Discovery hits 22M subs / Apple-Skydance deal details / "Under the Banner of Heaven" / Stevens joins "Immigrant"

Plus today's calendar, HBO Max's "Theodosia," "Pachinko" first look, "WeCrashed" trailer, Peacock's "Lockerbie," and more

Inside.com Part of   Network February 24, 2022

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Zaslav Discovery had 22 million paid streaming subscribers by the end of 2021 -- largely to the Discovery+ service -- with an increase of about 2 million during the final quarter of the year. Despite global supply chain issues, the company also increased ad revenues during Q4 by about 5%. More: The company's US distribution also rose by 17%, thanks mostly to Discovery+, but also owing in part to shifting contractual affiliate rates. Discovery+ launched in the US in January of 2021 and expanded to international markets throughout the year. The proposed merger between Discovery and WarnerMedia will likely close in the second quarter of 2022. Discovery CEO David Zaslav told investors that a unified Discovery-WarnerMedia would take a "careful and judicious" approach to funding new content; he said the company wants "to compete with the leading streaming services, not to win the spending war." HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

Skydance's "Terminator: Dark Fate" New details have emerged about Apple's mega-deal with David Ellison's Skydance Media for an upcoming slate of live-action films. Skydance's prior deal with Paramount Pictures expired in 2021; the company's films include the "Mission: Impossible" series and the upcoming sequel to "Top Gun." More: Industry observers told Variety that the deal appears to be one of the largest ever made by any production company, with Skydance releasing at least two films per year with budgets around $125 million apiece; the films will not be guaranteed theatrical runs. The agreement resembles a "put deal," a relatively rare type of studio agreement that requires a distributor (such as Apple) to release films selected by a partner (such as Skydance). Other media companies that have made similar studio deals include Blumhouse, Jordan Peele's Monkeypaw, and New Regency. VARIETY

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DAILY CALENDAR THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 24 SNOWFALL: The crime drama series -- set during the early days of the 1980s crack epidemic in Los Angeles -- returned to FX for a fifth season on Wednesday. New episodes will debut on Hulu on Thursdays. Damson Idris stars as Franklin Saint, the head of a growing drug empire whose business is threatened by the encroachment of the LAPD. Carter Hudson, Sergio Peris-Mancheta, Kevin Carroll, and Amin Joseph co-star. [Hulu] THE LAST RITE: 2021 horror film from first-time writer/director Leroy Kincaide, starring Bethan Waller as a medical student suffering from sleep paralysis who experiences recurring visions of a demonic entity. [Hulu] DESTINATION FEAR: TRAIL TO TERROR: Two-hour documentary from "Destination Fear" creator Dakota Laden, documenting some of his very first encounters with the paranormal. In the film, Laden takes a road trip along with his sister Chelsea, and friends Tanner and Coalin, to some of the most infamously haunted locations in the US. [Discovery+] TAKE NOTE: Debut half-hour family comedy, set behind-the-scenes at a fictional music competition series. Braelyn Rankins ("Doom Patrol") stars as 14-year-old Calvin Richards, who's thrust into the national spotlight after being selected to compete on TV's tween sensation, "Take Note." The show will feature a number of original songs from a variety of genres. [Peacock] LOVE, TOM: Documentary profile of prominent country songwriter Tom Douglas, whose compositions include Miranda Lambert's "The House That Built Me," Tim McGraw's "Grown Men Don't Cry," and Lady Antebellum's "I Run to You." The film was partly inspired by his 2014 acceptance speech upon being inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, and finds Douglas visiting a number of notable locations around the country music capital. [Paramount+] HELLBENDER: 2021 horror film from the writing and directing trio of John Adams, Zelda Adams, and Toby Poser. Zelda Adams stars as Izzy, a lonely teen living in the wilderness with her mother, who escapes to a nearby city and investigates her family's secret connection to witchcraft. [Shudder] TOTAL CONTROL: Political drama series from Australia, starring Rachel Griffiths as cunning former Prime Minister Rachel Anderson. In Season 2, which debuts today on Sundance Now, Anderson is an independent MP representing North Sydney, New South Wales. Deborah Mailman, Robin Collins, Anthony Hayes, and William McInnes co-star. [Sundance Now] KARMA'S WORLD MUSIC VIDEOS: Musical series -- spun off from the YouTube channel and Netflix series "Karma's World" -- in which young rapper Karma Grant showcases her own original music videos. The songs are performed by singer-songwriter Asiahn and Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, who also produces the series. [Netflix] BING: Animated series for young kids, based on the "Bing Bunny" books by Ted Dewan, about a young bunny experiencing everyday challenges and conundrums. The series was produced in the UK, and airs on Cartoon Network in the US, with dubbed dialogue for American viewers. Season 1 hits HBO today. [HBO Max] BILARDO: EL DOCTOR DEL FÚTBOL: Spanish-language docuseries profiling iconic coach Carlos Salvador Bilardo, known in his native Argentina as "The Football Doctor." The film makes use of game recordings originally filmed by Bilardo himself. [HBO Max]

"Pachinko" NEW TRAILERS THEODOSIA: Original family adventure series, based on the books by Robin L. LaFevers, and set in the year 1906. The story centers on a clever 14-year-old (Eloise Little), the daughter of a pair of Egyptologists, who squares off against a secret society that's out to destroy the world with ancient Egyptian dark magic. Frankie Minchella, Nana Agyeman-Bediako, and Yasmina El-Abd co-star. The series arrives on March 10. [HBO Max] WECRASHED: Scripted drama series relating the story of the rise and fall of office space startup WeWork from the perspective of founder Adam Neumann (Jared Leto) and his wife Rebekah (Anne Hathaway), the company's chief brand and impact officer. Kyle Marvin, America Ferrera, and O-T Fagbenle co-star. The series arrives on March 18. [Apple TV+] PACHINKO: Debut drama series from creator Soo Hugh ("The Terror," "See"), based on the novel by Min Jin Lee, following the members of a Korean immigrant family over the course of four generations. The cast includes Lee Min-Ho, Jimmi Simpson, Jung Eun-chae, Steve Sang-Hyun Noh, and recent "Minari" Oscar winner Youn Yuh-jung. The series was produced in a combination of the Korean, Japanese, and English languages; it arrives on March 25. [Apple TV+] THE FAIRLY ODDPARENTS: FAIRLY ODDER: Live-action sequel to the classic Nickelodeon animated series, about young Timmy Turner and his fairy godparents, Wanda and Cosmo (Susanne Blakeslee and Daran Norris), who grant him magical wishes. The new show centers on Timmy's cousin, Viv Turner (Audrey Grae Marshall), and her new stepbrother Roy (Tyler Wladis) -- played by real kid actors -- who get help from a still-animated Wanda and Cosmo. The series debuts on March 31. [Paramount+] HARRY WILD: Debut mystery drama series from the UK, starring Jane Seymour as retired university professor Harriet "Harry" Wild, who teams up with her police detective son (Kevin Ryan) and a reformed mugger (Rohan Nedd) to solve a string of crimes based on famous literature. The first two episodes hit Acorn TV on April 4. [Acorn TV] OZARK: The second half of the show's fourth and final season -- consisting of the last seven episodes -- will arrive on April 29. The first half of Season 4 debuted in January and hit the #1 spot on Netflix's Top Ten in its first week online. [Netflix] UNDER THE BANNER OF HEAVEN: Limited series based on the true-crime novel by Jon Krakauer, starring Andrew Garfield as a detective and devout LDS elder who begins questioning his church's teachings while investigating a murder with ties to a prominent Utah family. Daisy Edgar-Jones, Sam Worthington, Denise Gough, and Christopher Heyerdahl co-star. "Milk" writer Dustin Lance Black created the series and executive produced alongside Brian Grazer and Ron Howard. It debuts later this year. [FX / Hulu]

Kirsten and Jim Sheridan Sky and Peacock will team for a five-part drama series about the 1988 explosion of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, which killed all 259 passengers and crew on board. The Oscar-nominated team of Jim and Kirsten Sheridan ("In America") will write the series. More: "Lockerbie" will center on the story of Dr. Jim Swire and his wife Jane, who lost their daughter in the tragedy and led a years-long crusade to uncover the truth about what really happened. The series is based on a book co-authored by Swire and Peter Biddulph. The series will stream exclusively on Peacock in the US. DEADLINE

Dan Stevens CASTING UPDATES IMMIGRANT: Dan Stevens ("Legion") joined the cast of the biographical drama, about entrepreneur Somen "Steve" Banerjee (Kumail Nanjiani) and the founding of the Chippendales male dance revue. He'll play hustler and schmoozer Paul Snider, who sees promise and Banerjee and helps him along his way. The show comes from "Pam & Tommy" creator Robert Siegel. [Hulu] BEL-AIR: Michael Ealy ("The Woman in the House...") will join the drama series, a remake of the '90s sitcom "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air," as a gallery owner who begins working with Vivan Banks. [Peacock] GREASE: RISE OF THE PINK LADIES: The "Grease" prequel series -- set at Rydell High in 1954, four years before the events of the iconic musical -- added a number of actors to its supporting cast, including Charlotte Kavanagh, Josette Halpert, Nicholas McDonough, Maximo Weber Salas, and Alexis Sides. Production on the series is currently underway in Vancouver. [Paramount+] L.A. LAW: The legal drama revival pilot added Kacey Rohl to a growing cast that also includes returning actors Blair Underwood and Corbin Bernsen. The new series finds venerable law firm McKenzie Brackman -- now renamed Becker Rollins -- taking on exclusively high-profile and controversial cases. [ABC]

Streaming bundler Philo ordered a first season of the reality show "Boss Moves," its first-ever original series. The show will center on "Love and Hip-Hop" vet Rasheeda Frost (aka Rasheeda) as she manages her business -- Frost Bistro & Bar -- and purchases a new home in the Bahamas. More: Philo offers a low-cost package of streaming content -- intended as a replacement for cable TV -- with a non-sports, entertainment focus. "Boss Moves" comes from lifestyle media brand Kin, which also recently signed a programming deal with Chicken Soup for the Soul's upcoming female-oriented streaming service. In addition to the new series, Philo will now offer 65 hours of lifestyle content from Kin on-demand. "Boss Moves" arrives in April. DEADLINE

QUICK HITS Now you can build your own commercial real estate investment portfolio and trade individual buildings like stocks.* The Hollywood Reporter spoke with creator Adam McKay and his cast about the long and complicated process of bringing "Winning Time" -- the new drama series about the '80s Los Angeles Lakers -- to HBO, including the difficulty of finding actors to portray NBA legends Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and the dissolution of McKay's long-time friendship with Will Ferrell. Josh Brolin compared his upcoming Amazon Prime Video western thriller series "Outer Range" to the Coen Brothers' celebrated "No Country for Old Men" in a discussion with Vanity Fair. Though CW declined to pick up the pilot for a "Babylon 5" reboot this year, original creator J. Michael Straczynski indicated that the show could get another chance next season. The spy thriller "All the Old Knives" -- based on the 2015 novel by Olen Steinhauer, and starring Chris Pine, Thandiwe Newton, and Laurence Fishburne -- debuts both in theaters and on Amazon Prime Video in the US on April 8. Antique props used in the filming of Netflix's "The Crown" -- including a replica of a rare Fabergé egg that once belonged to George V -- were stolen from three vehicles in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, last week. During a media panel on Wednesday, Viola Davis expressed anxiety about how her performance as Michelle Obama in Showtime's "The First Lady" would be received by the former first lady. Rapidly growing Korean streaming service Tving has plans to expand to more Asian markets, in a direct challenge to Netflix. Netflix, Shondaland, The Latinx House, and the Sundance Institute's "Women at Sundance" program announced a joint program to boost the careers of aspiring Latina and nonbinary Latinx directors. Loop TV provides fully licensed TV content for businesses. Ditch cable and satellite. Switch to Loop TV for free. Sign up today.* *This is sponsored content

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 and editor who lives in Los Angeles.

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