Here’s everything you need to know about the world of television for Friday, February 27th, 2026:
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A LOT OF MOVES LOOK INEVITABLE, IN RETROSPECT
When Netflix announced Thursday afternoon that it was dropping its bid to acquire parts of Warner Bros. Discovery, the decision surprised a lot of industry observers. Myself included. Because even though I had indications the streamer was reluctant to increase its bid, I still believed Netflix would swallow hard and overpay a bit more to get the deal done. Or perhaps it was what I wanted to believe. Because the other option is going to be a trainwreck for Hollywood.
I have been writing about Netflix since its very earliest days. I first interviewed former Netflix CEO Reed Hastings in the late 1990s, when Netflix was little more than a small office and DVD warehouse in the Bay Area. I've continued to talk to Netflix executives, managers and other staff over the many years since then and I'll modestly argue my sources at the streamer as good or better than any other reporter covering the industry. I have been reporting on the twists and turns of this story for months and looking back at my coverage today, I've had a pretty good track record when it comes to predicting what was likely and which stories about the merger are hiding under the radar.
So when I found myself a bit surprised on how this story turned this week, I wanted to understand what I had missed. Or at the very least, what I hadn't been told about the behind-the-scenes discussions at Netflix this week. And after reaching out to every source I know, wading through WhatsApp messages from unhappy employees and speaking at length to more than a dozen Netflix employees with some understanding of the thinking that led to Thursday's decision, I think I have a pretty good sense of what happened, and why.
The seeds of this decision were planted ten days ago when Netflix decided to allow Warner Bros. Discovery to open negotiations for a seven-day period with Paramount Skydance executives. It wasn't something Netflix had to agree to do, its merger deal with WBD gave it exclusive negotiation rights. But I've been told the decision was driven in part by the steady drip of leaks to the press from people in David Ellison's camp, often via Fox Biz Senior Correspondent and NY Post columnist Charles Gasparino. He continued to argue in his columns that Ellison was the only person who could get a deal done with the Trump Administration and he passed along a number of vague promises Paramount Skydance was prepared to increase the terms of its previous "final offer."
At some point, Netflix executives decided the best option was to see what Paramount was willing to do in an effort to win its merger bid. In part because that new "final offer" would provide a baseline for Netflix's decision whether or not to increase its bid. But also because reopening the negotiations would make it less likely Paramount would attempt to block Netflix's bid in court by claiming the WBD hadn't been willing to hear a so-called "superior offer." As one executive explained to me at the time, "It's a gamble, but at the end of the day, we need clarity on the possible parameters of this deal."
That seven-day negotiating period ended at midnight last Monday and the offer that came from Paramount Skydance upped the offer a dollar a share. But perhaps more importantly for the WBD board, it offered guarantees that the funding was in place, could pass banking muster and that there was a reliable source of bridge funding to cover the company during the transition.
I have been told by multiple sources that from the beginning, top Netflix executives were reluctant to increase their bid. Even if that meant losing their chance to acquire Warner Studios, HBO and HBO Max. "This is a very disciplined company when it comes to finances," I was told. "We didn't chase a bunch of live sports rights we couldn't fully monetize, even when all the experts claimed we needed to do that to grow. Our content spend is in line with growth and we haven't gotten into businesses just get into them. So there is a limit to how much we're willing to overpay. Particularly since there is a strong belief here that IP is great. But only at the right price."
All of this negotiating was taking place at the same time as a conservative pushback at the deal with Netflix was growing. Some of the campaign was organic - driven by conservatives who truly believed Netflix was somehow "woke" and their ownership of Warner Brothers would impact their programming in the future. But some of the complaints seemed to be driven by an organized effort to muddy the waters for Netflix's bid. No one I spoke with was willing to claim that Paramount Skydance had something to do with it directly. But there was definitely a feeling at the company that no one at PSKY was discouraging the effort.
And then there was the Susan Rice story.
Earlier last week, Susan Rice appeared on the podcast “Stay Tuned For Preet,” which is hosted by former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara. During their conversation, Rice warned there will be consequences for companies that have bent to the will of President Trump as the political tide turns against him and his policies. These comments quickly became an issue, because Rice is currently a member of the Netflix board.
“For those that decided that they would act in their perceived very narrow self interest, which I would underscore as very short-term self-interest, and take a knee to Trump, I think they are now starting to realize, ‘wait a minute, this is not popular. Trump is not popular,” Rice said.
“If these corporations think that the Democrats, when they come back in power, are going to, you know, play by the old rules, and, you know, say, ‘Oh, never mind. We’ll forgive you for all the people you fired, all the policies and principles you’ve violated, all, you know, the laws you’ve skirted.’ I think they’ve got another thing coming."
That prompted a post from President Trump on his Truth Social platform demanding Netflix fire Rice:
“Netflix should fire racist, Trump Deranged Susan Rice, IMMEDIATELY, or pay the consequences. She’s got no talent or skills - Purely a political hack! How much is she being paid, and for what??? Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DJT.”
The reaction from Netflix sources I spoke with concerning Rice's comments was uniformly negative, with one person describing the incident as being "criminally stupid." "When you are on any corporate board, one of your primary jobs is to not make news. Especially bad news. Especially in the middle of negotiations. It's a dumb, amateur hour move by someone who knows better. But we live in a time where everyone wants to be part of the story. Whether they should be or not."
Speaking with Netflix sources, I was also struck by the anger from a number of people about the pushback Netflix's bid received from some parts of Hollywood. Those complaints were seen as not helpful overall, and even worse from the perspective of Netflix, they masked the real problems with the Paramount Skydance offer.
"There were twenty stories in the trades about Netflix's supposed 'lack of commitment' to a full theatrical release," one source told me. "James Fucking Cameron whining about how we we didn't appreciate the history of the industry. We consistently told people we weren't planning on significantly changing Warner films and still all we got in return was a bunch of snarky headlines. So enjoy your three or four theatrical releases a year under the Warner Brothers banner. Which is all they'll be able to afford once the current pipeline runs dry. Good job."
All of these issues were impacting Netflix's decision making about whether it was was willing to increase its bid if necessary. I'm told even before the Warner Bros. Discovery board deemed the latest, "final" bid from Paramount Skydance to be materially superior to the one made by Netflix, company executives were leaning towards declining to match an increased offer. "Whoever wins this is overpaying," a source told me on Monday. "But at some point, you start to feel like a sucker."
But I am told that even after the WBD board deemed the Paramount Skydance offer superior, top Netflix executives hadn't made a final decision on whether to revise its offer a final time. The company had potential financing in place that would allow for an increased bid per share. But the question of whether it was worth it loomed large. As did the question of how difficult it would be to get a successful bid past federal and state regulators.
"It's no secret that David Ellison has a close relationship with the White House," someone familiar with negotiating strategy told me on Thursday. "But the question was always whether Trump would stand in the way. And whether the conservatives media figures would keep pushing publicly for him to block the deal. Honestly, it's a bit unknowable."
So in the end, Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos headed to the White House a final time on Thursday to meet with White House chief of staff Susan Wiles and U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi. The trip was apparently an effort to gauge Administration opposition to Netflix's offer, as well as tamp down criticism of Susan Rice's comments.
I didn't speak to anyone who had direct knowledge of what was said. But I was told by sources the conversation was described to them as "cordial." But it was also clear that the President still wanted Susan Rice to leave her post on the board. And there was apparently a veiled series of suggestions about possible ways Netflix could "ease concerns" about the merger. Including some sort of public statement stating Netflix's commitment to producing more "traditional" programming.
I heard from multiple sources that in the end, it wasn't any one factor that led to Netflix executives and board members making the decision to walk away from the WBD deal. Part of it was a reluctance to overpay for the company. There were deep concerns not just about federal regulators, but also with European regulators, who had voiced deep distrust for the deal when Netflix officials met with several of them recently. And then there was the question of whether Donald Trump would publicly come out against the merger. Sarandos was apparently hoping to get some clarity of that in Thursday's meeting. And whatever was specifically said to him wasn't enough to reassure him that the deal could go through without a long and expensive battle.
While David Ellison and Paramount Skydance haven't closed the deal yet with Warner Bros. Discovery, the biggest remaining hurdles are state regulators (who have limited here) and European regulators, who have publicly voiced skepticism of the deal.
One Netflix executive told me this morning that this is a deal David Ellison might regret winning. "You're combining two companies who are still making most of their money from their declining linear TV assets," they told me. "They're going to be carrying $100 billion or so in debt and I think one of the lessons from the Warner Brothers & Discovery merger is that cutting costs only gets you so far. Cutting $6 billion or more in spend over the next couple of years is going to crush this company. But who knows, maybe we'll be able to pick up the Warner lot on the cheap after this is all done."
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ODDS AND SODS
* Oscar nominated Hamnet will start streaming Friday, March 6th on Peacock.
* HBO asked producers of The Pitt to make sure an upcoming storyline about ICE was "more balanced."
TWEET OF THE DAY
WHAT'S COMING TONIGHT AND THIS WEEKEND
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 27TH,:
* Agents Of Mystery Season Two Premiere (Netflix)
* Boston Blue Spring Premiere (CBS)
* Celebrity Jeopardy! (ABC)
* Chris Fleming: Live At The Palace (HBO)
* Cobain (The Network)
* Crazy Old Lady (Shudder)
* Fire Country Spring Premiere (CBS)
* Formula 1: Drive To Survive Season Eight Premiere (Netflix)
* In The Blink Of An Eye (Hulu)
* Monarch: Legacy Of Monsters Season Two Premiere (Apple TV)
* Sheriff Country Spring Premiere (CBS)
* Who Took My Family? (LMN)
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 28TH:
* 57th Annual NAACP Awards (CBS)
* Pushed Off A Plane And Survived (Lifetime)
* Romance At Hope Ranch (Hallmark)
* Storage Wars Season Seventeen Premiere (A&E)
SUNDAY, MARCH 1ST:
* American Classic Series Premiere (MGM+)
* Disaster: The Chernobyl Meltdown (CNN)
* DTF St. Louis (HBO)
* Extreme Catch (NatGeo)
* 60 Minutes Spring Premiere (CBS)
* 32nd Actor Awards Presented By SAG-AFTRA (Netflix)
* Tournament Of Champions Season Seven Premiere (Food)
* Tracker Spring Premiere (CBS)
* Watson Spring Premiere (CBS)
* Y: Marshals Series Premiere (CBS)
SEE YOU THIS MONDAY!