TV & film
Blueprint
Hollywood is being rebuilt from the inside out. Blueprint tracks the structural forces reshaping the entertainment industry: studio consolidation, AI's collision with creative labor, the streaming profitability crunch, guild contract fights, and the global decentralization of production.
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Episodes
The archive
24 episodes, newest first.
- Blueprint 34: Hollywood's AI Truce with ByteDanceThe MPA signed its first formal AI agreement with a generative video company, and it settled almost nothing about training data. Reid and Grant break down what the ByteDance memorandum of understanding actually buys the studios.
- Blueprint 33: The $1.9 Billion Merger ClockA judge set the Paramount-Warner antitrust trial for March 2-19, 2027, locking in a ticking fee that starts at $7 million a day. Reid and Grant read the math, the UK's surprise assist to the state AGs, and who absorbs the cost.
- Blueprint 32: The Merger Trial Date FightParamount wants its antitrust trial November 4. Twelve state AGs and the WGA want April 5, 2027. Reid and Grant read the scheduling fight as the real leverage battle, with a $7 million-a-day meter about to start running.
- Blueprint 31: Paramount's Path to Merger TrialParamount scrapped the August 3 injunction hearing and agreed not to close the Warner Bros. Discovery deal until a trial verdict or June 1, 2027. Reid and Grant test whether calling an 11-month delay a win is strategy or spin.
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- Blueprint 29: Inside the TRO That Froze ParaBrosA federal judge just did what three rounds of legal threats couldn't: she actually stopped the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger. Reid and Grant break down the TRO, the WGA's own antitrust lawsuit, and what happens before the August 3 injunction hearing.
- Blueprint 28: California vs. the ParaBros MergerRob Bonta just hired a marquee antitrust litigator, and Reid and Grant argue about what that means for the September closing deadline. They revisit the DOJ clearance that staff lawyers reportedly opposed and dig into the LA County jobs report now fueling a state lawsuit.
- Blueprint 27: The Merger Is Legal. Now What?The DOJ cleared Paramount-WBD on June 12, but California's AG and a multistate coalition are still threatening a lawsuit that could blow up the September deadline. Reid and Grant stress-test the $111B math against the reality of what integration actually costs.
- Blueprint 26: What the DGA Actually ClosedThe DGA ratification vote completes the first full above-the-line labor cycle since the 2023 strikes. Reid and Grant break down what the four-year deal actually won, what the AMPTP hard-lined on, and what the unresolved AI revenue-sharing question means for every crew union that bargains next.
- Blueprint 25: What 'Consultation' Actually Costs DirectorsThe DGA just wrapped a four-year deal in 29 days, but the word 'consultation' in the AI sideletter has members voting no and asking what they actually won. Reid and Grant break down the fine print before the June 23 ballot closes.
- Blueprint 23: What $6 Billion in Synergies Actually CostsWBD shareholders voted yes and the deal closes Q3 2026, but S&P just downgraded the combined company to junk and projected a 7.6x leverage ratio. Reid and Grant break down whether Ellison's 30-films-a-year pledge survives contact with the debt math.
Talent
Talents in this show
Each one has a profile of their own.
About
What the show is
Each week, two hosts break down one major shift in how movies and TV get financed, made, and sold. Built for entertainment industry professionals, media investors, and anyone who wants to understand why the business behind your favorite shows looks nothing like it did five years ago.
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Every one of them is made with Mato.
