Netflix Outmaneuvers Paramount by Courting HBO Chief Casey Bloys

Casey Bloys has a long storied career at HBO where he’s been behind some of the premium channel’s biggest and most prestigious hits. Succession, The White Lotus, Euphoria, Watchmen, House of the Dragon, all under his watch and countless others where he was instrumental behind the scenes before becoming the chairman and CEO. The guy knows how to shepherd quality, and that’s why there’s seemingly a massive cover story about him every time a new HBO series rolls out.

However, as is often the case, there’s some turmoil with HBO’s parent company. In this case, Warner Bros. Discovery is no longer merging with Netflix, but is now being gobbled up by David Ellison’s Paramount Skydance after he went scorched earth with a hostile takeover bid. Monopoly concerns aside, Netflix seemed like a safe place for HBO to continue to do its thing. Paramount, not so much, which is why the entire industry raised its eyebrow when Bloys was seen having a power lunch with Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos last week.

Via Page Six Hollywood:

“David Ellison has a bro company, and that’s not Casey at all,” says one industry source familiar with the Paramount-Skydance dynamic. “He’s not a high-fiving bro watching MMA fights.”

Sources tell Page Six Hollywood that Sarandos and Bloys weren’t exactly trying to be discreet given that Superba is one of the most frequented eateries by the Netflix executive set. There are plenty of other options if you’re trying to blend into the woodwork, like, a Chipotle in Eagle Rock. But perhaps being visible was the point.

Not for nothing, Bloys’ contract with HBO ends in 2027, which is just around the corner. If he is jumping ship, then this whole endeavor could not have gone better for Netflix. Not only did Paramount have to pay the streamer a $2.8 billion termination fee for dropping its Warner Bros. bid, but now, Netflix can just sit back and open the door for fleeing creatives without the hassle of a merger and acquisition process. If David Ellison wants to stop by and wash Ted Sarandos’ car while he’s at it, that’d be great.

Shame about HBO though. It was fun while it lasted.