The Town with Matthew Belloni

Latest Episodes:

Part 1: Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, and Wild Stories From the Set of ‘The Studio’ May 23, 2025

Show notes

Matt is joined by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, the writer-director duo behind ‘The Studio,’ to discuss how the show came together, what the show gets right and wrong about Hollywood, which characters are based on real people, and why the show presented a different challenge than anything they had ever worked on before (02:44). Matt finishes the show with an opening weekend box office prediction for ‘Lilo & Stitch’ (26:20).

For a 20 percent discount on Matt’s Hollywood insider newsletter, ‘What I’m Hearing ...,’ ⁠⁠⁠⁠click here⁠⁠⁠⁠.
Email us your thoughts! ⁠⁠⁠⁠thetown@spotify.com⁠⁠⁠⁠

Host: Matt Belloni
Guests: Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg

Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jessie Lopez
Theme Song: Devon Renaldo

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The New Late Night with ‘Hot Ones’ Host Sean Evans May 21, 2025

Show notes

Matt is joined by Sean Evans, host of ‘Hot Ones,’ to discuss how he turned a niche internet interview show into one of the most popular celebrity talk shows in media. Sean discusses the business behind the show, how long it took to start making money, the art of interviewing celebrities, whether he views ‘Hot Ones’ as a competitor to late night, and what the future holds for both him and the show (02:22). Matt closes the show with an opening weekend box office prediction for ‘Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’ (27:05).

For a 20 percent discount on Matt’s Hollywood insider newsletter, ‘What I’m Hearing ...,’ ⁠⁠⁠click here⁠⁠⁠.
Email us your thoughts! ⁠⁠⁠thetown@spotify.com⁠⁠⁠

Host: Matt Belloni
Guest: Sean Evans

Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jessie Lopez
Theme Song: Devon Renaldo

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Is Streaming Killing Music—or Saving It? With a Top Spotify Exec May 19, 2025

Show notes

Matt is joined by Spotify’s global head of music vertical, Charlie Hellman, to talk about the current state of the music industry, how the music streaming era has impacted artists, how artists actually get paid by Spotify, competing with YouTube, the surge in AI-generated music, and artists’ biggest frustrations with Spotify (02:27). Matt finishes the show with a prediction about President Donald Trump’s $20 billion lawsuit against CBS (26:07).

Disclaimer: This podcast is produced by The Ringer, which is owned by Spotify.

For a 20 percent discount on Matt’s Hollywood insider newsletter, ‘What I’m Hearing ...,’ ⁠⁠click here⁠⁠.
Email us your thoughts! ⁠⁠thetown@spotify.com⁠⁠

Host: Matt Belloni
Guest: Lucas Shaw

Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jessie Lopez
Theme Song: Devon Renaldo

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Five Biggest Stories in TV: HBO Max Is Back, NFL Goes Global, and Netflix’s Franchisification May 16, 2025

Show notes

Matt is joined by CNBC Media and sports reporter Alex Sherman to discuss their five biggest takeaways from the TV upfronts, what the biggest platforms and streamers are prioritizing now, the rebranding of Max back to HBO Max and what it says about the new strategy for Warner Bros. Discovery, an NFL game on YouTube, how the NFL is distributing its media rights, ESPN’s new standalone streaming service costing $30/month, Netflix and Amazon’s heavy push toward franchises, and the growing dominance of YouTube (00:00). Matt finishes the show with a prediction about The Weeknd’s new movie ‘Hurry Up Tomorrow’ (00:00).

For a 20 percent discount on Matt’s Hollywood insider newsletter, ‘What I’m Hearing…’ click here.

Host: Matt Belloni

Guest: Alex Sherman

Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jessie Lopez

Theme Song: Devon Renaldo

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How YouTube Quietly Took Over TV, With CEO Neal Mohan May 15, 2025

Show notes

Matt is joined in person by YouTube CEO Neal Mohan from the annual TV upfronts in New York to discuss YouTube’s relationship with Hollywood in 2025, challenges from TikTok and Instagram, and why creators continue to seek out other platforms after gaining success on YouTube. They also talk about their newest deal with the NFL, which includes a YouTube-exclusive NFL game, and how they plan to reinvent watching sports (0:32). Matt finishes the show with a prediction surrounding the announcement that the streaming service Max is changing its name back to HBO Max (32:51).

For a 20 percent discount on Matt’s Hollywood insider newsletter, ‘What I’m Hearing…’ click here.

Host: Matt Belloni

Guest: Neal Mohan

Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jessie Lopez

Theme Song: Devon Renaldo

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hollywood Q1 Report: Disneyland in Abu Dhabi, a Warner Bros. Spinoff, and Streaming is … Stable? May 12, 2025

Show notes

Matt is joined by Bloomberg's Lucas Shaw to discuss announcements and narratives that emerged from the latest Q1 earnings reports, including Disney’s new theme park in Abu Dhabi, a Bob Iger succession check-in, a potential Warner Bros. Discovery split, Paramount in trouble, and other takeaways following streaming's continued path towards profitability (2:20). Matt finishes the show with a prediction surrounding the latest news of 'Reacher' star Alan Ritchson’s fight with manager Dan Spilo (26:13).

Email Fritz@puck.news to inquire about Puck’s Stories of the Season event.

For a 20 percent discount on Matt’s Hollywood insider newsletter, ‘What I’m Hearing…’ click here.

Host: Matt Belloni

Guest: Lucas Shaw

Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jessie Lopez

Theme Song: Devon Renaldo

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The 2025 Summer Blockbuster Power Ranking May 08, 2025

Show notes

It’s May, which means summer blockbuster season has officially begun. Matt welcomes back Puck’s Scott Mendelson to run through the most highly anticipated films of the summer, ranking each one by their box office potential and sharing their confidence levels for which are most likely to exceed expectations (2:25). Matt wraps up the show with a discussion about the newest Golden Globes category: Best Podcast (43:30)!

For a 20 percent discount on Matt’s Hollywood insider newsletter, ‘What I’m Hearing ...,’ click here

Email us your thoughts! thetown@spotify.com

Host: Matt Belloni

Guest: Scott Mendelson

Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jessie Lopez

Theme Song: Devon Renaldo

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A Revealing Ranking of the Biggest Movie Stars: Tom Holland's Surprise Rise, Zendaya’s Stronghold, and Glen Powell’s Struggle May 07, 2025

Show notes

Matt is joined by Ray Subers, senior vice president of theatrical strategy at the National Research Group, to discuss the newest iteration of their eye-opening study highlighting which stars make people most interested in going to a movie theater. They discuss why Tom Holland is so high in the ranking, why Glen Powell is so low, why Gen Z still loves the Rock and Adam Sandler, and why Zendaya is nearing the top 10. They also talk about the importance of awards campaigning, how nostalgia impacts longevity, and the power of recency bias (2:32). Matt finishes the show with an opening weekend box office prediction for ‘Final Destination: Bloodlines’ (27:15).

For a 20 percent discount on Matt’s Hollywood insider newsletter, ‘What I’m Hearing…’ click here.

Host: Matt Belloni

Guest: Ray Subers

Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jessie Lopez

Theme Song: Devon Renaldo

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Trump's Movie Tariff Bombshell and Hollywood’s Freak-Out May 05, 2025

Show notes

Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss Donald Trump’s social media post announcing a plan to institute tariffs on movies coming to America that are produced in foreign countries. They investigate whether imposing a tariff on a movie is even possible, how disastrous this could be for the movie industry, and whether this could ultimately lead to a more reasonable outcome that could actually help Hollywood.

For a 20 percent discount on Matt’s Hollywood insider newsletter, ‘What I’m Hearing…’ click here.

Host: Matt Belloni

Guest: Lucas Shaw

Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jessie Lopez

Theme Song: Devon Renaldo

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Future of HBO (and Max?). Part 2 With CEO Casey Bloys. Apr 30, 2025

Show notes

Matt is back for Part 2 of his conversation with Casey Bloys to discuss what HBO and Max are looking for going forward, how he deals with competition, why he has stayed at HBO for over 20 years, the TV show he is most jealous of, what he would do as king of Hollywood for a day, and more (01:08).

For a 20 percent discount on Matt’s Hollywood insider newsletter, ‘What I’m Hearing ...,’ ⁠⁠click here⁠⁠.
Email us your thoughts! ⁠⁠thetown@spotify.com⁠⁠

Host: Matt Belloni
Guest: Casey Bloys

Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jessie Lopez
Theme Song: Devon Renaldo

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

The Town with Matthew Belloni

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected