Apple "Kong" series / "Halloween Ends" on Peacock / "Secret Headquarters" sets record / YouTube TV Mosaic Mode

Plus today's calendar, "Curb" renewed, NBC/Bravo shows to Peacock, "Slumberland" trailer, "Avatar" re-release, and more

Inside.com Part of   Network August 24, 2022

Deadline reported that Disney+ is developing a live-action TV series based on the classic film "King Kong." The series -- the first TV project in history set in the "Kong" universe -- comes from "Paper Girls" creator Stephany Folsom and filmmaker James Wan's production company, Atomic Monster. More: The series will update the story to the present day, and focus on the "origin story" of a new Kong on his native Skull Island. The new show will draw inspiration from the original "Kong" books by Merian C. Cooper and more recent novelizations by Joe DeVito, produced in collaboration with Cooper's estate. The new series is not connected to Legendary's "Monsterverse" franchise, which includes the recent films "Kong: Skull Island" and "Godzilla vs. Kong." DEADLINE

The latest chapter in the cinematic "Halloween" franchise -- "Halloween Ends" -- premieres on October 14 in theaters and on the Peacock streaming service in the US. The previous installment, "Halloween Kills," was released using the same strategy last year, and ultimately brought in $92 million at the domestic box office. More: According to Samba TV, "Halloween Kills" was viewed by about 2.8 million US households during its first month on Peacock. Deadline reported that the film's producers and creative team are being "made whole" by Universal Pictures, to compensate for the switch to the "day & date" release strategy. "Halloween Ends" is set four years after the conclusion of "Halloween Kills," and finds Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) living with her granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak), while always maintaining a watchful eye for the return of brutal killer Michael Myers (James Jude Courtney). DEADLINE

DAILY CALENDAR WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 24 KATRINA BABIES: Documentary based on the recollections of various young people who experienced 2005's Hurricane Katrina and its devastating aftermath first-hand. New Orleans filmmaker Edward Buckles Jr., who was himself just 13 years old when the storm hit, directed. [HBO Max] SELLING THE OC: Debut reality series spun off from Netflix's "Selling Sunset," following members of The Oppenheim Group as they open a second luxury real estate office in Newport Beach, California. The cast includes the Oppenheim brothers, Brett and Jason, along with Alex Hall, Alexandra Jarvis, Alexandra Rose, Austin Victoria, Brandi Marshall, Gio Helou, and others. [Netflix] LOST OLLIE: Limited series, based on the 2016 children's book "Ollie's Odyssey" by William Joyce, produced using a combination of live-action and computer animation. The story centers on a lost toy (Jonathan Groff) who wanders the countryside in search of its young owner. Mary J. Blige, Tim Blake Nelson, Gina Rodriguez, and Jake Johnson co-star; artist and writer Shannon Tindle ("Kubo and the Two Strings") created. [Netflix] MO: Debut comedy series from co-creators Mo Amer and Ramy Youssef, starring Amer as a Palestinian refugee living with his family in Houston and attempting to secure American citizenship. Teresa Ruiz, Farah Bsieso, and Omar Elba co-star. [Netflix] RUNNING WITH THE DEVIL: THE WILD WORLD OF JOHN MCAFEE: Documentary profile of the late computer programmer, businessman, and politician, who wrote the first commercial anti-virus software, and later became a wanted fugitive and an alleged murderer. McAfee was arrested in Spain in 2020 and died in June 2021 from an apparent hanging in his prison cell. [Netflix] QUEER EYE: BRAZIL: Brazilian remake of the iconic self-improvement series, in which a group of gay consultants help clueless guys upgrade every aspect of their lives. Brazil's "Fab Five" are Fred Nicácio (well-being), Guto Requena (design), Rica Benozzati (style), Luca Scarpelli (culture), and Yohan Nicolas (beauty). [Netflix] WATCH OUT, WE'RE MAD (ALTRIMENTI CI ARRABBIAMO): This 2022 Italian action-comedy feature is a remake of the 1974 Terence Hill and Bud Spencer film of the same name. Edoardo Pesce and Alessandro Roja co-star as estranged best friends -- raised as brothers -- who must reunite in order to recover their father's beloved, stolen dune buggy. [Netflix] UNDER FIRE (ONDER VUUR): Dutch-language drama series from Belgium about a tight-knit group of firefighters who must band together to save their fire station following a fatal on-the-job error. Louis Talpe, Lien De Graeve, Lynn Van Royen, Sma Louwyck, and Dirk van Dijck co-star. [Netflix] IN WITH THE OLD: The Magnolia Network series follows designers and builders from across the US as they renovate, preserve and transform abandoned, historical structures and buildings. Season 2 debuts on Discovery+ today. [Discovery+] EUREKA!: Debut animated series from Disney Junior following the adventures of Eureka, a young girl engineer living in prehistoric times who develops some surprisingly modern inventions. The first four episodes hit Disney+ today. [Disney+] BLACK-ISH: The ABC sitcom's eighth and final season wrapped up its TV run back in April and comes to Disney+ in the US today. Anthony Anderson, Tracee Ellis Ross, Marcus Scribner, Miles Brown, Marsai Martin, Jenifer Lewis, and Deon Cole co-star. [Disney+] HOSTILE TERRITORY: 2022 direct-to-VOD Western drama from writer, director and star Brian Presley. He plays Jack Calgrove, a Union soldier who sets off on a post-Civil War journey to rescue his children after they're mistakenly labeled orphans and sent to a group home in Missouri. [Hulu] BLIPPI: The live-action YouTube series for young kids features a collection of energetic and enthusiastic hosts exploring everyday locations and imparting simple lessons about the world. Season 4 comes to Hulu today. [Hulu] REVENGE PRANK WITH DJ PAULY D AND VINNY: MTV reality series -- hosted by "Jersey Shore" vets Pauly D and Vinny Guadagnino -- in which former prank victims are given an opportunity to exact revenge. Season 1 aired on cable in 2021 and hits Paramount+ today. [Paramount+] THE SUBSTITUTE: Hidden camera series from Nickelodeon in which celebrities go undercover as substitute teachers and surprise students in class. Juanpa Zurita hosts. The first two seasons hit Paramount+ today. [Paramount+]

Paramount+ announced that the Owen Wilson family adventure "Secret Headquarters" set a new record as the most-watched original film in the platform's history during its first 7 days online. The streamer did not disclose any specific viewership data. More: "Secret Headquarters" stars Walker Scobell ("The Adam Project") as a boy who discovers a superhero's secret headquarters hidden beneath his home, then eventually realizes the owner is his own father (Wilson). "Catfish" vets Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman directed the film. DEADLINE

According to a report in Protocol, Google is developing a new YouTube TV viewing mode allowing users to watch up to four livestreams at once. Google declined to comment on the development of the feature, allegedly called "Mosaic Mode." More: The feature apparently works by splitting the screen into quadrants. "Multi-viewing" options are particularly popular with sports fans; FuboTV currently offers a similar feature allowing up to four simultaneous streams. YouTube TV recently surpassed 5 million paid subscribers. TECHCRUNCH

HBO renewed the improvisational comedy series "Curb Your Enthusiasm" for a 12th season. Season 11 debuted in October 2021 and has been nominated for four Emmys, including Best Comedy Series. More: In a statement, creator and star Larry David said "Playing the role of Larry David has been the greatest honor of my life." The returning cast also includes Jeff Garlin, Susie Essman, J.B. Smoove, Cheryl Hines, Richard Lewis, Vince Vaughn, and Ted Danson. Garlin exited the ABC sitcom "The Goldbergs" part of the way through last season following allegations of on-set misconduct; this apparently will not impact his work on "Curb." VARIETY

NBC's "Chicago Fire" NBC and Bravo shows will begin streaming exclusively on Peacock the day after their TV debuts, starting on September 19. Previously, NBC and Bravo shows moved to Hulu after airing on television. More: Disney apparently still plans to buy out Comcast's remaining 33% ownership stake in Hulu in January 2024, for a minimum of $5.8 billion. NBCU had previously announced plans to shift content over from Hulu to Peacock earlier this year. Some older NBC series -- such as "30 Rock" -- remain under previous licensing deals and will not be impacted by this shift. Peacock is also offering new Peacock Premium subscribers a discounted rate of $19.99 for an entire year, starting on September 1; Premium is the Peacock tier that still comes with ads, while Premium Plus provides an ad-free experience. THE WRAP

Netflix released a teaser for the fantasy adventure film "Slumberland." The film takes inspiration from the early 20th Century comic strip "Little Nemo in Slumberland" by Winsor McCay. More: Marlow Barkley stars as Nema, a young girl who searches through the dream world of Slumberland for her missing father (Kyle Chandler); Jason Momoa appears as her magical traveling companion, Flip. "Hunger Games" vet Francis Lawrence, who previously collaborated with Momoa on the Apple TV+ series "See," directed. The film hits Netflix in November. COLLIDER

"Avatar: Back in Theaters" trailer Disney+ pulled the James Cameron sci-fi epic "Avatar" from its library ahead of a forthcoming theatrical re-release. A new 4K restoration of the film hits theaters on September 23. More: The long-awaited "Avatar" sequel "The Way of Water" opens worldwide on December 16. Disney promised that the original "Avatar" will return to Disney+ prior to the theatrical release of the sequel, to give home viewers a chance to catch up. The "Avatar" films are set on the fictional moon of Pandora in the 22nd Century, where humans and the native Na'vi battle it out over land and resources. The original "Avatar" remains the highest-grossing movie of all time, taking in around $2.8 billion at the global box office. VARIETY

QUICK HITS Top companies are planning their holiday gifting now. Here’s why their gifts are sure to be a success.* Plex notified users about a security breach that may have compromised account information, including email addresses and passwords; users are advised to change their passwords immediately. AV Club declared the Korean legal comedy-drama series "Extraordinary Attorney Woo" the "international show of the summer"; it's streaming now on Netflix. Entertainment Weekly's Clarissa Cruz spoke with Hillary and Chelsea Clinton about their new eight-part Apple TV+ docuseries "Gutsy," in which the duo interview women activists who are making a positive change in the world. Hulu's "Hellraiser" movie reboot premieres on October 7. The seven-part documentary series "The Murdochs: Empire of Influence," originally produced for the now-defunct CNN+ streaming service, will instead air on CNN's cable network starting on September 25. Amazon dropped a trailer for its movie remake of the 2014 Austrian thriller "Goodnight Mommy"; Naomi Watts stars as a single mother caring for a pair of identical twins while recovering from cosmetic surgery, with her face obscured by bandages. Hulu posted the trailer for "Reboot," the insider TV industry satire from "Modern Family" vet Steve Levitan; Keegan-Michael Key, Judy Greer, Johnny Knoxville, Paul Reiser, and Rachel Bloom co-star in the series, which arrives on September 20. "Meet the Press" executive producer John Reiss will move over to a full-time role on the show's streaming spinoff "Meet the Press Reports"; David P. Gelles will take over as the EP on the flagship network series. Comedian Nick Kroll's first Netflix stand-up special -- "Little Big Boy" -- will premiere on September 27, just one month before the Season 6 debut of his animated series "Big Mouth." The drama feature "Athena" -- from French filmmakers Romain Gavras ("The World is Yours"), Ladj Ly ("Les Misérables") and Elias Belkeddar ("My Days of Glory") -- debuts on Netflix on September 23, after its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival; the film surveys an incident of police violence and its impact on one family, and their surrounding community. Disney+ UK ordered the 12-part series "A Thousand Blows," which will reunite "Peaky Blinders" creator Steven Knight and star Stephen Graham; the series, which will stream on Hulu in the US, takes place in 1880s London's illegal boxing underworld. UK broadcaster ITV's new streaming service, ITVX, will launch domestically in November; the platform will replace ITV's current streaming offering, ITV Hub. Netflix announced the start of production on the Korean horror series "Parasyte: The Grey," based on the popular manga by Hitoshi Iwaaki; the project comes from "Hellbound" and "Train to Busan" vet Yeon Sang-ho. Five ways you can use content and data to create a cycle of unforgettable 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 Eduardo Garcia is a writer and editor based in New York. He is the author of "Things You Can Do," an illustrated book about climate action. Bylines in The New York Times, The Guardian, Slate, Scientific American, and others. In one of his previous lives, Eduardo worked as a Reuters correspondent in Latin America for nearly a decade.

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