THIS WEEK’S BANTER

The decline of cable television continues to accelerate with Comcast set to float a number of cable channels off into the wilderness. Will other legacy companies follow suit? Plus, Comcast has made some personnel changes which include the not-so-surprising ascension of NBCUniversal Studio Chairman Donna Langley. Kim Masters and Matt Belloni take a look at Comcast’s latest moves.

End of an Era? It’s official. Comcast will be spinning off several cable networks into a separate entity. MSNBC, CNBC, E!, and SyFy are all set to leave the fold. Along with the decision, Comcast has announced the promotion of NBCUniversal chief content officer Donna Langley to Chairman of NBCUniversal Entertainment and Studios. “This was the worst kept secret in town,” says Belloni. “But it is a huge win for her.”

Domino effect? Though Comcast’s decision is not too surprising, there are still many unanswered questions. Will networks like MSNBC be forced to completely rebrand? What will become of Bravo, one of the few Comcast cable networks that reliably drives viewers to Peacock on the strength of zeitgeisty franchises like The Real Housewives and Below Deck? Langley reportedly has her sights set on keeping Bravo in the mix. But the biggest questions stemming from this news involve the potential ripple effects: “You have to wonder which other companies are looking at following suit among the legacy studios,” says Masters.

Cash flow woes? What sets Comcast apart from other companies that have toyed with the idea of ditching cable is its vast business. Disney CEO Bob Iger previously floated something similar, and Warner Bros. Discovery has also toyed with the idea… despite a lack of cash flow. “Comcast is such a big company with so many other businesses,” says Belloni. “They can afford to do this in a way that Warner Discovery and Paramount probably could not.”

But wait, there’s more! Get the full scoop on this week’s audio edition of The Banter.

But wait (again), there’s still more! Kim Masters & Matt Belloni want your questions for The Business’ special year-end mailbag show. Click here to send ‘em over.

Rise, Again shows unhoused LA moms leaning on each other

Grammy winner Arooj Aftab and composer Daniel Wohl teamed up with filmmaker Josephine Decker to produce Rise, Again, a 12-minute short that follows a group of women and their children living on LA’s fringes after being evicted from their apartments. The Nimoy will screen the production — with a live score — on November 23rd (tomorrow!).

The film started as a commission from Liquid Music and the Cincinnati Symphony. Arooj Aftab and Josephine Decker join Madeline Brand on Press Play to discuss how they were asked to work together from the start of the project.

Chris Douridas & Elvis Mitchell talk Quincy Jones

Longtime KCRW DJ Chris Douridas needs no introduction… his influence has been keenly felt by KCRW listeners and pop culture consumers in general for decades. His encyclopedic knowledge of music and music history situates him perfectly to discuss the legacy of the late Quincy Jones — specifically Jones’ impact on film and television.

Douridas tells The Treatment about how one of Jones’ jaunty instrumentals became the theme song for a hugely successful film franchise (hint: Douridas was involved). Plus, he talks about some lesser known early Jones cuts that are some of his favorites and Jones’ iconic theme to the 1970s sitcom Sanford and Son.

Interview: Wicked creators Winnie Holzman + Stephen Schwartz

Winnie Holzman and Stephen Schwartz created Wicked which has since become one of the most successful Broadway productions of all time. So it made sense for Universal to give them creative freedom when the time came to bring their big show to the big screen.

Holzman, Wicked’s playwright, along with Schwartz (the composer) join NPR’s Jeff Lunden for a chat about the long-gestating film adaptation of their beloved stage show. Listen on as they break down their decision to split the story into two movies on The Business. Plus, they describe how they crafted a production that felt intimate despite its massive scale.

Weekend Film Reviews: Wicked, Gladiator II, The Piano Lesson

It’s shaping up to be a massive weekend at the box office with the release of two to the year’s most anticipated blockbusters landing on the same day. We promise we’ll resist the urge to use any of the portmanteaus. Weighing in this week for our film reviews are Christy Lemire, film critic for RogerEbert.com and co-host of the YouTube channel Breakfast All Day, and Tim Grierson, senior U.S. critic for Screen International and the author of This Is How You Make a Movie.

First up is Wicked, the fiercely beloved musical prequel to The Wizard of Oz, which gives us the  backstories of Glinda the Good Witch and the Wicked Witch of the West (Elphaba). It stars pop icon Arianna Grande and Tony-winner Cynthia Erivo. Next up, 24 years after filmmaker Ridley Scott’s year 2000 original, Gladiator II promises to be just as action-packed and brutal. And finally, The Piano Lesson is an adaptation of August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play produced by Denzel Washington, directed by Washington’s son Malcolm, and starring another Washington sibling — John David.