery lot, shoot days in L.A. on a continued decline — all while…
Ankler AgendaComing Soon: "Ankler Agenda with Elaine Low"
This Thursday, "The Ankler Podcast" relaunches as "Ankler Agenda," hosted by Elaine Low. Elaine, author of Ankler Media’s popular “Series Business” newsletter…
Ankler AgendaEmergency Pod: WBD’s Endgame Era Begins
Another week, another industry-warping Hollywood shake-up. As Warner Bros. Discovery plants a “For Sale” sign in its yard, a Streaming Wars endgame is being…
Ankler AgendaThe Shocking Revenge of Reality TV
A show filmed in real time, airing almost daily, and pulling in billions of viewing minutes a week? Prestige TV could never. But Love Island USA and other…
Ankler Agenda10 Showrunners Shaping TV — Right as GPT-5 Rewrites Everything
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…
Ankler AgendaHollywood's Gen Z Blindspot, Starring Taylor Swift
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…
Ankler AgendaKimmelgate: 6 Days That Shook Disney
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…
Ankler AgendaEmergency Pod: The Kimmel Crisis & What’s Next
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!…
Ankler AgendaThe Netflix of Microdramas: Who Gets There First?
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…
Ankler AgendaSummer Duds, Fest Buzz: What the Hell is Happening to Movies
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…
Ankler AgendaLove, Loss & Drama: Swift, Netflix, Paramount
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…
Ankler AgendaHow TV Became a 24/7 Sports Bar
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 —…
Ankler Agenda‘And Just Like That’... Streamers Want Rom-Coms, Agents Want Creators
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…
Ankler AgendaApple's ‘F1’ Brand Slam & Disney+’s Streaming Shakeups
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…
Ankler AgendaWBD Divorce, Netflix 'KPop' Frenzy: Film’s Split Screen Summer
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…
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Gen X Career Crisis & Colbert Collapse
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…
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The Epic Cable TV Swap Meet Begins
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…
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Meet the 'New Paramount': Cindy, Crumbling Cable & Chaos
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…
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Druckmann Ditches HBO: ‘The Last of Us’ Faces a Creative Apocalypse
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…
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Now It’s Spotify vs. YouTube — Plus Personal Struggles Post-L.A. Fire
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…
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'Broadcast Is Dead’ Isn’t a Hot Take—It’s Josh Richards’ Business Plan
Live from Cannes Lions, Like & Subscribe editor Natalie Jarvey interviews creator Josh Richards and CrossCheck Studios CEO Chris Sawtelle about building a Gen…
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YouTube vs. Netflix: Rumble on the Riviera
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…
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TV Tales: How ‘The Traitors’ Broke Through & Upended Reality
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 —…
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Creator Coup: CEO Neal Mohan on YouTube Beating Netflix Without Buying a Single Show
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…
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Swipe, Pay, Cry: A $5 Billion Boom in 60-Second Soaps
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…
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TV Tales: 'Penis, Penis, Penis, Me' — Comedy Legend Nell Scovell Tells All
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…
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TV’s Top Directors: ‘Good American Family,’ ‘Severance,’ ‘Zero Day’ & ‘The Pitt’
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…
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TV’s Top Directors: ‘High Potential,’ ‘What We Do in the Shadows’ & ‘Hacks’
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…
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Now Renting: 8 Million Sq Ft of Sadness
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…
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The 'American Idol' Pastor Who Helped Katharine McPhee and More Stars Shine
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…
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Mubi vs. Marvel: A New High-Stakes Film Era
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…
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Bruce Vilanch and the Wild World of 1970s Variety TV Spectaculars
For the second episode of Hollywood Stories’ sophomore season, Richard Rushfield talks to the brilliant and bawdy Bruce Vilanch, known as the longtime joke…
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Netflix, Disney+ & YouTube: The Fight to Babysit Your Kids
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…
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TV Tales: 'Big Mouth' Creators Nick Kroll & Andrew Goldberg Tell (Almost) All
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…
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Upfronts: Less Glitz, Higher Stakes & a Fierce Fight to Win
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…
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The Week Trump Terrified Hollywood
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…
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What Deals in 2025 Reveal So Far
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?…
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How Webtoon Is Building an IP Gold Mine
Natalie Jarvey, author of Ankler Media's creator economy newsletter, Like & Subscribe, sits down with Webtoon Entertainment COO David J. Lee and Wattpad…
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Hollywood Jobs 2025: Good, Bad & Who’s Hiring
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…
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AI, Hollywood and New Worlds of Storytelling
Hollywood writer and producer David Goyer — known for “Blade,” “Foundation” and his writing on Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight” Trilogy — explores new…
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Reality Check: Inside Non-scripted TV with Top Execs
The Ankler gets real about what’s happening in nonscripted TV, a diverse and thriving industry that includes documentaries, talent/competition/game shows and…
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Netflix’s Push to Take TV’s Final 80%
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…
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WWE's Prez and Triple H on Global Growth, the Netflix Deal & Bad Bunny
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…