"True Detective" S4 plans / "Succession" in production / WB Discovery at Comic-Con / "The Old Man" renewed

Plus today's calendar, "Hocus Pocus 2" teaser, NBC stations on Roku channel, Animal Pictures Apple TV deal, and more

Inside.com Part of   Network June 28, 2022

HBO formally ordered a fourth season of the anthology mystery drama "True Detective." The new episodes -- titled "True Detective: Night Country" -- come from showrunner, writer, and director Issa López, best known for the 2017 Mexican horror film "Tigers Are Not Afraid." More: Jodie Foster and Kali Reis will co-star as detectives investigating the disappearance of six men from a remote Arctic Research Station in Ennis, Alaska. Reis is a boxer, motivational speaker, and actor who starred in the well-received 2021 indie drama "Catch the Fair One," which debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival. "True Detective" debuted in 2014 with a critically acclaimed season featuring Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey; two more seasons from original creator Nic Pizzolatto followed. HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

Production kicked off on Season 4 of HBO's "Succession" this week. The new season will run for a full 10 episodes, as opposed to Season 3's 9-episode count. More: "Succession" Season 3 wrapped up back in December. According to a plot synopsis released by HBO, Season 4 concerns the impending sale of media conglomerate Waystar Royco to tech mogul Lukas Matsson, played by guest actor Alexander Skarsgård. The main returning cast includes Brian Cox, Jeremy Strong, Sarah Snook, Kieran Culkin, Matthew Macfadyen, Alan Ruck, Nicholas Braun, and J Smith-Cameron; Jesse Armstrong created the series and serves as showrunner. HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

DAILY CALENDAR TUESDAY, JUNE 28 ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING: The mystery-comedy series -- starring Selena Gomez, Martin Short, and Steve Martin as a true-crime podcasting trio investigating homicides from their luxury Manhattan apartment complex -- returns for a second season. Tina Fey will return from Season 1; new cast members this year include Cara Delevingne, Shirley MacLaine, and Amy Schumer. Martin co-created the series with "Grace and Frankie" vet John Hoffman. [Hulu] ENDANGERED: Documentary examining the increasingly threatening atmosphere for journalists around the globe, who face crackdowns from authoritarian governments even as online misinformation and public distrust are on the rise. Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady ("Love Fraud," "Jesus Camp") directed; Ronan Farrow executive produced. [HBO Max] SECRETS OF THE OLIGARCH WIVES: Documentary composed of interviews with women whose partners were members of Russian President Vladimir Putin's inner circle, giving them an up-close look at both the luxurious benefits and life-threatening risks of being his ally. Subjects include Tatiana Fokina and Alexandra Tolstoy. [Paramount+] CRISTELA ALONZO: MIDDLE CLASSY: The comedian returns for her second Netflix stand-up special, a follow-up to 2016's "Lower Classy." Topics include families dancing on TikTok, getting new dental work, turning 40, and visiting the gynecologist for the first time. [Netflix] BLASTED: Sci-fi comedy feature from Norway about two estranged childhood friends (Alex Bøyum and Fredrik Skogsrud) who reunite at a bachelor party, and put aside their differences to save the world from an alien invasion. [Netflix] UNEXPECTED KILLER: True crime docuseries from the Oxygen network examining homicide cases in which the identity of the killer came as a surprise to investigators, along with family and friends of the victim. The first three seasons all come to Peacock today. [Peacock]

"House of the Dragon" Warner Bros. Discovery announced major changes to the WB and DC Comics brands' approach to this year's San Diego Comic-Con. While a number of WB Discovery projects will be showcased from the stage, the company will not have a presence on the convention floor, breaking decades of precedent. More: The specific line-up of Warner Bros. films coming to Comic-Con this summer is still being decided, but will likely include the DC Comics adaptations "Black Adam" and "Shazam! Fury of the Gods." The company will also promote HBO's "House of the Dragon," Netflix's "Sandman" adaptation, and the final season of CW's "Riverdale" from the stage in Hall H. Additional panels will focus on animated series such as "Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai," "Genndy Tartakovsky's Primal," "Rick and Morty: The Vindicators," and "Tuca & Bertie"; HBO Max will also host a special screening of some upcoming "Harley Quinn" episodes. HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

FX renewed the spy thriller "The Old Man" for a second season. Jeff Bridges stars in the series as a former CIA operative who's forced to go on the run after decades of retirement under an assumed name. More: The series is based on a 2017 novel by author Thomas Perry; "Jericho" vets Robert Levine and Jonathan E. Steinberg created the show and wrote the adaptation. The main cast also features John Lithgow, Amy Brenneman, Bill Heck, Alia Shawkat, and E.J. Bonilla. According to FX, the premiere was the most-watched scripted cable series debut of 2022, and had the most-watched first weekend for any FX series premiere on Hulu. Season 1 of "The Old Man" wraps up on July 21. TV LINE

Disney+ revealed a teaser for the upcoming Halloween comedy sequel "Hocus Pocus 2." Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy reprise their roles as child-eating witch sisters Winifred, Sarah, and Mary Sanderson from the original 1993 film. More: The new film centers on two teenage girls in the present day who conduct a dark ritual, hoping to awaken their own witch powers, but resulting in the return of the Sandersons to Salem. "High School Musical" helmer Kenny Ortega directed the original film; "The Proposal" vet Anne Fletcher takes over for the sequel. The new cast includes Sam Richardson, Doug Jones, Hannah Waddingham, Whitney Peak, Belissa Escobedo, and Lilia Buckingham. "Hocus Pocus 2" hits Disney+ on September 30. POLYGON

Roku Channel now offers eight local NBC stations at no additional charge. This marks the first time local TV networks have been offered on Roku; around 80 million people will now get access to the stations through the platform. More: The networks include NBC affiliates from New York; Los Angeles; Chicago; Philadelphia; Dallas/Fort Worth; Washington DC; Hartford, CT; and South Florida. Some other platforms -- including Tubi and Amazon Fire TV -- have previously offered access to local TV stations, while streaming startup Haystack TV specifically focuses on local news. DEADLINE

"Loot" Animal Pictures, the production company founded by actors Natasha Lyonne and Maya Rudolph, signed an overall first-look deal to create shows and films for Apple TV+. The company produced the new Apple comedy series "Loot," starring Rudolph as a billionaire who's jumpstarting her charitable foundation. More: Animal launched in 2018; the company previously had a first-look TV deal with Amazon Studios. Animal also produced "Russian Doll" for Netflix, and is in development on the mystery series "Poker Face" for Peacock and the adult animated series "The Hospital" for Amazon. DEADLINE

QUICK HITS Testim helps teams accelerate software testing with fast authoring of AI-powered, resilient tests. Sign up for your free account!* In a note to clients, Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi suggested that Apple has 20-40 million paying Apple TV+ subscribers, but added that the platform will likely remain a promotional subscription inducement, rather than turning a profit on its own. According to Samba TV, around 1.8 million households tuned in to Disney+'s "Obi-Wan Kenobi" finale in its first five days online, about 20% more viewers than the "Book of Boba Fett" finale drew earlier this year. A new clip posted to the "Gossip Girl" Twitter account teases Michelle Trachtenberg's return to the franchise as original series villain Georgina Sparks; HBO Max has not yet announced a Season 2 release date. Original "Dancing with the Stars" showrunner Conrad Green will return to the series for Season 31, the show's first as a Disney+ exclusive. Nick Zano ("DC's Legends of Tomorrow") and Shelley Hennig ("Teen Wolf") will co-star in Netflix's action-comedy series "Obliterated," from "Cobra Kai" creators Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg, and Josh Heald; the series centers on an elite Special Forces team who stop a deadly threat to Las Vegas, then interrupt their boozy, drug-fueled celebration when they discover their mission hasn't been completed. Peacock posted a trailer for "Chapter 2" of the soap opera spinoff series "Days of Our Lives: Beyond Salem"; new episodes debut on July 11. "3rd Rock from the Sun" vet Kristen Johnston joined the cast of HBO's "The Righteous Gemstones" for its upcoming third season. According to a job post looking for crew members on the Directors Guild of Ontario, Canada, website, Netflix's series adaptation of the "Horizon Zero Dawn" video game franchise will be titled "Horizon 2074," and will feature segments set both before and after the fall of civilization. Amazon Freevee added two new streaming channels from Fuse Media: the Black entertainment and lifestyle channel Fuse Beat, and Fuse Backstage, featuring documentaries, reality shows, and interviews about musical artists. Assets are getting larger, and end users have you stuck between the cloud and a hard place. Deliver far beyond user expectations with Cox Edge’s CDN.* *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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