Ever hear of iPartment? It was a Chinese knockoff of Friends, with some Big Bang Theory rolled in, that received complaints from viewers over lines and scenes ripped directly from these American shows. Outright joke stealing is, of course, wrong, but Rob Long can’t help but also ponder the full spectrum of today's content “borrowing” — whether it’s stand-up about Hot Pockets or a dissertation from a certain Harvard ex-president.  Transcript here. Subscribe at TheAnkler.com/subscribe for more entertainment news. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An entertainment CEO’s to-do list for the year could include, among other boring and depressing things: layoffs, a merger with Paramount, a sell-off of local TV stations, an acquisition of Lionsgate, and the making of one’s quarterly debt payment. Long to-do lists are, however, as a psychiatrist once told Rob Long, self-sabotage. So instead, he suggests to the powers-that-be: Make a big, crowd-pleasing comedy instead, one in the vein of Anchorman or Zoolander. It’ll be the perfect antidote to doom and anxiety — and might even win your audience back.  Transcript here. Subscribe here to The Ankler. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rob Long loves Christmas presents — expensive ones, preferably — and money. Lots of money. It’s an affliction that impacts everyone in entertainment, he argues, where enough is never enough. Even during a particularly confusing and hard year, we’re lucky to be able to complain about the work most of us do, which Rob realized at the paint store. And while Rob may not be personally calling you for money, he’s asking for your donations anyway to his favorite charity.  Head to My Friend’s Place, Rob’s charity of choice, to help support youth experiencing homelessness. Transcript here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Rob Long reminds us that nobody likes to work for free — which is why, more often than not, writers find themselves in a tricky predicament. In an ideal world, a writer gets hired off a pitch. But other times, the writer ends up drafting a script on spec, a.k.a for free. And even when a writer does sell a pitch, the executives who buy it likely won’t be around long enough to actually produce the script, thus rendering it no different from a spec (minus the small upfront fee). It’s enough to make a writer want to be a producer. Free money! Just ask Rob. Transcript here. Subscribe here to The Ankler. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

According to Karl Marx, “history repeats itself, first as tragedy, then as farce.” And in the eyes of Rob Long, so, too, does material in the entertainment industry. When something works as a drama, for example, people will try to find a way to jigger it into a comedy (cue the side-splitting version of Breaking Bad). Most films and shows these days are just a retread of something else. But as Rob explains, small tweaks can have a big impact — in the same way a loudmouth in a movie theater can break a poignant moment by uttering a single word.  Transcript here. For more entertainment industry news, subscribe to The Ankler. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Rob Long explains his number one rule for sharing emotions in entertainment-industry relationships: Don’t. After all, the best and longest-lasting relationships in Hollywood are the ones that stay frozen in place, uncomplicated by unnecessary interactions until there’s a business reason to reconnect. Also: never confuse love for you with the love of money (as one might be inclined to do with network execs), and don’t ever feel pressure to say “I love you” back to anyone. Instead, consider the alternative, “You do me great honor.”  Transcript here. For more news about the entertainment industry, subscribe to The Ankler at TheAnkler.com/subscribe. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When asked an honest opinion about someone’s appearance, you’ve likely enacted the Fix-It Rule: that is, if someone has the ability to do something about it — a stray hair, for example — you say something; if it’s congenital, well, you keep your mouth shut (or lie). That philosophy extends to Hollywood too, where almost everything is fixable, but everyone — even the most talented among us — has the capacity for at least one truly terrible, unsalvageable piece of work. How you move on from it, explains Rob, makes all the difference. Transcript here. For more news about the entertainment industry, subscribe to The Ankler at TheAnkler.com/subscribe. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ever notice the insecurity of those flying to and from L.A.? Everyone is discretely eyeballing everyone else, figuring out who is in first class, and — in the case of one agent Rob Long met at the airport — over-explaining why he was not. You see, in an industry where people rise and fall, and often outright disappear, visible status symbols take on absurd importance. As does creating the appearance that everything is going just great! Which is why Hollywood euphemisms were born — and why Rob always writes his name in big letters on a script.  Transcript here. For more news about the entertainment industry, subscribe to The Ankler at TheAnkler.com/subscribe. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bone marrow biopsy? Hahahaha. Or so says Rob Long, who, after his procedure (he was fine!) was able to find the comedy — something that weirdly arrives in the wake of high-stakes moments, particularly around death, disease and crisis. So the world seems like it’s falling apart, but this time for real? As a writer who has spent decades in the comedy business, Rob sees opportunity. Cue the fat guy and the fit guy in the locker room. Transcript here. For more news about the entertainment industry, subscribe to The Ankler at TheAnkler.com/subscribe.

With the writers strike ended, execs all over town are figuring out which pitches they agreed to pre-walkout actually will get produced. Like chefs taking food out of the freezer, suits give a sniff test — assessing what kept on ice can be safely thawed out, and which should be tossed. And as Rob Long explains, the most dangerous place to be — in a kitchen or show business — is in this defrosting stage, where bacteria and spoilage set in.  Transcript here. For more news about the entertainment industry, subscribe to The Ankler at TheAnkler.com/subscribe.

The industry today sorely lacks optimism, says Rob. How to get it back? Harness the memory of your early-career freedom.For more news on the entertainment industry subscribe to The Ankler at theankler.com/subscribe. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theankler.com/subscribe

From “enemy friends” to awkward former colleagues, Rob dives into the ins and outs of making amends in the entertainment industry, even with people you didn’t know disliked you. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theankler.com/subscribe

Rob Long compares the WGA strike to having been stuck on a joke, and re-imagines the last five months as a mini (bad) vacation.For more news about the entertainment business, go to theankler.com/subscribe. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theankler.com/subscribe

The worst thing you can tell anyone in entertainment is to calm down. Typically, nothing escalates a fight further, particularly in this industry.For news about Hollywood, please go to TheAnkler.com/subscribe. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theankler.com/subscribe

When it comes to firing your agent, Rob Long explains what used to happen, what happens now, and how it's all going to come full circle. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theankler.com/subscribe

Rob Long on the art of landing a Hollywood side gig more lucrative than your main gig. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theankler.com/subscribe

With Hollywood bringing out the worst behavior in most of us, Rob Long asks why the phrase execs use to dismiss actors and writers isn't also said of those at top. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theankler.com/subscribe

Rob Long on what teachers can and can't teach you. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theankler.com/subscribe

TV shows used to be 21 minutes an episode. How everything got way too long This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theankler.com/subscribe

Studios and networks come and go. Which reminds us: we're saddled with a glut of under-loved streaming services. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theankler.com/subscribe

Forget every formula for screenwriting success. If you can keep the audience engaged, you’ve cracked the code. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theankler.com/subscribe

Do something elevating right now, because, remember: everything you hate about this business now, you still will when the strike is over. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theankler.com/subscribe

What the dual strike negotiation and post-production on a TV series have in common. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theankler.com/subscribe

OnlyFans is a subscription-based platform that experienced massive growth and changed the way people make money. Sound familiar? This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theankler.com/subscribe

With Sun Valley underway, Rob Long today imagines our showbiz moguls staring at the stars, wondering how it all went so wrong. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theankler.com/subscribe

How animals on the African savanna are the quadruped analog of showbiz — but actually honest. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theankler.com/subscribe

Rob Long shares the industry hacks and lessons that come with being "old" in Hollywood. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theankler.com/subscribe

Rob Long on how to combat self-doubt in the worst place for it in the world. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theankler.com/subscribe

The political industry — like Hollywood — now fights on the fringes and in the niches of any given base (a.k.a. the audience). This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theankler.com/subscribe

Rob Long looks at A.I., a main sticking point in contract negotiations between the studios and labor unions. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theankler.com/subscribe

How things went array when entertainment turned into a subscription business This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theankler.com/subscribe

Rob Long says it isn't 'woke' culture but media companies that killed the genre. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theankler.com/subscribe

Today, Rob Long explains Hollywood’s world of hierarchy and one-upmanship, where having not one but THREE assistants tells the world just how much busier you are than others. It’s all a bit of an ensemble comedy, this business, but at this particular moment, strike and all, Rob says it feels as if the studios and streamers believe they should have top billing. Netflix Variety Hour anyone? A full transcript is here for paid subscribers. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theankler.com/subscribe

With the writers strike upon us, WGA member Rob Long presents the story of two friends and their three-bean salad as a cautionary tale for writers and streamers, er, rather just streamers. And why, sometimes, everyone throws up at once. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theankler.com/subscribe

Rob identifies the standard rules in the entertainment business to make a creative idea work. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theankler.com/subscribe

Rob Long explains why, for the first time in his 33 years as a WGA member, he’s supporting a strike action. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theankler.com/subscribe

Rob explains why rewrites of existing scripts can go on for years — all in the quest for that one teeny tiny note scrawled in the margin. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theankler.com/subscribe

An encounter at Brentwood Country Mart with a former Mr. Ed writer sends Rob Long wondering about the binge-and-purge nature of this industry, where insiders suddenly can find themselves on the outside. Rob suggests ways to persist and keep showing up despite disaster, similar to the way Angelenos remain indifferent to L.A.’s mudslides and fires. Because, as he learned long ago, you may still end up in the equivalent of the Sinatra Room at Chasen’s.For a full transcript, click here. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theankler.com/subscribe

While helping a friend on-set with his television pilot, Rob Long encounters two mysterious men, both named Larry, hanging around the soundstage. Nobody knows who they are, or what they actually do. And therein, says Rob, lies the problem with the current state of the business as our host, under the influence of too many Larrys, takes a dramatic turn in his opinion on the looming writers strike.For a full transcript, click here. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theankler.com/subscribe

When is a network like a fast food restaurant? Rob answers, and explains why he wishes his Hollywood overlords would ask if he'd like with fries with that more often. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theankler.com/subscribe

Rob explains his personal regimen for maintaining his mental health and why it's important to be grateful for a free trip to Azerbaijan (it's a metaphor). This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theankler.com/subscribe

As the business braces for a potentially bruising writers’ strike, Rob Long tries to remember that in show business, everybody ends up working for — and with, and next to — each other. It’s an org chart that makes no sense, except it’s the only one that works. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theankler.com/subscribe

This week, Rob Long gleans takeaways from the reboot of Night Court. One of the reasons Rob is happy about this traditional multi-cam sitcom revival is because it could be good for him (the format is the Cheers veteran’s sweet spot). But no matter who you are, you’re still desperately trying to buy or sell something — a lesson best illustrated through a recent cryptic interaction with a stranger at an L.A. car wash. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theankler.com/subscribe

Rob Long examines the concept of spec scripts, and the risks involved with writing something without knowing whether there’s any interest in it. And when it comes to buyers, it’s impossible to know what they think they want. It’s why Rob suggests always pitching the show you want to do; typically, people don’t know what they need until they’re faced with it, and sometimes, as Rob learned recently, that might just be a Nigerian choir. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theankler.com/subscribe

Rob Long advises “Be nice to everybody. Or at least, in Hollywood, don’t be not nice to anybody.” Not just for manners, but also, as Rob learned, sometimes someone who escaped your memory, yet with the power to give you money, will be seated opposite you on a suede sofa. As it turns out, hundreds of moments in your life when you were not your best are embedded in someone else’s. Which is why even Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote should say thank you to each other. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theankler.com/subscribe

No matter how much power you have, you’re going to eventually sit in someone’s office and pitch something. It’s why Rob Long thinks everyone has to perfect at least 10 minutes of pre-meeting chit chat — those short but important conversations, usually between writers and execs, that take place prior to the official start of any pitch (weird traffic patterns, huh? Did you guys know each other in college?). Just don’t talk about scary spiders. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theankler.com/subscribe

This week, Rob Long reveals his big plans in 2023 for digital absolution — in other words, a reprieve from having to read or watch (or even know) about what's on TV. Full and unfettered forgiveness for not watching that movie you like or clinking on the link to that article you sent him, and he’ll give you the same in return. Deal? This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theankler.com/subscribe

There’s a great dividing line between a person’s time in show business: When you’re starting out — or even before that, when you’re just daydreaming about a successful career — all you see is upside. But once you’ve made it (usually with a little bit of luck and a string of crazy events), you devote a lot of time (thanks in part to our armies of lawyers, business affairs types, etc.) to worrying. “If you spend too much time in this business,” says Rob, “you forget that there are only two things you really need to be successful: a willingness to put it all on the line, and an idiot to convince you to do it.” This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theankler.com/subscribe

How competitive is host Rob Long? Well, as he’ll tell you, he once fumed over his friend — not him — being named Customer of the Week at their local coffee bar. Which brings us to awards season, where, “if you spend a lot of time watching other people get good stuff, you become stressed out and unhappy.” But, cautions Rob, you can either wallow in rage at the injustice, or redouble your efforts just so one day you too can see the look on the faces of those idiots who doubted you. Says our host: “Vengeful satisfaction… is priceless.” This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theankler.com/subscribe

Rob met Kirstie Alley on Cheers when he was 24. Never afraid to ugly cry or ask for a scene to be changed (a scene was changed once because she wouldn’t take aspirin; see: Scientology), Alley, decades later, wanted a role on Rob’s TV show playing a grandmother (a role another actress, 82, thought she was too young to play). Never vain, Alley summoned Rob to her house, and, in her way, said, “If you think I’m too fat, just tell me.” Says Rob, “We didn’t. She was just perfect.” Alley passed away after a brief battle with cancer two weeks ago at age 71. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theankler.com/subscribe

The most prevalent topics in a Hollywood executive office? Host Rob Long ranks them: 1. Money; 2. What to do about the writer; 3. Lunch. Indeed, early in one’s career, most writers realize that — upon any success — he or she is surrounded by people whose job it is, essentially, to watch them do their job and tell them how to do it. Which is why he proposes to every exec Take Your Writer to Work Day. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theankler.com/subscribe

Have a script due or need a decision made? Rob Long hopes you got it done before Thanksgiving lest you be forced to wait until January rolls around. Of course, there’s a price we pay for that industry-wide habit of shutting-off well ahead of holidays, summer, three-day weekends, etc. — a constant feeling of being too late. Which, as it turns out, is the industry’s preferred method of getting things done. After all, if you wait until the last minute, you can blame any bad decision, any failure, on just how rushed things were. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theankler.com/subscribe

Rob admits he should stop reading the trades: the only thing they’re good for is “to keep up on the career milestones of other people in the business who you may know, like, or be secret enemies with.” And since most trade coverage is dedicated to announcements of things to come, very likely “none of it will get made or sold, none of it will produce anything, which means none of it is worth getting anxious over and none of it is important to know.” In other words, he says, it’s all drumroll, no actual music. Just ask that lottery winner. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theankler.com/subscribe

Working in entertainment, Rob Long has become superstitious. Whenever Rob does something humdrum like walking the dog and his agent calls, it’s always bad news. A call on a great trip? Well, maybe it’s a series pick-up! “We're always looking for signs and signals about where exactly we are on the great big greasy power ladder,” he says. And nowhere is your place in the world more on display than at the gates of a studio. If you’re denied entry and the gate arm stays down, you’re not just locked out of the lot — you’re also locked out of the business. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theankler.com/subscribe

This week, Rob finds similarities between an audience and the voting public. Both will disappoint or lift you up on occasion, but what they should never do is surprise you, because that means you haven’t been listening. The solution: Turn to the crew, often the best and most accurate focus group a TV writer/producer can get. “‘Is the crew laughing?’ is one of the questions writers ask all the time on a comedy shoot,” says Rob, because they’re not paid enough to pretend to enjoy something when they’re not. On that note, Rob also offers up some free advice to anyone running a media business: follow the Olive Garden strategy, where, upon a takeover, every executive was forced to work in a restaurant for a day. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theankler.com/subscribe

When Rob’s credit card was declined this week, he hopped on the phone with card security, and then — thanks to the sober reality check — decided he didn’t really need to buy that expensive toy. And thus, the benefit of “a service that interrupts you while you're in the process of buying something expensive and unnecessary.” On a set, that’s known as the line producer. And today, Rob pays tribute to one of the best, Steve Grossman, a 35-year industry veteran (Newhart, Hope & Gloria, George and Leo, Love & Money, Lateline) who was the secret weapon for sitcom success — and to whom the industry recently bid farewell. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theankler.com/subscribe

On call sheets, child actors have a pumpkin icon next to their names, notifying everyone on set about their inviolate shorter workdays, lest the kid turns into, well, a pumpkin. Rob Long reflects on the significance of that symbol — especially when the time comes to part ways with Hollywood. Even if you’re calling a temporary wrap on your on career, there’s a power and shrewdness to putting a putting a pumpkin next to your own name before someone else does it. Says Rob, “It's the smart and healthy thing to do.” Which means you — and he — probably will never do it. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theankler.com/subscribe

At one point or another, everyone in Hollywood will get fired, or will fire someone else. It’s as inevitable as getting unhelpful notes from an executive, or another Avengers sequel. After reading the news of the latest layoffs around town, Rob offers advice on how to deal with this part of the business, as well as how to handle the equally inevitable fallout: the creation of enemies. Sure, there are always people who you are never going to want to work with again, but there are actual enemies — people who you exchange words with — and secret enemies, the most troublesome kind of all. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theankler.com/subscribe

Host Rob Long today explains why attracting an audience to a movie or TV show works the same way those dating apps work in attracting people to one another. But without the swiping. And why writers must always serve the dessert first in their scripts, no matter how “important” the message is. Because audiences want the candy, not the homework. So please, don’t bury the fun. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theankler.com/subscribe

Today Rob Long tells the story of a friend on a flight about to make an emergency landing. The worst wasn’t the pilot’s announcement that they were in trouble; it was the flight attendant’s attempt to get everyone to chant, hands clapping, “We’re going to be okay!” As anyone in the industry long enough knows, such happy self-talk usually indicates something that is exactly the opposite — particularly in this era of Entertainment 2022. Enter the ninth planet. Please subscribe for more podcasts and stories about the entertainment industry. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theankler.com/subscribe

“Everyone in the entertainment business works hard. Except agents, obviously.” So says Rob this week, as he describes the differences between writing and directing, with a few nods to actors (and their overacting): Being a writer teaches you how to be alone. But being a director teaches you how to be with people. So maybe, actually, being a director is the harder job? Also, what’s the best way for an actor to play a drunk person? We won’t spoil it here, but it hinges on on not being yourself.Follow us (and like us!) wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts, and on Twitter. Also please subscribe at TheAnkler.com for more podcasts and stories about the entertainment industry. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theankler.com/subscribe

Today, Rob Long presents the idea that anyone who puts on a little play, bangs on an instrument or talks into a microphone for money can say they’re in entertainment. But a true show business professional — hello, Harry Styles! — is hard to find these days, because the kind of people drawn to the industry are often much like baby actors — moody, mercurial, hard to reason with, yet also adorable. So when a fussy infant is faced with the prospect of being replaced by a cutting-edge robot on set, as witnessed by Rob, can they step up to the challenge? This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theankler.com/subscribe

Today, Rob Long dives into some of the unspoken commandments that everyone working in entertainment ought to know and live by, from savvy advice when it comes to pitching (“never go first”) to why writers should never solicit feedback from execs who pass on their projects (“explanations are meaningless”). Also do your agent and manager secretly hate each other? This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theankler.com/subscribe

This week, Rob Long recalls a childhood memory of a large, unidentifiable spinning machine with blades that took two people to operate — lest one lose a hand — which serves as good metaphor for working together in show business. And as long as that machine is doing its job, don’t try to tinker with it; just ask the people behind New Coke, who discovered — too late — that soda drinkers didn’t want something new. On the other hand, don’t be the CW, making shows for teens when the average age of your audience is… 58. Network programmers, this one’s for you! This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theankler.com/subscribe

Rob looks back at the “olden times”, when just a handful of broadcast networks with mediocre — and somewhat problematic — shows like Webster dominated the airwaves. Their main goals weren’t about attracting viewers as much as not driving them away to competitors. But in today’s streaming landscape, viewers aren’t drifting through a primetime lineup, or mindlessly channel surfing. And just like Rob, seduced by local clothes while on vacation in faraway places, both streamers and broadcast businesses need to remember who they are — lest they end up coming back dressed in a sarong and wooden slippers, looking ridiculous. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theankler.com/subscribe

Writers get lots of advice during the development of a script, usually in a backhanded way with all sorts of qualifiers: agents like to give notes (typically on the prospects of a script in the marketplace) starting with phrases like “Hey, I’m not a writer!” or “I don’t have a creative bone in my body!” But if there’s one thing more awkward than receiving negative feedback on your work, it’s overhearing someone else getting those notes in a public space — a skill Rob has dubbed ‘yoga eavesdropping’. At the end of the day, sometimes the best thing one can do is provide no advice at all. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theankler.com/subscribe

Most people will do almost anything to avoid being embarrassed, why is why, as Rob Long explains, embarrassment is the key to making something truly funny. But there’s a difference between personal mortification — “someone saw my nudes on my phone” — and professional humiliation — “I did a stupid thing in a meeting.” The latter can be used effectively as a way to build morale on a writing staff, or it can be deployed more nefariously to cause someone to leave the business entirely. Also, Rob cautions his listeners against committing the most ignominious act of self-humiliation: complimenting a show not on the network you are working with. Oops. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theankler.com/subscribe

Rob Long opines on audience research, bad time slots and rules for what not to say in front of executives as a writer — which somehow leads to the curious case of Batgirl, a movie that apparently will never be seen by anyone outside of Warners Bros. For Rob, there’s no rule for that one: “What I do know is I don’t know because you never know.” This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theankler.com/subscribe

In this week’s episode, Rob Long encourages his fellow scribes to be observant: pay attention to what’s going on in the world around you. Because there might be a hit TV show or a movie playing out right in front of your nose. The hard part, according to Rob, is trying to figure out if your new idea is “weird good” or “weird bad”? And just like flying on a tiny propellor plane, the trick is to take a deep breath and just get on board — and don’t think too hard about going down in flames. Because unlike in aviation, it’s pretty likely you will. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theankler.com/subscribe

It's easy to give script notes to a writer when he's wearing a T-shirt and dresses like a kid at summer camp. It's harder to tell a guy dressed like a hedge-fund shark that the dialogue needs to be 'quirkier'. Which is one of the reasons why Dick Wolf wears a suit. What you're wearing — or driving, or strapping on your wrist — matters, of course, in the room. In the entertainment business, we try to dress casually and comfortably. Big mistake. There's nothing casual or comfortable about show business.Follow us (and like us!) at Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts, and on Twitter. Also please subscribe at TheAnkler.com for more podcasts and stories about the entertainment industry. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theankler.com/subscribe

An Argentine writer named Jorge Luis Borges once declared that there are only four stories that are told and re-told. Or maybe there are seven — it depends who you ask. Regardless, Rob Long explains in this week’s episode why writers would be better off ignoring those rules. And why everyone else should ignore people who insist that the summer is over on July 5th.Follow us (and like us!) at Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts, and on Twitter. Also please subscribe at TheAnkler.com for more podcasts and stories about the entertainment industry. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theankler.com/subscribe

Follow us (and like us!) at Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts, and on Twitter. Also please subscribe at TheAnkler.com for more podcasts and stories about the entertainment industry.Technology has enabled us to have meetings from any where at any time. This week, Rob Long gives a discourse on how to conduct a notes call from locations that can be classified as exotic, prosaic and, shall we say, aromatic. But he also points out why the business functioned better when everyone wasn’t so connected and available 24/7. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theankler.com/subscribe

Follow us (and like us!) at Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts, and on Twitter. Also please subscribe at TheAnkler.com for more podcasts and stories about the entertainment industry.In Hollywood, even the most prosaic activities often involve a complex dance of priorities, rank and egos. This week, Rob Long explains the complex politics and power moves behind setting a meeting time that works for everyone’s schedule. Yet that exercise pales in comparison to figuring out who is in what position on which project, which often requires an advanced degree in calculus to understand. But according to Rob, it’s also why you can get by just as well with a good grasp of the concept of dithering.Check out today’s The Wakeup, our new morning news roundup. And we invite you to become a paid subscriber and never miss another podcast or story. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theankler.com/subscribe