The Business

This week, Eric Deggans speaks with Vince Gilligan about his new series, Pluribus. The creator of Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul explains how he felt being at the center of his first-ever bidding war, and how a long-standing partnership with Sony ultimately brought the project to Apple. Gilligan also reflects on why the days of writing episodic television on The X-Files shaped his love of serialized storytelling. And after years of explaining his work to fans and critics alike, Gilligan shares why he’s learning to let audiences decide what his shows mean for themselves. Plus, with the Academy set to bring the Oscars to YouTube in 2029, Hollywood’s biggest night is moving to a very different kind of stage. Kim Masters and Matt Belloni unpack why the Academy made the deal—and what it reveals about how the industry is rethinking where, and how, audiences show up.

With Netflix’s bombshell move to acquire Warner Bros. still reverberating through the town, Paramount has gone fully hostile–bypassing Warner leadership and taking its case straight to shareholders. Matt Belloni and Lucas Shaw break down the latest maneuvering in a saga that seems to sprout new twists by the day. Also, with Kim Masters sidelined by a bug this week, Belloni presents a few bonus stories from Masters's recent conversations: Wake Up Dead Man writer-director Rian Johnson and producer Ram Bergman talk about the green room they devised for the first Knives Out–a space that became so essential to the ensemble’s chemistry that trailers sat mostly empty. And Stranger Things executive producer Shawn Levy explains why, despite the runaway success of Deadpool & Wolverine, he’s not sprinting toward a sequel just yet.

Producer’s note: This week’s banter segment was recorded before news broke of Netflix acquiring Warner Bros. This week, Kim Masters sits down with writer-director Celine Song to talk about Materialists, her rom-com that became a surprise commercial hit worldwide. Song explains how a stint as a New York matchmaker schooled her in the economics of modern dating—and how those real-world dynamics shaped the film’s story. She also reflects on the privilege of a robust theatrical release through her fruitful partnership with A24, which also backed her Oscar-nominated debut Past Lives. And she gets into why certain elements of Materialists trace back to 19th-century novels, whether audiences realize it or not. Plus, the lingering question of what a Netflix-owned Warner Bros. would mean for theatrical may be coming into focus. As the bidding war between Paramount and Netflix heats up, Netflix insists its WB films would still hit theaters, though a two-week run instead of the traditional 45 days raises concerns. Kim Masters and Matt Belloni break down the latest in the Warners race.

This week, Kim Masters talks to writer-director Rian Johnson and producer Ram Bergman about their latest Knives Out installment, Wake Up Dead Man. Johnson opens up about leaning on his producer when he panics during the writing process—and why, oddly enough, he never hit that wall on The Last Jedi. Bergman explains why he and Johnson prefer to bankroll early development themselves rather than put up with studio input. And they dive into the Netflix of it all: a global megaphone for Benoit Blanc mysteries, but not much of a run in theaters. Plus, in a truly baffling twist, Paramount is set to distribute Rush Hour 4—with the once-canceled Brett Ratner back in the director’s chair. Even stranger, reporting from Semafor suggests President Donald Trump pushed Larry Ellison to revive the Jackie Chan–Chris Tucker franchise. Kim Masters and Matt Belloni attempt to make sense of the latest happenings at Paramount.

This week, Kim Masters talks to filmmaker Shawn Levy, who takes a short break from the London shoot of his Star Wars film to talk about the final season of Stranger Things, including Netflix's surprising decision to give the finale a limited theatrical release. He also weighs in on his work from Night at The Museum through Deadpool & Wolverine, and he shares his bittersweet feelings about an industry that’s undergoing very painful contraction. Meanwhile, the bidding war for Warner Bros. Discovery offers no especially comforting scenario: Paramount’s deep-pocketed Ellisons, a studio-and-streamer play from Netflix, or a cautious Comcast—each facing the hurdle of FCC approval. Kim Masters and Matt Belloni dive into what each bidder’s move could mean for the town.