"Dungeons & Dragons" series / WarnerMedia-Discovery latest / Televisa and Univision merger / "Invitation to a Bonfire"

Plus today's calendar, "No Exit" trailer, "And Just Like That" doc, "Titans" adds Sebastian Blood, "Grease" casting, and more

Inside.com Part of   Network February 01, 2022

"Red Notice" writer/director Rawson Marshall Thurber will oversee a live-action "Dungeons & Dragons" TV series for Hasbro-owned studio eOne. Thurber will write and direct the pilot and executive produce the hour-long fantasy series, inspired by the iconic role-playing game franchise. More: According to eOne President of Global Television Michael Lombardo, the studio has an entire franchise of content planned around the "Dungeons & Dragons" brand, for which the Thurber series will be the cornerstone. Deadline suggested that -- due to Thurber's own past relationship with Netflix -- the streamer is the most likely destination for the "D&D" series. Thurber also has two "Red Notice" sequels in development at Netflix, along with stars Dwayne Johnson, Ryan Reynolds, and Gal Gadot. On Twitter, Thurber called the project a "boyhood dream." DEADLINE

As part of the process of merging its media properties with Discovery, AT&T will spin off WarnerMedia in a $43 billion transaction. After the completion of the deal, AT&T shareholders will own 71% of the new Warner Bros./Discovery company. More: AT&T shares fell nearly 5% on Tuesday following the announcement. The company had previously considered a "split-off," rather than a spin-off; this would have allowed stockholders the option of exchanging AT&T shares for WarnerMedia-Discovery shares. AT&T will cut its dividend by about half, paying $1.11/share vs. the $2.08/share that was previously forecast. The transaction will help AT&T reduce its debt load; the company plans to invest about $20 billion this year in its home broadband and 5G divisions. HBO Max ended 2021 with about 74 million subscribers. REUTERS

DAILY CALENDAR TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 1 NIGHTMARE ALLEY: 2021 crime thriller from co-writer/director Guillermo del Toro, based on the 1946 novel by William Lindsay Gresham, which was previously adapted into a classic 1947 film noir. Bradley Cooper stars as an ambitious and charming carnival worker who enters a partnership with a manipulative psychologist (Cate Blanchett). Toni Collette, Willem Dafoe, Richard Jenkins, Rooney Mara, and Ron Perlman co-star. [HBO Max] TERRY BRADSHAW: GOING DEEP: Documentary from HBO Sports and NFL Films, based on the football legend's 2021 stage shows at Branson, Missouri's Clay Cooper Theater. The film combines clips of Bradshaw relating his life story on stage with archival footage and an original interview. Keith Cossrow of NFL Films directed. [HBO Max] RAISING DION: The superhero drama series -- based on the comic book and short film by Dennis Liu -- returns today for a second season, more than 2 years after the debut of Season 1. Alisha Wainwright stars as a recently-widowed mother whose son, Dion (Ja'Siah Young) begins manifesting supernatural abilities. Rome Flynn, Jazmyn Simon, Sammi Haney, Ali Ahn, Griffin Robert Faulkner, and Michael B. Jordan co-star; Jordan also executive produces. [Netflix] GABBY'S DOLLHOUSE: DreamWorks series for preschoolers, starring Laila Lockhart as Gabby, a human girl who can shrink down to spend time in her magical animated dollhouse with her talking cat pals. Season 4 debuts today. [Netflix] MY BEST FRIEND ANNE FRANK (MIJN BESTE VRIENDIN ANNE FRANK): 2021 Dutch-language historical drama chronicling the friendship between Anne Frank (Aiko Beemsterboer) and Hanneli Goslar (Josephine Arendsen), based on the book "Memories of Anne Frank: Reflections of a Childhood Friend" by Alison Leslie Gold. [Netflix] CELEBRATING BETTY WHITE: AMERICA'S GOLDEN GIRL: This hour-long special features recorded tributes to the late Betty White from various celebrity friends, colleagues, and admirers. Special guests include President Joe Biden, Drew Barrymore, Cher, Tracy Morgan, Bryan Cranston, Ted Danson, Ellen DeGeneres, Tina Fey, Goldie Hawn, Jean Smart and many others. The show aired on NBC on Monday night and hits Peacock today. [Peacock] TOP CHEF: Season 18 of the Bravo cooking competition series debuted on TV in April 2021 and hits both Hulu and Peacock today. The season was filmed in Portland, Oregon, and the surrounding areas, and featured regular judges Tom Colicchio, Gail Simmons, and Padma Lakshmi, along with a rotating panel of "Top Chef" alumni. [Hulu and Peacock] YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE: A LOOK BACK, A LOOK AHEAD: The anthology docuseries, produced for Hulu's "Black Stories" hub, profiles Black creatives and innovators from a variety of fields and disciplines. A new episode, debuting today, takes viewers behind the scenes to meet the show's directors and creative team. [Hulu]

Spanish-language media companies Grupo Televisa and Univision closed a $4.8 billion merger. The new company -- TelevisaUnivision Inc. -- now reaches about 60% of TV audiences across both the US and Mexico, an audience of more than 100 million Spanish speakers. More: Televisa owns four broadcast channels, 27 pay-TV channels, a movie studio, and a subscription VOD service known as Blim TV. Univision brings to the deal two broadcast networks, nine cable networks, 59 TV stations, and 57 radio stations, along with the Prende TV ad-supported streaming platform. The company plans to announce a new streaming service -- that will include a free, ad-supported basic tier -- later on this month. DEADLINE

AMC ordered first seasons for two projects: the sci-fi comedy-drama "Demascus" and a series adaptation of the Adrienne Celt novel "Invitation to a Bonfire." Both series were given six-episode orders and will debut next year on AMC and AMC+. More: "Demascus" centers around a 33-year-old Black man working in the cutting-edge field of digital psychiatry, and investigating his "truest self." The series was created by playwright Tearrance Arvelle Chisholm and will be produced by "Breaking Bad" and "Better Call Saul" vet Mark Johnson. "Invitation to a Bonfire" is a psychological thriller set at an all-girls boarding school in 1930s New Jersey, and centers on a young Russian immigrant and groundkeeper who is drawn into a dangerous love triangle with a novelist and his wife. "Physical" vet Rachel Caris Love created "Invitation to a Bonfire" and will serve as showrunner. DEADLINE

"No Exit" NEW TRAILERS NO EXIT: This suspense thriller from 20th Century Studios will make its debut on February 25 as a Hulu Original. Havana Rose Liu stars as a young woman on a road trip who's forced to take shelter at a highway rest stop during a blizzard, along with a group of wary strangers. Danny Ramirez, David Rysdahl, Dale Dickey, and Dennis Haysbert co-star; Damien Power ("Killing Ground") directed. [Hulu] AND JUST LIKE THAT... THE DOCUMENTARY: Behind-the-scenes look at the making of the "Sex and the City" revival series, including new interviews with stars Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon, and Kristin Davis; creator Michael Patrick King; costume designers Molly Rogers and Danny Santiago; and many others. It arrives along with the show's Season 1 finale on February 3. [HBO Max]

Levenson, Kail, Sanchez Witzel Hulu ordered a first season for the musical romantic comedy series "Up Here." Grammy-winning "Frozen" and "WandaVision" collaborators Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez will write original songs for the project. More: Anderson-Lopez and Lopez also collaborated on the scripts, along with "Dear Evan Hansen" vet Steven Levenson and Danielle Sanchez-Witzel of "The Carmichael Show." Thomas Kail ("Hamilton") will direct all eight episodes of the series. "Up Here" follows a couple falling in love -- and recognizing that they are their own worst enemies -- in late '90s New York. Kail and Jennifer Todd will executive produce through their overall deal with 20th Television. DEADLINE

Joseph Morgan, Sebastian Blood CASTING UPDATES TITANS: The DC Comics-inspired action series will add three new villains in its upcoming fourth season. Joseph Morgan ("The Vampire Diaries"), Franka Potente ("Run Lola Run"), and Lisa Ambalavanar ("The A List") joined the cast as Sebastian Blood, Mother Mayhem, and Jinx, respectively. No release date has yet been announced for Season 4. [HBO Max] GREASE: RISE OF THE PINK LADIES: Production has started on the musical "Grease" prequel series in Vancouver. The show is set in 1954, four years before the original "Grease," and follows four fed-up outcasts who spark a moral panic at Rydell High. The young cast includes Marisa Davila, Cheyenne Isabel Wells, Ari Notartomaso, Tricia Fukuhara, Shanel Bailey, Madison Thompson, Jackie Hoffman, and Johnathan Nieves. [Paramount+]

"The Walking Dead" Comcast and AMC Networks signed a new multi-year distribution agreement. Under the terms of the new deal, Comcast will continue to carry AMC's linear cable networks and will add some of the company's niche streaming services to its set-top boxes for Xfinity TV and XClass customers. More: No financial terms of the deal were discussed. The AMC+ service -- which bundles together content from across AMC's various networks and services -- debuted on Xfinity platforms in 2020. Later this year, AMC will air and stream highly-anticipated final seasons for "The Walking Dead," "Killing Eve," and "Better Call Saul." HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

QUICK HITS Experience the Adobe Commerce technology suite in an interactive simulation and learn how Adobe has set the standard for hybrid eCommerce* "Ted Lasso" star, writer, and producer Brett Goldstein signed an overall multi-year deal to develop new shows for Warner Bros. Television Group, including potential projects for HBO Max. "Mr. Show" vets Bob Odenkirk and David Cross are developing a mockumentary-style comedy series, "Guru Nation," for Paramount+. HBO Max announced plans to launch in 15 additional European countries on March 8. As the football season draws to a close, NBC announced its new midseason Sunday night line-up, including the game show revival "Weakest Link" and the Canadian medical drama "Transplant." Vanity Fair previewed the upcoming Netflix sci-fi adventure film "The Adam Project," from star Ryan Reynolds and "Stranger Things" producer Shawn Levy. Disney confirmed that its new "Hocus Pocus" sequel will debut later this year during "the Halloween season." Paramount+ released some images from "The Offer," its upcoming series about the making of the 1972 crime epic "The Godfather," related from the perspective of producer Albert S. Ruddy (Miles Teller); the series debuts on April 28. Apple released first-look photos from the Miami-set bilingual drama series "Now and Then," about a celebratory weekend among a group of college friends that ends in tragedy; the series arrives on May 20. "Euphoria" fans took to social media following Sunday's episode to praise Syndey Sweeney's performance as Cassie, and call for the actress to receive Emmy recognition. We all know stocks are a great way to grow your money. But they're not the only way. That's why we've been reading the Alts newsletter* *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 for Inside.com. Previously, he wrote for The Huffington Post, TakePart.com, and the YouTube channel What’s Trending.

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