The Rest Is Entertainment

Episode: How To Fix The Oscars
Date: March 16, 2026
Hosts: Richard Osman & Marina Hyde
Theme: Deep dive into the 2026 Oscars—what’s wrong, what’s right, and how the showbiz event can be saved for a new era. Followed by a critical exploration of Ryan Murphy’s hit "Love Story" and its real-world controversy.

Episode Overview

Richard Osman and Marina Hyde dissect the state of the Oscars in light of the latest ceremony, providing candid, insider perspectives on its relevance, cultural cachet, and the challenge of keeping it “must-watch” in a changing entertainment landscape. They laud moments of genuine excitement amidst an otherwise calcified telecast, critique the industry’s reluctance to thank fans, and debate what a YouTube move might mean for the show’s future.
In the second half, they unpack the Daryl Hannah vs. Ryan Murphy "Love Story" TV clash, examining the ethical, legal, and creative limits of turning living people’s lives into binge-worthy drama, and how this genre is shaping contemporary culture.

The Oscars 2026: Winners, Losers, and Industry Buzz

State of the Oscars (01:27–03:01)

• Richard and Marina react to the "post Oscars buzz," with Marina noting,
  "I'm just managing to touch earth again." (01:36)
• They praise Conan O’Brien as host, but note his focus on AI/streaming signals broader relevance anxiety:
  Marina: "There is a sense that the bit they can't say out loud is how relevant are we, really? Even though surely we're the most relevant people in the world." (02:41)

Core Themes:

Hollywood's Decline and TV’s Primacy

• Richard:
  "It's certainly the biggest awards ceremony in the world, but not for the biggest creative industry in the world. Because television and music and, you know, arguably even video games sort of have slightly more sway over the world." (03:01)

Winners, Races, and the Studio Shake-Up

Big Winners & Corporate Upheaval (03:35–04:20)

• "One Battle After Another" and "Sinners" (both Warner Bros.) win big. However, Warners has been freshly acquired by the Ellisons—future output uncertain ("Maybe humans will make some of those movies...we're already in a new and much more difficult era." (03:52–04:12))

Predictability & the Oscar “Season” (04:21–05:07)

• Campaigning feels endless; races rarely shift last-minute.
• Timothée Chalamet, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Michael B. Jordan were main Best Actor contenders. Michael B. Jordan’s win for "Sinners" was a pleasant late twist.

LOCKED RACES

Richard: "It's like Eurovision these days. So many people know exactly what's going to happen before it happens." (05:03)

Villain Narratives: Chalamet and Buckley (05:13–07:20)

Chalamet's 'Villain' Arc (05:13–06:44)

• Timothée Chalamet's offhand "ballet and opera" comments (on a livestream with Matthew McConaughey)—blown out of proportion but used by ballet/opera companies for publicity.
  • Richard:
    "It's sort of in a weird kind of way been the best publicity ballet and opera have had for many, many years." (06:39)
• Chalamet was mostly painted as a "villain," but this had no real voting impact.

Jessie Buckley’s Cat Scandal

• Marina: Buckley "survived" potentially becoming "villainous cat lady" and won Best Actress.

About This Year's Movies & Performances

Praise for Michael B. Jordan, Crowd-Pleasing Films (07:20–09:39)

• Richard:
  "Michael B. Jordan ... he's playing twins, which I didn't realize at first...I love that film so much and he's so great and he's such a class actor." (07:57)
• Marina laments the lack of fan acknowledgment in Oscar speeches versus music awards:
  "You just don't see these people acknowledge [the fans] ... Michael B. Jordan, such a class act. He said, 'I wanna thank people who went out and saw this movie once, twice, three times.'" (08:38)
• Richard:
  "Film still has, especially at the very core of it and especially the Academy Awards ... we are an art form ... But when you're on that size of stage... you are entertainment." (09:39)

Horor’s Big Night & the Oscars' Changing Character

Genre Films Finally Gain Prestige (11:32–12:20)

• Horror is no longer Oscar poison: "Sinners" is effectively a horror, and Amy Madigan wins for "Weapons," another genre title.
  • Marina:
    "It was great to see them do well. Particularly when horror as a genre props up a huge amount of Hollywood and actually makes money." (12:13)

What Box Office Tells Us Now (12:34–14:39)

• Only 4 of 10 Best Picture nominees "earned out" in their theatrical window—most are low-budget or foreign.
• Richard:
  "There is an absence ... of your Forrest Gumps and Lord of the Rings and Titanics and these huge movies that used to win at the Oscars." (14:39)

The Oscars' Future: YouTube, Format Shifts, and Stakeholder Gridlock

Going Digital (15:41–16:19)

• Oscars moving to YouTube.
  • Marina:
    "The Academy has one event, okay. And it can sell it to anyone it likes ... A billion people are not watching. It keeps getting about 19 million viewers in the U.S." (16:00)

Fragmenting Attention, Format Fatigue (16:30–22:01)

• The telecast lasts too long due to too many stakeholders (studios, stars, the Academy).
• Richard:
  "It has become so calcified over years and years ... the thing that happens in television all the time is ... every time you add 30 seconds to each of them, suddenly ... you've added another 20 minutes to your whole thing." (18:40)
• Hope for YouTube:
  "If you want to do three and a half hours, you've got to give people three and a half hours worth of content. And if you looked at that ... maybe you've got an hour and 50 of content in three and a half hours. And it's just ... that's not going to wash for people." (20:23)

The Value of Fan Engagement & Reinvigorating the Ceremony

• Calls for more direct fan engagement, actual movie ads (not streaming), and embracing a more open, interactive, and fast-paced format.
  • Marina:
    "Let it not just be Michael B. Jordan's job to thank the people who actually go and leave their house and pay to see things..." (23:12)
  • Richard:
    "Turn it into a celebration of movies ... you can't have the Orchestral Sting lighting change. I mean, just...it's desiccated, isn't it?" (23:34)

Could Conan O'Brien—and YouTube—Shake Up the Oscars? (25:42–26:29)

• Hosts praise Conan O’Brien:
  Richard: "They've got a great host, by the way. Now Conan, you could take straight to YouTube and would be absolutely acceptable." (25:42)

Memorable Moments & Oscar Trivia

The "Surname as a Country" Bit (10:41–11:32)

• Richard’s "Oscar actor surname trivia":
  "It's the first one [Michael B. Jordan] with a country as a surname. ... There was however, someone with a country for a first name who’s won an acting Oscar ... Cuba Gooding Jr." (11:28)

Most Oscar Winners—Casualty vs. The Bill (26:29–28:13)

• Richard tallies more Oscar nominees/alumni from "Casualty" than "The Bill," with fun asides about ensemble TV casts and their ever-growing tally of Hollywood success.

What Would Richard and Marina Have Picked for Best Picture? (29:25–31:16)

• Marina:
  • "It's never going to win. I absolutely loved the Secret Agent."
  • "...My actual answer is Marty Supreme. I don't know how I forgot." (30:17)
• Richard:
  • "Either Marty Supreme or Sinners. ... What I will say is if you have not seen a lot of these 10 movies, you genuinely have a treat in store and that's not the same every year..." (31:16)

[SEGMENT BREAK]

(32:06) -- Advertisements/Intermission skipped

"Love Story," Daryl Hannah, and the Ethics of Real-Life Drama

The New Hit: "Love Story" and Its Fallout (34:22–36:53)

Daryl Hannah’s Outcry

• Daryl Hannah claims Murphy's show misrepresents her as a “cocaine-fueled villain,” leading to real-world harassment.

  • She writes a NYT op-ed titled “How Can Love Story Get Away With This?” and denies every depicted behavior ascribed to her (39:19).

    "The character Daryl Hannah portrayed in this series is not even a remotely accurate representation of my life, my conduct, or my relationship with John. ... The actions and behaviors attributed to me are untrue." – Daryl Hannah (38:48–38:55)

• Marina:
  "When so many people watch a real dramatization, real life consequences follow. And she's had threatening messages from people who believe the portrayal is factual." (39:19)

Murphy’s Biopic Machine & Cultural Consequences (36:53–44:09)

The Real Life Adaptation Genre

• Murphy’s rise: capturing “where the puck's going” before the mainstream catches up, but with increasing disregard for historical or personal accuracy.

• The genre is now so lucrative and influential, "Based on a true story" = a major viewership bump.

• Legal context: U.K. and U.S. lawsuits are rare, but settlements do happen, especially if a real person is named and linked to illegal acts.

  "You can see how it happens. But I don't think to me it is acceptable completely." – Richard (45:48)

Notable Lawsuit Precedents (49:03–51:02)

• Olivia de Havilland ("Feud"): Sued Murphy, lost—U.S. law makes winning such cases hard unless malice is proven.
• Perry Reid (TLC biopic): Won a large (settled) sum for negative, untruthful depiction.
• Rachel DeLoache Williams (“Inventing Anna”): Sued and settled for substantial damages.
• On "Baby Reindeer" stalker case: The real woman is suing Netflix (for over $100 million) because the show's "true story" framing and details make her easily identifiable.

Why Does This Trend Persist? (46:05–56:02)

• TV’s demand for multi-episode arcs inflates minor real-life roles into major antagonists, with ethical implications ("you end up bigging up these people who are really just completely ancillary", 46:29)

• Most biopics used to compress and anonymize, but with streaming wars, everyone wants the most gripping and clickable content—even if that means bending—or inventing—the truth.

• Real consequences: Victims may receive threats or suffer reputational damage and have little legal recourse, unless provable false/illegal acts are depicted.

  • Marina:
    "I would have thought that [Hannah's op-ed] was written with a lawyer. ... It's so well done..." (52:15)

• Richard:
  "If he [Ryan Murphy] tells your story, then a lot of people will watch ... you know you're going to have no control over it at all." (54:44–54:59)

Recommendations & Closing Thoughts

What to Watch/Read (56:11–58:22)

• Richard recommends: Channel 4’s "Tony Blair" documentary—"beautifully made," neutral, and loaded with top-tier access.
• Marina recommends: "The Last Kings Of Hollywood" by Paul Fisher—about Spielberg, Coppola, Lucas, and their disruptive journey from anti-establishment auteurs to blockbuster kings.

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On the Oscars’ existential anxiety:
  Marina: "They now know they can't say the bit about irrelevance out loud, but my God, it hung over it." (25:30)
• On the endlessness of the ceremony:
  Richard: "When you've done something for so long and there's so much money and so much art and prestige and ego involved. Nobody wants to give away their 30 seconds." (20:17)
• On real-life drama ethics:
  Marina: "Just by saying this is a true story or this is based on a true story gives you a massive viewership bump. Just by claiming that." (56:02)
• On the risks of being depicted by Murphy:
  Richard: "If he tells your story, then a lot of people will watch. ... you know you're going to have no control over it at all." (54:44)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 01:27 – Oscars post-show state of play
• 03:01 – The legacy and limits of Oscar relevance
• 04:41 – Timothée Chalamet’s “ballet/opera” controversy
• 07:20 – Surprise wins and locked-in races
• 09:39 – Oscars: Art, entertainment, and the fan disconnect
• 12:20 – Genre (horror) finally breaks through
• 16:00 – Myths about Oscar ratings, moving to YouTube
• 18:40 – Why the Oscars' runtime is out of control
• 21:32 – Stakeholder gridlock makes change hard
• 23:12 – Failure to thank fans—a chronic Oscar flaw
• 29:25 – If hosts picked Best Picture
• 34:22 – The “Love Story” Daryl Hannah controversy
• 38:48 – Daryl Hannah’s searing rebuttal (quote)
• 45:50 – The ethics and impact of real-life drama
• 49:03 – Legal battles over TV depictions
• 56:11 – Recommendations

Final Thoughts

This episode offers a deep, witty, insider analysis of both the Oscars as a cultural touchstone in flux and the wider phenomenon of dramatizing real lives. The hosts’ playful banter, sharp references, and in-depth knowledge make even the industry’s most byzantine corners accessible and engaging.
Whether you’re Oscars-obsessed or just want to understand the ethics and trends shaping TV and film, this is a can’t-miss listen.