 Comcast and Charter Communications announced plans to collaborate on a new 4K streaming platform for devices and smart TVs. The new platform will be available nationwide and compete directly with Roku, Amazon's Fire TV, Apple TV, and similar devices. More: - The deal will give both Comcast and Charter -- which operate in different regions of the US -- a nationwide reach.
- The new platform will license Comcast's streaming hardware system Flex, and feature the company's free, ad-supported Xumo service.
- Comcast-owned Peacock will also be featured on the platform as a top recommended app.
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 Holland and Bejaria A piece in The Hollywood Reporter traces Netflix's current struggles back to a clash between co-CEO Ted Sarandos and former VP for Original Content Cindy Holland. Though Holland had been integral in building Netflix's early line-up, and fostering relationships with Hollywood creatives, she exited the company in 2020, and was replaced by unscripted and international content chief Bela Bajaria. More: - The report relies on recollections from a number of unnamed sources within Netflix.
- Though Holland was initially the only development executive with the power to greenlight new shows, ultimately Sarandos also allowed Bajaria to do the same, starting with the dark comedy series "Insatiable"; the decision apparently came to be known as "Insatiable-gate."
- Holland is credited with launching some of Netflix's most iconic originals, including "House of Cards," "Orange is the New Black," "The Queen's Gambit," and "Stranger Things."
- Bajaria, for her part, brought the streamer the Lifetime series "You" (on which Holland's team had passed), along with recent international hits "Squid Game" and "Lupin."
HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
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DAILY CALENDAR WEDNESDAY, APRIL 27 THE SURVIVOR: Feature biopic from filmmaker Barry Levinson ("Rain Man," "Bugsy") profiling boxer and Holocaust survivor Harry Haft (Ben Foster), who was forced to fight fellow inmates for his survival while in Auschwitz. Vicky Krieps, Billy Magnussen, Peter Sarsgaard, John Leguizamo, and Danny DeVito co-star. The film debuted last year at the Toronto Film Festival. [HBO Max] SKETCHBOOK: Instructional series in which artists from Walt Disney Animation Studios teach viewers how to draw iconic characters from the company's films, while also discussing their own lives and personal backgrounds. [Disney+] BULLSH*T THE GAMESHOW: Debut trivia game show in which contestants can win money with wrong answers, so long as they convince their fellow competitors that they are, in fact, correct. Howie Mandel hosts. [Netflix] THE MYSTERY OF MARILYN MONROE: THE UNHEARD TAPES: Debut documentary feature taking a fresh look at the death of Marilyn Monroe through the use of previously-unheard interviews with members of her inner circle recorded in 1982. Emma Cooper ("Louis Theroux: Miami Mega Jail") directed. [Netflix] 365 DAYS: THIS DAY: Polish erotic thriller adapted from the novel by Blanka Lipińska, serving as a direct sequel to the 2020 adaptation "365 Days." (The original book series is a trilogy.) Michele Morrone and Anna-Maria Sieklucka reprise their roles from the first film as reunited lovers Massimo and Laura. [Netflix] SILVERTON SIEGE: Historical crime drama film from South Africa, inspired by a real 1980 incident, about a trio of armed anti-apartheid activists who take a bank hostage and demand the release of Nelson Mandela from prison. Thabo Rametsi, Arnold Vosloo, Noxolo Dlamini, Stefan Erasmus, and Michelle Mosalakae co-star; Mandlakayise Walter Dube directs. [Netflix] KOMI CAN'T COMMUNICATE: The anime romantic comedy series -- about a teen (Gakuto Kajiwara) who helps his shy classmate Komi (Aoi Koga) reach her goal of making 100 friends -- returns today for a second season. [Netflix]
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 "Snowpiercer" According to Variety, Warner Bros. Discovery will stop producing original scripted programming for the TBS and TNT cable networks. The move is part of an overall attempt to cut $3 billion in spending across the entire company, post-merger, by CEO David Zaslav. More: - It's unclear what impact the change will have on current scripted TNT and TBS shows, including the sci-fi thriller "Snowpiercer."
- Warner Bros. Discovery did not comment on the report.
- TBS' remaining scripted shows include the comedy series "The Last OG," "Miracle Workers," "Chad, and "American Dad"; TNT only has two remaining scripted originals, "Animal Kingdom" and "Snowpiercer."
- During Discovery's Q1 investor call on Tuesday, CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels predicted that "2022 will undoubtedly be a messy year" as executives seek to streamline operations and cut costs company-wide.
VARIETY
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 HBO responded to criticisms of its period drama series "Winning Time," and particularly the depiction of former Lakers coach and general manager Jerry West, in a statement provided to The Hollywood Reporter. West and his legal team have demanded a retraction and apology from HBO and the show's producers, calling the series a "false and defamatory portrayal." More: - In its response, HBO noted that "'Winning Time' is not a documentary" while adding "the series and its depictions are based on extensive factual research and reliable sourcing."
- In addition to West, "Winning Time" and its approach have also been blasted by former Lakers Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, both of whom are also depicted in the series.
- The series is adapted from a best-selling book about the 1980s Lakers by Jeff Pearlman, but the creative team consulted a number of other resources during their research.
- Jason Clarke, who portrays West on the series, relied heavily on his memoir "West by West: My Charmed, Tormented Life" when preparing for the role.
HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
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Shares in Alphabet slipped by around 5% during after-hours trading following the company's Q1 earnings report on Tuesday. YouTube posted slower growth during the period compared with the same quarter one year ago. More: - Ad revenue still increased on YouTube in Q1 by 14%, to $6.87 billion.
- CFO Ruth Porat cited Russia's invasion of Ukraine as having an "outsized impact" on YouTube ad revenue, both because Alphabet paused operations within the Russian market, and a larger pullback from advertisers.
- YouTube has around 2 billion registered users logging in each month.
- Executives specifically touted YouTube Shorts, the company's direct TikTok rival, which currently draws around 30 billion daily views.
DEADLINE
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 HBO Max dropped a full trailer for the upcoming second season of the hit comedy series "Hacks." The show returns on May 12. More: - Season 2 opens with comedian Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) hitting the road with her writer Ava (Hannah Einbinder) after exiting her long-time Vegas residency.
- Returning cast members include Carl Clemons-Hopkins, Jane Adams, Christopher McDonald, Kaitlin Olson, Paul W. Downs, Poppy Liu, Rose Abdoo, Mark Indelicato, and Meg Stalter.
- Season 2 will introduce new cast members Laurie Metcalf, Martha Kelly, Ming-Na Wen and Susie Essman; Margaret Cho and Devon Sawa make guest appearances.
- Season 1 of "Hacks" won 3 Emmys, including trophies for Writing and Directing for a Comedy Series and for Smart's lead performance.
AV CLUB
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 Danielle Deadwyler signed on for the lead role in the upcoming HBO sci-fi series "Demimonde." It's the first new TV project from writer/producer/director J.J. Abrams since Fox's "Fringe." More: - "Demimonde" centers on a wife and mother who's involved in a "brutal scientific accident" that strands her in a "dark, distant other world."
- Deadwyler prevously co-starred in the HBO Max series "Station Eleven," and was a featured player in the Netflix Western "The Harder They Fall."
- "Demimonde" landed at HBO following a 2018 bidding war with Apple.
- Kira Snyder ("The Handmaid's Tale"), Rand Ravich ("Second Chance"), and Far Shariat ("Crisis") will serve as co-showrunners on the series; they replaced original showrunner Bash Doran, who left the project in 2019.
HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
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 Netflix released the official trailer for Season 4 of the reality competition series "The Circle." The clip teases an appearance in the upcoming season from two members of the pop group Spice Girls. More: - Spice Girl shoutouts in the trailer include Union Jack designs, the tagline "More money, more gameplay, and a lot more spice," and silhouettes that appear to represent Emma Bunton (aka "Baby Spice") and Mel B (or "Scary Spice").
- The Spice Girls' participation has not been officially confirmed.
- In "The Circle," a group of strangers move into the same apartment complex and attempt to make friends and allies, while communicating exclusively via an internal social media app rather than face to face interaction.
- Season 2 of "The Circle" also featured a '90s pop gimmick: Lance Bass' former assistant Lisa Delcampo lived in one of the units and impersonated her old boss.
- The first four episodes of "The Circle" Season 4 arrive on May 4; four new episodes will arrive weekly.
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- Starting on June 15, with the arrival of the show's third and final season, the full run of "Love, Victor" will be available to stream on both Disney+ and Hulu.
- Peacock renewed the unconventional comedy-drama series "Wolf Like Me" -- starring Josh Gad and Isla Fisher -- for a second season.
- Discovery+ announced the reality series "Generation Drag," following five teens as they prepare for a performance at the Dragutante drag show; Tyra Banks is attached as an executive producer.
- Netflix grabbed the global rights to the YA romance feature "The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight," starring Haley Lu Richardson, Ben Hardy, Jameela Jamil, and Rob Delaney.
- "To All the Boys..." writer/producer Jenny Han signed an overall film and TV deal with Amazon; she's currently adapting her YA novel "The Summer I Turned Pretty" into a series for Prime Video.
- Netflix signed an agreement with Japan's Studio Colorido that will bring a number of original anime features to the streamer, including "Drifting Home," arriving on September 16.
- The Paramount+ supernatural procedural drama "Evil" promoted Andrea Martin to series regular status for its upcoming third season.
- Twitter made a formal corporate decision not to promote the HBO Max documentary series "Q: Into the Storm" when it debuted in March 2021, even declining promoted tweets from the series' director, Cullen Hoback.
- Netflix canceled the superhero drama series "Raising Dion" after two seasons.
- CBS renewed the long-running cop drama "Blue Bloods" for a 13th season; star and executive producer Tom Selleck will return for the new episodes.
- Freeform renewed the comedy-drama series "Single Drunk Female," and ordered a new dramedy -- "While You Were Breeding" -- based on a memoir by Kristin Newman.
- "Schitt's Creek" vet Emily Hampshire joined the cast of "Slip," the upcoming Roku sci-fi comedy series from creator and star Zoe Lister-Jones ("How It Ends").
- To deliver real-time analytics on massive datasets developers must balance latency, throughput, concurrency, and data freshness. Watch Molecula's Webinar.*
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 |  | 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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