The Town with Matthew Belloni

The Town with Matthew Belloni

Author: The Ringer Language: English Episodes: 100
Ever wonder what Hollywood executives are really arguing about in their private meetings, or how the fate of a billion-dollar franchise gets decided over a tense lunch? That’s the kind of access you get with The Town with Matthew Belloni. Hosted by Puck founding partner Matt Belloni, this isn't just industry gossip-it's a direct line to the mechanics of entertainment, powered by exclusive reporting and decades of insight. Each episode pulls back the curtain on the stories behind the stories, whether it's the strategy of the latest streaming war or the creative battles inside a Marvel movie. Several times a week, Belloni sits down with the major players themselves: the dealmakers, studio heads, and journalists who are shaping what we watch. Their conversations cut straight to the core of what’s getting made and why, pinpointing who’s winning and who’s losing in real time. Listening to this podcast feels like having a front-row seat to the most important conversations in show business, the ones that happen after the cameras stop rolling. For anyone fascinated by the intersection of power, money, and creativity in culture, The Town delivers the unfiltered context that turns headlines into understanding.
Episodes
Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos Makes the Case for Buying Warner Bros. [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:28
Matt is joined by Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos to discuss why they reopened the Warner Bros. sale process for 7 days, why he thinks the Netflix bid is better for Warners Bros, consumers, and the industry at large, if they…
The Casey Wasserman Scandal, and Who Wants to Buy His Agency [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:12
Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss Casey Wasserman putting his company up for sale, why this happened, the Hollywood jockeying at play, and who the potential buyers might be (00:00). Matt finishes the sh…
Should Hollywood Take the Microdrama Boom Seriously? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:55
Matt is joined by Shicong Zhu, head of West Coast Studios at DramaBox, to discuss just how successful and profitable vertical micro-dramas have become, how they are produced so cheaply, the genres that work best for vert…
Jeff Probst on What It Takes to Produce ‘Survivor’ [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:02
Matt is joined by ‘Survivor’ host and showrunner Jeff Probst to go behind the scenes of one of America’s most iconic reality television shows and discuss how the show has sustained its success for 50 seasons, the complic…
Netflix in the Senate Hot Seat, and Disney’s Demographic Problem [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:08
Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to get his thoughts after attending the Netflix hearing in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Antitrust Subcommittee examining the proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. by N…
The Behind-the-Scenes Jockeying for $10M Super Bowl Ads [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:49
Matt is joined by Adweek’s Bill Bradley to discuss the expensive and competitive battle of Super Bowl advertising. Bill breaks down how many ad slots are available each year, how much they cost, which parts of the game a…
What Disney’s CEO Choice Reveals About Its Next Chapter [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 33:43
Matt is joined by LightShed media analyst Rich Greenfield to react to Disney hiring Josh D’Amaro as its next CEO. They discuss why Disney chose the head of Disney Parks in D’Amaro rather than its cochairman of entertainm…
Netflix's Growth, Peacock's Struggles, and the New Streaming Hierarchy [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:43
The Town is on video! Subscribe to our new YouTube channel HERE! Matt and Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw parse through the final batch of year-end streaming reports and bring their most interesting stats and story lines to debat…
How a YouTuber Took His Self-Financed Movie Wide Without a Studio [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:28
Matt is joined by YouTuber Mark Fischbach (also known as Markiplier) to discuss his new movie, ‘Iron Lung,' why he adapted a low-budget indie horror video game, and how he self-financed the film and pulled off a wide rel…