First published 2023
In 2016, ninety-three-year-old Sumner Redstone faces a public lawsuit from former companion Manuela Herzer that exposes his failing health and judgment. The lawsuit threatens his control over Paramount Global, the entertainment giant behind CBS, MTV, Nickelodeon, and Showtime. His daughter Shari steps in to take charge but encounters fierce resistance from company boards who remember years of Sumner's public criticism of her abilities. CBS CEO Les Moonves leads the opposition, scheming with board allies to remove Shari from power. As their corporate battle intensifies, reports surface about Moonves's sexual misconduct with multiple women. He works frantically behind closed doors to suppress these damaging stories. The Redstone family's dysfunction plays out against the backdrop of a changing media landscape where traditional cable and theater revenues collapse under pressure from new technology. Stewart and Abrams reveal how personal vendettas, corporate greed, and workplace scandals nearly destroyed one of America's largest entertainment companies.
Genres: drama, business, non-fiction, 21st-century
Vibes: emotional, fast-paced, thought-provoking
Tropes: corporate-intrigue, power-struggle
Setting: CBS, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount Global, Showtime
Period: 2016
416 pages · Hardcover · Penguin Press
Content warnings: sexual-assault, sexual-content