Network cancellations / Macdonald Netflix special / "Orville: New Horizons" trailer / YouTube Kids & Family updates

Plus the weekend calendar, Netflix updates culture memo, "American Gigolo" shut down, "Carpool Karaoke" guests, and more

Inside.com Part of   Network May 13, 2022

Presented by

"Mr. Mayor" On Thursday, three major U.S. TV networks -- NBC, The CW, and CBS -- announced the cancellation of more than 15 combined TV series. The CW dropped a slew of shows -- including "Charmed," "Dynasty," "The 4400," and recent premiere "Naomi" -- ahead of a potential sale to Nexstar. More: The upcoming fourth season finale of CW's "Legacies" will now serve as a series finale, bringing an end to the long-running "Vampire Diaries" franchise. NBC canceled the sitcoms "Mr. Mayor" and "Kenan" after two seasons a piece, as well as the freshman heist thriller series "The Endgame." CBS axed the sitcoms "United States of Al" and "B Positive," both from executive producer Chuck Lorre, along with the bowling comedy "How We Roll." The network also announced the end of its "Magnum P.I." revival after four seasons and the cancelation of the medical drama "Good Sam." CW nonetheless ordered three pilots to series, including prequels for "Supernatural" and "Walker" and a new DC Comics adaptation, "Gotham Knights." CBS also ordered series for three drama pilots: "Fire Country," "East New York," and "So Help Me Todd." INDIEWIRE

Netflix announced a surprise posthumous stand-up special from comedian Norm Macdonald, which he taped himself prior to his death in September 2021. The streamer will debut the show, titled "Nothing Special," on May 30. More: As the cutoff for consideration is the following day, May 31, Macdonald will be eligible for potential Emmy nominations this year. "Nothing Special" was recorded during the summer of 2020, in the midst of the global lockdown. Macdonald recorded the hour-long set in his own living room and performed the material in a single take. The special will debut along with a featurette containing footage from the Netflix is a Joke tribute event at which several comedians -- including Adam Sandler, Conan O'Brien, and Dave Chappelle -- discussed Macdonald's life and legacy. VARIETY

A message from LOHIKA Developing Your Team Strategically Versus Expanding to Meet a Delivery Commitment Growing and scaling an engineering team is never simple. In an ideal world, engineering leaders have the opportunity to scale the team in a strategic fashion. We don’t live in an ideal world 😜 Instead, we’re often faced with a short-term deliverable: a product release, a new feature or an emergency bug fix. We partnered with our friends at London CTOs for an upcoming online event. We assembled a panel of engineering leaders to discuss how to develop a team strategically rather than expanding to meet a delivery commitment. The panel: Abbi Leverton, Community Events Host, RecWorks (moderator) Alex Haslehurst, Co-Founder and CTO, Vitrue Health Sergey Soloviov, Director of Engineering, Lohika The event takes place on May 18, 2022 at 1pm BST (British Summer Time) / 9am ET. Register Here

WEEKEND CALENDAR FRIDAY, MAY 13 FIRESTARTER: Sci-fi horror film from Universal, based on the novel by Stephen King and its 1984 film adaptation, starring Ryan Kiera Armstrong as Charlie, a young girl with powerful pyrokinetic abilities. Zac Efron co-stars as Charlie's dad, who's trying to remain one step ahead of the covert government agency trying to take her captive. Keith Thomas ("The Vigil") directed. [Peacock] THE KIDS IN THE HALL: The classic sketch comedy series -- which aired from 1989 to 1995 on CBC in Canada and on various networks in the US -- returns on Friday on Prime Video with eight new episodes. All five original Kids in the Hall members -- Dave Foley, Kevin McDonald, Bruce McCulloch, Mark McKinney, and Scott Thompson -- returned. [Amazon] THE ESSEX SERPENT: Six-part period drama series, based on the novel by Sarah Perry, about a London widow (Claire Danes) in the Victorian era who moves to Essex in order to study a mythical serpent. Once there, she forms a surprising bond with the local pastor (Tom Hiddleston) but stirs division and controversy among the locals. Clio Barnard ("The Selfish Giant") directed. [Apple TV+] THE LINCOLN LAWYER: Debut mystery drama series from co-creators Ted Humphrey ("The Good Wife") and David E. Kelley ("Big Sky"), based on the novels by Michael Connelly. Manuel Garcia-Rulfo stars as Mickey Haller, an idealistic attorney who runs his practice out of the back of his Lincoln Town Car and inherits a high-profile murder case from his former partner. Neve Campbell, Christopher Gorham, and Jazz Raycole co-star. [Netflix] SENIOR YEAR: Comedy feature about a high school cheerleader (Angourie Rice) who slips into a coma after a tragic fall, then wakes up 20 years later as a grown woman (Rebel Wilson), still determined to finish off high school and win the title of Prom Queen. Justin Hartley, Tyler Barnhardt, Sam Richardson, Zoë Chao, and Alicia Silverstone co-star. [Netflix] BLING EMPIRE: The Netflix reality series centers on a glamorous group of Asian and Asian-American friends living in Los Angeles. Cast members include Kevin Kreider, Kim Lee, Kane Lim, Anna Shay, Christine Chiu, Cherie Chan, Jessey Lee, Dorothy Wang, and Mimi Morris. Season 2 debuts on Friday. [Netflix] THE LIFE AND MOVIES OF ERŞAN KUNERI: Comedy series from Turkey starring Cem Yilmaz as a noted erotic film producer and director in the 1970s who tries to break into more mainstream film genres, Star/creator Yilmaz previously portrayed Erşan Kuneri in the films "A.R.O.G." and "ARIF V 216." [Netflix] NEW HEIGHTS (NEUMATT): Drama series from Switzerland starring Julian Koechlin as an ambitious consultant, living in Zurich, who returns home to help save his family's dairy farm after the sudden death of his father. [Netflix] SNEAKERELLA: Musical comedy feature, inspired by the classic fairy tale "Cinderella," about an aspiring streetwear designer from Queens (Chosen Jacobs) who chases his dreams while falling for the beautiful daughter (Lexi Underwood) of a basketball icon (John Salley). Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum ("Ramona and Beezus") directed. [Disney+] ZOË BAKES: The Magnolia Network cooking series features pastry chef and author Zoë François preparing some of her favorite dishes and desserts, including a few selections paying tribute to her Nordic heritage. Season 2 debuts on Discovery+ today. [Discovery+] COUPLES THERAPY: The unscripted series consists of real recorded sessions in which couples work through their relationship issues along with psychologist/psychoanalyst Dr. Orna Guralnik. Season 3 will focus on four new couples, and will be split into two halves; Part 1 debuts on Friday. [Showtime] CHILDREN RUIN EVERYTHING: Canadian comedy series, which debuted earlier this year on CTV, starring Meaghan Rath and Aaron Abrams as a young couple still adjusting to their lives as parents. Season 1 makes its US debut on Roku Channel this Friday. [Roku] OLD: 2021 thriller from writer/director M. Night Shyamalan, based on the Swiss graphic novel "Sandcastle," about a group of vacationers on a secluded beach who discover they've started to mysteriously age at an extremely accelerated rate. Gael García Bernal, Vicky Krieps, Rufus Sewell, Alex Wolff, Thomas McKenzie, Abbey Lee, Nikki Amuka-Bird, and Ken Leung co-star. [HBO Max] SMALLS: HBO Max gets its fourth collection of absurd, surreal, and experimental short films, originally produced for the Adult Swim cable network for air on late-night TV, on Friday. [HBO Max] SATURDAY, MAY 14 EUROVISION SONG CONTEST FINALS: The Grand Finals of the annual music competition -- bringing together artists and groups from across Europe -- will stream on Peacock on Saturday, starting at 3 pm ET. [Peacock] BORREGO: Direct-to-VOD thriller from writer/director Jesse Harris about a botanist (Lucy Hale) studying invasive plant species in the desert who's taken hostage by an inexperienced and stranded drug mule (Jorge A. Jimenez). Nicholas Gonzalez and Olivia Trujillo co-star. [Netflix] SUNDAY, MAY 15 BILLBOARD MUSIC AWARDS: The 2022 Billboard Music Awards, celebrating the best in pop music, will air live on NBC and stream on Peacock from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, starting Sunday night at 8 pm ET. Performers include Megan Thee Stallion, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Florence + The Machine, Maxwell, Silk Sonic, and this year's Icon Award recipient, Mary J. Blige; Sean "Diddy" Combs hosts. [Peacock] THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE: Romantic sci-fi drama series from creator Steven Moffat ("Sherlock"), based on the novel by Audrey Niffenegger. Rose Leslie stars as Clare, whose marriage to Henry (Theo James) is complicated by his genetic disorder, which causes him to involuntarily travel through time. "Game of Thrones" vet David Nutter directed. [HBO Max] CONVERSATIONS WITH FRIENDS: Series adaptation of the novel by Sally Rooney, whose work previously inspired the hit Hulu miniseries "Normal People." The story centers on the various overlapping romantic entanglements among a group of four friends, played by Alison Oliver, Sasha Lane, Jemima Kirke, and Joe Alwyn. Rooney wrote the adaptation alongside "Normal People" vet Alice Birch and others; Lenny Abrahamson and Leanne Welham directed. [Hulu] FANGORIA CHAINSAW AWARDS: The annual awards, sponsored by the iconic magazine, honor the best in horror film and television from the previous year. Presenters and guests include Dee Wallace, Joe Dante, Rachel True, and Radio Silence; "The Suicide Squad" star David Dastmalchian hosts. [Shudder] JOE PICKETT: Western mystery drama series, based on the books by author C.J. Box, whose work also inspired the ABC series "Big Sky." Michael Dorman stars as a dedicated game warden living in a small Wyoming town with his family who begins investigating a local conspiracy after a body shows up on his doorstep. The show airs on TV as a Spectrum Original; Season 1 hits Paramount+ today. [Paramount+] PJ MASKS: Animated series about a group of ordinary kids who fight crime by night with the help of animal amulets that transform them into superheroes. Season 4 hits Netflix today. [Netflix]

Hulu dropped a trailer for the long-awaited third season of the sci-fi comedy-drama series "The Orville." The show's first two seasons aired on Fox; it moves to Hulu for Season 3 with a new subtitle: "New Horizons." More: Star and creator Seth MacFarlane returns for Season 3 alongside Adrianne Palicki, Penny Johnson Jerald, Scott Grimes, Peter Macon, and Jessica Szohr. Season 3 will consist of 11 episodes, which is fewer than the Fox seasons, but individual episodes will run 12-15 minutes longer. The series -- a parody and homage to "Star Trek" and its various spinoffs -- centers on the crew of the exploratory space vessel The Orville in the 25th Century. The new season arrives on June 2. EW

Tabitha Brown and Lilly Singh YouTube announced a new slate of original content for kids and families. These projects resulted from the platform's $100 million investment in new children's video content, first unveiled in February 2020. More: Netflix has wound down its production of scripted originals in all other genres, but will continue to fund original kids' content. The new projects include an animated series from YouTube vet Lilly Singh, titled "Mindful Adventures on Unicorn Island"; "The Big Tiny Food Face-Off"; "Buster's Big Halloween," from "Baby Shark" masterminds Moonbug Entertainment; and the musical series "Jam Van." YouTube also renewed the preschool series "Tab Time" -- in which host Tabitha Brown (or "Ms. Tab") teaches kids to cook, tell stories, and live their best lives -- for a second season. YouTube Kids & Family also teased 18 more projects in active development, including a cooking show from producer Whoopi Goldberg called "The Magic Cookbook." VARIETY

Netflix amended its internal culture memo on Thursday, retitling the document from "Netflix Culture" to "Netflix Culture – Seeking Excellence." The "Real Values" section was also renamed "Valued Behaviors." More: Within the "Valued Behaviors" section, employees are now urged to spend the money brought in from subscribers "wisely." A new section, titled "Artistic Expression," explains that "viewers have very different tastes and points of view," leading the streamer to "offer a wide variety of TV shows and movies, some of which can be provocative." The document also instructs staffers that, if Netflix content violates their personal beliefs, then the company "may not be the best place for you." The changes were widely viewed as a response to both the company's recent subscriber loss -- which led to a sharp decline in stock price -- and the controversy surrounding Dave Chappelle's stand-up special "The Closer." THE HILL

Showtime temporarily shut down production on its drama series based on the 1980 crime film "American Gigolo" again, after losing co-executive producer David Bar Katz. Katz's exit comes three weeks after Paramount TV Studios cut ties with the show's creator, writer, director, and executive producer David Hollander, following a misconduct investigation. More: "The Offer" executive producers Nikki Toscano and Russell Rothberg have stepped in as consulting producers, and will take the next few weeks to prep the remainder of the shoot. The first season was originally intended to run for 10 episodes but now will wrap up after 8 installments. According to Deadline, Katz and Toscano were unable to synch up on their visions for the series, leading to Katz's departure. Jon Bernthal stars as Julian Kay, Richard Gere's character from the film; the series rejoins the character following a 15-year stint and prison, as he finds his way in modern-day Los Angeles. DEADLINE

QUICK HITS The Pepperdine Private Capital Markets Report has been a trusted source for trend reporting in VC, investment banking, and more since 2009. Claim your 2022 edition here!* The guest line-up for Season 5 of Apple TV+'s "Carpool Karaoke" includes Simu Liu with Jessica Henwick; Alexandra Daddario and Sydney Sweeney; Zooey Deschanel and her "Property Brother" husband Jonathan Scott (who met on the "Carpool Karaoke" set); and the entire D'Amelio family. NBC picked up the comedy series "American Auto," "Young Rock," and "Grand Crew" for new seasons. Netflix renewed the food and travel series "Somebody Feed Phil" for a sixth season. Peacock is developing a new series inspired by the 1994 film "Reality Bites"; original screenwriter Helen Childress is writing the update and will executive produce the series. CBS axed a proposed revival of the '90s drama "Early Edition," which would've starred Alice Eve as a journalist who begins receiving the newspaper one day early. "Supernatural" vet Jensen Ackles will appear on the Season 2 finale of "Big Sky" as a new character, Sheriff Beau Arlen. Peacock released some images from the Blumhouse horror film "They/Them," starring Kevin Bacon as the director of a conversion therapy camp that's being terrorized by a serial killer; the movie debuts on August 5. 10 actors joined the cast of the Amazon Freevee drama series based on the early life of best-selling author Shea Serrano, and previously titled "Primo"; they include Ignacio Diaz-Silverio, Martin Martinez, Carlos Santos, and Johnny Rey Diaz. Comedy Central ordered a third season of the comedy series "Awkwafina is Nora from Queens." Remedy, the game studio behind "Alan Wake," indicated that AMC has licensed the rights to adapt the franchise into a live-action TV series. Comcast and Charter selected Marcien Jenckes -- who has served as president of advertising for Comcast Cable since 2017 -- to lead their new collaborative streaming effort. Same old marketing automation not cutting it these days? Get our eBook and power up your customer experiences.* *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.

Register for our virtual event to learn about the dilemma of scaling engineering teams

767 Bryant St. #203, San Francisco, CA 94107 Copyright © 2022 Inside.com

Did someone forward this email to you? Head over to inside.com to get your very own free subscription! You received this email because you subscribed to Inside Streaming. Click here to unsubscribe from Inside Streaming list or manage your subscriptions.