David Zaslav and Ted Sarandos attend the 2025 AFI Awards in Los Angeles. (Photo by Michael Kovac/Getty Images for AFI)
On Thursday afternoon, a few hours before news broke that Netflix had won the bidding war for Warner Bros. Discovery, former WarnerMedia chief executive Jason Kilar tweeted that he “could not think of a more effective way to reduce competition in Hollywood than selling WBD to Netflix.”
Maybe. But in the midst of a consolidation wave that spells bad news for the thousands of employees working across the industry, Netflix might be a less disruptive and destructive buyer for the venerable studio, its staffers, and without sounding too lofty about it, society in general than the alternatives.
From that perspective, think of this serialized blockbuster, which has many chapters left with the long and treacherous regulatory battle ahead, as “Apocalypse Not”—at least for now…
The rest of this story is for paid subscribers only.
Already a subscriber? Sign in.
Scoop-driven reporting and sharp-edged analysis. See why The Wall Street Journal declared Status a “must-read.”
The latest episode of Power Lines just dropped.
In this week’s episode: We discuss Olivia Nuzzi’s media tour and the fallout at Vanity Fair, how the die-hards in MAGA Media have rallied around Pete Hegseth, what the future has in store for Warner Bros. Discovery, Sabrina Carpenter shredding the White House for using her music in an “evil” video, and Dan Bongino melting down on X (again).
You can watch on YouTube—or listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you enjoy the program, subscribe so you never miss an episode!
George Clooney as Jay Kelly and Adam Sandler as Ron Sukenick in “Jay Kelly.” (Photo by Peter Mountain/Netflix)
‘Jay Kelly’ is Hollywood’s Latest Existential Crisis: Think of “Jay Kelly” as a taller and better-looking version of Woody Allen’s “Stardust Memories,” even if you assume that the movie star within the movie reexamining his life and career, played by George Clooney, is really a surrogate for director/co-writer Noah Baumbach.
Like most Hollywood-centric films, this one (hitting Netflix after a theatrical stint) comes wrapped in a thick blanket of self-indulgence, which doesn’t completely eradicate its charms, but tends to muffle them.
Clooney plays the aging star of the title, who begins…
The remainder of this newsletter is for paid subscribers only.
Scoop-driven reporting and sharp-edged analysis. See why thousands of industry professionals rely on Status.
Already a subscriber? Sign in.
A subscription gets you full access to our nightly newsletter, which includes:
✅ Essential reporting on and analysis of the Fourth Estate, Silicon Valley, Hollywood, the Information Wars, and more.
✅ Hand-curated links to the most consequential stories moving the needle in the key corridors of the industry.
✅ Unlimited access to our online archive where you can read previous editions of the newsletter.
