A lunch sighting in Hollywood has set the entertainment industry buzzing, after Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos and HBO chief Casey Bloys were spotted dining together at Superba in Hollywood on Thursday.
The location itself is raising eyebrows.
The timing adds another layer of intrigue.
Warner Bros. Discovery is in the process of being acquired by David and Larry Ellison in a deal valued at $111 billion, pending regulatory approval.
Bloys’ contract at HBO runs out at the end of 2027, roughly when that deal is expected to close, and questions are already swirling about where he might land next.
As the architect of HBO’s current golden era, overseeing prestige hits including Succession, The White Lotus and Euphoria, as well as the incoming Harry Potter series widely expected to be a global phenomenon, Bloys would represent a significant prize for any rival.
HBO alone is valued at around $35 billion within the WBD portfolio.
For Sarandos, landing Bloys would be a meaningful consolation after Netflix missed out on acquiring WBD to the Ellisons’ Paramount Skydance.
One industry source familiar with the Paramount-Skydance culture was candid about the fit question.
“David Ellison has a bro company, and that’s not Casey at all,” the source said. “He’s not a high-fiving bro watching MMA fights.”
That cultural tension points to another dynamic now playing out behind the scenes.
With Paramount Skydance having won the WBD battle, and having already poached the Duffer Brothers of Stranger Things from Netflix via Direct to Consumer chair Cindy Holland, the question of who holds the real power within the new Paramount empire is very much alive.
Holland, who has been spotted ringside at UFC events, appears to be the frontrunner for the top TV role. Which would leave Bloys, to use a Game of Thrones metaphor one source reached for, without a throne to sit on.
Whether Thursday’s lunch was exploratory, strategic or simply two industry heavyweights catching up remains, for now, unanswered. But in Hollywood, being seen is rarely accidental.
