"Stranger Things" renewed / Paramount Global shares drop / "Mrs. Maisel" Season 5 / AMC services hit 9M subs

Plus today's calendar, first "Diabolical" trailer, "Our Flag Means Death," HBO's "Larry David Story," ViX+ service, and more

Inside.com Part of   Network February 17, 2022

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Netflix renewed the teen supernatural drama series "Stranger Things" for a fifth and final season, ahead of the long-awaited debut of Season 4. "Stranger Things" Season 4 will be released in two parts; the first will land on May 27, followed by Volume 2 on July 1.  More: Creators Matt and Ross Duffer also teased potential spin-offs, noting that "there are still many more exciting stories to tell within the world of 'Stranger Things.'" Though the franchise may be ongoing, the Duffers confirmed that "Stranger Things" Season 5 will conclude the story of "a powerful girl named Eleven and her brave friends" in the town of Hawkins, Indiana. Season 4 will pick up six months after the show's third season, which culminated in a confrontation between Hawkins residents and an otherworldly creature known as the Mind Flayer at Starcourt Mall. TV LINE

Shares of the newly-rebranded Paramount Global dropped 18% following the company's virtual Investor Day presentation on Wednesday. According to Deadline, Wall Street likely fretted about the company's plans to spend $6 billion on content, largely headed to the Paramount+ streaming service, over the next few years. More: Paramount+ first launched nearly a year ago, in March of 2021. The company added 9.4 million overall subscribers in the fourth quarter of 2021, bringing its total to 54 million; this includes both the Paramount+ and Showtime services. Global streaming revenue hit $1.3 billion for the quarter, driven mostly by Paramount+ and the ad-supported Pluto TV service. DEADLINE

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DAILY CALENDAR THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 17 BIG NATE: Debut animated series from Nickelodeon, based on the comic strips and books by Lincoln Pierce, about a sixth grader who gets through middle school via a combination of cleverness and imagination. The voice cast includes Ben Giroux, Dove Cameron, Rob Delaney, and Arnie Pantoja. [Paramount+] A HOUSE ON THE BAYOU: Horror drama from writer/director Alex McAulay ("Don't Tell a Soul") about a dysfunctional family that travels to an isolated house in the Louisana Bayou for a vacation, only to receive some unexpected guests. Paul Schneider, Angela Sarafyan, Jacob Lofland, and Lia McHugh co-star. [Hulu and Paramount+] TROLLS: TROLLSTOPIA: The animated musical DreamWorks series -- a spin-off of the "Trolls" movie franchise -- is back on both Hulu and Peacock for a sixth season. [Hulu and Peacock] FISTFUL OF VENGEANCE: Supernatural action thriller, serving as a sequel to the Netflix series "Wu Assassins." The film finds the Assassin team returning to Bangkok to settle a score, only to discover that they're battling an ancient and powerful new threat. Iko Uwais, Lewis Tan, Lawrence Kao, JuJu Chan, and Pearl Thusi co-star. [Netflix] YOUNG WALLANDER: KILLER'S SHADOW: The UK mystery-drama series reimagines author Henning Mankell's iconic detective Kurt Wallander (Adam Pålsson) as a rookie cop in modern-day Sweden. The second season finds Wallander investigating a grisly hit-and-run death with links to an infamous murder case from eight years ago. [Netflix] MO GILLIGAN: THERE'S MO TO LIFE: The British comedian's new special includes material inspired by his days as a broke teenager, working in retail, and dealing with annoying talk show producers. [Netflix] SHORT FILMS: A collection of three shorts come to Netflix today: "Erax," about an aunt (Jasmine Cephas Jones) and her young niece (Genesis White) who accidentally unleash some dangerous creatures during a sleepover; "Forgive Us Our Trespasses," a period drama starring Knox Gibson as a disabled boy in 1939 Germany who goes on the run from the Nazis; and "Heart Shot," starring Elena Huezé and Nia Sondaya as teenagers in love whose dangerous past catches up with them. [Netflix] YABBA-DABBA DINOSAURS: Animated "Flintstones" spin-off for kids, about the ongoing adventures of life-long best friends Pebbles (Jessica DiCicco) and Bamm-Bamm (Ely Henry). Season 2 arrives today. [HBO Max] INSIDE THE BLACK BOX: 10-episode talk and discussion series, featuring actor Joe Morton and producer Tracey Moore in conversation with various panels of Black Hollywood creatives. Season 1 guests include Phylicia Rashad, Raven-Symoné, Da'Vinchi, Darnell Martin, Salli Richardson-Whitfield, Leah Daniels Butler, and others. [Crackle] THEY LIVE IN THE GREY: 2022 horror film from sibling writer/directors Abel and Burlee Vang about a social worker (Michelle Krusiec) investigating a child abuse case with a possibly supernatural origin. [Shudder] SECRETS OF THE SALISBURY POISONINGS: Documentary feature re-examining the 2018 poisoning of former British double agent Sergei Skirpal and his daughter, Yulia, in Salisbury, England. Nick Poyntz ("Mind of a Monster") directed. [Discovery+]

Amazon renewed "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" for a fifth and final season on Thursday. The acclaimed comedy-drama series returns for Season 4 on Friday. More: Production on Season 5 is currently underway in New York; no release date has been announced. The show is one of the few ongoing series that was greenlit by Roy Price, before current Amazon Studios chief Jennifer Salke took over the Prime Video production slate. Executive producers Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino have apparently had a rough outline for the series in mind for a few years, and already knew how the story was going to end. The Palladinos have multiple overall deals set up with Amazon and are currently developing several other projects for the Prime Video platform. HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

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"Better Call Saul" AMC Networks closed out 2021 with more than 9 million streaming subscribers across its various niche platforms. The company hit a record $3.1 billion in revenue last year, up 9% from 2020. More: AMC's streaming services include AMC+, IFC Films Unlimited, Sundance Now, ALLBLK, Acorn TV, and Shudder. AMC executives project that they'll hit 20-25 million streaming subscribers by the end of 2025, and projected 400,000 new streaming subscribers in the first quarter of 2022 alone. Interim CEO Matt Blank told investors that the company will continue expanding into more genre-based streaming TV platforms, with a focus on overall subscriber growth. In a statement, Blank pointed to new seasons of "Killing Eve" and "Better Call Saul" as examples of AMC's high-profile original content. HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

"The Boys: Diabolical" NEW TRAILERS THE LARRY DAVID STORY: Two-part docuseries profiling the 74-year-old actor and comedian who co-created "Seinfeld" and currently stars on "Curb Yoru Enthusiasm." David's frequent collaborator Larry Charles directed and conducted an original interview with him for the series. It debuts on March 1. [HBO Max] OUR FLAG MEANS DEATH: The historical comedy series from David Jenkins ("People of Earth") is loosely based on the true story of 18th Century "gentleman pirate" Stede Bonnet (Rhys Darby), an aristocrat by birth who took to the seas for a life of adventure. Taika Waititi executive produced and co-stars as Blackbeard; the cast also includes Leslie Jones, Fred Armisen, Nat Faxon, Kristian Nairn, and Rory Kinnear. It arrives on March 3. [HBO Max] THE BOYS: DIABOLICAL: Animated spin-off series for adults from Titmouse ("The Midnight Gospel," "Invincible"), based on the satirical superhero drama. Each episode takes place in a different corner of "The Boys" universe and features a unique animation style. Writers on the series include original "Boys" creator Garth Ennis, Andy Samberg, Awkwafina, Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, Aisha Tyler, and "Rick and Morty" creator Justin Roiland. It arrives on March 4. [Amazon] BELOW DECK DOWN UNDER: The latest reality series from Bravo's "Below Deck" franchise -- chronicling the lives of crew members aboard chartered luxury superyachts -- will stream exclusively on Peacock. The new series takes crew members to Australia's Whitsunday Islands and Great Barrier Reef; the cast includes Captain Jason Chambers, Chief Stew Aesha Scott, Chef Ryan McKeown, and Bosun Jamie Sayed. It debuts on March 17. [Peacock] LUST: 8-part Swedish comedy series chronicling the romantic lives of four middle-aged women friends from Stockholm, whose perspective on love and sex changes after one of them conducts public health research on the subject. Sofia Helin, Anja Lundqvist, Julia Dufvenius and Elin Klinga co-star. It launches in the US and 61 other international territories on March 18. [HBO Max] HILLSONG: A MEGACHURCH EXPOSED: Three-part docuseries exploring the controversies surrounding Australia's Hillsong megachurch, including accusations that church founder Brian Houston concealed sex crimes committed by his father, and allegations that former New York pastor Carl Lentz used his influence to cover up an affair. The series premieres on March 24. [Discovey+]

Salma Hayek TelevisaUnivision -- the newly-merged Mexican and American media company -- announced plans for a Spanish-speaking streaming service called ViX. The platform will offer a free ad-supported option along with premium tiers for subscribers. More: The free ad-supported service will launch on March 31 with more than 100 channels of programmed content and 40,000 hours of VOD titles. The premium service -- named ViX+ -- will launch later this year, with additional licensed content and a slate of 60 original productions. ViX will replace all of Televisa and Univision's current streaming offerings, including the ad-supported Prende TV platform and the Blim TV subscription service. The company signed an overall first-look pact with actor and producer Salma Hayek and her company, Ventanarosa Productions, to produce Spanish-language films for the ViX+ service. Both ViX and ViX+ will stream World Cup games later on this year in Mexico. NEW YORK TIMES

"House of the Dragon" During wide-ranging conversations with Deadline and THR, HBO Max content chief Casey Bloys teased additional "Game of Thrones" spin-offs and discussed the fates of a number of ongoing series. The first "Game of Thrones" spin-off series -- "House of the Dragon" -- has wrapped production and will get a formal release date soon. More: According to Bloys, some of the still-in-development "Thrones" series -- including one centered on Corlys Velaryon, the legendary "Sea Snake"; a prequel based on the adventures of "Dunk & Egg"; and several animated projects -- are "looking really good," but he added that not all of them will end up being greenlit. Apparently, creator David Chase has no interest in a "Sopranos" revival series. Bloys indicated that "True Detective" could return for a fourth season, confirming that the network has held discussions with various writers and producers. Asked if "Curb Your Enthusiasm" would continue beyond its recently-wrapped 11th season, Bloys offered that it's up to creator and star Larry David, but added "I imagine he will" return. Bloys kept hope alive for a potential continuation of the limited series "Mare of Easttown," noting "it's really kind of up in the air" and depends on the participation of creators Brad Ingeslby and Craig Zobel, and star Kate Winslet. HBO's high-profile adaptation of "The Last of Us" video game franchise will likely premiere in 2023. The revived take on the therapy drama series "In Treatment" -- starring Uzo Aduba -- will not return for additional seasons. DEADLINE

HBO Max renewed the superhero comedy-drama series "Peacemaker" for a second season. Writer, creator, and director James Gunn and star John Cena announced the news on social media on Wednesday. More: The series -- a spin-off of Gunn's 2021 "The Suicide Squad" feature -- launched in January, and stars Cena as government operative Chris Smith, aka the superhero Peacemaker. Gunn is apparently also in development on an additional "Suicide Squad" spin-off series for HBO Max. The "Peacemaker" Season 1 finale debuted on Thursday and is currently available to stream. HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

QUICK HITS Startup tested, enterprise approved. Explore all of your data with no code required. Sigma Computing is cloud analytics for all — not just for sum.* "The Americans" vet Keri Russell signed on for the lead role in the Netflix drama series "The Diplomat"; she'll play a career diplomat who winds up in a high-profile job that could have negative fallout for both her marriage and career. Disney re-released the animated musical "Encanto" to movie theaters; the film has been a streaming hit since landing on Disney+ in December, and was recently nominated for three Oscars. FX renewed the crime comedy-drama anthology series "Fargo" for a fifth season, which will be set in the year 2019 and centers around a confusing kidnapping case; FXX also announced that the music industry satire "Dave" will return for Season 3 in 2023. Paul Reiser will take over the role originally filled by Michael McKean on the upcoming Hulu comedy series "Reboot"; the show centers on a new revival of a popular sitcom from the 1990s. GLAAD's annual report surveying the inclusion of LGBTQ characters on television found that representation hit an all-time high in 2021, though broadcast shows continue to lag behind those from streaming networks. Former "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" regular Melissa Fumero will co-star on the Netflix workplace comedy series "Blockbuster" -- set at the last Blockbuster Video location in the US -- alongside Randall Park. All eight episodes of the Chris Pratt conspiracy thriller series "The Terminal List" will arrive on Amazon Prime Video on July 1. The current issue of Empire features a new image from the upcoming Netflix adaptation of "The Sandman," along with some insights from original creator Neil Gaiman. The 1980s "Nightmare on Elm Street" spin-off anthology series "Freddy's Nightmares" is now streaming for the first time ever on Screambox, the niche horror-focused service operated by Bloody Disgusting. *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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