Best TheAnkler.com Podcasts (2025)

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Bari Weiss, MS Now & the Sad Battle for the Last TV News Viewer (Age: 70) 42:52

Play Pause

3h ago42:52

42:52

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 state governor-turned-flop independent candidate Andrew Cuomo) in the mayoral race. But as election results from New York, New Jersey, Virginia and elsewhere poured in Tuesday night, who was…

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My 20 Years in Hollywood 8:54

1h ago8:54

8:54

A young hopeful recently asked Rob Long how to break into showbiz. His reply? “Bad timing — there’s no business left.” But for Rob, that’s also the fun part. When the old temples crumble, you get to build your own. Every Golden Age ends just as you arrive — usually somewhere on the 10 freeway — but stick around long enough and you’ll have your own …

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Hollywood Alarm as Recession Indicators Rack Up 32:55

5d ago32:55

32:55

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 streaming churn, anecdotally, is becoming worse than ever as subscription prices skyrocket. As Hollywood embraced the most terrifying part of the industry during Halloween week — mass layoffs …

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Coming Soon: "Ankler Agenda with Elaine Low" 0:51

7d ago0:51

0:51

This Thursday, "The Ankler Podcast" relaunches as "Ankler Agenda," hosted by Elaine Low. Elaine, author of Ankler Media’s popular “Series Business” newsletter, will be joined weekly by her Ankler colleagues Sean McNulty, Natalie Jarvey and Richard Rushfield, in addition to a variety of expert guests, to break down the headlines, trends and creativi…

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Emergency Pod: WBD’s Endgame Era Begins 33:19

14d ago33:19

33:19

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 unleashed. Is the billionaire class going to snap its fingers, Thanos-style, and squeeze the number of major studios through another round of M&A? Or is salvation coming instead for a storied s…

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The Human Fly & the Kardashians 7:56

14d ago7:56

7:56

In 1923, to promote Harold Lloyd’s Safety Last!, the studio didn’t buy ads — it bought a spectacle. They hired Harry F. Young, “The Human Fly,” to scale a Manhattan hotel in honor of the film’s most famous stunt (you know the one). He made it about 10 stories up before falling to his death — and right into the morning papers. It was, in every sense…

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The Shocking Revenge of Reality TV 29:35

21d ago29:35

29:35

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 reality juggernauts are proving America is enamored again with the once declining genre. Elaine Low, Natalie Jarvey and Sean McNulty break down the market forces leading to this TV plot twist wor…

1
Ellison’s Paramount Goes to the Dentist 15:38

21d ago15:38

15:38

When Rob Long was 18, a dentist said his wisdom teeth had to go. His father told him to hang up the phone: “The whole wisdom tooth thing is a scam.” Forty years later, Rob's fine — mostly. And now, watching David Ellison try to merge Paramount and Warner Bros. in an industry where economies of scale rarely if ever succeed, he sees the same impulse …

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10 Showrunners Shaping TV — Right as GPT-5 Rewrites Everything 29:48

28d ago29:48

29:48

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 …

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Hollywood's Gen Z Blindspot, Starring Taylor Swift 29:42

1M ago29:42

29:42

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 …

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Kimmelgate: 6 Days That Shook Disney 28:21

1M ago28:21

28:21

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 …

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Emergency Pod: The Kimmel Crisis & What’s Next 34:43

2M ago34:43

34:43

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 Char…

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The Netflix of Microdramas: Who Gets There First? 32:07

2M ago32:07

32:07

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…

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Psychos, Muggers, Thieves (And Agents) 8:50

2M ago8:50

8:50

Those who lived in New York during the ’70s and ’80s knew to carry around “mugger money”: a small wad of bills kept handy on the assumption you’d eventually be mugged. While New York has improved since then, the concept of “mugger money” remains alive and well in Hollywood. The managers with non-writing producer credits, pilot directors with perpet…

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Summer Duds, Fest Buzz: What the Hell is Happening to Movies 32:38

2M ago32:38

32:38

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 fe…

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Back to School, Hollywood: Start with 'Porky’s' 10:08

2M ago10:08

10:08

In show business, “after the holiday” — Labor Day, that is — are the three magic words that make August a breeze and September feel like back to school. But for Rob Long, it actually does mean back to school, as he starts his second year in the Master of Divinity program at Princeton Theological Seminary, and comes one step closer to his goal of pi…

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Love, Loss & Drama: Swift, Netflix, Paramount 29:46

2M ago29:46

29:46

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…

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Bip Bip Bip: Showbiz’s Lost Language 9:03

2M ago9:03

9:03

Industry jargon once separated the insiders from the posers. Rob Long remembers a network president who tried to talk the talk — pitching a spinoff with a cheery “bip bip bip” and some magician-like hand gestures. Cue hours of mocking behind closed doors. But the bigger joke may be on Hollywood itself: while words like “showrunner” have gone mainst…

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How TV Became a 24/7 Sports Bar 31:06

3M ago31:06

31:06

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 a…

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You’ll Eat Lunch in This Town Again 11:51

3M ago11:51

11:51

Years ago, a well-known comic actor hosted an ill-fated late-night show that was canceled halfway through its 13-week run. But rather than leave town under a cloud of immense failure, this guy went to lunch. According to Rob Long, it was “the bravest lunch I’ve yet seen eaten,” and the comic was met with several well-wishers for his troubles. That’…

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‘And Just Like That’... Streamers Want Rom-Coms, Agents Want Creators 30:24

3M ago30:24

30:24

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 …

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Here’s What New Paramount Should Really Do 7:46

3M ago7:46

7:46

Rob Long’s experience with Paramount goes back so far, he was there in the Gulf and Western days. He was there when Barry Diller fought Sumner Redstone for the company in 1994 for the company — and lost. He’s seen Viacom and CBS and everything in between. So as David Ellison takes over the storied company, Rob has a key piece of advice, if the youn…

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Apple's ‘F1’ Brand Slam & Disney+’s Streaming Shakeups 29:00

3M ago29:00

29:00

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 bey…

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Hollywood vs. TikTok 9:28

3M ago9:28

9:28

Walk up Madison Avenue, and there’s Hermès, Gucci and Tom Ford. Then, down in Soho is The RealReal, a luxury consignment store where you can find largely the same Gucci stripes, pebbled Hermes leather or giant Tom Ford zippers. The stuff is just a little used — and a whole lot cheaper. That’s the challenge Hollywood faces. A-list celebrities and st…

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WBD Divorce, Netflix 'KPop' Frenzy: Film’s Split Screen Summer 33:37

3M ago33:37

33:37

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 …

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Gen X Career Crisis & Colbert Collapse 36:36

3M ago36:36

36:36

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 …

1
No One Knew How Johnny Carson Voted 8:29

4M ago8:29

8:29

Stephen Colbert’s out, Greg Gutfeld’s in, and late-night TV is a shell of its former self. Rob Long breaks down what went wrong, why Johnny Carson wouldn’t survive 2025, and how Kimmel, Stewart, Meyers, and Oliver turned late-night into political homework at bedtime — while fighting over the same half of the audience. But Rob doesn’t blame a certai…

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The Epic Cable TV Swap Meet Begins 31:39

4M ago31:39

31:39

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 w…

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When Will the Young Lions Finally Attack? 8:17

4M ago8:17

8:17

Recording from Botswana, Rob Long figured he was as far as he could get from the chaos of showbiz. But it turns out that the wild African plain is a lot like Hollywood. Directors? They’re the Cape buffalo: loud, bossy and always wearing a headset (he’ll explain). Buzzards are akin to agents (no disrespect to either). And writers are rhinos — kind o…

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Meet the 'New Paramount': Cindy, Crumbling Cable & Chaos 31:18

4M ago31:18

31:18

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 ou…

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Never Talk Down to Your Audience — Even When They Have Terrible Taste 8:05

4M ago8:05

8:05

Some debates are nuanced. For Rob Long, this isn’t one of them: Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace is a disaster, from the pod racing to Jar Jar Binks. No amount of revisionist history can make George Lucas’ Star Wars prequel any less disappointing. Yet Rob once had a meeting with a brilliant, respected man who claimed it was his favorite St…

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Druckmann Ditches HBO: ‘The Last of Us’ Faces a Creative Apocalypse 30:13

4M ago30:13

30:13

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 positi…

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Dumb Comedies Will Save Hollywood 9:17

4M ago9:17

9:17

As Rob marks a milestone birthday while traversing France, his thoughts drift — as they often do — from real life to showbiz. Gone are his days of being 24 years old, writing for 20 million viewers on Cheers. In their place: streaming “drops” that sound more like bodily functions than cultural events. But amid all that change, one rule still holds:…

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Now It’s Spotify vs. YouTube — Plus Personal Struggles Post-L.A. Fire 30:06

4M ago30:06

30:06

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, …

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'Broadcast Is Dead’ Isn’t a Hot Take—It’s Josh Richards’ Business Plan 24:45

4M ago24:45

24:45

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 …

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YouTube vs. Netflix: Rumble on the Riviera 32:22

5M ago32:22

32:22

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…

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What Keith McNally Can Teach Hollywood 9:20

5M ago9:20

9:20

Keith McNally isn’t in showbiz, but he might as well be. Whether you’re dining at Balthazar or, like Rob, a frequenter of Minetta Tavern, it’s all lights, noise and timing. The food matters, but it’s the vibe that keeps people coming back — and the same goes for Hollywood. It’s not just plot and characters; it’s atmosphere, tone and letting the aud…

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TV Tales: How ‘The Traitors’ Broke Through & Upended Reality 33:41

5M ago33:41

33:41

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…

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Creator Coup: CEO Neal Mohan on YouTube Beating Netflix Without Buying a Single Show 38:48

5M ago38:48

38:48

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 …

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Swipe, Pay, Cry: A $5 Billion Boom in 60-Second Soaps 30:01

5M ago30:01

30:01

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 series. Welcome to the world of microdramas: 60-second, phone-first serialized soap operas. Elaine Low, Sean McNulty and Natalie Jarvey unpack the sudden rise of white-hot vertical series. Ho…

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TV Tales: 'Penis, Penis, Penis, Me' — Comedy Legend Nell Scovell Tells All 39:36

5M ago39:36

39:36

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 everything from The Simpsons to Late Night with David Letterman. Before breaking into TV, Scovell sharpened her voice at Spy and Vanity Fair, where editors Kurt Andersen and Graydon Carter taught her…

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TV’s Top Directors: ‘Good American Family,’ ‘Severance,’ ‘Zero Day’ & ‘The Pitt’ 1:06:50

5M ago1:06:50

1:06:50

In this bonus episode of The Ankler podcast, the second of tworecorded live on May 18 at L.A.'s DGA Theater, The Ankler and the DirectorsGuild of America bring you a series of insightful and memorable conversations — presented by Threads — about the art of directing for television. You’ll hear Lesley Goldberg’s interview with Liz Garbus, who direct…

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TV’s Top Directors: ‘High Potential,’ ‘What We Do in the Shadows’ & ‘Hacks’ 50:00

5M ago50:00

50:00

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 funny and memorable conversations — presented by Threads — about the art of directing for television. Lesley Goldberg interviewed Alethea Jones, who helmed the pilot for ABC freshman hit “Hi…

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Now Renting: 8 Million Sq Ft of Sadness 31:24

5M ago31:24

31:24

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 excess space? Think bar mitzvahs, weddings, YouTubers and cover shoots. Elaine Low, Sean McNulty and Natalie Jarvey explore how L.A.’s sound stages are the new dead malls and what that means fo…

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The 'American Idol' Pastor Who Helped Katharine McPhee and More Stars Shine 34:44

5M ago34:44

34:44

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 early 2010s, when the Fox juggernaut dominated conversation everywhere from “Howard Stern” to the “Today” show and produced megastars like Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood. But there was one…

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Mubi vs. Marvel: A New High-Stakes Film Era 31:36

5M ago31:36

31:36

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 Cullins joins Elaine Low and Sean McNulty to dissect why optimism surged out of Cannes, and how Mubi, fresh off a splashy $24 million acquisition for Jennifer Lawrence’s latest, is viewed as a…

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'Cheers' & Art of the 'Norm!' Entrance 7:51

5M ago7:51

7:51

If a joke falls flat, you’ve got two options: fiddle with the set-up or adjust the punchline. That’s comedy writing 101 — unless you had George Wendt. As Norm on Cheers, George’s timing, presence and even just how he walked into the bar got a laugh. But Norm was a lovable loser, while George was just plain lovable. And for writers like Rob, lucky e…

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Bruce Vilanch and the Wild World of 1970s Variety TV Spectaculars 44:36

5M ago44:36

44:36

For the second episode of Hollywood Stories’ sophomore season, Richard Rushfield talks to the brilliant and bawdy Bruce Vilanch, known as the longtime joke purveyor extraordinaire for the Oscars (plus the Emmys, Tonys and more). But before he became the go-to for Hollywood galas, Vilanch got his start in writing for the big variety shows and specia…

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Netflix, Disney+ & YouTube: The Fight to Babysit Your Kids 31:00

6M ago31:00

31:00

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 subscribers. Elaine Low, Natalie Jarvey and Sean McNulty dig into why streamers like Netflix and Disney+ are doubling down on branded kids content while others quietly exit, and why Paramount+ has un…

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The Missing Middle-Zone Shows 11:51

6M ago11:51

11:51

The best TV shows are like the best restaurants, says Rob Long: familiar, comforting, and just stylish enough. Not everything needs to be a tasting menu or guilty junk — sometimes you just want a steak, buttered broccoli, baked potato and a laugh. So in this era where prestige and junk reign in both food and TV, Rob asks, where are all the Hillston…