Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Friday, November 21st, 2025:
PRODUCTION NOTES
Thanksgiving week is always a bit challenging for me to navigate when it comes to newsletters, because while the American part of the business shuts down midday on Tuesday for the long holiday weekend, about 1/3 of my readers come from outside the United States. So my plan for next week is full newsletters on Monday and Tuesday. There will be at least a shortened one on Wednesday, depending on the news. And then the next full one will be the following Monday. Although to be honest, there is a better than even chance something will happen and I'll send out a bonus newsletter at some point.
THE SHORT ANSWER ON WBD IS THAT NO ONE KNOWS FOR SURE
Yesterday, Paramount Skydance, Comcast and Netflix each delivered their initial bids for Warner Bros. Discovery, with only Paramount Skydance making an offer for the entire business.
The details of the bids aren't publicly known, although my sources at Netflix told me they were pleased with the reception to their bid. And while you have to be skeptical about their claims - of course they would say that - it is worth noting the NY Times is reporting that WBD CEO David Zaslav is apparently happy with Netflix's offer:
David Zaslav, the chief executive of Warner Bros. Discovery, was said to be enthusiastic about a potential bid from Netflix during a dinner party on Wednesday for Hollywood talent at his Beverly Hills home, a restored French Regency-style retreat formerly owned by the producer Robert Evans, two to people familiar with the event said.
So what's next in the process? The WBD board is said to hope to have the process wrapped up by Christmas, but that seems like an extremely optimistic plan. What is known is that there will be at least one more round of bids, as the three companies are given some guidance on the competing bids. If WBD is considering accepting the Netflix or Comcast bids (which are for the studio side only), at least one additional round would be necessary in order to gauge interest in the other parts of the business.
Honestly, no one knows for sure what is going to happen. There are a lot of variables that just can't be judged at this point. There are rumors on Wall Street that Paramount Skydance will have to bring in outside financing in order to substantially increase its last bid. And while Comcast certainly has the ability to raise financing, it's already substantial debt load might make that less attractive to the company in an uncertain economy.
As for Netflix.....well, I can tell you that everyone I have spoken with at Netflix is optimistic about their bid. And apparently their bid included not just a promise to continue releasing theatrical films under the Warner Brothers banner (although it's not clear for how long), but also a promise to keep the Warner Brothers intact as a production center. A promise that neither Paramount Skydance or Comcast can match, given they both have existing production facilities of their own.
We'll likely hear some sort of update in the week after Thanksgiving and there is always a chance that WBD punts and moves forward with its split in April. That would allow Netflix and Comcast to bid on the studio side again, albeit with some other parts of the business attached.
RIP ROBERT PIETRANTON
The old axiom that you learn what impact you had in the world until after you die has never been more true than it has been following the death of television PR executive Robert Pietranton, 56, who died suddenly this week at his home in Los Angeles. Pietranton worked at Warner Bros. Television for nearly twenty years, surviving multiple ownership and executive changes. You've likely seen some other TV writers mentioning their interactions with him today, in part because in an industry where the exchanges between PR people and TV critics can feel purely transactional, Robert managed to be completely professional while also kind and helpful to even the most rookie of journalists. I didn't know him well, but every time I spoke with him was a highlight of my day.
May your memory be a blessing.
I AM NOT A MOVIE JOURNALIST. BUT I APPRECIATE ONE WITH A CLEAR POINT OF VIEW
I don't regularly cover the theatrical movie business, although I follow it closely because it's important to understand a business that is increasingly intertwined with the streaming world. But it is difficult to find movie industry journalists who have a distinct and coherent point of view about the industry. A lot of movie journalists are out there regurgitating box office numbers. But very few have the depth of knowledge to explain why things might be happening.
David Poland has been writing about movies for decades and I think one of the reasons why his writing resonates with me is that we both share a common approach to show business. We have been around a long time and at some point you just don't have the patience for the performative bullshit that often passes for entertainment journalism.
In his most recent newsletter, Poland makes it very clear that he doesn't think much of a recent piece by NY Times journalist Brook Barnes and he pulls no punches as he lays out precisely why he is so annoyed:
This is how Barnes works… he’s a stat manipulator. After The Hunt, clearly a financial failure, is his whipping film. It ain’t Julia Roberts fault. She did her job. But Barnes is leveraging the Julia Robert Box Office Queen status to spin readers. She has made 5 theatrically released films as an leading actress in the last decade. Money Monster underperformed in 2016, $41m. Her only $100 million movie was Wonder, in 2017, in which she wasn’t the lead at all… she was the mom to the title-name son in Stephen Chbosky’s follow-up to his hit book and movie, Perks of Being A Wallflower, both from his books, Wonder even bigger than the first, $132m. Ben is Back, Oscar-bait, $3.7 million. (Side Info: Made by Black Bear, which made Christy, and released by Roadside, which released Kiss of The Spider Woman.) And her last before this fall, Ticket To Paradise, a rom-com with George Clooney, in 2022, $68 million.
With all the respect for an amazing career, Julia Roberts has not opened a movie to $20 million or driven a drama to hit status in 15 years or more.
Poland and I don't agree about everything. We have very different points of view about streaming and theatrical releases, for instance. But I appreciate his candor and even when I don't agree with him, he has underlying data to help make his points. I wish more industry journalists took that approach.
A GENTLE REMINDER
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ODDS AND SODS
* Drew and Jonathan Scott return with five new episodes of HGTV's Celebrity IOU beginning on Sunday, December 28th.
* Hallmark has announced that the series The Way Home will end with its upcoming fourth season, which will air in 2026.
* TMZ Presents: TMZ’s Most Outrageous Moments of 2025 premieres Tuesday, December 2nd on Fox.
* The cult Chris Elliott series Get A Life is finally coming to streaming, with all of the original music, courtesy of Shout TV.
* The eight-episode unscripted food series The Unlikely Cook with Awkwafina premieres at unspecified date on Apple TV. Here is the official logline: "Nora’s family ran ‘Lum’s,’ the iconic Cantonese restaurant in Flushing NY, and the very first in a now thriving Chinatown. But despite growing up in the family business, she can’t cook. At all. She could ruin an instant ramen. “I’ve never been trusted around a kitchen, so I thank everyone involved for opening that part of my house up to me… Food has been a huge part of my family’s history, and to be able to explore and reconnect with that legacy has been an incredibly rare and very special opportunity,” said star and executive producer Awkwafina. With help from acclaimed chefs, restaurateurs and her characterful family themselves, she travels the country to explore what it takes to master Asian food in the kitchen, and if she will ultimately reimagine Lum’s legacy for today."
* HBO Max has renewed The Chair Company and I Love LA for a second season.
* The sports docuseries 5-Star will premiere Tuesday, December 2nd on Paramount+. Here is the official logline: "5-Star is a story of defying the odds. On average, there are four million college freshmen in the U.S. each year. Of those, only 12,000 are recruited to play college football, and only 3,000 for the highest level D1 teams. From that small pool, just 32 each year—less than 0.01 percent—earn the designation of being a Five-Star recruit. From those 32, 5-STAR will follow the freshman seasons of the No. 1 recruit Bryce Underwood (Quarterback, University of Michigan), the No. 5 recruit Devin Sanchez (Cornerback, Ohio State University), the No. 9 recruit Dakorien Moore (Wide Receiver, University of Oregon) and the No. 19 recruit Malachi Goodman (Offensive Tackle, Penn State University). Every victory brings these athletes closer to greatness."
TWEET OF THE DAY
WHAT'S COMING TODAY AND THIS WEEKEND
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 21ST:
* A Loud House Christmas Movie: Naughty Or Nice (Nickelodeon)
* Dining With The Kapoors Season Premiere (Netflix)
* Karaoke Club Series Premiere (Prime Video)
* Kathleen Madigan: The Family Thread (Prime Video)
* One Shot With Ed Sheeran (Netflix)
* Sebastian Maniscalco: It Ain't Right (Hulu)
* The Family Man Season Three Premiere (Prime Video)
* The Family Plan 2 (Apple TV)
* Train Dreams (Netflix)
* Whispers Of A Secret Life (LMN)
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22ND:
* Christmas On Every Page (Great American Family)
* Holiday Touchdown: A Bills Love Story (Hallmark)
* Toni Braxton's He Wasn't Man Enough (Lifetime)
* Toronto Airport Uncovered Series Premiere (NatGeo)
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 23RD,:
* A Royal Christmas Hope (UP tv)
* Chris Hemsworth: A Road Trip To Remember (NatGeo)
* Christmas North Of Nashville (Great American Family)
* For King + Country: No Turning Back (Wonder Project)
* Masterpiece: The Great Escaper (PBS)
* Melt My Heart This Christmas (Hallmark Channel)
* Second Guessing Fate (The CW)
* The Body In The Locker (Lifetime)
SEE YOU EARLY MONDAY MORNING!