Advertise on podcast: C21Podcast

BBC Studios' Zai Bennett and Shelley Macintyre on why landmark natural history series Blue Planet III is sticking to its blue chip roots [01:24]; Crystal Lake showrunner Brad Caleb Kane on why horror is murdering it as a genre [10:28]; and Rainbow Group's Iginio Straffi on taking toons direct-to-consumer as public service broadcasters become increasingly squeezed [28:40].

GammaTime's Alex Montalvo [01:36], COL Group's Timothy Oh [15:45], Every Media's Tim Vloothuis and Dutch Core's Lorraine Joore [32:10] on the latest trends shaping the microdrama market as dealmaking and consumer demand intensifies, monetisation models and audience tastes evolve, and AI plays a greater role.

In a bumper episode from Cannes, C21's Nico Franks and Neil Batey give their take on this year's Mipcom, from a bullish Banijay to uncertainty over Skydance, and malfunctioning AI robots [02:02]; the BBC's Kate Phillips blasts algorithmic commissioning [17:21]; Uncensored's Rashida Jones [22:25] and After Party's Ben Doyle [43:27] on going digital-first; ITV Studios' Ruth Berry [57:18]; ProSiebenSat.1's Henrik Pabst and MFE's Giacomo Poletti [67:35] on the changing TV distribution landscape.

C21's Clive Whittingham, Nico Franks, Karolina Kaminska and Michael Pickard look ahead to Mipcom, with the all new Skydance and All3Media-bolstered Banijay reshaping the international TV landscape again [01:01]; and BBC Studios' Sharifa Mansour and Kate Woods on their expectations of the event and approach to getting programmes made in today's challenging marketplace [29:48].

ITV Studios exec VP of global content Julie Meldal-Johnsen discusses new shows First Woman, Number 10, The Party, Winter and more, being presented to buyers at Mipcom in Cannes next week. This episode is brought to you by ITV Studios.

Sphere Abacus's Jonathan Ford on the firm's acquisition of Rocket Rights and the latter's Cat Davie on digital distribution dynamics [01:27]; BBC Studios' Cecilia Persson on kids' YouTube channels and slower-paced shows [17:31]; director David Pujol and New Regency's Marco Arabit on new drama Genesis, about chef Ferran Adrià's transformation of gastronomy through El Bulli [35:10].

As David Ellison's Paramount Skydance clears the final hurdles in its US$110bn acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery, C21's Jordan Pinto assesses the impact [01:30]; Royal Television Society CEO Sophie Jones on next week's London convention and tumultuous times for the industry [21:30]; former Wheelhouse exec Ed Simpson on his new creator-focused venture Wonderloom Media [36:28].

AI 'actress' Tilly Norwood talks about warnings that the tech might wipe out humanity, how it's set to transform film and television, her creator's comparisons with sexually transmitted diseases, upcoming movie and more [01:17]; plus The Gurin Company's Phil Gurin on the other threats and opportunities facing TV formats [20:38].

Former TF1 boss Gilles Pélisson [01:30], these days president of Unifrance, and Federation Studios' Guillaume Pommier [24:30] weigh French broadcaster-US streamer relations and tumbling TV exports revealed at Rendez-Vous in Le Havre; Babylon Berlin creators Tom Tykwer and Achim von Borries [36:20] reflect on the show's fifth and final season.

C21 news editor Clive Whittingham looks back on last week's Edinburgh TV Festival where YouTube and the future of the BBC dominated discussions [01:24], while comedian Jacquis Neal – host of US streamer Dropout's format Crowd Control – was among those taking part in the Fringe and riffs on how internet comedy is evolving [27:21].

RTL Netherlands creative lead Ralph de Beurs reflects on the present and future state of unscripted TV, as part of our C21Formats100 series [01:50]; Finite Films AND TV's Amy Gardner and Paddy Hughes on working with Channel 4 and North Sails and the branded entertainment renaissance [21:32]; and Pure Flix co-founder Michael Scott on his new faith-based media venture EKKL [42:39].

Former Amazon MGM Studios unscripted chief Barry Poznick reflects on how the TV formats landscape is changing as YouTube continues to grow and on his new venture Idea Maze Entertainment [01:49]; and The Sidemen's Shannon Royal discusses the YouTube collective's recent World Cup collaboration with the BBC and with Amazon Prime Video on culinary competition show SideMenu [28:44].

Pantheon Media Group and Velvet Hammer Media's Jennifer O'Connell on the present and future state of the TV formats market, featuring as part of our C21Formats100 profiles [01:26]; and National Geographic's Tom McDonald on new docudrama Pompeii: Out of Time with Tom Hiddleston, and his current commissioning priorities [24:33].

Signal.Stream's Wouter van der Pauw on how the Dutch digital-first formats house behind Let's Play Ball is developing IP on YouTube before bringing it to TV and opening its processes to third parties [01:33]; and 12 Years a Slave's John Ridley [23:13] and Lost's Carlton Cuse [37:30] on the present state of the scripted market in a post-strikes streaming era, with microdrama and sports sucking up attention.

Fox Entertainment Studios' Allison Wallach on working with BiggerStage in Ireland and why the Masked Singer maker is doubling down on its use of overseas production hubs [01:28]; and Red Pony Pictures' Beliban zu Stolberg [14:39] and AI filmmaker Esther Gronenborn [35:35] on why they believe the European microdrama scene will diverge from the burgeoning Chinese market.