Good morning: In today's edition of The Industry, we look at:
WBD’s split, Disney’s acquisition, and the new Snoop Dogg.
Let’s go!
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Warner Bros. officially announced its split today.
The legacy linear business (CNN, Food Network, Discovery) will be cleaved off from the studio business (WBD Studios, Max/HBO).
The mass exodus of consumers from linear in favor of streaming is creating this seismic shift, with Lionsgate and Comcast also having split.
Here’s the full breakdown:
Warner Bros. Discovery’s split into:
WBD Global Networks, led by Gunnar Wiedenfels (CFO WBD)
CNN
TBS
Food Network
Cartoon Network
HGTV
Discovery+
TNT Sports (US)
WBD Streaming & Studios, led by WBD CEO David Zaslav
Warner Bros. Studios (film/TV)
HBO + HBO’s linear channels
Max
TNT Sports International
DC Studios and DC Comics Publishing
New Line Cinema
Q1 2025 Financials motivating the WBD split:
$1.8bn EBITDA linear division
↓ 14% overall vs. last year
↓ 11% ad revenue vs. last year
WBD Global Networks will hold the majority of WBD’s $34bn in debt.
Lionsgate’s split into:
Lionsgate Studio
Starz
Lionsgate financial results after the split (Q4 2025 - most recent fiscal quarter):
$1.06bn revenue
↑ 22%
$21.9M net profit
↑ $47M loss
$135M Motion Picture studio profit
↑ 64.6%
This was the highest Motion Picture Segment Profit in ten years.
Comcast Split into:
Versant (NBCUniversal’s cable networks)
USA
CNBC
MSNBC
Oxygen
E!
Comcast (owner: NBCUniversal)
For Warner Bros. Discovery, this is a smart move as they’re $34bn in debt, and the stock price has gone down 60% since they merged with Discovery in 2022, and they were downgraded by the S&P to junk status. In August, they took a $9bn write-down on their linear assets.
Zaslav stated that the move was so that the linear networks were better positioned to generate cash flow.
But this doesn’t actually change anything in the company; it’s just a restructuring, which may give them better optics if they choose to sell assets, as Zaslav noted 6 months ago:
“Our new corporate structure better aligns our organization and enhances our flexibility with potential future strategic opportunities across an evolving media landscape.”
The reorganization will be done by mid-2026.
For More:
Full WBD investor presentation of the split. This includes details of a $17.5bn bridge loan from J.P. Morgan.
THE INDUSTRY TLDR
Disney finalizes Hulu acquisition with an additional $439M to Comcast.
Paramount CFO Naveen Chopra exits.
Universal wins bidding war for Little Hands.
Paramount+ greenlights My Nightmare Stalker: The Eva LaRue Story.
Jonathan Daviss (Outer Banks) to play Snoop Dogg in biopic.
HBO’s Harry Potter series adds new cast members, including Lox Pratt, Johnny Flynn, and Bel Powley.
Chloë Sevigny joins Jennifer Garner in Peacock’s The Five-Star Weekend.
Mason Gooding (Heart Eyes) stars in Kevin Hart’s 72 Hours, a Netflix bachelor-party comedy.
Eyes of Wakanda animated series premieres at Annecy.
Emily Mortimer’s A24 directorial debut stars Yura Borisov (Anora).
Cinetic’s Charlie Olsky, Lauren Schwartz, and Emilie Spiegel promoted to SVPs.
Jambika Docs acquires Loot.
Vertical sets release date for The Twin, an Irish folklore horror film.
THE INDUSTRY NEWS
Remember in 2024 when Disney purchased the remaining 33% of Hulu from Comcast for $8.61bn? Not long after Hulu filed litigation claiming the stock was undervalued and requesting $5bn more. They did not get that, but Disney has agreed today to add $439M to close the deal.
This marks the end of a years-long negotiation, allowing Disney full ownership of the streaming platform. Full integration with Disney+ and ESPN is now set to move forward.
Paramount Global’s CFO and EVP has left the company. Naveen Chopra, who has been with the company since 2020, left to work at Roblox (the $64bn online gaming company).
Andrew Warren will take over Chopra’s role. He currently serves as the Strategic Advisor to the Office of the CEO and former CFO of Discovery.
His exit will cost him $4.21M as he would receive $12.1M for staying through the Skydance merger, but only $7.89M for a “non change in control” exit. Roblox must have made a very strong offer.
After an intense (and expensive) 10-way bidding war, Universal International Studios (The Day of the Jackal) and Working Title (Too Much) have secured the rights to Little Hands, a yet-to-be-published manuscript from British author Celia Wadden (Payday). The potential series adaptation will be based on the first book of an eventual series circling a young British woman with a troubled past who begins to steal along the French Riviera with a ruthless gang of female thieves.
Mini Tidbit:
Warner Bros. and Locksmith Animation announced during Annecy that they will collaborate on The Lunar Chronicles, based on the sci-fi fairytale book series by Marissa Meyer. Coming to theaters Nov. 3, 2028.
Paramount+ greenlit My Nightmare Stalker: The Eva LaRue Story, a documentary following the General Hospital actress and CSI: Miami alum and her daughter being harassed at the hands of a relentless stalker for over a decade.
Renewals:
Prime’s Maxton Hall – The World Between Us (renewed for S3)
Trailers:
Netflix’s Madea’s Destination Wedding
Dir/Wri/Star/Prod: Tyler Perry
Release date: July 11th
Prime’s The Pickup
Cast: Eddie Murphy, Pete Davidson
Release date: Aug 6th
Delays:
Sony’s Legend of Zelda
Dir: Wes Ball (Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes)
Release date push: March 26 → May 7, 2027
THE ACTOR SPOTLIGHT
We got our Snoop.
Outer Banks’ Jonathan Daviss will play the Def Jam rapper in the Craig Brewer-directed (Hustle and Flow) Snoop Dogg biopic.
The Texas-born 25-year-old has found most of his success on Netflix, most notably as Pope Heyward in Outer Banks and Do Revenge. As Pope, he portrays a smart kid who isn't afraid to get his hands dirty. Clip. It seems like he'd be able to capture Snoop’s laid-back control. Snoop Dogg himself seems to believe. Clip.
Malfoys, Weasleys, and Dursleys, oh my! The anticipated HBO Harry Potter series announces ten new cast, including:
Lox Pratt (Lord of the Flies) is slated as the platinum bully, Draco Malfoy
Johnny Flynn (Emma) will play his father, Lucius Malfoy
Bel Powley (The Morning Show) is cast as Harry’s rotten aunt Petunia Dursley
Daniel Rigby (Flowers) will play opposite as his cruel uncle Vernon Dursley
Katherine Parkinson (The IT Crowd) is slated to play supermom, Molly Weasley
The Tragedy of Macbeth’s Bertie Carvel will play Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge
The Warner Bros. series is starting production in the UK soon.
Tidbits:
Steph Curry lends his voice and produces Sony Pictures Animation’s GOAT. A sports comedy about a small goat playing a dangerous sport called Roarball, Patton Oswalt and Caleb McLaughlin (Stranger Things) are also part of the cast. Premieres February 2026 during NBA All-Star Weekend.
Peacock’s new drama The Five-Star Weekend, headlined by Jennifer Garner, will co-star Chloë Sevigny. The upcoming series will adapt Elin Hilderbrand’s 2023 novel of the same name that follows a famed food influencer who suffers a devastating loss.
Iris Apatow (Ballerina Overdrive, Funny People) has been cast in a recurring role in the third season of Hulu’s college-set drama Tell Me Lies. Apatow’s role is described as a bubbly but sensitive freshman with a big secret. The popular series was renewed last December with plans to return sometime in 2026.
Paramount+’s The Agency: Central Intelligence (fka The Agency) adds:
Christian Ochoa Lavernia (Silo)
Clayne Crawford (Chad Powers)
Keanush Tafreshi (V/H/S/99)
From Paramount+ with Showtime, the second season of the Michael Fassbender-led spy thriller is currently in production in London.
Sarah Bolger (A Good Woman Is Hard to Find) will star in Nervous, a psychological horror film filming in South Korea. Reuniting with director Abner Pastoll, the film follows a woman’s descent into a nightmare amid her troubled marriage. Shooting now in Seoul.
Mason Gooding (the heart of Heart Eyes, trailer) will co-star in Sony and Netflix’s Kevin Hart film 72 Hours. Directed by Tim Story (Ride Along 1 & 2), Gooding will play the groom with Hart playing a 40-year-old executive who hopes to save his flailing career when he mistakenly ends up at a bachelor party with twenty-somethings.
Bosch actor Titus Welliver will star opposite J.K. Simmons in The Westies, an MGM+ period cop drama. From Narcos co-creator Chris Brancato, Welliver is set to play a troubled NYPD officer with close ties to the Irish-American gang. Production will begin in Toronto in July.
Paris Hilton will live forever, or at least her team wants her to, after recently announcing a self-trained AI voice model. Plus, Paris is the featured subject of Infinite Icon, a concert documentary blending live shows and personal footage, co-produced by Hilton’s 11:11 Media, that explores her musical journey!? In theaters in 2026.
FESTIVALS
Ubisoft debuted clips from Netflix’s Splinter Cell: Deathwatch at Annecy, showcasing Liev Schreiber as superspy assassin Sam Fisher. Splinter Cell is another one of writer Tom Clancy's books that spun off into a very beloved series. With not much activity in terms of new games, gaming fans are already excited for this slick anime adaptation. Could this give Splinter Cell a Cyberpunk boost like Netflix's other game anime spinoff? Teaser here.
Marvel’s Eyes of Wakanda animated show premiered an episode at Annecy. Starting in 1260 B.C. and jumping forward every episode, this acts as a big prequel for the world of Wakanda and Black Panther. Animated with similar tech to Netflix's Arcane, this one could be the cure for the onslaught of Marvel fatigue. First look.
BBC Studios has unveiled a new kids series, Vanishing Point, with a preview at Annecy. Created by BAFTA winners Tom Gran and Martin Woolley, the show follows teens battling supernatural objects in a seaside town.
INDIE FILMMAKER SPOTLIGHT / INTERNATIONAL NEWS
The forever charming Emily Mortimer (Paddington in Peru) makes the audacious dash into a feature directorial debut.
Her team is sensational:
Studio: A24
Prod Co: Emma Stone’s Fruit Tree (A Real Pain)
Cast: Yura Borisov (Anora), Alison Oliver (Saltburn)
Synopsis:
A British student (Oliver) and a Russian poet (Borisov) fall in love in 1990s Moscow.
Mortimer previously directed and wrote Prime’s mini-series The Pursuit of Love (2021, trailer), a high-class comedy of manners that devolves into sultry debauchery. Her new film appears to follow a similar vein.
Tidbits:
Congrats to Cinetic Marketing’s Charlie Olsky, Lauren Schwartz, and Emilie Spiegel, as they’ve just been promoted to the role of SVP. We can report that they have impeccable taste in projects (The Brutalist, A24’s If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore) and are extraordinarily professional.
Investigative documentary, Loot: A Story of Crime and Redemption, has just been acquired by Jambika Docs (Unwelcomed) after its world premiere at FIFA in Montreal. From director Don Millar (Botero), it follows the illicit trade in Cambodian antiques and the global art institutions complicit in the scheme.
Sony Pictures Classics Sundance film Oh, Hi! starring The Bear’s Molly Gordon has just dropped a trailer. The film is a harsh twist on a rom-com, highlighting the extremes of mental illness.
Vertical announces J.C. Doler’s horror film The Twin, inspired by Irish folklore, starring Logan Donovan (Grey's Anatomy) as a grieving man haunted by his doppelganger. Set to release July 1st.
Mauricio Bidault’s Mollusk premieres this week on June 13 at the 40th Guadalajara International Film Festival. This biodoc about the artist known as Jis features interviews with Guillermo del Toro and Diego Luna.
Comcast-owned Sky has announced a release date for Neapolitan spinoff show Gomorrah - The Origins. The gritty mob show will recount the rise of mobster Pietro Savastano, who, in the original series from 2014, was portrayed as the head of the drug-dealing clan that bears his name, Gomorrah. The Sky prequel series will drop in January 2026.
ON THIS DAY
1991. Final episode David Lynch's Twin Peaks airs on ABC.
Written by Gabriel Miller, Spencer Carter, and Madelyn Menapace.
Editor: Gabriel Miller.
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