IP Surveillance #15

Apple just made the biggest fantasy IP deal since Game of Thrones.

Brandon Sanderson's Cosmere universe is heading to Apple TV+ in a rare creator-controlled deal, with Mistborn eyed for theatrical films and The Stormlight Archive for television. Meanwhile, Markiplier is proving YouTubers can bypass Hollywood entirely—his self-financed Iron Lung hits theaters January 30. And the webtoon-to-screen pipeline just went mainstream with Lore Olympus landing at Prime Video.

This edition features:

7 Deals: Cosmere (Apple TV+), The Frozen River (Maven), Catan (Netflix), Iron Lung, Lore Olympus, Split Fiction
4 New Books: Vigil (George Saunders), Crux (Gabriel Tallent), The Starseekers, Kokun
4 Announced Books: Honey (Imani Thompson), The Neighborhood Experiment, People Like You, The Spy Who Jumped
4 Long-Form Articles: Scam compound escape (Wired), Walpole Prison (GQ), Student phishing empire, Alexander Brothers trial
3 Podcasts: The Red Weather (Rider Strong autofiction), Catching The Codfather, Safe to Drink
3 Alternative IP: Split Fiction (Sydney Sweeney), Viral Hit (Netflix), The Traitors (Sam Mendes stage)

Friday Briefing #20: The New King of the Mountain

Netflix folds. Paramount wins WBD. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms sticks the landing. Project Hail Mary first reactions are extraordinary. And Glen Powell's new movie is dead.

Feb 27

IP Surveillance #20: The Paramount-WBD Leviathan

Netflix walks away. Paramount wins. The merger that changes everything — plus Tayari Jones, a Trotsky thriller, and a video game franchise finally going live-action.

Feb 27

Friday Briefing #19: The Last Studio Standing

The bidding war for Warner Bros. enters its final stretch. Plus: Presidents Day box office, SAG-AFTRA talks, Spirit Awards, and why micro-dramas are a billion-dollar problem.

Feb 20

IP Surveillance #19: The debut boom

Five debut thrillers with adaptation DNA, a grown-up Nancy Drew, podcasts built for the screen, and a Guardian long read about a novelist who may have stolen a woman's life.