Hosted by Jason Snell.
Jason Snell and a rotating group of experts break down the present and future of television.
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Get Downstream+ and don't miss a segment!Latest Episodes
#12: Why? It's Batman.
March 8th, 2022 · 73 minutes
Disney inevitably embraces advertising, NBC inevitably takes its ball and goes home, and The Batman inevitably forces a discussion about the future of theatrical releases.
#11: Paramount's Paramount
February 22nd, 2022 · 67 minutes
ViacomCBS changes its name, Peacock weathers the Super Bowl storm, the Disney brand continues to evolve, the culture of binge-dropping begins to fade away, Netflix is Doing Just Fine, and your letters!
#10: C Against C
February 8th, 2022 · 68 minutes
The future of CNN+ is called into question, the Oscars recognize streaming services of all kinds, and did Peacock finally get the Olympics right?
#9: Little Crown Jewel
January 25th, 2022 · 61 minutes
Netflix's latest quarterly report makes us wonder: Is it a tech company or an entertainment company? Julia experiences live sports streaming success--and failure. HBO Max takes a victory lap. And why does Showtime still exist? Plus, your letters!
#8: Everyone's Talking About Bruno
January 11th, 2022 · 67 minutes
It's a new year! Disney has moved another Pixar movie out of theaters and onto Disney+. Why "Don't Look Up" was the perfect movie for Netflix. "Yellowstone" is a legitimate hit and yet nobody is truly happy about it.
#7: The All-Letters Edition
December 28th, 2021 · 37 minutes
Jason and Julia are off for the holiday, but before they left, they took time to record this special episode featuring answers to listener letters! (Only two-thirds of the letters are from people named David.)
#6: All Four Quadrants
December 15th, 2021 · 55 minutes
We dig into why CNN+ has to exist, even though it doesn't make a lot of sense. Also, the strange divisions between what's on HBO and what's on HBO Max, we talk a surprising amount about The CW (again), and Netflix has... a blog?
#5: The Netflix Connected Universe
December 1st, 2021 · 67 minutes
Diving into Netflix's brand new global and regional top 10 lists, and all the things they tell us about the global streaming giant. Also, ViacomCBS corrects its Star Trek mistake, and why Netflix is bad at movies.
#4: Sorry, World!
November 17th, 2021 · 71 minutes
Disney+ came out of the gate strong, but its growth is waning. What does it need to do to reach a broader audience? It's all about the 'Hamiltons.' Also, ViacomCBS pulls the rug out from underneath international Star Trek fans.
#3: Snackable Trash
November 3rd, 2021 · 74 minutes
What happens when a TV network has a potential big hit, but doesn't have a streaming strategy to find an audience? Are sports leagues finally going to risk their fat cable contracts in order to build a local streaming service? And what's up in Australia?