{"href":"https://api.simplecast.com/oembed?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdont-encourage-us.simplecast.com%2Fepisodes%2Ffranchises-laying-fallow-OPH30aoE","width":444,"version":"1.0","type":"rich","title":"The Billions Sitting in Abandoned IP: Devil's Advocate & Conspiracy Theory ","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_url":"https://image.simplecastcdn.com/images/ed574ad1-a2e9-4817-b068-309fba6885cb/d5d3ff2c-34b7-4595-b85d-b1ca1ac71214/art.jpg","thumbnail_height":300,"provider_url":"https://simplecast.com","provider_name":"Simplecast","html":"<iframe src=\"https://player.simplecast.com/267b3a80-456b-484f-b8eb-9742929feab4\" height=\"200\" width=\"100%\" title=\"The Billions Sitting in Abandoned IP: Devil&apos;s Advocate &amp; Conspiracy Theory \" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"></iframe>","height":200,"description":"Two 1997 films that should have become franchises and didn't. We develop both into streaming series: Conspiracy Theory becomes a romance-conspiracy procedural where each season wraps two or three real conspiracies into one story arc, and the leads' relationship evolves across seasons. Devil's Advocate becomes a corrupted law firm drama where Keanu Reeves' character remembers the devil's reality reset and plays a double game — but you never know if that's his plan or part of the devil's larger scheme. We break down what made each film work (the Gibson/Roberts dynamic, Pacino's Paradise Lost references), what a modern reboot needs to survive (strong casting, adult tone, no sanitizing), and why these IPs are sitting unused when the core concepts are more relevant than ever. Plus quick takes on Alf, Thundarr the Barbarian, Greatest American Hero, V, Pitch Black, and the Xanth novels."}