| THE CO-CEO'S COMMENTS COME AS REED HASTINGS STEPS DOWN |
Netflix “built our M&A muscle” during its ill-fated quest to acquire Warner Bros, Co-CEO Ted Sarandos told Wall Street analysts Thursday, as co-founder Reed Hastings announced he is exiting the streamer.
“We’ve learned so much about deal execution, about early integration,” Sarandos said. “But mostly, we really built our M&A muscle. And when the cost of this deal grew beyond the net value to our business and to our shareholders, we were willing to put emotion and ego aside, and walk away.”
Netflix execs have made multiple comments about abandoning the deal in February after Paramount sweetened its bid, but Thursday’s remarks were the first directly addressed to investors.
The comments came alongside a solid batch of Q1 results and the milestone news that Hastings, the man who co-founded a DVD-by-mail service that evolved into a global media power, is stepping away after a nearly 30-year run. >>>M&A "Remains A Tool"
Related:
Reed Hastings Announces His Exit
Q1 Revenue And Earnings Beat Street Expectations, But Shares Still Plunge
Co-CEOs' Total Pay Fell In 2025, But Each Still Made More Than $53M |
Deadline Exclusives & Originals |
Hanks Back At Bat - Sony Pictures has closed a deal to make The Comebacker, a film that reteams Tom Hanks with Marielle Heller, who directed Hanks as Mr. Rogers in A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. Hanks, who also starred in A League of Their Own, plays the pitching coach of a major league hurler whose life is upended when he is hit in the head by a line drive on the mound. >>> Oscar Winner Will Produce
NBC Renewals Update - Law & Order: SVU is keeping its record streak going for NBC. The venerable crime drama starring Mariska Hargitay, the longest-running primetime drama on broadcast, will be back next fall for its 28th season. The mothership, currently into its 25th season, will be evaluated alongside the network’s other bubble drama series, The Hunting Party and Brilliant Minds, against NBC’s five drama pilots. >>>Decision By Early May
'Unfinished' Business - Sony has acquired and tapped Oscar-nominated The Holdovers screenwriter David Hemingson to adapt Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Doris Kearns Goodwin’s memoir An Unfinished Love Story: A Personal History of the 1960s. >>>Barbara Broccoli Among Producers
Hungary Looks To The Future - Hungary’s media sector and Hollywood producers seeking its juicy tax incentive are readying for a new future after Péter Magyar’s Tisza party ended the 16-year rule of Viktor Orbán’s far-right rival Fidesz. There is hope, but also trepidation at the scale of change required, our deep dive found. >>>Free From Stale Propaganda
A Downed U.S. Airman In Iran - Warner Bros. Pictures has landed feature rights to “A Harrowing Race Against Time to Find a Downed U.S. Airman in Iran,” a buzzy recent piece from The New York Times. Warner Bros optioned rights to the story for Matt Reeves’ 6th & Idaho to produce, with Harrison Query adapting. >>>Competitive Situation
Changing The Channel - One of the biggest jobs in British TV is up for grabs after the news that Channel 4 content chief Ian Katz is leaving. Deadline brings you a rundown of top contenders and a couple of dark-horse candidates for the post. >>>Existential Moment |
HBO Max’s critically acclaimed medical drama The Pitt has put Season 2 to bed following a heartbreaking finale that saw Dr. Robby (Noah Wyle) narrowly escape the darkness of his mental health crisis.
Even with everything they put Robby through in Seasons 1 and 2, the character has "yet to hit rock bottom," according to show creator, writer, and executive producer R. Scott Gemmill.
"Robby has a long way to go to heal himself, and he hasn’t really even started the sabbatical, which is a double-edged sword," he said. "It could be very good for him to go away, but I think he is a little suicidal, and that’s got a lot of people concerned. But he’s also a grown man, and there’s only so much we can do. So, the big question at the end is: is he going to go, and if he does, is he going to come back?" >>>Read The Interview
Related:
‘The Pitt’s John Wells & R. Scott Gemmill Share Timeline Update For Season 3 Release
Have ‘The Pitt’ Fans Seen The Last Of Supriya Ganesh? |
ExclusiveMatt Smith and Imogen Poots are attached to star in mystery-thriller The Salamander Lives Twice.
ExclusiveJonathan Bennett is joining General Hospital in the role of Joe Fitzpatrick, making his debut on the ABC soap opera starting in May.
ExclusiveJoey Pollari (American Crime) has joined the cast of the Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk-created FX show American Horror Story. |
BY THE NUMBERS
100M - Number of global streaming households that have Roku
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MORE NEWS
🏆 Heated Rivalry, Adolescence, Dying For Sex, South Park, Deaf President Now! and Seen & Heard: The History of Black Television are the recipients of the 19th Television Academy Honors. The recipients have been recognized by the Television Academy for leveraging the power of television to raise awareness about complex issues facing society.
🪂 Marco Chimenz, co-managing director of Bureau and Around the World in 80 Days producer Federation Studios, has exited the company. Chimenz joined in 2023 and had been helping run the Paris-based studio with Pascal Breton and Lionel Uzan. Chimenz’s role will not be replaced and Uzan has become MD.
🎞️ A record-setting 103 films will world-premiere at the 25th edition of New York's Tribeca Festival in June. Notable names from the slate include Aubrey Plaza, Paul Rudd, Quentin Tarantino (in front of the camera), Katie Holmes, Joshua Jackson, Alicia Vikander, Emilia Clarke and Allison Brie.
🤖 Google Cloud has set a multi-year partnership with Avid as the companies look to add generative and agentic AI tools to the video editing process. |
| OBITUARIES
🕯️ Barbara Gordon, an Emmy Award-winning TV producer and documentary filmmaker whose battle with Valium addiction was chronicled in her 1979 memoir I’m Dancing as Fast as I Can and 1982 film adaptation, died Tuesday, April 7, at her home in New York City after several years of ill health. She was 90. 🕯️ 2026 Deaths Photo Gallery
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| ON THE RADAR
Sat - Deadline Contenders TV: Docs; Eddie Murphy receives the AFI Life Achievement Award; NAB Show begins
Mon - Devil Wears Prada 2 world premiere
Wed - CA gubernatorial debate
Thu - Comcast earnings; NFL draft begins
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The Doctor Is In - Doctor Doom himself, Robert Downey Jr., promotes Avengers: Doomsday at the Walt Disney Studios CinemaCon presentation. |
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