Ankler Agenda

One year after the L.A. fires and three years after the strikes — with another round of labor drama looming — it can feel like every creative you know is fleeing Hollywood. Elaine Low, Sean McNulty, and Natalie Jarvey dig into the actual data behind a yes, very real L.A. exodus — but separate panic, perception and think-piece fuel from reality. Then, MoviePass is back — this time as a predictions market. Matthew Frank risks $1,000 of The Ankler’s own money to explain how prediction markets work in 2026, why they’re called a “degenerate economy” and how you can bet on everything from Oscar categories and the ceremony itself (including the monologue) to what show will be #1 on Netflix. Plus: Richard Rushfield lays out the six fronts that will decide whether 2026 is Hollywood’s comeback year — or the start of its final slide. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Which business trends are giving the Ankler crew hope in the New Year? Is the 2023 writers’ strike responsible for the current shaky entertainment economy? What streaming service would Elaine Low, Sean McNulty and Natalie Jarvey bring back from the dead? (Spoiler alert: no one picked Go90.) You sent in your most burning questions for Ankler Agenda’s last episode of the year, and the gang delivers. This may be the first mailbag episode, but it’s not the last — send in your questions any time of year at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Netflix, YouTube, horny hockey hunks — even amid rough economic terrain this year, these industry standouts and more not only survived through ’25, but thrived. Elaine Low, Sean McNulty and Natalie Jarvey are joined by a cavalcade of Ankler’s best — including Katey Rich, Lesley Goldberg, Matthew Frank and Ankler Agenda executive producer Shana Naomi Krochmal — to share their winners of the year, as well as the unfortunate losers. (Sorry, but if you’re reading this, Sean has you on the list — and he’s brought receipts.) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a year when creators surged fully into the mainstream, ICYMI’s Lia Haberman joins Like & Subscribe's Natalie Jarvey for a Substack Live recap of the biggest highs and lows of 2025. From MrBeast going Hollywood to Ms. Rachel landing on Netflix, plus podcasts turning into video shows and YouTube cementing itself as television, they break down what changed, and what those shifts mean for the creator economy going into 2026. Natalie and Lia also hand out totally fake (but very fun) awards to the people, trends, and storylines that defined the year. And because looking back means being honest, they also dig into stunts and terms they want to leave behind in 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Some guys can’t take a hint. After half a dozen proposals and a hostile bid, Paramount Skydance got a definitive “no means no” from Warner Bros. Discovery’s board this week. Elaine Low and Sean McNulty break down how the tables turned on suitor PSKY, what this means for the timeline of a Netflix-Warner Bros. merger and the wild payouts David Zaslav and the WBD C-suite are getting regardless of what happens. (Contraction, schmontraction.) Then, Erik Barmack unpacks Disney’s $1B investment in OpenAI, Bob Iger’s claim that the deal poses “no threat to creatives,” and what it really means when 200 Disney, Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars characters can now be remixed into user-generated Sora videos. Plus: Richard Rushfield on the tragic murders of Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner. Want to be featured in a future mailbag episode? Send your questions to [email protected]! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices