EPISODES
Toldja! chronicles the story of the rise and fall of Nikki Finke, the most feared journalist in Hollywood history.
On a winter day in 2006, as a one-woman operation, Nikki launched Deadline.com. At the infancy of the internet, it took the entertainment industry by storm. While competitors printed daily newspapers, Nikki, with her brash tone and tabloid reporter instincts, broke stories in real time. And for stalwart news establishments Variety and The Hollywood Reporter, business was never again the same.
Equally cunning and charming, Nikki cultivated sources at the highest level and—from bargaining to bullying—she'd do anything to get the real story. From powerful studio heads to A-list actors, no one was safe from her caustic keyboard. Boldly ushering in the era of opinion journalism, Nikki took aim at power. More than a decade before the phenomenon of “cancel culture,” the results could be catastrophic. Nikki brandished her own homemade weapon: she turned Hollywood’s notorious playbook of fear and intimidation on the institution itself.
In a town known famously known for being clubby and close, Nikki cultivated a mysterious persona of an outsider. Yet—conducting clandestine conversations around the clock—she was as inside as a reporter could be. All without ever leaving her apartment. After launching Deadline, Nikki made a point of not being seen in public. Who was this woman and what did she look like? The story of what happened next—a media frenzy, a cash reward for a photo and a chilling threat—runs through the center of this riveting real-life drama.
A fearless fire-starter, and founder of a media property that is still successful to this day, Nikki Finke was committed to telling the cold, hard truth about Hollywood no matter the consequences—to her, or the Hollywood players she eviscerated. And there’s been no one like her since.