Mike Schur, the longtime TV writer known for laying the pen down on iconic shows like “The Office” and “Parks and Recreation,” shunned the idea of any form of a multi-studio merger with Warner Bros. Discovery since the industry and its consumers will suffer.
“When companies at this level — this is eventually Paramount Skydance or Netflix, or anything else — when companies at this level in this industry merge, it is bad for everyone,” Schur said during a Friday appearance on the “Pablo Torre Finds Out” podcast. “And I literally mean everyone. It is bad for writers and actors and directors and crew members who work on shows and movies. It is bad for the executives who work in these companies because so many of them are able to lose their jobs one way or the other.”
As TheWrap previously reported, the bidding war for WBD is getting hostile with mega studios Netflix and Paramount offering billions of dollars for the legacy brand’s streaming and studio assets.
Paramount on Monday swooped in with a tender offer to shareholders, launching a hostile bid with what it believes is a superior $30-a-share, all-cash offer for the entire company. It came just three days after WBD and Netflix said they had agreed to a cash-and-stock deal (minus the Global Networks spinoff). WBD, which so far hasn’t changed its recommendation on Netflix, said it would carefully review the Paramount offer and advise its shareholders within 10 days.
But while the Hollywood elite shower WBD with appetizing offers, Schur said it will leave the rest of town — and those watching — in a drought.
“There’s a person who’s the executive VP of development at Warner Bros. There’s an equivalent person at Netflix or Skydance Paramount, and when companies merge, someone gets fired,” he explained.
The Emmy winner then pointed out how viewers will also take a hit, noting that consumers will suffer from less TV and films being produced and/or more repetitive, factory-made product.
“It is also, and this is really key to understand, it is terrible for consumers,” Schur said. “People who just like to watch things, people who watch TV shows and movies, it is terrible for you because: A.) less stuff will get made, and B.) the stuff that does get made will be the same as all the other stuff. These places have playbooks that they run, and they have things that work for them on their service or platform, and everything gets kind of squished to the middle.”
