KCRW's The Spin-Off: Sony's Steve Mosko Gives His Exit Interview

On the latest edition of KCRW's The Spin-Off, we've repurposed my recent Paley Center chat with outgoing Sony TV boss Steve Mosko:

In this bonus edition of The Spin-off, we're bringing you a conversation with Steve Mosko, who until about a month ago was the chairman of Sony Pictures Television--the production studio behind a wide range of shows--including Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, Community, The Goldbergs, Shark Tank, and TV stalwarts Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy.

Mosko had been president of Sony Pictures Television since 2001, and chairman since October 2015. He’d been at the studio in some form or another since 1992, so when he announced his departure in early June, it was a surprise to most people in the industry.

As we’ve talked about on this podcast before--more and more, broadcast networks like ABC, NBC and CBS want to produce and distribute their own shows. Since Sony doesn’t have its own broadcast network, Mosko had the difficult job of getting other networks--and cable and streaming outlets--to buy his studio’s shows. He succeeded, but as was revealed in the Sony email hack, and as you’ll hear in this conversation, he felt the TV side of Sony was frequently overshadowed by film business.

Michael Schneider recently sat down with Mosko at the Paley Center to talk about his long career in television. It was a conversation that had been on the books for weeks, but when Mosko suddenly announced his departure the day before the scheduled interview, Schneider wasn’t sure the former chairman would want to go through with it. But Mosko was still game.

Listen below!



and you can watch the chat here:

MIKE ON KCRW: Sony Exec Shuffle, Late Night Changes, "Last Man On Earth," More

On this Monday's edition of The Business, Kim Masters and I bantered about several topics including:

- At Sony Pictures, Amy Pascal's out, Tom Rothman's in. That makes Wall Street analysts happy, but filmmakers? Not so much.
- Adam Goodman is officially out as the president of Paramount Film Group.
- The bad news at DreamWorks Animation only gets worse. The company took a major write-down on its most recent film.

PLUS, this episode features an excerpt from our episode of THE SPIN-OFF featuring our interview with former NBC late night executive Rick Ludwin. Listen by clicking below:





On last Thursday's Hollywood Breakdown, Kim Masters and I talked all about the Tom Rothman era at Sony:

Amy Pascal was known for being one of the most talent-friendly studio heads in the industry because she was willing to spend so much money on projects she wanted. In terms of spending, Pascal replacement and new Sony Pictures chair Tom Rothman has the opposite reputation. His fondness for tight budgets has some in the industry worried that his management style will interfere with filmmakers and their work. Previously an executive at Fox for many years, Rothman joined Sony in 2013 to head the TriStar division. In the coming months, we'll see if Rothman's new role means a shift in the overall trajectory of the studio.

Listen below:





On Monday's Press Play with Madeleine Brand, Grantland's Andy Greenwald and I discussed the Oscars and more:

There’s all kinds of new TV to pick apart today in our weekly television roundup. The release of House of Cards season three meant a nation full of shut-ins over the weekend. Does it live up to the hype? There’s also a new Fox comedy that envisions a world with one man left on Earth. Plus, Tina Fey makes a small screen comeback, this time behind the camera. We size it all up with our regular television analysts.

Listen below:

MIKE ON KCRW: Wrapping Up 2014 on "The Business"

On the final 2014 edition of KCRW's The Business, Kim Masters, Matt Belloni and I conduct a megabanter on this year's top stories in entertainment:

It seems all but certain that within the entertainment industry, 2014 will be remembered as the year of the Sony hack. But there were other big stories that dominated the news: the downfall of TV comedy icon Bill Cosby, tragedy on the set of Midnight Rider, the changing television model and of course, the growing clout of China into the movie business.

2014 saw a down year at the box office, but that hasn't stopped big studios from announcing upcoming superhero movies from now until 2020. And the superheroes aren't limited to the big screen, they're showing up more on TV as well, to mixed results.

Plus, changes in late night TV, Stephen Colbert says goodbye to The Colbert Report as he moves to take David Letterman's place on CBS. And Chelsea Handler, the lone lady of late night will take a show to Netflix.

Kim Masters, Matt Belloni and Mike Schneider talk all this and more, on this final episode of 2014.

Listen below:





On last Thursday's Hollywood Breakdown, the topic was, you guessed it, the Sony hacking and the subsequent fallout. Listen below:

MIKE ON KCRW: Talking Golden Globe Noms, the Sony Hack and the End of "The Newsroom"

Another busy week at KCRW. On this Monday's edition of The Business, Kim Masters and I bantered about several topics including:

- Golden Globe nominations announced. No major surprises this year, but a major snub for Angelina Jolie and her movie Unbroken. - The hack attack at Sony continues to wreak havoc at the studio, as more and more personal details and emails between top executives are leaked to the public.

Listen by clicking below:





On last Thursday's Hollywood Breakdown, Kim Masters and I talked all about the Golden Globes but ended it with a bit more about the Sony hacking scandal:

The Golden Globes have been known for some eyebrow-raising nominations in the past, but this year their nominations on the film side at least, seem more predictable. Birdman had the most nominations, with Boyhood and Selma also snagging several nominations. Angelina Jolie's name was notably absent from the list. The TV nominations favored new shows like Jane the Virgin and The Affair over old Emmy favorites like Modern Family and Big Bang Theory. And the hack at Sony continues to cause monumental damage, as more and more leaked emails are appearing in public.

Listen below:





On Monday's Press Play with Madeleine Brand, LA Review of Books' Sarah Mesle and I discussed several topics, including the end of "The Newsroom" and my recent TV Guide Magazine piece about whether TV is still willing to tackle hot button issues:

Aaron Sorkin didn’t mince words in a New York Times op-ed today, saying journalists who publish leaked emails from the Sony hack are “morally treasonous and spectacularly dishonorable.” The topic would’ve made great fodder for Sorkin’s series The Newsroom, if the series hadn’t aired its final episode last night. We discuss that and more in our weekly TV roundup.

Listen below:

MIKE ON KCRW: Talking Bill Cosby, Sony Hack, "Sons of Anarchy" and More

Another busy week at KCRW. On this Monday's edition of The Business, Kim Masters and I bantered about several topics including:

- A malicious hack attack at Sony that leaked unreleased movies and personal employee information online has left the studio reeling. Could North Korea be behind the hack?
- The Bill Cosby saga continues to unfold, and one aspect people are starting to wonder about is how much NBC executives knew or didn’t know during the heyday of The Cosby Show.

Listen by clicking below:





On last Thursday's Hollywood Breakdown, Kim Masters and I talked all about the Sony hack:

The size and scope of a recent hack at Sony Pictures has shaken the industry and left the company without an operating computer system. It's unknown who's behind the attack, which was carried out by someone or something called Guardians of Peace. There's speculation that the country of North Korea could be involved because of an upcoming Seth Rogen and James Franco movie The Interview, about an assassination attempt on North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

Listen below:





On Monday's Press Play with Madeleine Brand, Grantland's Andy Greenwald and I discussed several topics, including the end of "Sons of Anarchy" and Netflix's new "Marco Polo":

The cable television series Sons of Anarchy on FX is known for its rabid fanbase — a fanbase that’s in mourning this week. The final episode airs tomorrow night after seven seasons. But there’s a spoiler out now that is causing all sorts of consternation. That and other small screen news in our weekly TV roundup.

Listen below:

COMIC-CON: How We Pulled Off This Year's "Greendale Forever: TV Guide Magazine's Tribute to Community" Panel

It was the Comic-Con panel that almost didn't happen.

Here's the back story: Every year TV Guide Magazine is given two slots by the San Diego Comic-Con International to organize panels. One of those panels is always "TV Guide Magazine's Fan Favorites," featuring a lineup of TV stars that elicit audience screams. Side note: Panelists this year included Gwendoline Christie (Game of Thrones), Misha Collins (Supernatural), Jordan Gavaris (Orphan Black), Sam Heughan (Outlander), John Noble (Sleepy Hollow), Colin O’Donoghue (Once Upon a Time), Retta (Parks and Recreation) and Aisha Tyler (Archer), moderated by our own Damian Holbrook.

But the other panel rotates. Last year, we organized The X-Files 20th Anniversary Panel, which was one of the hot tickets of Comic-Con. This year, we first thought about going the anniversary route again, and I looked into organizing Lost reunion. But the show had already committed to a reunion during Paley Fest, and everyone agreed that another one at Comic-Con seemed like too much.

That's when we started pursuing my other plan: Doing something with Community. I had moderated Community at Comic-Con twice before (until Chris Hardwick stole my gig in 2013) and also moderated the Community panel at this year's Paley Fest. There's a comfort level now with between the cast/producers and me, so I came up with two different ideas, depending on whether or not the show was renewed by NBC for a sixth season.

I assumed NBC and Sony would go ahead and organize the traditional Community show panel at Comic-Con. If that were to still happen, and the cast would be in town anyway, my idea involved a second Community panel, inspired by Jason Reitman's "Live Read" series at Film Independent. It would feature the cast having fun with the script from a procedural drama. (I thought an episode of "CSI Miami" might be fun, with Joel McHale in the David Caruso role).

But... I also had a back-up plan in mind: Should NBC not renew Community for the aforementioned #sixseasonsandamovie, then we'd turn our panel into "TV Guide Magazine's Farewell to Community." The good news: Harmon was on board to do something with us either way. That was the initial greenlight we needed to pursue this path.

All signs pointed to a Community renewal. NBC needed a few comedies to return, it's a co-owner of the show and lead producer Sony Pictures TV is known for crafty dealmaking to get things picked up. But then the news came down right before the May upfronts: The show was dead. On May 9, we told Comic-Con we would produce the panel "TV Guide Magazine Presents: A Farewell to Community."

I ran into Joel McHale at an upfront party the following week and ran the idea of the panel by him. He said he was game, depending on his schedule. But he was clearly not happy with the cancellation, and had an alternative idea for the panel's title that I can't even print here.

Still, it wasn't over yet. Even before NBC canceled the show, we knew Sony wouldn't give up on the show that easily. The studio immediately began hunting for a new home (Hulu was the hot contender for a while, although Sony's own Crackle portal seemed like a possibility.) By mid-June, we were starting to get nervous. Without a sure sense of the show's fate, the Community stars were taking a wait-and-see approach to the panel.

We weren't sure what to believe, especially once news reports revealed that a Hulu deal fell through. It wasn't looking good, but to be safe, we changed the name of the panel in the event that Community got an 11th hour renewal: "Greendale Forever: TV Guide Magazine's Tribute to Community."

Still, with no word, it was clear the show's cast was making other summer plans, and it didn't involve Comic-Con. Joel McHale had a commitment and couldn't attend. Ditto most of the other cast members. I began to once again brainstorm other ideas. Maybe we'd get Harmon to partake in our Reitman-esque live read idea, but with various comedians? Should we call other networks, like Adult Swim, to see if there was anything they might do with us? It was getting hairy. Comic-Con needed a panel description, and we didn't know what to say. I came up with this generic write-up, which I figured could work even if it was just Dan and one or two other stars:

Greendale Forever: TV Guide Magazine's Tribute to Community -- Will "six seasons and a movie" come true? Has Greendale Community College been saved? What happens next to Jeff Winger and the study group? Moderated by TV Guide Magazine executive editor Michael Schneider, join Community creator Dan Harmon, members of the cast and producers as they recap last season (including Dan's heralded return to the show) and discuss what the future holds for this fan favorite comedy.

I was strangely optimistic that it was going to work out. Perhaps that's because the Sony folks (chiefly, panel hero Allison McManus) kept assuring us that things looked good for a renewal, and that we should keep our hope alive. Turns out that was a smart move. On June 30 -- the very last day Sony still had options that they could exercise on the cast -- a deal with Yahoo Screen gave the show its long-awaited sixth season. (Read my recap of how the deal went down here.)

From there, things kicked into high gear. Sony was completely on board, and was cool with TV Guide Magazine continuing to handle the panel since we'd been this far down the road already. Sony (particularly, Allison McManus) did a fantastic job springing into action for us and getting the word out to the stars. They did a lot of heavy lifting at this point. Allison immediately sent out a formal invite letter to the show's stars, within 24 hours of the pickup!

Yahoo was also supportive, and put together a clip touting the show's rebirth. Exec producer Chris McKenna and stars Jim Rash and Gillian Jacobs also signed up. (Others couldn't change prior commitments or filming schedules.) That was already a decent panel. But we needed one more big presence on the panel. We needed Joel.

Harmon stepped in and personally asked McHale if he could do the panel. That's where both Dan and Joel also became heroes of the Community panel. McHale moved around some things in order to come to San Diego for a whirlwind few hours and attend our panel. It was the best news ever. It made the panel.

When Allison emailed me with the great Joel news, there was only one way to respond:

COOL COOL COOL!

The drama continued almost all the way up to the panel, as Joel hit a ton of traffic on the way into San Diego, finally arriving at the Convention Center with few minutes to spare. Writer/actor Dino Stamatopoulos, who plays Star-Burns, was a no-show in the green room but somehow made it back stage. At 2 p.m. last Thursday, I kicked off the panel with a TV Guide Magazine sizzle reel, followed by the Yahoo video. And then I began by butchering Dino's last name (even though I had been practicing it just an hour before! Nerves).

Then we got going, and it was another fun Community panel. We talked about how the show will be available on Yahoo (once a week), whether to expect a different kind of show (no) and whether there will be new cast members (TBD). Harmon also revealed that the show will probably become available post-Christmas. Meanwhile, highlights from the crowd included two convention attendees dressed as Greendale Human Beings.

It was a big success. So that's it, another TV Guide Magazine Comic-Con in the history books! Thanks so much to Allison McManus and Marianne Romano at Sony; my colleague Rich Sands, who's the key brain behind our Comic-Con operations; Chris DiIorio and Alyssa Wilkins at PMK-BNC for doing a bunch of the hard work logistically; and of course, Dan Harmon, Chris McKenna, Joel McHale, Jim Rash, Gillian Jacobs and Dino Stamatopoulos.

Some pics from the day:


Chris and Dan at the TV Guide Magazine yacht.


My Ballroom 20 onstage pass.


Waiting for the panel to start backstage

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Moderator Mike.


The panel (Flickr pic by Jarett Wieselman).


Joel takes a pic.


Group shot after the panel.

And then here's a video of the entire panel:



And here are the key write-ups of the panel:

Variety (Laura Prudhom)

The Guardian (Emma Lee Moss)

Entertainment Weekly (Darren Franich)

Mashable (Sandra Gonzalez)

The Celebrity Cafe (Brendan Morrow)

IGN (Matt Fowler)

Give Me My Remote (Marisa Roffman)

IndieWire (Ben Travers)