CW for sale / Omicron shutdown / Winter Olympics on Peacock / "Ozark" final season

Plus today's calendar, "Fraggle Rock" trailer, Imperioli joins "White Lotus," and more

Inside.com Part of   Network January 06, 2022

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CW's "Walker" According to The Hollywood Reporter, ViacomCBS and WarnerMedia may put the CW Network up for sale. The Wall Street Journal initially reported the news, and cited Nexstar -- which owns 199 local TV stations and a few cable networks -- as a potential buyer. More: The CW Network was formed in 2006 by the merger of UPN and The WB Network, as a joint venture between CBS and WarnerMedia; it has never been a profitable venture. A significant portion of CW's revenue is generated by international and streaming sales for its original shows, including "The Flash" and "Dynasty." Prior to 2019, CW had an overall deal to distribute content through Netflix, which boosted the audiences for series including "Riverdale" and "All American." CW content now streams on either HBO Max or Paramount+. HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

"NCIS" and "NCIS: LA" Both "NCIS" and "NCIS: Los Angeles" have halted production due to the rapid spread of the Omicron variant of COVID. "NCIS" paused production following a positive COVID test from a person in "Zone A," which includes cast members and those who interact with them directly on set. More: Deadline reported that production tentatively plans to start up again next week, if possible, though it's possible it could remain on hold for several weeks. One of CBS' "FBI" dramas has also stopped down for a few days this week due to Omicron. Disney has pushed its return to production following the holiday break to January 10; Amazon has delayed some shows to the 10th or even January 17. DEADLINE

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DAILY CALENDAR THURSDAY, JANUARY 6 INDIVISIBLE: HEALING HATE: Six-part documentary series about the rise of far-right extremism in the US, and how it contributed to the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol. Mandy Patinkin narrates. [Paramount+] 2022 TOYOTA US FIGURE SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS: NBC Sports' four-day coverage of this year's US Figure Skating Championships kicks off today from Nashville, Tennessee. Peacock will stream the Senior Pairs Short Program and the Senior Women's Short Program for Premium subscribers starting at 5 pm ET; more events follow throughout the weekend. [Peacock] JOE MONTANA: COOL UNDER PRESSURE: Six-part docuseries from NFL Films profiling legendary quarterback Joe Montana, who spent most of his career with the San Francisco 49ers, and still holds the league record for most passes without an interception. The series features commentary from Tom Brady, Jerry Rice, Steve Young, Ed DeBartolo Jr., Magic Johnson, Peyton Manning, and others. [Peacock] ALEX MURDAUGH: DEATH. DECEPTION. POWER.: Hour-long true-crime TV special that originally aired on the Oxygen Network, examining the never-solved deaths of 52-year-old Maggie Murdaugh and her 22-year-old son, Paul, who were shot multiple times in their rural South Carolina home in June 2021. Attorney Alex Murdaugh, Maggie's husband and Paul's father, has faced intense scrutiny following the killings. [Peacock] BLACK-ISH: The sitcom from creator Kenya Barris -- following the daily lives of the Johnson family -- returned to ABC for its eighth and final season on Tuesday night; new episodes will come to Hulu on Thursdays. Anthony Anderson, Tracee Ellis Ross, Marcus Scribner, Miles Brown, Marsai Martin, Jenifer Lewis, Jeff Meacham, Peter Mackenzie, Deon Cole, and Katlyn Nichol co-star. [Hulu] I CAN SEE YOUR VOICE: New episodes of the Fox primetime game show -- based on a South Korean format -- air on Wednesdays and come to Hulu on Thursdays. Contestants are presented with a group of six "secret singers," and attempt to remove those with the weakest voices from the group prior to hearing them perform. Ken Jeong hosts. [Hulu] THE CLUB (KULÜP): Period drama series from Turkey, starring Gökçe Bahadir as an ex-convict looking out for her teenage daughter (Asude Kalebek) while working at a prominent Istanbul nightclub in the 1950s. The second half of the show's first season comes to Netflix today. [Netflix] THE WASTELAND (EL PÁRAMO): Horror drama feature from Spain starring Inma Cuesta and Roberto Álamo as a mother and child living in an isolated shack, far removed from the rest of society. One day, they spot a dark presence on the horizon that begins moving closer and closer to their home. [Netflix]

All of NBCUniversal's Winter Olympics coverage from Beijing will be available to stream for Peacock Premium subscribers. The platform will feature livestreams of all 15 sports, along with full replays, the opening and closing ceremonies, and NBC's daily primetime wrap-up show. More: Coverage begins on February 2; the Opening Ceremony will be held on February 4. The Winter Olympics conclude on February 20. "Peacock Premium" streams with ads and is available for $4.99/month; an ad-free option, "Premium Plus," costs $9.99/month. ENGADGET

NEW TRAILERS OZARK: The fourth and final season of the crime thriller series will be divided into two 7-episode halves, the first of which arrives on January 21. Jason Bateman and Laura Linney star as money launderers Marty and Wendy Byrde, who will stop at nothing to keep their family safe from their Mexican drug cartel employers. Julia Garner, Lisa Emery, Charlie Tahan, and Felix Solis co-star. [Netflix] FRAGGLE ROCK: BACK TO THE ROCK: Apple's reboot of the classic Jim Henson musical fantasy/comedy series -- which originally aired on CBC and HBO in the 1980s -- debuts on January 21. It's set in a hidden underground world populated by playful singing creatures known as Fraggles, along with the tiny hard-working Doozers, monstrous Gorgs, and others. Apple also produced a series of original shorts called "Fraggle Rock: Rock On!" and has acquired the streaming rights to the original series. [Apple TV+]

"Sopranos" vet Michael Imperioli will co-star in the second season of HBO's "The White Lotus." Imperioli will play Dominic Di Grasso, who travels to the White Lotus resort along with his elderly father and son. More: Imperioli memorably played Christopher Moltisanti in "The Sopranos"; he won an Emmy for the role in 2004. He's the first new cast member to join the ensemble for Season 2, though it was previously reported that Season 1 star Jennifer Coolidge will return in a new role. Each season of "The White Lotus" will take place at a different resort with an original ensemble of characters. Imperioli will also appear in Hulu's upcoming comedy series "This Fool." VARIETY

Netflix will produce a documentary feature profiling late model and reality TV star Anna Nicole Smith. Smith -- born Vickie Lynn Hogan -- married elderly oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall II and headlined E!'s "The Anna Nicole Show" before dying suddenly in 2007 at age 39. More: The new film will include footage that was shot for a never-released documentary project, centered on Smith's experiences balancing new motherhood with international fame. Netflix's documentary will focus on Smith's cultural impact, and specifically how she paved the way for a new generation of celebrities. Ursula Macfarlane (CNN's "The Lost Sons") will direct. VARIETY

According to Netflix, the climate change satire "Don't Look Up" set a new weekly viewership record on the platform. The streamer reported that 152.29 million hours of the film were watched globally between December 27 and January 2, more than any other film during its debut week. More: "Don't Look Up" is already the third most-watched Netflix film in history, after "Bird Box" and "Red Notice," and seems poised to potentially overtake the top spot. Writer/director Adam McKay tweeted that he was "straight-up flabbergasted" by the film's performance. Maggie Gyllenhaal's directorial debut "The Lost Daughter" was the third most-viewed English language film of the week on the service, racking up 18.26 streamed hours. DEADLINE

The popular pirate streaming app Popcorn Time has been shut down. The open-source project was originally launched in 2014. More: According to Engadget, a significant decline in traffic and interest over the past seven years is likely responsible for the site's demise. The developers behind the current iteration of Popcorn Time informed users about the service's closure via email; they did not say whether or not possible legal action was behind the decision to shut the site down. Popcorn Time attempted to get around copyright law by not hosting any illegal material itself; instead, the service relied on content shared via peer-to-peer networks. ENGADGET

QUICK HITS Tobias Menzies ("The Crown") will take the lead role in Apple's "Manhunt," a limited series about the assassination of former President Lincoln, based on the book by James Swanson; he'll play Lincoln's friend and war secretary Edwin Stanton. Rita Wilson will guest star on an upcoming episode of the Paramount+ "Yellowstone" prequel series "1883"; she'll play a storekeeper at Doan's Crossing who befriends Faith Hill's character, Margaret. A cameo appearance from actor Chris Noth -- who's now facing multiple accusations of sexual assault -- has been cut from the season finale of the "Sex and the City" follow-up series "And Just Like That." AMC Networks acquired the Japanese anime distributor Sentai, including its subscription service, HIDIVE. The Roald Dahl Story Company -- which was acquired by Netflix in 2021 -- reported $36.7 million in revenue for the year 2020, far exceeding expectations. Cinedigm acquired distributor and ad network operator Digital Media Rights, including a roster of 10 streaming services focused on content from Asia. Actor, filmmaker and Hollywood personality Peter Bogdanovich -- whose films include "The Last Picture Show," "What's Up, Doc?," and "Paper Moon" -- passed away on Thursday of natural causes at his Los Angeles home; he was 82. "Legion" and "Fargo" vet Noah Hawley dropped some more hints about his upcoming "Alien" spin-off series in an interview with Esquire.

Lon Harris is the writer and editor of Inside Streaming and was the very first person to ever write an Inside newsletter. He lives in Los Angeles, California, and also writes about TV and film for Fandom, Screen Junkies, Rotten Tomatoes, Gamma Ray and others. Plus he has a Game of Thrones podcast called "Casterly Talk" and competes on The Movie Trivia Schmoedown as "The Professor." Editor Jonathan Harris is a writer for Inside.com. Previously, he wrote for The Huffington Post, TakePart.com, and the YouTube channel What’s Trending.

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