Ted Sarandos Lightning Round

Ted Sarandos may be the co-C.E.O. of Netflix, but that doesn’t mean he skimps on reading—especially not when Robert Caro or Walter Isaacson’s names are on the cover. On this week’s bonus episode of Table for Two, the streaming tycoon joins host Bruce Bozzi and discusses the movie that most influenced him, his pet peeve, and the best advice he’s ever received.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
Hey, everybody, it's Bruce.

Speaker 2 (00:08):
Thanks for pulling up a chair for another bonus episode
of Table for Two.

Speaker 3 (00:13):
I recently sat down for a wonderful lunch with Ted Surrandos.
Ted is the co CEO of Netflix and the husband
of another Table for Two guests, Nicole Avonte. I'm excited
for you to hear our full episode next week, but
for today, I hope you enjoy this fun lightning round.

Speaker 4 (00:35):
Now we're gonna do a little speed round. Okay, okay,
this is what we do, a little quick round. I
don't want to overthink about it, but start with your
favorite author of your favorite book.

Speaker 5 (00:46):
So when I get to read, and I think it's
a real luxury to get to read something that isn't
a script. I really love. The two things out love
more than anything are history and comedy. Mostly everbiography is
all the LBJ biographies. I've read all of them, Doris
Karns or Robert Kara's incredible books and there those are
some of my favorite because a their history there and

(01:06):
they're also LBJ is a great leadership story. So I
always read through his kind of role modelings around things.
Oh yeah, those Robert Kara books are it's a summer
to do a whole all of the time.

Speaker 4 (01:16):
Does it do you just fall into it or does
it take you? Like by chapter twenty you went to
it like the first two hundred pages, Like, that's my problem.

Speaker 5 (01:23):
If it's somebody I really admire all in, if it's
somebody I'm really like, really I'm in and getting tough
through the slow parts, you know, all lot of things. Yeah.
Walter Isaacson, who writes great biographers as well, a bunch
of great ones. But for me, the Ben Franklin one
is the most mpelling and interesting read. I'm sitting on
my nightstand right now is the autobiography of Sergeant Schreiver.

(01:45):
It's called Sarge, a guy who accomplished more in a
couple of years than most presidents ever did. And he
was not a president. He created the Peace Corps and
he is like all this is like in six months
that are still happening today in this country. And he's
just a huge inspiration and he was a The book
is daunting, it's very long, but it's really fascinating and

(02:05):
I just I read it in bites.

Speaker 4 (02:07):
And bites, I mean, just to sort of say the
different kind of man sitting at the Stable.

Speaker 2 (02:11):
Mine is Shelley Winters and.

Speaker 5 (02:12):
Chaer and where comedy were comedy and biography meets. For me,
it was Woody Allen's biography Apropos of Nothing, maybe one
of the best biographies ever, autobiography ever written. And Steve Martin,
Steve was standing born, standing up, really great.

Speaker 2 (02:31):
So now okay, right, I mean also like it's a
speed round. Yeah, it always happened, violated speed.

Speaker 4 (02:38):
And on the show I did with Jeff Go and
it was like, I like to read a book, ye yeah, yea,
yeah yeah.

Speaker 2 (02:48):
Favorite color blue beach or snow vacation beach.

Speaker 5 (02:54):
Favorite song U ever, my go to karaoke song is
That's Life by Frank Sinacho's must be.

Speaker 2 (03:00):
There, You Go, Best Wisdom important to you.

Speaker 5 (03:04):
Early on in Netflix, I had made a goofy decision
and read told me when I kind of tried to
shuck the blame to somebody else, and he said to me,
you're not allowed to let me drive us off a cliff.
So it was that you own your responsible for the
things that you're responsible for, and just you and Netta's
stuck with me.

Speaker 2 (03:25):
That's good. The other can I do?

Speaker 5 (03:29):
To Ron Eisenberg, who was the CEO of et D,
who was a CPA and a lawyer, so you could
never win an argument with this guy. But he was
a supervisionary too, and he told me one day we
were walking in and he said, I was dressed casually
going into work, and it was a pretty casual industry,
and he goes, you should dress like you just might

(03:50):
have to talk to a lawyer every day. You should
dress like you just might have talked to a lawyer.

Speaker 2 (03:55):
I thought that was good advice. Movie most influenced you?

Speaker 5 (04:01):
Probably, Actually the most influenced would be probably After Hours,
Smart and Scorsese's movie. I say that's most influential because,
as I recall, it's the first time I remember watching
a movie realizing it wasn't just big TV there really
recognizing the art form of movies. It was probably After Hours.

Speaker 2 (04:20):
We just watched it. It's a crazy movie. It's really good.
Pet Peeve.

Speaker 5 (04:23):
Oh, I was gonna say being late, but it's my
own pet peeve. Like I I, I'm often late, and
it's my.

Speaker 2 (04:33):
Own sunrise or sunset?

Speaker 5 (04:36):
Sunset?

Speaker 2 (04:38):
What keeps you up at night?

Speaker 5 (04:39):
I sleep pretty good now, honestly excitement?

Speaker 2 (04:43):
Okay, okay, yeah, that's great excitement for tomorrow. What brings
you joy my kids?

Speaker 5 (04:49):
Nicole cooking?

Speaker 2 (04:52):
What movie did you and Nicole bond over? What was
your first movie that you bonded over?

Speaker 5 (04:57):
M Yeah, this is a weird answer, but it's It
was a documentary series called I on the Prize that
we talked about on our first date, which led us
down to some very crazy conversations for a first date
to talk about civil rights and history. But it's we
had both seen it and fallen in love with it
when it was on PBS, and we talked about it forever.

(05:21):
There are other movies that we love together.

Speaker 2 (05:23):
That's the one that was the one.

Speaker 5 (05:24):
Nicole loves the movie Marty, and I think she thinks
I think it's I'm pretty sure it's her favorite movie
of all time. I'm sure it is, actually, and we
it was very hard to find for a long time,
so that the other thing we spent a lot of
time in early on about a round the movie was
trying to find Marty.

Speaker 2 (05:39):
Yeah, like no one younger than us would know that.

Speaker 4 (05:45):
Thirty year we should do I'm going to do a
podcast that's like in the vein of the newly Wood game.

Speaker 2 (05:51):
The two of you here I say, have to whip
open the cards.

Speaker 5 (05:55):
That'll be cursing and get that episode that'll be cursing.

Speaker 1 (05:58):
Thanks everyone for pulling up a chair, Thank you for
pulling up a share.

Speaker 6 (06:09):
I love our launches and never forget the romance of
a meal.

Speaker 1 (06:14):
If you enjoy the show, please tell a friend and
rate and review us on Apple Podcasts.

Speaker 6 (06:20):
Table for two with Bruce Bosi is produced by iHeartRadio
seven three seven Park and Airmail. Our executive producers are
Bruce Bosi and Nathan King. Our supervising producer is Dylan Fagan.
Our editors are Vincent to Johnny and Cas B Bias.
Table for two is researched and written by Jack Sullivan.

(06:40):
Our sound engineers are Mio b Klein, Jess Krainich, Evan Taylor,
and Jesse Funk. Our music supervisor is Randall Poster. Our
talent booking is done by Jane Sarkin. Table for two's
social media manager is Gracie Wiener. Special thanks to Amy Sugarman,
Uni Scherer, Kevin Yvane, Bobby Bauer, Alison Kanter. Grab for

(07:01):
more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast,
or wherever you listen to your favorite shows,