Rice out at Disney / Netflix Geeked Week: Animation updates / Hulu drops "MIKE" teaser, orders cooking shows

Plus today's calendar, Netflix's Euro animation slate, "38 at the Garden" to HBO, Disney+ cricket rights, and more

Inside.com Part of   Network June 09, 2022

Disney executive Peter Rice, the former chairman of Disney General Entertainment Content who joined the company along with its acquisition of Fox, has been fired by CEO Bob Chapek. The move was a surprise to Rice, who recently took himself out of the running for a top job at Warner Bros. Discovery. More: Dana Walden, the former chairman of Entertainment at Walt Disney Television who also joined the company post-Fox merger, will replace Rice. It's unclear what directly led to Rice's termination; one unnamed insider told The New York Times that he was found to be "an ill fit with Disney's corporate culture." WB Discovery chief David Zaslav had apparently been considering Rice to run his company's entertainment division. Rice signed a new contract last summer; Walden was in the midst of re-negotiating her contract. DEADLINE

"Entergalactic" On Wednesday, the focus of the Netflix Geeked Week fan event shifted to upcoming animation projects. Thursday will center on the "Stranger Things" franchise while Friday will include the latest news on video game adaptations. More: The workplace comedy series "Inside Job" -- set at Cognito Inc., which oversees all conspiracy theories -- returns with new episodes later this year. The streamer released a teaser image from "Skull Island," an anime series from "Castlevania" studio Powerhouse Animation set in Legendary's "Monsterverse." Kid Cudi's series "Entergalactic" -- inspired by his studio album of the same name -- will feature the voices of Jessica Williams, Timothée Chalamet, Ty Dolla Sign, Vanessa Hudgens, and the rapper himself. Kevin Smith's "Masters of the Universe: Revelation" -- a direct follow-up to the classic '80s animated series -- was renewed for a second season, titled "Masters of the Universe: Revolution." A new behind-the-scenes docuseries, "Arcane: Bridging the Rift," will take viewers inside the production process for the hit "League of Legends"-inspired series. Iconic Japanese illustrator Junji Ito announced a new animated anthology series, "Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre," based on 20 of his most famous stories. The upcoming anime series "Cyberpunk: Edgerunners" takes inspiration from the video game "Cyberpunk 2077," and follows a street kid who takes on mercenary jobs in Night City; it arrives in September. POLYGON

DAILY CALENDAR THURSDAY, JUNE 9 QUEER AS FOLK: Reimagining of the classic UK drama series, resetting the action among a group of friends in New Orleans, who come together in the aftermath of a tragedy that upends the local gay community. Devin Way, Fin Argus, Jesse James Keitel, Candace Grace, Johnny Sibilly, and Ryan O'Connell co-star; Kim Cattrall, Juliette Lewis, and Ed Begley Jr. also make appearances.  [Peacock] STAND OUT: AN LGBTQ+ CELEBRATION: Stand-up special celebrating the best in LGBTQ+ comedy, recorded in May at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles during the Netflix is a Joke fest. Billy Eichner hosts; performers include Eddie Izzard, Margaret Cho, Sandra Bernhard, Tig Notaro, Wanda Sykes, Rosie O'Donnell, Solomon Georgio, Sam Jay, and River Butcher. [Netflix] RHYTHM + FLOW FRANCE: French version of the freestyle rap reality competition series, in which MCs square off for a shot at a €100,000. Rappers Niska, Shay, and SCH serve as judges. [Netflix] MY DAUGHTER JOINED A CULT: Three-part docuseries looking at the life of controversial religious leader (and self-proclaimed "Godman") Swami Nithyananda, who was accused of brainwashing and abusing the followers he attracted to his ashram. The series features a number of testimonials from Nithyananda's former followers and disciples, along with attorneys, journalists, and activists. [Discovery+] UNDISCOVERED: FINDING AMELIA: The latest documentary from Discovery's ongoing "Undiscovered" franchise follows an expedition team attempting to determine what happened to famed American aviator Amelia Earhart, and to locate her final resting place. [Discovery+] ROADRUNNER: A FILM ABOUT ANTHONY BOURDAIN: 2021 documentary profile from filmmaker Morgan Neville ("Won't You Be My Neighbor?") and CNN Films looking back at the life and career of chef and TV personality Anthony Bourdain, who died by suicide at age 61 in 2018. "Roadrunner" debuted at last year's Tribeca Film Festival, and stirred some controversy over the use of artificial intelligence to simulate Bourdain's speaking voice. [HBO Max] ASTEROID RUSH: Two-part documentary about asteroids, looking at both the dangers they pose to Earth but also their significant potential for scientific research. [CuriosityStream] BREAKTHROUGH: IMMORTAL ALLIGATORS: 15-minute documentary short examining the physiology of alligators, and specifically how the species doesn't exhibit traditional signs of aging the way other creatures do, making them, in a sense, "biologically immortal." [CuriosityStream] B-BOY BLUES: 2021 drama feature from co-writer/director Jussie Smollett, about the queer romance between a Brooklyn journalist and a bike messenger from Harlem. Timothy Richardson and Thomas Mackey co-star. [BET+] INDEMNITY: 2021 action thriller from South Africa starring Jarrid Geduld as a former Cape Town firefighter who wakes up next to his wife's dead body, with no recollection of what happened or how he came to be there. Travis Taute ("Blood & Water") wrote and directed. [Hulu] THE DOG KNIGHT: 2021 animated family film, inspired by "The Three Musketeers," about a young canine swordsman who dreams of joining the legendary Muskehounds. The film was produced in Spain -- and originally titled "Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds" -- but has been dubbed into English for US audiences. [Hulu]

Hulu released a teaser for "MIKE," an unauthorized eight-episode series relating the life story of heavyweight boxer Mike Tyson. "Moonlight" vet Trevante Rhodes stars in the series as Tyson; Harvey Keitel, Laura Harrier, Russell Hornsby, and Li Eubanks also appear. More: "I, Tonya" vet Steven Rogers created the series; Karin Gist ("Mixed-ish") served as showrunner. The series was produced under the title "Iron Mike." The real Tyson has come out strongly against the series, which he referred to on Instagram as a "tone-deaf cultural misappropriation." "MIKE" hits Hulu on August 25. TV LINE

Hulu picked up four new reality food series from Vox Media Studios and chef/producer David Chang's Majordomo Media. Chang previously created and fronted the Netflix series "Ugly Delicious" and co-created and hosted the Hulu docuseries "The Next Thing You Eat." More: In "Drag Me To Dinner" -- from creators Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka -- two drag queen contestants host rival, themed dinner parties. The culinary competition series "Secret Chef" features 10 anonymous cooks blind tasting and ranking one another's food, only revealing their identities at the very end. The bracket-style competition series "Burning Men" finds pepper growers going head-to-head, determining whose creation deserves the title "World's Hottest." Finally, in "Chefs vs. World," different world-class chefs are dropped into the wild, where they must personally forage for ingredients and prepare a restaurant-quality meal in the show's "wilderness kitchen." VARIETY

"Ember" Netflix will showcase eight upcoming animated projects from Europe at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival next week. The line-up includes films and shows from the UK, Spain, Italy, and France. More: "Ember," from "Klaus" helmer Sergio Pablos and The SPA Studios, follows a young prehistoric warrior on a quest to bring the secret of fire back to her tribe. "Scrooge: A Christmas Carol," from the UK, is a new musical adaptation of the classic Charles Dickens story, with songs from Oscar-winning composer Leslie Bricusse ("Victor/Victoria"). Other projects include a family comedy from "Wallace and Gromit" vet Steve Box; the animated comedy series "Bad Dinosaurs"; an animated series from Italy about a teenage mermaid princess; the French fairy tale parody "The Seven Bears"; and the epic fantasy adventure "Wereworld," based on the books by Curtis Jobling. DEADLINE

HBO acquired the rights to the documentary feature "38 at the Garden," about NBA star Jeremy Lin's sudden rise to fame and prominence in 2012. The film makes its world premiere this Sunday at the Tribeca festival in New York. More: The film looks at the "Linsanity" phenomenon that swept the nation in 2012, and in particular, focuses on a particular game at Madison Square Garden in which Lin scored 38 points against superstar Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers. The film features interviews with Lin, Tyson Chandler, Iman Shumpert, Lisa Ling, Pablo Torre, Hasan Minhaj, Ronny Chieng, Jenny Yang, and others. "Two Distant Strangers" vets Travon Free and Samir Hernandez produced the film; first-time filmmaker Frank Chi directed. "38 at the Garden" will air on HBO and stream on HBO Max in the fall. DEADLINE

Disney will compete in a bidding war over the weekend for the rights to broadcast and stream Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket matches for the next five years. Disney initially acquired the rights along with 21st Century Fox assets in 2019; they've since become central to the company's expansion plans in India. More: According to The Hollywood Reporter, some investors are hoping that Disney fails to secure the IPL rights, and scales back its ambitions in the Asian market. Disney has set a goal of reaching 230-260 million global Disney+ subscribers for 2024, a challenging ambition that may prove impossible should the streamer lose millions of Indian subscribers this year. India's Disney+ Hotstar service, which currently streams IPL cricket, has around 43 million subscribers and represents about 30% of the total Disney+ worldwide userbase; during its last earnings call, Disney counted 50.1 million total subscribers in India and Southeast Asia combined. HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

Comedy icon Carol Burnett signed on for a role in the Apple TV+ comedy series "Mrs. American Pie." Kristen Wiig stars as an outsider in 1970s Palm Beach trying to work her way into the exclusive world of the city's wealthy elite. More: Burnett will play Norma, the "grande dame of Palm Beach high society," who keeps everyone's secrets. The cast also includes Allison Janney, Leslie Bibb, Josh Lucas, and Ricky Martin. The 10-episode series, from "Dead to Me" vet Abe Sylvia, is based on Juliet McDaniel's 2018 novel "Mr. and Mrs. American Pie." Tate Taylor ("The Help") has signed on to direct episodes; Laura Dern is an executive producer. PEOPLE

QUICK HITS If you’re looking for a little guidance on how to rev up your influencer marketing programs, Impact’s got you covered with the ultimate influencer program starter kit.* Two of Johnny Depp's lawyers -- Camille Vasquez and Benjamin G. Chew -- signed on to appear in the second season of the Discovery+ docuseries "Johnny vs. Amber," covering the former celebrity couple's various court battles. Amazon posted a trailer for the reality dating series "The One That Got Away," in which singles get a second chance to reconnect with people from their pasts; singer/songwriter Betty Who hosts. The US edition of the reality dating series "Love Island" will move from CBS to Peacock for its upcoming fourth season, promising "naughtier games and sexier challenges" after its jump from network TV to streaming. AMC+ dropped a trailer for the sci-fi suspense series "Moonhaven," starring Emma McDonald as a pilot from Earth who's stranded on the titular space colony, where the bland and serene surroundings hide a dark conspiracy; the show arrives on July 7. John Stamos spoke with CNN about producing a Netflix tribute special for his late friend, comedian Bob Saget; "Dirty Daddy: The Bob Saget Tribute" bows on the streamer on Friday. 64% of companies used this channel to generate nearly half of their revenue—and it’s not paid ads or content.* *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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