Blog de Dunlap: Severance

Today, Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders voted to approve the $111 billion merger with Paramount Skydance — a deal that would put two of Hollywood's most powerful studios under the same corporate roof.

This deal is a nightmare — resulting in a less competitive market and one Trump-aligned billionaire controlling huge parts of the media.

Think about it this way: If there’s one guy making all the decisions about what gets made in Hollywood, our stories will all start to look the same and they will align with the taste of that one person.

Take a show like Severance for example.

Severance would've never been made if one guy controlled all of Hollywood.

The original idea was written more than a decade ago. And creator Dan Erickson was shopping it around, and couldn’t get anyone to bite.

But because there are multiple studios he could have pitched it to, he kept going. And eventually Apple decided to take a chance on what ended up becoming a fabulously successful show.

Don’t just take my word for it, here’s what Severance director Ben Stiller had to say in response to the Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders’ decision this morning:

There are already very few buyers out there. Original ideas and non legacy IP is extremely hard to get made by a major studio or network. The winnowing down of choices results in less opportunity for new voices and diverse viewpoints in what we all are given an opportunity to see. Its already been challenging for years, and the merger will only make this worse.

That’s what is at risk here. There will be less opportunities for great shows, great movies, great stories, great voices, and great art to break out. Less actors and writers and workers getting a chance to make something different, something meaningful, something bold.

With this merger, HBO, CNN, CBS News, Showtime, TBS, Comedy Central, TNT, Paramount+, TLC, HGTV, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, Animal Planet, CBS Sports, Adult Swim, TeenNick, Boomerang, Cinemax, Cooking Channel, Food Network, Discovery Channel, Science Channel, The CW Network, Travel Channel, BET, MTV, and VH1 will all combine into one giant company under David Ellison.

That's just one reason why this is a terrible decision: When it comes to what stories are told and what news is reported, that’s dangerous for democracy.

It’s also bad news for fair pricing. If one guy controls all of these shows and streaming services, he can get you to pay any price he wants to watch your favorite shows. Because where else are you going to go if you don’t like it?

But here's the good news: this merger isn't a done deal.

State attorneys general across the country are stepping up to stop this antitrust disaster. And I’m going to continue to pull every lever I can to put a stop to this kind of corporate concentration.

Thanks for being part of this,

Elizabeth