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The Best and Worst Deals of the Peak TV Era (Part 1)

A conclusive and detail-rich list of the most costly showrunner deals, the nine-figure pacts that led to zero new shows, and the biggest underperformers of Hollywood’s hyper-inflated Peak TV era.

j.j. abrams
If Peak TV were a horror movie, Bad Robot’s five-year, $250 million whopper from late 2019 would be on the poster. Photo: Emma McIntyre/Getty Images
Lesley Goldberg
August 20, 2024

J.J. Abrams and his Bad Robot production company are closing a new multiyear film and TV overall deal with Warner Bros., per two sources familiar with the negotiations. The details are still being finalized, but one thing is clear: The arrangement will represent a massive pay cut from Abrams’ blockbuster 2019 contract, which cost Warners about $250 million and included incentives for creating film franchises, which never happened. Warner Bros., then owned by AT&T and racing to launch HBO Max and compete in streaming, won the resulting five-year pact after a multi-studio bidding war. John Stankey, then running WarnerMedia, declared he was “delighted” and “extremely excited” about the agreement.