Disney surpasses Netflix / "Elvis" held back from Max / New Vince Gilligan show / Studios ignore showrunner demands

Plus today's calendar, MSNBC drops Peacock shows, Isaac open to more "Star Wars," Plex social features, and more

Inside.com Part of   Network August 11, 2022

Walt Disney's total direct-to-consumer (DTC) subscriber count now exceeds 221.1 million, according to the company's Q3 earnings report, released on Wednesday. That exceeds the 220.67 million subscriber count most recently reported by Netflix. More: Disney's numbers include the Disney+ platform along with ESPN+ and Hulu. The new ad-supported Disney+ tier will debut on December 8 and cost $7.99/month, the current base cost of a Disney+ subscription; those wishing for an ad-free experience will now pay $3 more per month. Some of these subscribers will likely leave Disney platforms due to the company's recent loss of cricket streaming rights in India. DEADLINE

"Elvis" According to Vulture's Josef Adalian, though the internet's doomsday prophecies about the WB Discovery merger have not come to pass, CEO David Zaslav's cost-cutting measures will have a notable impact on the company's streaming services. Zaslav and his team originally set out to cut $3 billion in spending at WBD, and may be looking to make even deeper cuts following Netflix's 2022 stock plunge. More: Adalian confirms that WBD will "very shortly" begin laying off hundreds or potentially even thousands of staffers, from all levels of the company. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Zaslav's comments about changes to WB and a new "focus on quality" were not well received by the staff at DC's film division, who were also upset by the decision to drop "Batgirl" entirely. "Elvis" will be the first Warner Bros. film since "Wonder Woman 1984" to not stream on HBO Max within 45 days of its theatrical debut; the film is now available for purchase on video-on-demand, but no HBO Max release date has been set. Cost-cutting also explains HBO Max's decision to drop a number of one-season series -- such as "Vinyl" and "Mrs. Fletcher" -- which still required the company to pay residuals and profit participants. Adalian suggests that HBO remains safe as an independent brand, and that Sarah Aubrey -- who runs the "Max Originals" development team -- will remain in her position. VULTURE

DAILY CALENDAR THURSDAY, AUGUST 11 DOTA: DRAGON'S BLOOD: Animated epic fantasy series for adults, based on the video game "Dota 2," and centering on the adventures of the dragon knight Davion (Yuri Lowenthal). The third season arrives today on Netflix. [Netflix] STAY ON BOARD: THE LEO BAKER STORY: Documentary profile of skateboarder Leo Baker, who came out as trans while prepping for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Giovanni Reda ("Knife Fight") and Nicola Marsh ("Light & Magic") co-directed. [Netflix] THE MS. PAT SHOW: The comedy series -- based on the life and work of comedian Ms. Pat -- returns to BET+ today for a second season. Ms. Pat (born Patricia Williams) stars as a fictionalized version of herself, a mom and wife in the conservative town of Plainfield, Indiana. [BET+] SEND HELP: Debut coming-of-age comedy-drama series starring co-creator Jean Elie as a first-generation Haitian-American actor splitting his time between building a Hollywood career and his demanding family. Elie co-created the series with fellow "Insecure" vet Mike Gauyo; the cast also includes Patrick Cantave, Nicole Cooper, and Sebastian "Simp" Gauyo. [ALLBLK] WHY NOT US: SOUTHERN DANCE: The third installment of the "Why Not Us" series from Andscape (formerly The Undefeated) and executive producer Chris Paul takes viewers behind the scenes with Southern University's dance line, the Dancing Dolls. The 8-episode series chronicles the group creating original choreography to complement performances by the HBCU's marching band while also serving as leaders in their community. [ESPN+] TROLLS: TROLLSTOPIA: The seventh season will be the last for the DreamWorks animated series, spun off from the "Trolls" movie franchise. It consists of seven total episodes. [Hulu and Peacock] THE BRADSHAW BUNCH: The E! reality series centers on NFL legend Terry Bradshaw's daily life with his family on their ranch in Thackerville, Oklahoma. Season 2 aired on TV in 2021 and hits Peacock today. [Peacock] CANDYMAN: 2021 horror film -- based on the short story "The Forbidden" by Clive Barker -- serving as a direct follow-up to the 1992 movie of the same name, while ignoring all of the other sequels. Yahya Abdul-Mateen stars as an artist in present-day Chicago who becomes fixated on the Candyman urban legend. Colman Domingo, Teyonah Parris, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, and Vanessa Williams co-star; Nia DaCosta ("Little Woods") directed. [Paramount+] THE ADDAMS FAMILY 2: 2021 animated comedy -- a sequel to the 2019 "Addams Family" film -- in which Charles Addams' memorably morbid clan takes a road trip across the United States. The voice cast includes Oscar Isaac, Charlize Theron, Chloë Grace Moretz, Nick Kroll, Javon Walton, and Bette Midler. [Paramount+] FAKING IT: R KELLY: In this true-crime special from the UK, body language and communication experts review interviews and courtroom footage of serial sex offender R. Kelly, to investigate how he was able to continually keep his crimes hidden from public view. [Discovery+]

"Breaking Bad" and "Better Call Saul" co-creator Vince Gilligan has a new original drama series currently being shopped around to networks and streamers. The show comes from Gilligan's long-time home at Sony Pictures TV, and apparently marks a departure from the "Breaking Bad" universe and the crime genre more generally. More: According to Deadline, the new series closely resembles a show that Gilligan worked on prior to his "Breaking Bad" experience: Fox's "The X-Files." The show has also been described as a "blended, grounded drama" with some similarities to "The Twilight Zone." Gilligan created "Breaking Bad" and co-created "Better Call Saul" along with Peter Gould; the "Saul" series finale hits AMC and AMC+ on August 15. DEADLINE

Hollywood studios have collectively responded to public demands from showrunners and writers for new abortion safety protocols, in light of the Supreme Court's decision to overturn the Roe v. Wade decision. A letter from the studios -- sent on Wednesday evening -- echoes the showrunners' concerns, but does not address their specific demands. More: All the studios from whom responses were requested signed on to the letter except for Lionsgate; signees include AMC Networks, Amazon, Apple, NBCUniversal, Netflix, Paramount+, Walt Disney, and WB Discovery. No one from Lionsgate responded to requests for comment. The showrunners had made four demands: safe, funded travel for staffers seeking abortions; care provided for "ectropic pregnancies" and other pregnancy complications during production; legal protection for staffers who obtain abortion procedures; and an immediate halt on all donations to anti-abortion politicians. Showrunners who signed on to the original letters included Shonda Rhimes, Issa Rae, Natasha Lyonne, and Mindy Kaling. VARIETY

MSNBC canceled two of its streaming Peacock news series, from hosts Zerlina Maxwell and Ayman Mohyeldin. Maxwell will potentially remain with the network in an analyst role, while Mohyeldin will continue on in his weekend cable slot while filling in for other MSNBC weekday anchors as needed. More: Maxwell's show focused on deep dives and longer-form reporting, with some segments lasting nearly 20 minutes. These are among the first programming changes since MSNBC launched "The Choice" hub on Peacock in October 2020. Back in March, MSNBC announced a plan to make some of its most popular cable shows available to premium Peacock subscribers, along with new specials from top hosts. VARIETY

During an interview on SiriusXM this week, actor Oscar Isaac said he'd be open to returning to the "Star Wars" franchise, provided "there was a great story and a great director." Following the release of his final "Star Wars" film, "The Rise of Skywalker," Isaac had expressed fatigue with the franchise and a desire to explore other kinds of acting and filmmaking. More: Isaac plays Rebel pilot Poe Dameron in three "Star Wars" films. During the 2021 Venice Film Festival, while promoting the Paul Schrader film "The Card Counter," Isaac said: "I’ve been in green-screen space land for quite a few years and I was desperate to do a character study." In 2020, the actor joked that he'd only return to "Star Wars" if "I need another house or something." Earlier this year, Isaac starred in the Marvel series "Moon Knight" for Disney+. VARIETY

Plex added a new community feature called "Discover Together." This includes the ability to add "friends" on the service, check out what they're watching, and see their ratings for various films and shows. More: Users will have the ability to choose which viewing activities are shared publicly, only with friends, or kept private. An "Activity" feed will help users keep up with what their friends and connections are watching and reviewing. Plex plans to continue adding similar features, turning the platform into more of a social network and recommendation engine than simply a streaming hub. Many competitors to Plex -- such as TV Time -- already include forums and social discovery features. TECHCRUNCH

Iannucci and Mendes HBO ordered the comedy pilot "The Franchise," which centers on the crew of an in-production Hollywood superhero blockbuster. Sam Mendes devised the project and began assembling the creative team, while "Veep" vet Armando Iannucci helped conceive the story. More: The pilot was written by Jon Brown ("Succession") and Keith Akushie ("Avenue 5"); both will serve as writers and producers on the series, with Brown showrunning. Mendes plans to direct the pilot, marking the first time he'll personally oversee an episode of television (though he has executive produced multiple shows). Mendes is best known for his film work, including the Oscar-winning "American Beauty," "Road to Perdition," and "Skyfall." VARIETY

QUICK HITS Need high-performing content for your ecomm channels? Use the platform trusted by CVS, Coach, Instacart, & Nespresso.* "Hell on Wheels" and "Hap and Leonard" vet John Wirth will take over as showrunner for Season 2 of AMC's mystery-drama series "Dark Winds." Disney+ dropped the trailer for the UK romantic comedy/action series "Wedding Season"; Rosa Salazar stars as a woman whose new husband and family are murdered during her wedding, causing her to blame the man (Gavin Drea) with whom she's been having an affair. HBO is developing a feature documentary based on the book "The Devil You Know: A Black Power Manifesto" by New York Times columnist Charles Blow. Paramount+ reported that "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" had the strongest debut month of any new "Trek" series in the platform's history. In a New York Times piece about "House of the Dragon" -- and the deep significance of "Game of Thrones" as a franchise for HBO and WB Discovery -- author George R.R. Martin revealed that he was kept "out of the loop" during the final seasons of the original series, and was not heavily involved in their direction. "61st Street" vet Tosin Cole grabbed the lead role in Netflix's upcoming UK series "Supacell," about a group of regular people who gain superpowers; "Blue Story" creator Rapman (aka Andrew Onwabolu) created the series and will serve as showrunner and lead director. No word yet on whether Netflix's "The Sandman" will return for a second season, but co-creator Neil Gaiman nonetheless talked about some of his ideas for future installments with Total Film. A new Google Meet feature allows multiple users to stream YouTube videos or listen to Spotify songs together. Glynn Turman and Sonita Henry joined the cast of the Hulu drama series "Black Cake," based on the novel by Charmaine Wilkerson. A new Vanity Fair segment features clips from the audition tapes of "Stranger Things" stars Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard, Caleb McLaughlin, Gaten Matarazzo, and Noah Schnapp, along with insights from casting director Carmen Cuba. Most of Season 3 of "The Orville" (known as "The Orville: New Horizons") is now available to stream on Disney+; the Season 3 finale, "Future Unknown," has been delayed due to a technical glitch, but should be up by Friday. The best compliance starts with Vanta. Qualifying startups get $1,000 off— book a time now!* *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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