When telecom giant AT&T inherited the most prestigious brand in American TV in 2018, all eyes were on two men: HBO CEO Richard Plepler and his new boss, consummate company man John Stankey. As Felix Gillette and John Koblin report in this exclusive excerpt from their new history of the network, Plepler and Stankey’s brief, tenuous time together straddled a crucial moment in HBO history—and saw both depart within a matter of years.
