![]() We're offering a 2-week trial of WrapPRO for $1. If you’ve been wanting to check out our full coverage, now’s the time. Greetings!Once upon a time, Bad Robot was one of the hottest production companies in town. The J.J. Abrams label birthed TV phenom "Lost" and high-concept darlings like "Alias," "Fringe" and "Westworld." It's where the cinematic reboot of "Star Trek" and reshoots for the new run of "Star Wars" films happened. So it came as a shock when Bad Robot announced last week that it would be shuttering its Los Angeles offices and reorganizing in New York. It's just the latest example of the challenges facing Hollywood. If someone as successful and respected as Abrams can't make it here, who can? Our Umberto Gonzalez breaks down the cushy deal Bad Robot signed with then-WarnerMedia in 2019 for $250 million over five years. It ultimately yielded very little for Warner, leading to a less lucrative first-look deal in 2024. As Gonzalez writes, in that span of five years, a handful of DC projects were announced but never got off the ground, while shows like "Lovecraft Country" and "Westworld" were canceled. Abrams' supposed return with "Demimonde" was also scrapped early. That deal represents a different era in Hollywood, when studios and streamers hungry for content battled it out to offer nine-figure deals to proven filmmakers. The hope was for these production companies to churn out the buzzy shows and films that got people to sign up or keep their subscriptions to the then-burgeoning streaming services. But it's a different time now, with streamers focused on engagement and a profitable return on investment. “It just means the town is contracting and studios no longer get maneuvered by agents to give massive deals that don’t bear out,” one studio executive told Gonzalez. Roger Cheng Before we move on, be sure to follow me on my socials linked below for the latest updates. DMs are open for tips.
Bad Robot was known as a creative wellspring with a laundry list of smart, convention-breaking shows, leading to its big WarnerMedia deal...
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