THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER 71 OCTOBER 16, 2019
show on TV, 45 seasons running.
But ratings are soft so far this
season (the opener was its lowest-
rated since 2014) and his hiring
of comic Shane Gillis backfired
after Gillis’ racist and homophobic
material resurfaced online. Still, his
Tonight Show remains the late-
night leader in the key 18-to-49
demo, and his imprimatur can be
found on comedies from every plat-
form (Comedy Central’s The Other
Tw o, NBC’s A.P. Bio, Hulu’s Shrill
and HBO’s Los Espookys).
42 JORDAN PEELE
Director-writer-producer
The Get Out phenom’s star keeps
rising. Shortly after he celebrated
Spike Lee’s Oscar screenplay win
for BlacKkKlansman (produced
by Peele’s Monkeypaw), the
40-year-old’s sophomore feature,
Us, grossed $255 million — and he
recently inked a rich five-year first-
look deal with Universal. Until he
steps back behind the camera, he
is busy producing, with the second
season of CBS All Access’ Twilight
Zone, HBO’s Lovecraft Country and
a Candyman remake with MGM.
43 JOSH SAPAN
President and CEO
SARAH BARNETT
President
Entertainment Networks
AMC NETWORKS
After assuming the top creative
post at AMC Networks’ entertain-
ment portfolio, Barnett, 54, made
the shrewd move of cross-pollinat-
ing critical darling Killing Eve on
multiple networks. On BBC America
and AMC, viewership skyrock-
eted 87 percent, and the assassin
drama’s Emmy nomination count
(nine) more than tripled — scoring
a coup win for star Jodie Comer
in the process. Sapan, 68, remains
focused on a unique and sprawl-
ing streaming strategy (Acorn
TV, Sundance Now, UMC and
Shudder) expected to start turning
a profit in 2020.
A TOP TALENT (NOT ON YOUR
PLATFORM) WHOM YOU ADMIRE
Sapan: “Comedian-writer Maeve
Higgins, comedian-actor-writer
Helen Hong, director Lynn Shelton.”
Barnett: Sarah Snook.
44 ELLEN DEGENERES
Host-producerIn her first stand-up special in
15 years — Netflix’s Relatable —
DeGeneres, 61, opened up about
battling depression after she came
out and ABC canceled her sitcom.
There was speculation she might
quit her top-rated daytime talker
when her contract came up in 2020,
but in May she re-signed for three
more years. And she sealed a deal
with HBO Max in September for
Ellen’s Home Design Challenge,
First Dates Hotel, animated kids
series Little Ellen and a fourth show
she’s still developing.
YOUR MOST RECENT SPLURGE
“When I was at Taco Bell last week,
I got extra salsa. YOLO!”45 DWAYNE JOHNSON
Actor-producerHis latest movie, the Fast & Furious-
adjacent Hobbs & Shaw, grossed
$758 million — and now that he’s
patched things up with Vin Diesel,
more Fast films are inevitable. His
HBO hit Ballers (Elizabeth Warren
is a fan) wrapped its five-season
run, but Johnson, 47, has more than
20 other projects in the pipeline,
including Sony’s Jumanji sequel
in December, a second-season
order for NBC’s Titan Games, and
two 2020 films: a family adventure
based on Disney’s Jungle Cruise
ride and Interpol thriller Red Notice
with Ryan Reynolds and Gal Gadot.46 CHUCK LORRE
Writer-producerFive months after saying farewell
to megahit The Big Bang Theory,
Lorre — who cashed in with an epic
$600 million WarnerMedia stream-
ing and syndication deal — is doing
fine. CBS prequel Young Sheldon
stumbled without the flagship but
still is in the first of a two-season
renewal. Critical darling Mom is in
the first of a three-season renewal,
and Netflix’s The Kominsky
Method scored two Golden Globes
and three Emmy noms. Chances
are strong that Lorre will see
another nine-figure payday before
summer 2020, when his Warner
Bros. TV overall deal expires.47 LEONARDO DICAPRIO
Actor-producerAlong with DiCaprio’s return in
Quentin Tarantino hit Once Upon a
Time in Hollywood — his first film
since 2015’s The Revenant — the
44-year-old is a prolific producer.
He helped Clint Eastwood get
Richard Jewell off the ground and
is working on multiple TV proj-
ects: an adaptation of Tom Wolfe’s
The Right Stuff and a docudrama
about President Ulysses S. Grant.
He’ll star opposite Robert De
Niro in Martin Scorsese’s Killers
of the Flower Moon, about the
slaughter of Native Americans
in the 1920s.48 DICK WOLF
ProducerNBCUniversal’s most powerful
producer expands his fiefdom to
a third franchise come midseason
when FBI: Most Wanted gives Wolf
a second show on CBS. Those
join NBC’s Chicago trio as well as
Law & Order: SVU, which kickedoff its 21st season — a drama
record. Next up for Wolf, 72, will be
a multimillion-dollar deal for the
Law & Order and Chicago libraries
as well as potential SVU spinoff
Hate Crimes, which could go to
Peacock or NBC.
THE LAST APP SOMEONE UNDER 13
HAD TO EXPLAIN TO YOU “Fortnite
by my 9-year-old son.”49 KATHLEEN KENNEDY
President Lucasfilm
THE WALT DISNEY CO.As Luke and Leia’s family saga
concludes in The Rise of Skywalker,
Kennedy, 66, says she’s focused on
“launching the next phase of Star
Wars.” The Mandalorian, the fran-
chise’s first live-action TV series,
will premiere on Disney+ on Nov. 12,
and Kennedy struck deals with
Diego Luna and Ewan McGregor
to reprise their roles for their own
Disney+ shows — but ceded a
share of her domain to Disney col-
league Kevin Feige, set to develop
his own Star Wars film.
GO-TO PODCAST FOR A LONG DRIVE
The New York Times’ The Daily.Michelle and
Barack Obama