Consider This from NPR - Why Hollywood heavyweights oppose the Paramount and Warner Brothers deal

Episode Date: April 14, 2026

Two entertainment and media powerhouses are likely to become one. So why aren’t the artists happy about it?Backlash against a possible merger between the media companies Paramount Skydance and Warner Brothers Discovery increased this week when more than 2,000 actors, writers and directors signed a letter opposing the deal. The letter warns that the merger will result in “fewer opportunities for creators, fewer jobs across the production ecosystem, higher costs, and less choice for audiences in the United States and around the world.”  Damon Lindelof created "The Leftovers", "Watchmen" and helped create the hit series "Lost." He was one of the artists to sign the letter, and he explains his decision to NPR's Mary Louise Kelly. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at [e-mail] episode was produced by Marc Rivers and Karen Zamora.It was edited by Christopher Intagliata and Courtney Dorning.Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.To manage podcast ad preferences, review the links below:See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

You may have heard there's a Hollywood merger afoot after a lot of back and forth. As Netflix has backed away from their deal to acquire Warner Brothers Discovery, essentially paving the way for Paramount to take over its Hollywood rival. That is Andy Mack of Live Now from Fox, and here's the president weighing in from the South Lawn in June. Ellison's great. They'll do a great job with it. The studio that brought Maverick back to the big screen in 20, Good morning, aviators. This is your captain speaking. Welcome to basic fighter maneuvers. And grossed nearly a billion and a half dollars worldwide. That studio is on track to buy the studio that brought you Barbie. Hi Barbie. Hi Barbie. Hi Barbie. Which also grossed nearly a billion and a half dollars worldwide.

Consider this. Two powerhouses of entertainment and media are likely to become one. So why aren't the artists happy? about it. From NPR, I'm Mary Louise Kelly. It's Consider this from NPR. More than 2000, actors, directors, producers, writers, editors, composers, and costumers have now signed an open letter, a letter opposing Paramount Skydances' takeover of Warner Brothers' discovery. Now, that deal is expected to close later this year if it wins approval from regulators. and shareholders, but the letter out yesterday contains a warning. It says a merger will result in, quote, fewer opportunities for creators, fewer jobs across the production ecosystem, higher costs,

and less choice for audiences in the United States and around the world. One of the people who signed the letter is Damon Lindelof, creator of the TV series Watchmen, also co-creator of Lost and The Leftovers. Damon Lindelof, welcome to all things considered. Thanks so much for having me. So you posted on Instagram yesterday and walked through how you decided to sign this letter openly opposing the merger. You said your first thought was, yeah, I do oppose the merger. And the second was, I'm afraid to say so publicly. So let's start there. Why? You know, I think that this is what they refer to as the chilling effect. And I think that the short answer is the feeling around this merger, this takeover, whatever it is,

we want to call it, is that it's inevitable. And so the idea of speaking out against it and then understanding that I'm going to, in my case, the people that I will be my new bosses potentially by the end of the summer or in the fall, if everything goes as planned, I'm now on record as saying that I didn't want this to happen. And so will there be potential retaliation? when my deal is up at the end of next summer, will they be less inclined to pick me up? So this sort of idea of what's going to happen to me as a result of publicly opposing this sort of

overwhelmed me in the initial days that the letter was sort of coming together. Well, and just to underscore quite how not uninterested a party you are, you're speaking to us from your office on the Warner Brothers Lad, is that right? Yes, it's true. I can see the water tower from my window. And this is, I've been in this office since we just, we did the leftovers, so almost a decade now. And, and I've grown quite fond of it. So if someone starts pounding on the door while we're talking to one another, we both know why. I mean, practically speaking, what do you hope to achieve with this letter? Because as I said, when I introduced you, the deal is expected to close later this year. The fact of the matter is, it isn't a done deal. It was looking like

Netflix was going to take over Warner's before Paramount came in and basically got the deal. And what we were hearing, at least anecdotally, was that Capitol Hill and Washington and our government officials were going to have hearings and there was going to be a lot of diligence done around that deal. And yet when Paramount sort of swept in, all of that went away. And so I think part of the push behind the letter is really to advocate for and create some narrative for attorneys general, Rob Bonta here in California, but any other state attorneys general, to take a look at this deal and really see what kind of an impact it's going

to have on not just our business, but on consumers. Obviously, there's going to be an immediate impact here in Hollywood. Anytime there's a consolidation, if you just look at what happened when Disney bought Fox, there was just a lot fewer movies being made, a lot less television being made. Anytime there's consolidation, that's going to, basically, basically hurt anybody who wants to consume our product. So Paramount has responded. They've read the letter. Through a spokesperson, they are saying they skimmed it.

They're saying they understand the concerns. They are committed, and I'll quote, committed to ensuring creators have more avenues for their work, not fewer. Do you find that reassuring? I want to take Paramount at their word. I don't think anybody as being purposefully disingenuous here. As I said in my Instagram post, I worked with David Ellison on several movies back in the early to mid-2000s. We made a couple of Star Trek movies together. David Ellison that had a paramount.

And I think he's a great guy who loves movies. So this isn't me saying that I don't, that I think anyone's being disingenuous, but I do look at the Fox deal, what happened over there, what they were saying at the time that the deal was done. and here we are five, six years later, and we've hemorrhaged, you know, 40% of movies and fewer movies and television shows are being made. And so I think that maybe Paramount Skydance believes that they're going to make 30 movies and maybe we'll even make 30 movies next year. But I would be very surprised if that number isn't down to half that within four or five years. I mean, it does strain credulity. I think that if you think that if you think, think about what would happen if the Dodgers and the Yankees merged.

If you're a shortstop, you're going to be worried. I guess I'm thinking of this year's best picture winner at the Academy Awards and whether it feels like one battle after another in Hollywood. I mean, going back to the COVID pandemic and the writers and the actors strikes and AI coming in and you're referencing fewer shows, fewer movies, filming in Los Angeles. Are you still optimistic about the future of your interest? industry? I have to be. For someone who spent so much time telling dystopian stories, I do want to have happy endings. And I think that that all cycles back to this question of, why would you say

anything? What are you hoping to achieve by this? It's already a done deal. The storytellers in our business at every single level. And when I say storytellers, I don't just mean writers and directors and actors, I mean people at every level of the story, the grips, the gaffers, the caterers, the costumers, the set designers, all of us are storytellers. We want to tell stories about people who are facing overwhelming odds, the underdogs, and then they triumph. So it just felt like, why not a practice what we preach. Damon Lindelof, TV writer, showrunner, storyteller, talking about his decision to sign an open letter opposing Paramount Skydance's takeover.

of Warner Brothers Discovery. Damon Lindelof, thanks so much. Thank you. And a note, Warner Brothers Discovery and Paramount Plus are financial supporters of NPR. This episode was produced by Mark Rivers and Karen Zamora. It was edited by Christopher Intaliata and Courtney Dorning. Our executive producer is Sammy Yenigan. It's Consider This from NPR.

I'm Mary Louise Kelly.