The Ankler
theankler.com
The Ankler
@theankler.com
Hollywood’s insider newsletter. Don’t eat lunch in this town without it. theankler.com | http://instagram.com/theankler
Katey Rich asked all her past Prestige Junkie podcast guests one simple question: What's the best thing that happened to Hollywood this year? For @theblcklst.bsky.social @franklinleonard.bsky.social, the triumph of 'Sinners' was an obvious choice prestigejunkieafterparty.substack.com/p/what-was-t...
January 2, 2026 at 7:37 PM
Audiences draw a clearer line on AI than Hollywood might expect. Polling shows broad acceptance for AI in VFX, subtitles, and editing, but strong resistance when it comes to acting, writing, and vocals. Daniel Parris breaks down where tolerance ends: theankler.com/p/how-much-a...
January 2, 2026 at 7:21 PM
From franchise extensions to expensive originals, the 2026 TV slate reveals what streamers are still willing to gamble on and what they’re inching away from. @snoodit.bsky.social breaks down 20 buzzy new series carrying real business stakes theankler.com/p/what-makes...
December 31, 2025 at 7:49 PM
Reposted by The Ankler
Explore the latest in Hollywood, the creator economy, and entertainment with Elaine Low, Sean McNulty, Natalie Jarvey, and Richard Rushfield as they break down trends and headlines shaping the industry. From theankler.com.
December 30, 2025 at 12:16 AM
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...
December 22, 2025 at 8:11 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-...
December 22, 2025 at 6:21 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...
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
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 [email protected]
December 17, 2025 at 7:16 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-...
December 16, 2025 at 6:50 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...
December 15, 2025 at 9:26 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/...
LIVE NOW: Remembering Rob Reiner
Katey Rich on Substack
theankler.com
December 15, 2025 at 7:10 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...
December 15, 2025 at 4:37 PM
Reposted by The Ankler
"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."
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
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
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
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...
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
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
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
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...
December 8, 2025 at 7:12 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...
December 8, 2025 at 8:19 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-...
December 8, 2025 at 7:16 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...
December 8, 2025 at 5:25 PM
Next up: Richard Rushfield is live with @bedoyausa.bsky.social USA on the legal implications of Netflix's acquisition: theankler.com/live-stream/...
LIVE NOW: Emergency Chat on Netflix Warners with Monopoly Expert Matt Stoller
Richard Rushfield on Substack
theankler.com
December 5, 2025 at 7:45 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/...
LIVE NOW: Netflix-WBD: Panic, Chaos, Plan
Elaine Low on Substack
theankler.com
December 5, 2025 at 6:32 PM
Reposted by The Ankler
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...
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