Does Hollywood have some huge risks in its future? I describe three in my latest... entertainment.substack.com/p/hollywoods...

I loved this episode on writer’s rooms and comedy from Rob Long. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/i...

Excellent work, as always, from MMA Draw, on Frank Shamrock, Nate Wilcox’s fav MMA fighter. www.themmadraw.com/p/erased-by-...

Prime Video released a straight-to-streaming pirate film. That’s right. A pirate film. And it allegedly cost $50 million. (CAA handled the sale, so was this an indie film?) entertainment.substack.com/p/finally-tw...

The Witcher was, years ago, one of Netflix’s mega-hits, but no show has seen a steeper decline in performance! It’s been on a slide since season two (after the main star left the show). entertainment.substack.com/p/over-113-o...

I think the recent “Claude Mythos found 400,000 exploits!!!” news really reveals whether a lot of influential people, pundits and writers are in an AI information bubble or not.

At this point, if you don’t think Google or Ticket Master are monopolies, well, you basically don’t think any monopolies exist period. (Or shouldn’t be prohibited!)

A classic battle between some big returning shows…plus Disney tries to reverse its slide in films on streaming… entertainment.substack.com/p/virgin-riv...

Beast Games is such a fascinating cultural artefact

Predator Badlands basically put up the same numbers as Prey, but, you know, with $180 million in box office dollars.  entertainment.substack.com/p/did-two-ne...

Evan Shapiro ran the numbers on Paramount-WBD merger...it’s brutal! eshap.substack.com/p/inside-ell...

Hulu’s giving her another show! deadline.com/2026/04/la-l...

After reading about one TikToker complaining about her 360 million views but can’t make a living. In this case, I’d recommend analyzing one’s assumptions.

The Bear is ending this summer. Its last season’s ratings were a bit low compared to the past. entertainment.substack.com/p/the-secret...

The decline of Beast Games on Prime Video is real and stark. No datecdotes from the company and three viewership sources (Nielsen, Samba TV and Luminate) all tell the same story... entertainment.substack.com/p/beast-game...

The WGA-AMPTP deal is huge, amazing good news for the entertainment industry. I also barely saw anyone writing about this good news. The news coverage was absolutely minimal. I tried to do my part by making it the “Most Important Story of the Week” entertainment.substack.com/p/the-best-e...

Kim Kardashian had another rough half-year on streaming. Once again, Hulu’s “The Kardashians” show failed to make the Nielsen weekly charts, despite being on S7. The Kardashians also failed to make Luminate or Samba TV. entertainment.substack.com/p/over-113-o...

Do you ever read an article by someone else and just say, “Darn, I wish I wrote that.” Frankly, it’s the biggest compliment you can give to another writer, and I gladly give it to @Wade Major and his latest article on Netflix’s stock price.  hollywoodheretic.substack.com/p/100-days-o...

The Pitt is climbing the S2 all-time streaming charts. entertainment.substack.com/p/hbo-is-qui...

I wouldn’t say I’m “breaking” news in today’s article, because I’m just assembling the data facts. But I haven’t seen anyone else report this so I will: Beast Games season two was a HUGE flop. Here’s the brutal math… entertainment.substack.com/p/beast-game...

Thought of this reading @edzitron.com repeating this point today...

Lost in the oft-repeated comparisons of OpenAI/Anthropic to Uber/Lyft is the fact that countless bold futurists promised that ride share companies were going to radically transform transportation in America.

The story of the week is the WGA deal (it's great news...), But I also have my eye on the gap between public and private valuations in Hollywood. entertainment.substack.com/p/the-best-e...

I don’t like overreacting to one-off events, but this successful launch should (fingers crossed) convince Amazon-MGM to send more films to theaters. True, they’re just batting one for three at theaters this year (after Crime 101 and Mercy flopped)... entertainment.substack.com/p/llms-have-...

Tyler Perry has quietly really gone all in on streaming as a business model. His latest was Joe’s College Road Trip, which opened to 14.2 million and 9.9 million hours on Nielsen and third and sixth place on Samba TV. entertainment.substack.com/p/did-two-ne...

I’m really stoked to have remade my HBO datecdotes charts… Hope to fill it out with 2024/2025 top shows (with some help). entertainment.substack.com/p/hbo-is-qui...

Love is Blind continues, like clockwork, to put up great numbers. And I love that this show is coming out twice a year. entertainment.substack.com/p/hbo-is-qui...

As I’ve written before, even more than AI, piracy is the biggest issue confronting the streamers and traditional Hollywood studios. If customers can easily find, download and watch pirated content, it directly costs the companies money.

My biggest frustration with Hulu is this: ABC makes hit shows—like High Potential—and some of those shows rack up huge viewership numbers on Hulu, getting up to two-thirds of their viewership in the week after a show airs.

Awards shows are on a decline. The Actor Awards didn’t chart on Netflix's global charts, the Spirit Awards’ YouTube views were horrible, and the Oscars were down 9% in spite of Nielsen’s new big data panel.

Paradise showed big growth in season 2! And now it’s coming to an end... entertainment.substack.com/p/the-secret...

I’ve been kinda surprised how well HBO started the year… …with a new chart! entertainment.substack.com/p/hbo-is-qui...

Here's a round up of everything that got renewed or cancelled on streaming so far this year...and why. Plus, why I think Hulu's failing their easy franchise opportunity... entertainment.substack.com/p/the-secret...

Paradise is off to a great start for Hulu… entertainment.substack.com/p/finally-tw...

Did Sora 2 have a lot of users or not? Because OpenAI was choosing between two, still bad options: entertainment.substack.com/p/llms-have-...

Interesting conclusion from G. Elliot Morris: “Tucker Carlson and Steve Bannon have Twitter followers. They don’t have swing voters. (And: if you spend a lot of time on social media, you think these people are more important than they are.)” www.gelliottmorris.com/p/forget-the...

BTW, @edzitron.com brings more numbers to this case here: www.wheresyoured.at/the-subprime...

Excellent interview with Kevin Goetz on Bulwark Goes to Hollywood, especially conveys focus on making things for the right price. www.thebulwark.com/p/can-every-...

The Night Agent’s third season is a bit down from S2. This is a problem for streaming now… entertainment.substack.com/p/did-two-ne...

Peacock has (finally) started producing some hit shows, which is crucial for them. NBC is making fewer shows than ever. They’re more focused on live sports than scripted programming, especially after spinning off Versant. entertainment.substack.com/p/over-113-o...

I'm a regular Ed Zitron reader, and I even I thought the Disney-OpenAI deal was real. I should have known better! My latest dives into why Sora 2's demise is good news for Hollywood. entertainment.substack.com/p/llms-have-...

Seeing some OpenAI/Sora 2/Disney discourse, I have to repeat this point: I just can’t stand “Heads AI/Big Tech wins; tails Traditional Studios lose” analysis.

So @seanmcnulty.bsky.social broke down Netflix’s annual film charts (so I didn’t have to), and the section on sports documentaries is must read. And I stand by my take: these docs are really overrated and barely register culturally. They don’t even have replay value.

This is an excellent guide, loaded with nuance, to social media. Truly excellent work totally devoid of the usual social media hype/boosterism. I particularly like the skill pyramid. dorezd.substack.com/p/social-med...

Everyone needs to do this! Love the vertical integration points. tedhope.substack.com/p/have-you-b...

The Family Plan was allegedly a big hit, but the sequel didn’t make any ratings charts.  entertainment.substack.com/p/43-of-the-...

Latest Streaming Ratings Report is out! The Super Bowl, The Night Agent, Cross, Predator: Badlands, Love is Blind, and more! entertainment.substack.com/p/did-two-ne...

It amuses me how many articles describing CandleMedia’s struggles seem to treat the production-company-content bubble as something they didn’t help create. As if they had unwittingly invested at the top of a streaming content bubble... entertainment.substack.com/p/did-artist...

My favorite part of my most recent Most Important Story of the Week column was when I broke down the seven or so different options for the future of local sports games on television/streaming.  entertainment.substack.com/p/the-death-...

I can’t express how much I love when people recommend outside-the-box films for Oscar nominees. The more they buck the convention, the better! alexrollinsberg.substack.com/p/the-oscars...