Lively banter about entertainment industry news and in-depth interviews with directors, producers, writers and actors, hosted by award-winning journalist Kim Masters of The Hollywood Reporter.
Itâs been more than two years since anyone watched the second season finale of HBOâs âEuphoria.â Season three was delayed by the strikes that shut down Hollywood, and a series of dramatic events surrounding the creator Sam Levinson. The network has confirmed its return, but will the audience stay tuned-in?
Plus, Comcast and its streaming service Peacock are hoping the Olympic games can reverse a recent subscriber shrinkage. Itâs just one example of the television industryâs troubles. Low production, delayed premieres and a sense of uncertainty have plagued T.V. land this year. Kim Masters speaks with the Hollywood Reporterâs Scott Feinberg about what the latest Emmy nominations say about the state of the industry. Then NPRâs Eric Deggans breaks down what he learned at this monthâs gathering with the Television Critics Association.
The 2024 Emmy nominations are here, with lots of record-breaking nods and surprises to unpack â along with the strategy behind Disneyâs acquisition of FX. What does the success of ShĆgun and The Bear say about streaming? And does a new Bank of America report on Warner Bros. Discovery suggest⊠âunbundlingâ? Kim Masters and Matt Belloni break it down.Â
Plus, in honor of ShĆgunâs 25(!) Emmy nominations, Masters revisits her conversation with creators Justin Marks and Rachel Kondo. The series made history this week with its Emmy nomination for Outstanding Drama, becoming only the second non-English show ever considered. The husband-and-wife creative team talk about how theyâve been granted more control writing for television over feature films, and explain why FX took the risk on their very expensive, and heavily subtitled, period epic.
Kim Masters and Matt Belloni discuss the Paramount-Skydance merger. They also look at CNNâs digital future after the company lays off 100 employees, and weigh in on Kevin Costnerâs sad âHorizonâ rollout.Â
Plus, Masters speaks to MutaâAli, director of the HBO documentary âMoviePass, MovieCrash.â The filmmaker talks about his desire to center the story of the companyâs two Black founders, while detailing the complex business dealings that led to MoviePassâs meteoric rise and fall.
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Kim Masters and guest Banterer Lucas Shaw of Bloomberg News discuss the latest twist in the Paramount saga: Just after billionaire Barry Diller raised his hand as a potential buyer, the Skydance-Paramount deal is resurrected from the dead.
Plus, Masters returns with an encore of her 2021 interview with Paul W. Downs and Jen Statsky, two of the three showrunners behind the award-winning HBO Max series "Hacks." Downs and Statsky talk about how lead actress Jean Smart insisted the cameras keep rolling when her husband passed away with a week of shooting the first season left.
Kim Masters and Matt Belloni discuss the tentative deal reached by the major Hollywood studios and IATSE, the union representing below-the-line workers. They also break down NBCâs effort to boost streaming numbers with Olympics recaps from an A.I.-generated version of sports broadcaster Al Michaels.
Plus, Masters speaks to Lance Oppenheim, director of the new HBO docu-series Ren Faire, about honing his intimate, uniquely collaborative style of filmmaking, and his interest in subjects who become âentombedâ by their own fantasies. The filmmaker also talks about how he cold emailed his way into director Darren Aronofskyâs inner circle.Â
Kim Masters and Matt Belloni examine the dissolution of the Paramount-Skydance merger after Shari Redstone calls it quits on the deal. They also discuss Sonyâs purchase of Alamo Drafthouse theaters.
Plus, Masters speaks to Rob Reiner and Albert Brooks about Reinerâs HBO documentary, Albert Brooks: Defending My Life. The legendary filmmakers talk about their early years in the industry and they talk about the drastically changing landscape of entertainment.Â
Kim Masters and Matt Belloni examine the complicated situation developing at Paramount as controlling shareholder Shari Redstone determines the future of the company.Â
Plus, Eric Deggans speaks to comedian and Chappelleâs Show co-creator Neal Brennan about his Netflix standup special, Crazy Good. Brennan talks about what he and friends Dave Chappelle and Chris Rock have taught each other about their craft over the years, and he argues that people shouldnât always care what comedians have to say.
Kim Masters and Matt Belloni break down the latest NBA news at Warner Bros. Discovery. They also discuss activist investor Nelson Peltzâs decision to sell his entire stake in Disney, and why Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos thinks last summerâs biggest theatrical hits would have fared as well on the streamer.Â
Plus, Masters speaks to the head of domestic distribution at Paramount, Chris Aronson. The long-serving executive explains why he believes that movie theaters will survive despite industry-wide gloom over waning box office numbers, and he argues that the lack of consensus about the length of the theatrical window isn't helping consumers or studios.
A frighteningly lackluster summer box office, human ScarJo dukes it out with OpenAIâs âdefinitely-not-supposed-to-sound-like-ScarJoâ ScarJo, and the movies making noise at this yearâs Cannes Film Festivalânot necessarily in a good way. Kim Masters and Matt Belloni break down this weekâs news in a special Spring Megabanter episode of The Business.
Kim Masters and Matt Belloni break down the biggest stories to come out of the 2024 Upfronts. They also take a look at the latest streaming bundle announcement between Netflix, Apple TV+, and Peacock.
Plus, Masters speaks with Jane Schoenbrun about their film, I Saw the TV Glow. The director talks about how growing up in the suburbs was the inspiration for the sinister setting in their A24-backed film, produced by Emma Stone and husband Dave McCary. Schoenbrun also shares why the nuances of gender and identity play a major role in their work, and how they realized they were transgender after taking a mushroom trip with friends.
Kim Masters and Matt Belloni discuss the latest at Warner Bros. Discovery following the companyâs Q1 earnings report. They also dive into the announced streaming package bundling Max, Disney+, and Hulu.
Plus, Eric Deggans speaks to writer Russell T Davies about the new season of Doctor Who on Disney+. Davies talks about casting Sex Educationâs Ncuti Gatwa as the latest Doctor, why having Disney on his side is such a big deal, and he explains why he thinks writing Doctor Who is one of the hardest jobs in television.
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