Culture Gabfest10 Dec 2025

"Is the Warner Bros. Deal the End Of Cinema?" Edition

On this week’s episode, Gabfest old friends Steve, Julia, and June Thomas convene on two showbiz works of midlife retrospection and regret: the new film Jay Kelly and Stephen Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along. The former, directed by Noah Baumbach, stars George Clooney as the titular movie star looking back on his life while on a European train picaresque. The latter was a legendary flop for Sondheim, had a triumphant Broadway revival starring Jonathan Groff, Daniel Radcliffe, and Lindsay Mendez, and now has arrived at movie theaters.

In our third segment, the panel turns to another showbiz saga full of bitter regret: the fight to acquire Warner Brothers Discovery. Joined by writer and Hollywood watcher Mark Harris, they untangle the fight between Netflix and Paramount to outbid each other for the legacy film studio—and what it all has to do with Trump and the future of movie-going itself.

In an exclusive bonus episode for Slate Plus subscribers, it’s back to join the Joined in our recap discussion of Pluribus episode 7 “The Gap.”

Act now, there’s still time to leave us a voicemail with your burning cultural queries for our annual call-in show by calling us at 347-201-2397.

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