Funimation content to Crunchyroll / US Soccer on HBO Max / DiMaggio rejoins "Futurama" / Apple "Metropolis" series

Plus today's calendar, "Slow Horses" on Apple, "Top Boy" Season 2, HBO "Undercurrent" doc, Lohan Netflix deal, and more

Inside.com Part of   Network March 02, 2022

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"Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba" Sony Pictures Entertainment will unify the Funimation and Crunchyroll anime services under a single banner. For now, the Funimation service will continue to exist and upload new episodes, as Sony moves subscribers gradually over to Crunchyroll. More: In total, Crunchyroll will get around 1,600 hours of new content, across 50 titles. Sony acquired Crunchyroll from AT&T in 2021 for $1.175 billion. At the time of acquisition, the Crunchyroll service had around 120 million registered users, and 5 million paid subscribers. LA TIMES

WarnerMedia (through its Turner Sports division) closed an eight-year deal with the U.S. Soccer Federation. The agreement -- reportedly worth more than $200 million -- will bring 20 US Women's and Men's National Team matches to the TNT and TBS cable networks, along with HBO Max. More: Half of the matches will both air on TV and stream on HBO Max; the rest will be exclusive to cable television. The matches will begin airing and streaming in 2023. The deal also provides digital rights -- including highlight clips -- for the Turner Sports-owned Bleacher Report and potential future behind-the-scenes docuseries. This marks the first major push into live sports for HBO Max, though Turner Sports' deal with the NHL could also move some games over to the service. HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

A message from LABELBOX Building labeling operations into your core MLOps strategy As more ML teams shift their focus from iterating on models to improving the quality of their training data, labeling operations is becoming a central aspect of their broader MLOps strategy. Creating, managing, and maintaining an efficient labeling pipeline that produces high-quality training data is no easy task. Teams without the right people, processes, and tools in place will likely struggle to generate the training data they need at a cost-effective rate.  In this guide, you’ll learn about: Key labeling operations roles that will benefit every ML team Tips to finding the best labeling vendors for your use cases Every labeling metric your team should track to ensure quality and efficiency How to scale up your labeling operations as your projects change over time Download the Guide

DAILY CALENDAR WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2 WEST SIDE STORY: Steven Spielberg directed the 2021 big-screen adaptation of the 1957 stage musical, which previously inspired a 1961 film classic. Ansel Elgort and Rachel Zegler co-star as Tony and Maria, whose romance is interrupted by a gang war between the white Jets and the Puerto Rican Sharks. The cast also includes Ariana DeBose, David Alvarez, Mike Faist, and Rita Moreno. The film has been nominated for 7 Oscars, including Best Picture. [HBO Max and Disney+] DRIVE MY CAR: Japanese drama from co-writer/director Ryusuke Hamaguchi, based on the short story by Haruki Murakami. Hidetoshi Nishijima stars as an actor and theater director who's developing a new production of "Uncle Vanya" while grieving the death of his wife, Oto (Reika Kirishima). Misaki Watari co-stars. The film has been nominated for 4 Oscars, and it's the first Japanese fim in history to receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture. [HBO Max] FOOD WARS! SHOKUGEKI NO SOMA: The fifth and final season of the anime series -- based on the manga by Yuto Tsukuda and Shun Saeki -- comes to HBO Max today. Subtitled "The Fifth Plate," the new episodes find Soma and his classmates prepping for the prestigious international cooking competition known as BLUE. [HBO Max] AGAINST THE ICE: Historical survival drama, based on the true story of an early 20th Century expedition to Greenland. "Game of Thrones" vet Nikolaj Coster-Waldau stars as Captain Ejnar Mikkelsen, who sets out to prove that Greeland is a single piece of land, disputing a territorial claim by the US. Joe Cole, Charles Dance, and Heida Reed co-star; Peter Flinth ("Nobel's Last Will") directed. [Netflix] THE PIRATES: THE LAST ROYAL TREASURE: Period fantasy adventure film from Korea, serving as a "spiritual sequel" to the 2014 film "Pirates," about a group of seafaring adventurers who race against supernatural foes in pursuit of a mythical treasure. Kang Ha-neul, Han Hyo-joo, Lee Kwang-soo, and Kwon Sang-woo co-star. It's the biggest film of this year so far at the Korean box office. [Netflix] SAVAGE RHYTHM (RITMO SALVAJE): 8-episode musical drama series from Colombia starring Greeicy Rendón and Paulina Dávila as two dancers who become both personal and professional rivals. [Netflix] BRAIN GAMES: ON THE ROAD: National Geographic series, a spin-off of the original "Brain Games," in which teams of everyday Americans go head-to-head in a series of competitive puzzles and brain-teasers, testing everything from memory to spatial reasoning to problem-solving skills. Chuck Nice hosts. [Disney+]

Voice actor John DiMaggio joined the cast of Hulu's "Futurama" revival series. DiMaggio, who portrays Bender on the animated sci-fi comedy, was the lone holdout among the show's primary cast when the revival series was first announced. More: DiMaggio will join fellow "Futurama" regulars Billy West, Katey Sagal, Tress MacNeille, Maurice LaMarche, Lauren Tom, Phil LaMarr and David Herman on the new series. With the new deal closed, DiMaggio excitedly announced his return and assured fans "#Bendergate is officially over." Hulu will debut 20 new "Futurama" episodes in 2023; production is scheduled to begin soon. HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

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Esmail Apple ordered a first season for a series based on Fritz Lang's classic 1927 sci-fi film "Metropolis." "Mr. Robot" veteran Sam Esmail will write and direct the entire series. More: "Metropolis" -- based on the novel by screenwriter Thea Von Harbou -- is set in a dystopian future where workers live underground, serving oligarchs who live in towering skyscrapers above; the story centers on the efforts of a wealthy heir to reach an agreement between the workers and the city masters. Esmail has been developing the project since 2016, and will produce the series through his overall deal with UCP. Esmail is also working on the upcoming Starz political drama series "Gaslit," based on the popular podcast. DEADLINE

"Slow Horses" NEW TRAILERS UNDERCURRENT: Two-part true-crime documentary from HBO re-examining the 2017 disappearance and death of journalist Kim Wall, who went missing after boarding an experimental submarine with Danish entrepreneur Peter Madsen. Erin Lee Carr ("At the Heart of Gold") directed. Both parts debut on March 8. [HBO Max] TOP BOY: The British crime drama series -- set in the fictional Summerhouse estate in East London -- aired for 2 seasons on Channel 4 in the early '10s, and then returned for a Netflix revival in 2019. Ashley Walters and Kane Robinson co-star as drug kingpins Dushane and Sully, respectively. It's back for a second Netflix season on March 18. [Netflix] SLOW HORSES: Six-episode espionage comedy-drama series, based on Mick Herron's novel, starring Gary Oldman as an MI5 agent placed in charge of a team of misfits, all of whom made career-ending mistakes in other positions. The cast also features Kristin Scott Thomas, Jack Lowden, Olivia Cooke, Saskia Reeves, Paul Higgins, and Freddie Fox; Jonathan Pryce makes a guest appearance. "Veep" vet Will Smith wrote the adaptation and executive produced. It arrives on April 1. [Apple TV+]

Lindsay Lohan signed a deal with Netflix to star in two upcoming films. The new projects will follow "Falling for Christmas," a holiday romantic comedy feature starring Lohan that debuts later this year on the streamer. More: In "Falling for Christmas," Lohan stars as a wealthy, spoiled hotel heiress who develops amnesia following a skiing accident, and must rely on the assistance of a blue-collar lodge owner (Chord Overstreet) and his precocious daughter. Lohan also previously appeared in the Netflix and Sky One series "Sick Note." DEADLINE

"I Think You Should Leave" "I Think You Should Leave" duo Tim Robinson and Zach Kanin are developing the comedy pilot "Computer School" for HBO Max. The series will star Robinson as a Michigan man attending a computer class along with his nephew, a recent high school graduate. More: Prior to Netflix's "ITYSL," Robinson and Kanin co-created the Comedy Central series "Detroiters," about a pair of ad executives, along with Sam Richardson and Joe Kelly. The duo also collaborated on the series "Documentary Now!," specifically the bowling-themed episode "Any Given Sunday Afternoon." No word on whether or not the duo would continue working on the cult sketch comedy hit "I Think You Should Leave," should the new series get picked up by HBO Max. AV CLUB

Production resumed on Part 3 of Netflix's "Lupin" following a brazen robbery on set. Masked thieves throwing mortar fireworks made away with around $333,000 worth of equipment from the production, which was shooting in the Paris-adjoining neighborhood of Nanterre. More: No injuries were reported relating to the incident, which took place on February 25. Just hours after the attack, "Lupin" star Omar Sy attended the César Awards, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of his hit comedy, "Intouchables." This was the second high-profile robbery from a Netflix production in as many days; thieves stole more than $200,000 worth of props from the set of "The Crown" on February 24. Sy stars in "Lupin" as heist mastermind Assane Diop, who takes inspiration from the literary "gentleman thief" Arsène Lupin. VARIETY

QUICK HITS Skip the dentist and save up to 80% with Remi custom night guards and teeth whitening kits sent directly to you.* Starz renewed the crime drama series "Hightown" -- starring Monica Raymund, and set in the drug underworld of Cape Cod, Massachusetts -- for a third season. Roku pulled the Russian network RT from its line-up internationally; the channel had already been removed from the platform across Europe. "Euphoria" vet Javon Walton will join the cast of Netflix's "Umbrella Academy" for its upcoming third season; no details about his character have yet been announced. Jason Winer ("The Big Leap") signed on to the Disney+ limited series "The Santa Clause" as director and executive producer. ADD Content, the production company behind HBO's "Euphoria," announced plans for a US remake of the Israeli drama series "Prime Minister's Children," to be retitled "The First Family." Amazon launched the Prime Video Pathway training initiative in the UK, and pledged to spend more than $13 million over the next three years to provide craft and technical education to over 250 students. Netflix acquired Next Games, the Finnish developers behind the mobile game "Stranger Things: Puzzle Tales." Firstleaf delivers personalized wine to your door. Try 6 wines for $29.95 + free shipping. Satisfaction guaranteed.* *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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