Once upon a time in Hollywood there was a winter ritual that was way more predictive of a robust summer than even Punxsutawney Phil would offer a coupla thousand miles to the East–the Television Critics Association winter tour. It would be roughly around this time of year where TV critics, especially those from far more wintry climes, would eagerly descend upon Pasadena for nearly two weeks of nonstop press conferences, shindigs and occasional studio outings, all in the quest of banking stories for use several months later–thus allowing them to take actual vacations on their own dime as opposed to the one their employers willingly ponied up for in this case.
Inevitably there would also be the de facto state of the “union” from the man they dubbed the “Mayor of Hollywood”, my one-time FX boss John Landgraf. John was one of the few leaders who actually chose to devote one of his sessions to something other than hype with the crutch of celebrities and would give his eagerly awaited takes on what’s right and wrong with the industry. John would typically also hold court in the summer, since there was once a preponderance of cable networks projects that took full advantage of diminished broadcast competition to cluster their original series in that season. There was also once a preponderance of critics, too. But thanks to the multiple devolutional factors of disinterested streamers, COVID paranoia and newspaper contraction, last year’s winter session was “temporarily” cancelled and since this year’s is also not taking place, I suppose the qualifier of temporary can now be removed.
But thanks to the overly eager reporting instincts of PUCK NEWS and especially the Belloni-adjacent Kim Masters, Landgraf is still in the news this January–and this time not by his choosing. Witness the tea-spilling that she dropped earlier this week:
Landgraf and FX find themselves contending with ever-growing challenges, just like everyone else making television these days. By the end of the year, Hulu will be integrated into Disney+ (FX is moving to Burbank this month). In a world full of noisy distractions, some Hollywood insiders wonder if Landgraf can continue to make just a few series a year with the same slow, deeply considered process. As acclaimed showrunner Noah Hawley (Fargo, Alien: Earth) has grown restless with the lengthy development process, will others start thinking they could get richer faster at Netflix or Apple, or find a bigger platform on HBO Max? How many of them can even find a place on FX’s schedule, when Ryan Murphy takes up precious slots every year, even as several of his projects have faltered lately? And does Landgraf want to stick around as the business goes through a brutal contraction—especially as Netflix, the company he blames the most for degrading the quality of television programming, stands poised to acquire HBO?
Several sources close to the situation think they detect signs of fatigue, or possibly fatigue coupled with frustration. And the question that they pose is not just whether Landgraf wants to stay, but whether there will still be space for bespoke storytelling as Hollywood’s digital transformation continues apace. “He loves his job, he loves programming really high-level stuff—and selective stuff and not tonnage—but the world is changing,” said one veteran talent rep. “Eventually, everything at Disney is going to be consolidated under Disney+—in a year, in my opinion. So then where does he go?” This person noted that “they pay [Landgraf] a lot of money” for a few new shows a year and wondered whether such an arrangement would continue to make sense for Disney.
And Masters dug still deeper for still more dirt and shade:
It appears that one reason WME was able to poach Hawley from CAA last spring was that Ari Emanuel and Ari Greenburg swooped in just as the showrunner was getting restive. “After 10 years of content for them, he’s not so sure he needs to hear everyone’s notes and everyone’s dissertation on his work,” said a source familiar with Hawley’s thinking. In November, Hawley struck a reported nine-figure deal that continued his relationship with FX but also allowed him to work across all of Disney Entertainment Television. (Hawley, who declined to comment, also has Far Cry, a third series, in the works at FX, so it makes sense for him to maintain that relationship. And he had enough clout to win a battle over moving production of the second season of Alien: Earth from Budapest to London.)
There’s also an apocryphal story that showrunner Dan Fogelman (Only Murders in the Building, Paradise) has a “no Landgraf” clause in his Hulu deal. Not true, but a knowledgeable source said Fogelman’s attitude is, “‘I know that guy and he gets great stuff, but I don’t need that person in my life. You shouldn’t be counting on me to do shows with FX.’” (Fogelman declined to comment.)
To these two stalwarts I have two words, and unlike them I’ll actually comment. Jealous much?
Let’s compare CVs. Hawley has been at this for about 20 years, and his most enduring works to date were his acclaimed and extremely spread out work adapting FARGO to series form and the first three seasons of BONES, a rare FOX procedural that actually produced decent ratings and back end revenue. Beyond that, he’s behind such memorable works as LEGION (19 episodes; 2 seasons), THE UNUSUALS (3 episodes; 1 season) and MY GENERATION (1 season, 2 episodes).
Fogelman? A tad more seasoned, and thanks to his focus on old-school broadcast TV models has been substantially more productive. Credit where credit is due for NBC’s THIS IS US, which almost single-handedly kept the so-called Big Four in awards conversation during its 106-episode run and, more recently, the genuinely endearing ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING, one of the few streaming series to reach enough scale and at least perceptual success to be exploited beyond the platform (the first couple of seasons were utilized by ABC as prime time fill when the strikes of 2023 disrupted their usual strategies). He also has nearly 100 other episodes to his credit, but they were spread out over titles such as LIKE FAMILY, THE NEIGHBORS, GALAVANT and GRANDFATHERED. If you remember them at all, you’re a more dedicated TV fan than I. And since none of them lasted more than two seasons, I suspect whatever memories you may have aren’t exactly fond.
Landgraf’s own path began with a run at NBC as a disciple of Warren Littlefield’s, who successfully grew the Must-See TV breadcrumbs that his predecessor Brandon Tartikoff sowed and grew FRIENDS, SEINFELD and ER to heights in the league of THE COSBY SHOW, FAMILY TIES and LA LAW. He then ran Danny DeVito’s Jersey Films TV banner and gave Comedy Central the memorable RENO 911 before Peter Liguori brought him on to replace the complicated Kevin Reilly just in time for him to be his own replacement after the mothership’s struggles summoned Ligouri to the broadcast side–a seminal event I still lament. And ever since, John’s been at the rudder of the steamship that FX has become and argubaly still is, corporate shifts and industry erosion notwithstanding.
I would further offer that what probably gets under these folks’ skins is that he possesses the exact same qualities of tenacity and ego that they possess. As Masters added for her attempt at balance:
The quality of FX programming suggests that at least some part of Landgraf’s laborious process is still paying dividends. But that doesn’t make it easy. “I like and respect them, but it’s a crazy fucking process,” said one source who has done significant business at FX. Another person with long experience with Landgraf put it this way: “John acts like a producer. He will call you in and you will have a two-hour meeting about what happens in the third act of Episode 7. One can say, John Landgraf has a big fucking job. Why is he watching the third rough cut of Episode 7? Because that is his oxygen.”
I’ve experienced much of that that first-hand; indeed, I’ve mused about it many times before. If anyone has a right to complain about how he does his job and how he despises having his base instincts contradicted I’m arguably Exhibit A. I was in the unfortunate position of having to give him frequent bad news from his least favorite source–Nielsen–during his early days at the helm of the network, when such forgettable missteps as THIEF, DIRT and THE RICHES were as stillborn as some of Hawley and Fogelman’s lesser titles. I was the messenger, I was incapable of taking on his strong suggestions to “napalm Oldsmar” (ground zero for Nielsen, FYI) and I paid the price of being one of the few members of his team to be deemed expendable–and who missed out on becoming a millionaire in the process. Not a day goes by, especially lately, that I wish things had gone differently, and you wouldn’t be wrong that even after all of this time you’d detect more than a little bitterness and remorse on my part. John often made my life hell in ways that even exceeded what I was enduring in my personal life. But at no time–not even now–have I ever questioned his determination, his intellect or his intentions, and I would never turn down the chance to have his valued feedback.
Speaking of oxygen, Masters contributed her own fair share to what her snarky boss considers that to be with amplification of whether or not Landgraf might be headed toward the sunset:
Several people who work with FX speculated that Landgraf may in part be feeling the effects of the prolonged, very pregnant pause before Disney finally reveals its new C.E.O., an announcement promised sometime this quarter. “It feels like Disney is just waiting for a lot of things with the leadership change,” said one source with multiple shows at FX. “Everything that should be simpler and easier to get through seems clogged.” Another person who does a lot of business with FX concurred, saying, “It feels like John’s having to fight harder and be more strategic or put people through their paces more. I can’t tell if it’s him or Dana (Walden) or Disney or a combination.”
Look, I’ve already weighed in on how I think L’Affaire Walden winds up, and frankly Dana’s battles are unique to her. She’s an astute enough executive to know what she has in John and they’ve been a formidable combination for just as long as Hawley and Fogelman have attempted to do anything at all. John’s more than comfortable enough to set his own course should that happen; indeed, I personally think he may be inspired to take a route akin to what Littlefield did post-NBC by hanging a shingle of his own. Indeed, it was Littlefield that brought FARGO to FX and Landgraf in the first place, and Hawley should know damn well how lucky he is that he was given the chance at that IP to prove to the industry he was a capable showrunner. But I guess time has a way of dimming one’s memory of such facts of life.
But if and when that happens I’m of the belief it will be exclusively on his timetable and on his terms. And I have a strong sense we’ll still be hearing more about Landgraf’s successes well after the likes of Hawley and Fogelman run their respective courses. Hey, that’s my oxygen.
Until next time…