J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot Negotiates Film & TV Deal Extension with Warner Bros.

The tenure of J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot at Warner Bros. Television is on the brink of surpassing the 20-year mark. The company is in advanced negotiations with Warner Bros. to renew its film and TV deal with the studio, according to sources.

The upcoming multi-year extension comes over two years after Bad Robot’s current five-year pact hit turbulence following the Warner Bros.-Discovery merger in April 2022. During that period, HBO canceled Abrams’ sci-fi drama Demimonde right before production was scheduled to begin.

The post-merger phase also saw a handful of other greenlighted Bad Robot series not moving forward at Warner Bros. Discovery’s streamer, Max. These included The Shining offshoot series Overlook and the animated Batman: Caped Crusader.

Despite these setbacks, Bad Robot remained with Warner Bros. and launched a couple of new series this summer. Caped Crusader premiered on Prime Video, and David E. Kelley’s Presumed Innocent debuted on Apple TV+. Initially a limited series, Presumed Innocent was renewed for a second season after becoming Apple TV+’s #1 drama launch. Additionally, three documentaries/docuseries—Charlie Hustle & The Matter of Pete Rose, Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes, and Yankees Win—also premiered this summer.

The current five-year deal, valued at $250 million, was signed in September 2019 amidst the Peak TV-fueled overall deal bubble. However, the TV marketplace has changed dramatically in recent years, with overall deals diminishing in both volume and price after the pandemic, strikes, and other industry challenges led to unprecedented contraction and budget cuts for legacy media companies.

While the deal points are still being negotiated, it’s anticipated that Bad Robot’s new agreement will not match the lucrative terms of the old one. Other similar nine-figure pacts from that period have already been either terminated or converted into less costly first-look agreements.

Upcoming projects for Bad Robot include the drama series Duster on Max, with a Speed Racer series also in the works at Apple TV+. The company has several other shows set up around town. In terms of film, Bad Robot has numerous projects in development, including their first movie under the Warner Bros. deal, Flowervale Street, which is slated for release in 2025.

Currently attending the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, J.J. Abrams has been part of Warner Bros. TV for 18 years. Before signing the film and TV deal with Warner Bros. in 2019, his company Bad Robot was based at Paramount.

Source: Deadline, Max, Apple TV+