Good morning: In today's edition of The Industry, we look at:
Warner Bros.’ Sale, Michael Cera’s Hedges, and a rule.
Let’s go!
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Prime’s The Girlfriend series, starring Robin Wright, is a new spin on the love triangle. An overprotective mother (Wright) vies to keep her son out of the orbit of his new girlfriend.
The series switches POV between the mother and the girlfriend, allowing us to empathize with two sides of loving the same man. And of course, it’s wonderfully provocative and salacious.
At its heart, it’s about what happens to all of us when we’re forced to give up the people we love most.
Wright is delectably diabolical and polished… until she’s not. Click here for more info.
THE INDUSTRY TLDR
If Netflix buys Warner Bros., HBO Max will remain a standalone.
CBS is developing a multicam comedy Auntie Supreme.
Jim Caviezel to play former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro in Dark Horse.
Lucas Hedges joins Michael Cera’s directorial debut, Love Is Not the Answer.
Kelsey Grammer joins NBC’s The Hunting Party S2 as a cult leader and serial killer.
Shawn Hatosy (The Pitt) boards FX’s limited series Cry Wolf.
Chris Pratt leads an untitled doc on the hidden tomb of Saint Peter in the Vatican.
IDA Doc Awards crown The Tale of Silyan Best Doc Feature.
LA Film Critics Association awards PTA Best Director.
Critics Choice announces full nominee list; Sinners leads with 17 noms.
Laurence Fishburne to direct The Rule of Nines, starring André Holland.
Peacock orders erotic thriller Teach Me from creator Lisa Rubin.
Disney launches new animated short Versa.
Isabelle Huppert will EP Telluride short Two People Exchanging Saliva.
Mexico’s Sin Sentido Films remaking Peruvian hit The Last Laugh (Muerto de risa).
Robin Wright is delectably diabolical… until she’s not. Click here for more info.
THE INDUSTRY NEWS
The industry panics as Netflix enters exclusive talks to buy Warner Bros. If this goes through, Netflix, which has never made an acquisition this size, will reconfigure Hollywood.
What we know as of now:
HBO Max will stay as a standalone
But their titles will become available on Netflix
Warner Bros. will continue to release films theatrically
Although Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos caveated:
“Windows will evolve to be much more consumer-friendly, to be able to meet the audience where they are quicker… I’d say right now, you should count on everything that is planned on going to the theater through Warner Bros. will continue to go to the theaters through Warner Bros.”
Netflix expects $2-3bn in cost savings/year by year 3. E.G., layoffs and consolidations, etc.
If this closes, WBD CEO David Zaslav’s payout will be in the hundreds of millions of dollars, plus a great position at Netflix.
Anticipated close of the deal in 12-18 months.
But what could tank this? Of course, David Ellison (CEO: Paramount and Skydance) and his father, Larry, could also put in a hostile bid. Also, US and international regulators.
Regulators will argue that this would cripple competition in Hollywood. In contrast, Netflix will argue that they’re competing against YouTube and TikTok, and AI for hours of life spent on the platforms.
Sarandos met with Trump before making the bid, and walked out confident to agree to pay WB $5.8bn if it didn’t work out. Although the president is now saying, Netflix buying WB would be “a big market share... It could be a problem.”
We covered the nuts and bolts of the deal last Friday: https://theindustry.co/p/netflix-wins-warner-bros
Orgs against the acquisition:
PGA
DGA
WGA
Teamsters
UNIC (European Cinema Trade group)
International Doc Association
France’s National Exhibitors Association (FNCF)
Sean Baker
The DGA stated what many of the orgs have been saying:
“We believe that a vibrant, competitive industry – one that fosters creativity and encourages genuine competition for talent – is essential to safeguarding the careers and creative rights of directors and their teams.”
Orgs undecided on the acquisition:
SAG-AFTRA
If Netflix and WB merge, they’d own a major slice of the industry:
33% US SVOD market
60% of all Emmy-nominated TV shows in 2025
6629 library titles (52% increase)
Finally…
Designated WB employees/executives will receive cash bonuses to stay through the Netflix merger. A $38.7M fund has just been initiated for this effort.
Again, this is going to take a long time to get through regulators. But in the meantime, the Ellisons, who were enraged that WB went with Netflix, may prepare a hostile takeover bid. If WB went with Paramount, they’d owe Netflix $2.8bn, but that could be made up by Larry Ellison’s net worth ($270bn).
Mini Tidbits:
Sacker Entertainment Law has just announced that longtime studio veteran Kirk Stambler, previously a VP at Warner Bros., has joined the firm as general counsel, coinciding with the opening of their new New York office. It may mark the first sign of a broader wave of WB departures.
The Academy’s 8-year broadcast rights deal with ABC has ended. They are now exploring YouTube and NBC as potential partners for the show. Netflix and other networks bowed out. ABC has been the distributor of The Oscars for nearly 50 years, but Oscars viewership has fallen sharply, from 44M (2014 )to about 18M (2025). The Academy will be seeking a 5-10 year agreement.
CBS is developing a multi-cam comedy, Auntie Supreme, with Cedric the Entertainer EPing. The comedy comes from writer-producers Gloria Bigelow (prod. Bob Hearts Abishola) and Christy Stratton (wri. Modern Family), following a stress-free life coach co-parenting with her stressed-out brother-in-law.
Budgets:
20th Century’s Avatar: Fire and Ash
Budget: $400M+
Paramount’s High Side
Budget: $100M+
Cast: Timothée Chalamet
Dir: James Mangold
Renewals:
Apple TV’s Platonic (for S3)
Paramount+’s Landman (for S3)
Paramount’s School Spirits (for S3)
Paramount/UFC’s Dana White’s Contender Series’ and The Ultimate Fighter
Trailers:
Magenta Light Studios’ Protector
Cast: Milla Jovovich
Release: Feb 20
Hulu’s Paradise (S2)
Cast: Sterling K. Brown
Release: Feb 23rd
Prime’s The Boys (final Season)
Release: April 8th
First look:
DC Studios’ Supergirl
Trailer coming this week
Release: June 26, 2026
Hulu’s The Testaments
Cast: Chase Infiniti
Release: April 2026
Release dates:
Iron Lung
Dir: Markiplier (37.9M YT followers)
Genre: horror/sci-fi
Release: Jan 30
Netflix’s Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man (film)
Theatrical release: Mar 6
Streaming release: Mar 20
Searchlight’s Super Troopers 3
Release: Aug 7
Disney’s Avengers: Endgame (re-release)
Release: Sept. 25
20th Century’s The Simpsons Movie 2 (movie)
Release: Sept 2027
Also, GKIDS (The Boy and the Heron) and IMAX have partnered. They’re bringing a trove of Studio Ghibli 4K restorations to their theatres sometime next year.
Robin Wright is delectably diabolical… until she’s not. Click here for more info.
THE ACTOR SPOTLIGHT
Jim Caviezel (The Passion of the Christ) will star as jailed former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro in the upcoming biopic Dark Horse. The biopic was written by Bolsonaro’s former culture secretary, Mário Frias, and was shot across Brazil. This is the first project since Caviezel was unceremoniously hired and then fired to return to his role as Jesus in Mel Gibson’s Passion of the Christ sequel. There were first plans to de-age Caviezel with VFX, but last month, a new actor was announced. Caviezel himself was a supporter of Bolsonaro and believes in some way he can help tell his story.
The political sensitivity required the cast and crew to shoot with discretion as the main goal. No release date has been announced.
Tidbit:
Michael Cera’s directorial debut, Love Is Not the Answer, has added the Oscar-nominated Lucas Hedges (Honey Boy) to lead the cast of the absurdist comedy. Pamela Anderson, Steve Coogan, and Jamie Dornan (Fifty Shades franchise) also star. While he may be best known for his heartbreaking dramatic roles in Manchester by the Sea (2016) and Boy Erased (2018), a film spearheaded by Cera’s wacky energy may be the perfect opportunity for Hedges to flex his comedic chops.
Dr. Frasier Crane has swapped the radio booth for a crime scene. Kelsey Grammer is joining the second season of NBC’s The Hunting Party as a cult leader and serial killer in hiding. It marks his first major TV turn since the Frasier revival, allowing Grammer to channel a darker, edgier part more in line with his stagework than his television roles. The crime procedural returns to the network on Jan. 8th.
Season 2 of MobLand was announced, adding Johnny Flynn (Beast) and Ophelia Lovibond (Minx) as series regulars, joining Tom Hardy, Pierce Brosnan, and Helen Mirren. The premiere garnered 26M, and the series had a consistent Nielsen Top 10 placement. With a cast like that, it’s a no-brainer for Paramount+ to renew. Streaming sometime in 2026.
Shawn Hatosy joins FX’s Cry Wolf, a limited series starring Olivia Colman and Brie Larson. The psychological thriller follows a social worker (Colman) and a mother (Larson) + father (Hatosy) thrust into crisis when the mother’s teen daughter alleges abuse. From Sarah Treem (creator: The Affair). Hatosy provided a calming energy on The Pitt, serving as a foil to Noah Wyle, so this could be quite a shift.
Mini Tidbits:
Chris Pratt will headline and guide an untitled documentary capturing the hidden tomb of Saint Peter in the Vatican Necropolis. Filming is currently underway in St. Peter’s Basilica
The Glamorous Miss Benny is joining Club Kid, the directorial debut from I Love LA actor Jordan Firstman. The film follows a washed-up party promoter who is forced to take care of the son he never knew he had.
NCIS: Origins has cast the last of the Fed Five with new additions Adam Kulbersh (Law & Order: SVU) and Mark Deklin (Blue Bloods) joining S2. They will both play NIS Special Agents with talks of this “five-some” first introduced back on NCIS: Crescent City.
Robin Wright is delectably diabolical… until she’s not. Click here for more info.
FESTIVALS
There is a flurry of awards events this season, but one of particular importance in the doc space is the IDA Doc Awards.
They just awarded The Tale of Silyan, Best Doc Feature.
At the LA Film Critics Association Awards, PTA won the top honor of Best Director.
And at the Critics’ Choice Awards, which have predicted 7 out of the last 11 Best Picture Oscar Winners, have just released their full list of nominees. Sinners tops the list with 17 noms.
Cannes Critics’ Week selects 10 first-time filmmakers for their Next Step Program. The standout project:
L’Expérience Impossible
Dir: Carmen Leroi
Synopsis:
Théo loves Eve, who’s 20 years older. When she becomes ill, he wishes he’d met her earlier. A mysterious doctor grants his wish, sending him to 2004 in another version of himself.
INDIE FILMMAKER SPOTLIGHT / INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Laurence Fishburne is set to direct The Rule of Nines, a project starring André Holland (Moonlight); not much is known about the plot, but the title refers to a first-aid procedure meant for calculating the percentage of the human body that is suffering a burn. This will be Fishburne’s second stab at directing after Lionsgate’s Once in the Life (2000), which he wrote, directed, and starred in. That was a slick NYC crime film. This feels like it could be leaning into a grittier medical drama.
Peacock’s new erotic thriller, Teach Me, comes from creator Lisa Rubin (Netflix’s Gypsy, The Last Mrs. Parrish), A24, and Universal Television. Led by Mandy Moore (This Is Us), the series promises a “twisted cat-and-mouse” dynamic between a teacher and an easily influenced student mimicking Rubin’s last small-screen venture. Gypsy (2017), the one-season thriller series for Netflix written and directed by Rubin, examined another abuse of power, following a therapist whose boundaries grew dangerously blurry. Teach Me is currently in development.
Mini Tidbits:
Disney's new short
Isabelle Huppert boards short as EP
Veteran filmmaker Rachid Bouchareb’s new film
All that and more here: https://theindustry.co/p/disney-isabelle-huppert-the-last
ON THIS DAY
1963. Wendell Pierce born in New Orleans, Louisiana
Written by Gabriel Miller, Spencer Carter, and Madelyn Menapace.
Editor: Gabriel Miller.
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