Wasting no time checking out their potential new home away from home, Netflix‘s bosses Greg Peters and Ted Sarandos made a most awesome visit to the Warner Bros Discovery studio lot today with David Zaslav as tour guide.
In a series of photos released late Wednesday by WBD, the Netflix co-CEOs practically announced “we are Greg and Ted and we are your future,” to paraphrase that killer quip from Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure. If not going full on Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter from the 1989 metalhead comedy, Sarandos and Peters did look a lot like guys about to get the keys to their new digs.
Getting some very touristy shots in with Zas in front of the WB water tower, between the sound stages and chatting with the troops, the near matching white kicks wearing executives’ appearance in Burbank had all the hallmarks of a big staged F.U. to WBD bid rivals David Ellison and Paramount.
Coming on the very day that the WBD board unsurprisingly rejected Paramount’s $108 billion hostile takeover bid for the the whole company to stick with Netflix’s December 4 sealed $83 billion offer for the studios and streaming assets, the afternoon visit and the images were a flex meant to be felt all the way down at Par’s Melrose lot.
Neither WBD nor Netflix had a comment about the Hump Day get together. However, the images did come with a caption of “today, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav welcomed Netflix Co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters to the historic Warner Bros. Studio lot in Burbank to meet with leaders across the company.”
In point of fact, Sarandos and Peters met around 400 members of WBD’s leadership (some of whom are going to be very very very well compensated if the deal between the iconic studio and the streamer goes through) in the lot’s Ross Theate. Hosted and, to some degree, MC’d by Zas, the co-CEO asked and took questions from the crowd. In the conversation, Sarandos and Peters offered assurances that they were interested in growing the business and had no interested in shuttering theatrical release — which WB has scheduled out until 2029 right now.
Really though it was a lot of optics for a corporate buddy movie that just over two months ago, Peters openly scoffed at and almost everyone in town thought was a de facto done deal for David Ellison and his second richest man on the planet and Donald Trump whisperer Larry Ellison.
Look at the smiles on their faces, look at the hope in their eyes …it’s just looking all wine, blue blazers and roses.
Of course, even with the WBD board’s latest no thanks to Paramount and recommendations to shareholders to say the same, David Ellison still wants his second studio. No matter that Zas and gang have thrown serious shade on the Ellisons’ backstop promises and money on the table, everyone expects David and his father are going throw more money at WBD to get it before the January 8, 2026 deadline they set.
While all that plays out, can we get some consensus here on if Greg Peters’ really is the Bill to Sarandos’ Ted? Asking for a friend…
(L-R) Keanu Reeves & Alex Winter at 1991’s Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey Hollywood Premiere (Photo by Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
