Private Thoughts of an Anonymous Top Agent-Turned-Manager
This rep sees 'pockets of energy' in the TV market and names the exec stars who can take the industry forward as 'stagnant leadership' locks up decisions
I write about TV from L.A. I reported with Natalie Jarvey on the boom in microdramas, and I wrote about how L.A. sound stages are scrambling to pivot as SoCal production dwindles. Reach me at elaine@theankler.com. As a paid subscriber to Series Business, you’ll receive dispatches from Elaine, Lesley Goldberg and Manori Ravindran on the TV business. This is a standalone subscription separate from The Ankler. For access to Series Business and everything The Ankler publishes, including Sean McNulty’s The Wakeup and Richard Rushfield, subscribe here.
Hello, Series Business readers — I’m finally writing to you from home in Los Angeles, after four days in beautiful Banff where I interviewed Tubi CEO Anjali Sud, the keynote speaker; moderated a showrunners superpanel; and wrangled a particularly spicy conversation about AI between Writers Guild of Canada exec director Victoria Shen, producers Benjamin Field and Raja Khanna, and Extraordinary AI founder Devrin Carlson-Smith.
I’d encourage you to watch all the panels at The Ankler’s YouTube, but especially that last one if you’re interested in the state of federal regulation and corporate ethics in AI.
You all were quite eager to read last week’s mega-dive into microdramas and the economics of that rising sub-industry. To me, that says a couple things about what Hollywood is going through: One, work in the traditional TV and film business is still sparse, and everyone’s looking for a gig; two, creatives are super intrigued by new digital show formats; and three, people still can’t get enough of billionaires, vampires and werewolves (onscreen that is).
In light of those learnings — particularly the first two — I’m bringing back a fan fave Series Business format: the anonymous chat with an industry veteran. (Not to be confused with Salary Confessions, another anonymous series in which entertainment workers tell me how much they make and how they get by.) Previously, I’ve talked to a senior-level studio development exec, production exec and a business affairs head. This week, I spoke with a high-level agent-turned-manager with more than three decades of experience in the industry.
So in this edition of Series Business, from our wide-ranging conversation — lightly edited for length and clarity — you’ll learn more about this veteran rep’s perspective on:
What the market looks like if you’re trying to sell a TV show right now
Where he sees “pockets of energy” as the industry struggles for a fresh lift-off
How projects in development find a way forward when the execs championing and shepherding them are laid off
The new kind of if-come deal emerging (that this rep doesn’t like)
The list of a dozen studio executives he sees as strong partners and future industry leaders
How long it takes to get a deal off the ground now
What he wishes streamers and network program buyers would do more of
Why an analytics-driven industry stumbles when it comes to breaking new stars
The opportunity and path for upward mobility in the entertainment industry
Why he’s believes the Skydance-Paramount deal could trigger a vibe shift across Hollywood
