Diller & The Beast, A ‘Wicked’ Faux Pas, WaPo Hunger Games

Welcome back to The Daily Courant, your afternoon compendium of Puck’s latest reporting.

Today, we lead with Lauren Sherman’s timely holiday dispatch on the beguiling state of the American mall, which is in various stages of decline and transformation, just as the Fisher family—the longtime controlling shareholders of Gap Inc.—sell off millions of shares. Remarkably, brands like J.Crew and Abercrombie are doing better than Wall Street predicted. But there’s a real and growing question about their ceiling.

Plus, below the fold: John Ourand explains why Brian Roberts gave Zaz a surprisingly generous carriage deal for his cable networks. Scott Mendelson ponders the missed box office opportunities following the success of Wicked and Moana 2. Peter Hamby shares his conversation with provocative Silicon Valley congressman Ro Khanna about how the Democratic Party lost its way. And in a conversation presented by Meta, Baratunde Thurston connects with Eriq Gardner about the myriad ways A.I. is infiltrating the entertainment industry.

Meanwhile, in Puck’s podcast universe: Dylan Byers rings up legendary media mogul and IAC chairman Barry Diller to debate the fate of SpinCo and the future of The Daily Beast. On Impolitic, John Heilemann chats with veteran Republican speechwriter Pete Wehner about the once-and-future president’s transformation of the G.O.P. On Fashion People, Lauren is joined by Becky Malinsky to discuss Louise Trotter’s possible move to Bottega Veneta. And on The Powers That Be, Dylan and Peter kibitz about the latest developments in the Washington Post executive editor sweepstakes and the myriad controversies trailing tech and culture writer Taylor Lorenz.

LAUREN SHERMAN

News, notes, fresh reporting, and some discount shopping at a series of recently refreshed historic mall brands.

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Dive into a behind-the-scenes look with showrunners/executive producers J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay as they reveal the deeper narrative threads and character journeys that define the epic second season. WATCH HERE

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JOHN OURAND

News and notes on the latest deal intrigue consuming the sports media industrial complex: Brian Roberts’ surprisingly generous deal for Zaslav’s cable networks and the simmering R.S.N. warfare in the Second City.

SCOTT MENDELSON

The long green tail of ‘Wicked’/‘Moana 2’ helped break more box office records this weekend, proving that the public was still primed and ready to fill seats the week after Thanksgiving. Too bad the studios lack the courage to give them something big to see.

PETER HAMBY

Ro Khanna represents some of the wealthiest zip codes in America, but what the Bernie-friendly, Bannon-approved Democrat really wants to talk about is the shafting of American factory workers and what the next president—maybe Khanna, himself?—should do about it.