When filmmaker J.J. Abrams and his wife Katie McGrath founded the television and film company Bad Robot back in 1998, they probably couldn’t have imagined how successful the company would become. This company is responsible for the production of well-known television series including ‘Westworld’, ‘Alias’, ‘Revolution’, ‘Person of Interest’, ‘Fringe’, and ‘Lost’. Bad Robot is also responsible for the production of blockbuster films that are part of major franchises, such as ‘Star Wars’, ‘Star Trek’, and ‘Mission: Impossible’. The latest development in this company’s history is a deal with WarnerMedia to partner for future television and film projects. J.J. Abrams and Katie McGrath, who are both co-CEOs of Bad Robot, are in final talks to iron out the details of the deal.
According to Movie Web, there have been months of studios and streaming services battling it out as they all wanted to become the ones to partner with the mega-production company. Some of these included Netflix, Amazon, Comcast, and Sony Entertainment were amongst the other interested in getting the deal. Disney also expressed an interest as they have worked with Bad Robot on several blockbuster movies, but they were never named as forerunners in the battle. The two leaders in the battle were Apple and WarnerMedia, with WarnerMedia coming out on top. However, the deal didn’t come cheap and is reported to have cost WarnerMedia $500 million.
Money isn’t the only reason why WarnerMedia were the successful bidders as it also came down to who J.J. Abrams believed was the best fit for Bad Robot. WarnerMedia is the result of a 2018 merger between Warner Bros, and AT&T. Apparently, this company can offer the best contribution to J.J. Abrams future plans for his production company. These plans include continuing to produce top-rated television series and movies for both screens and for streaming. However, he also wants to diversify into amusement parks and much more. Bad Robot already has a history with Warner Bros. TV, as the two companies have had a deal since 2006. However, this deal only covered the television series produced by Bad Robot. On the movie side of things, Bad Robot had a deal with Paramount, but the contract is set to expire in 2020. This left Bad Robot open to investigate other possibilities for their future plans.
Opting for WarnerMedia makes sense, considering they already have a history together and because of the way forward that J.J. Abrams intends to take his company. Not only does WarnerMedia work on television shows and films, but they already have a hand in other projects, including amusement parks. This means that WarnerMedia is the perfect fit for Bad Robot. WarnerMedia also has a vast array of resources to offer Bad Robot. They have an upcoming streaming service, a stable of options for television, including NBC and HBO networks, and Warner Bros. for the movies.
Despite everything that WarnerMedia has to offer, J.J. Abrams and Katie McGrath had almost dismissed them several months ago. The couple had some concerns about Kevin Tsujihara, who was the CEO of Warner Bros. when the battle for a deal with Bad Robot first began. The concerns were based on a sexual misconduct scandal in which Tsujihara was allegedly involved. It was alleged that he had an affair with British actress Charlotte Kirk. He then abused his position by attempting to land her roles in Warner’s movies and television shows. However, following Tsujihara’s resignation from the position of CEO at Warner Bros. in March 2019, the concerns of executives at Bad Robot were allayed.
Tsujihara was replaced by John Stankey who became the new CEO of WarnerMedia. It has been reported that he pulled out all the stops to entice Abrams and McGrath towards signing a deal with them rather than any of the competitors. This gave Abrams and McGrath greater confidence in the partnership moving forward. Although the deal hasn’t closed yet, it is expected that it will go ahead and that both parties will agree on the terms of the partnership soon. When it does go ahead, the $500 million deal will make J.J. Abrams one of the most valuable creatives in Hollywood.
J.J. Abrams is not the only person in Hollywood who is making some big and lucrative deals in Hollywood right now. Ryan Murphy, the creator of ‘American Horror Story’, has recently signed a $300 million deal with Netflix. Another showrunner who has recently signed a lucrative deal is Greg Berlanti. He is the vision behind the Arrowverse on The CW and his deal with Warner Bros. TV is for $400 million. Hollywood Reporter also says that Grey’s Anatomy creator Shonda Rhimes has recently signed a $100 million deal with Netflix.
However, none of these deals can compete with the one between WarnerMedia and J.J. Abrams. If the deal goes ahead, they will become a force not to be reckoned with in the entertainment industry. The future potential for the partnership is huge and the possibilities of what the companies can create together are almost endless. The combination of experience, creative vision, and resources mean that they could move forward in many directions.
It will possibly take some time before the deal is complete as Bad Robot is still tied into a contract with Paramount for its movies until next year. Once that contract has ended, things should move forward quickly as it has been reported that Bad Robot has already taken steps to begin moving their movie operations over from Viacom-owned Paramount Pictures to WarnerMedia.
In terms of their television productions, very little is likely to change between now and the completion of the deal. In the meantime, J.J. Abrams and WarnerMedia can focus some of their attention on how to move forward with the forthcoming SVOD service as this is a major area of development for both companies.
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