More WBD layoffs / Albrecht on leave / "GBBO" Mexican Week under fire / Hulu price hike

Plus today's calendar, "1001 Nights" movie, Peacock "Fear" series, Condal extends HBO deal, and more

Inside.com Part of   Network October 11, 2022

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According to The Hollywood Reporter, Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) executives are planning another round of layoffs, which could start as soon as Tuesday. Potential groups that could be impacted include all areas of Warner Bros. Television Group (including the scripted, unscripted, and "alternative" divisions), plus DC Comics, Cartoon Network, and Adult Swim. More: WBD and WBTV declined to comment formally. The Warner Bros. film division is not expected to lose any staff during this round of layoffs. The previous round of layoffs centered on teams at HBO and HBO Max, and saw the departure of around 70 WBD staffers. David Zaslav and his management team are attempting to find $3 billion in "post-merger savings" at the company HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

Legendary Television president Chris Albrecht has been placed on administrative leave due to allegations of physical abuse detailed in an upcoming book. "It's Not TV: The Spectacular Rise, Revolution, and Future of HBO" by Felix Gillette and John Koblin details an incident from the summer of 1991, in which Albrecht allegedly choked a colleague from the network -- Sasha Emerson -- with whom he'd been having a consensual affair. More: At the time of the alleged choking, Albrecht was in charge of original programming at HBO, and worked with Emerson on independent projects for the network. In a statement to Deadline, Albrecht apologized "to those whom I offended with disrespect and unacceptable behavior," but also referred to the allegations as "an old, flawed story" that's being "recycled for the sake of sales." According to the book, following the incident, Emerson went through mediation and accepted a settlement from HBO. The book will hit stores on November 1. DEADLINE

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DAILY CALENDAR TUESDAY, OCTOBER 11 38 AT THE GARDEN: Original sports documentary profiling NBA point guard Jeremy Lin, with a particular focus on his landmark 2011-2012 season with the New York Knicks. Lin himself participated in the film, which also features interviews with Lisa Ling, Pablo Torre, Ronny Chieng, Hasan Minhaj, and others. [HBO Max] NEVER SEEN AGAIN: True crime series from executive producer Tyler Perry, in which the family members and friends of missing persons relate stories about their lost loved ones and seek help and additional information from members of the viewing public. Season 3 hits Paramount+ today. [Paramount+] WHERE THE SCARY THINGS ARE: Indie 2022 horror film about a group of teens who discover a hideous, homicidal creature and exploit it to make horrific yet wildly popular viral videos. B. Harrison Smith ("Camp Dread") wrote and directed. [Paramount+] ILIZA SHLESINGER: HOT FOREVER: The comedian returns for her sixth Netflix special, recorded at the Connor Palace in Cleveland. [Netflix] ISLAND OF THE SEA WOLVES: Debut nature docuseries examining the wildlife that flourishes on Canada's Vancouver Island, including bald eagles and sea wolves. Will Arnett narrates. [Netflix] THE CAGE: Netflix's first-ever original series from Kuwait, this Arabic-language comedy-drama stars Khaled Ameen as a marriage counselor in the 1970s who's working hard to save the marriage of a young couple (Hussain AlMahdi and Rawan Mahdi) while struggling with his own personal demons. [Netflix] DEAW 13 UDOM TAEPHANICH STAND UP COMEDY SHOW: The Thai comedian's 13th comedy special considers his anxieties about getting older and facing mortality, from prostate exams to funerals. [Netflix] ALL AMERICAN: The sports drama series returned to The CW for its fifth season on Monday night; new episodes hit the app and website on Tuesdays. Daniel Ezra stars as college football player Spencer James, who returns home for the winter holidays in the season premiere; the cast also includes Michael Evans Behling, Geffri Hightower, Samantha Logan, and Bre-Z. [CW] ALL AMERICAN: HOMECOMING: The "All American" spinoff series centers on students at Bringston, a historically Black university, and stars Geffri Hightower as Simone Hicks, who dreams of becoming a tennis pro. Peyton Alex Smith, Kelly Jenrette, and Cory Hardrict co-star. It's back for a second season. [CW] CHAINSAW MAN: Debut anime series, based on the cult hit manga by Tatsuki Fujimoto, about a teenager who works odd jobs for the yakuza with the help of a demon before fully transforming into a terrifying chainsaw-themed monster himself. [Hulu] ANTLERS: 2021 horror film from co-writer/director Scott Cooper ("Out of the Furnace"), based on Nick Antosca's short story "The Quiet Boy." (Antosca co-wrote the adaptation with Cooper.) Keri Russell stars as a schoolteacher who suspects that one of her students (Jeremy Thomas) is being abused at home, only to discover that the problem may be supernatural in origin. Jesse Plemons, Graham Greene, Scott Haze, Rory Cochrane, and Amy Madigan co-star. [Hulu] MASTERMIND OF MURDER: Hour-long true-crime series from the Oxygen Network looking back at murders in which the actual perpetrators were manipulated and coerced into committing their horrific crimes by a third party. The first two seasons hit Peacock today. [Peacock] FAMILY CAMP: This 2022 comedy is the debut feature from the Christian comedy duo The Skit Guys. It centers on two very different families who find themselves sharing the same cabin during a week-long getaway, and become locked in competition for the coveted Camp Trophy. [Amazon]

Fielding and Lucas A recent episode of Netflix and Channel 4's "Great British Baking Show" (or "Great British Bake Off" in its native UK) dedicated to Mexican cuisine has stirred controversy online. Viewers on social media have widely condemned the episode as offensive and rooted in crude stereotypes about Mexican people and their culture. More: Hosts Noel Fielding and Matt Lucas appear wearing sombreros and serapes and make puns involving the Mexican name "Juan." Contestants -- who were tasked with making dishes including pan dulce, steak tacos, and tres leches cake -- also frequently mispronounced the names of food and ingredients. In The Guardian, a number of English chefs took issue with the episode, including Breddos founder Nud Dudhia, who said "It's almost as though no research or respect was shown to the culture and cuisine." A 2020 episode of the show dedicated to Japanese cuisine was also widely criticized by viewers on similar grounds; many took issue with disdainful remarks about the food or jokes made by judges, the hosts, and contestants. PEOPLE

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Hulu's monthly subscription prices went up by a few dollars on Monday, October 10. Hulu's ad-supported plan jumped from $6.99/month to $7.99, while an ad-free plan increased by $2, from $12.99/month to $14.99. More: The cost of the Disney bundle -- featuring Hulu, Disney+, and ESPN+ subscriptions packaged together -- will remain the same for now, but is expected to go up from $13.99 to $14.99/month later on this year. Hulu with Live TV rates will also remain unchanged for now, but will likely increase by the end of 2022. Hulu increased its prices around this same time last year as well. TECHCRUNCH

Disney is developing a new live-action fantasy and sci-fi film inspired by the classic Middle East folk tale anthology "One Thousand and One Nights." The project is being developed by Arash Amel, who previously wrote the biographical films "Rise" (about NBA player Giannis Antetokounmpo) and "A Private War" (about war correspondent Marie Colvin). More: It's unclear whether the film will debut in theaters or go direct to the Disney+ streaming service. According to Deadline, the film will be a completely fresh take on the stories, and not tied into the Disney film "Aladdin" or any previous adaptations of the material. Other than the story of Aladdin and his magical lamp, tales collected in "One Thousand and One Nights" include "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves" and "The Seven Voyages of Sinbad the Sailor." Amel also produced the upcoming Amazon Studios film "Fred & Ginger," starring Jamie Bell and Margaret Qualley as the iconic screen duo, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. DEADLINE

1996's "Fear" Peacock is developing a new drama series based on the 1996 movie thriller "Fear." Jessica Goldberg, who previously created the Hulu cult drama series "The Path," will write and executive produce the new take. More: Brian Grazer, who produced the original film "Fear," is also on board as an executive producer through his company Imagine Television. The original film starred Reese Witherspoon as Nicole, a teen in Seattle who falls for a mysterious young man named David (Mark Wahlberg) with a violent and controlling dark side. According to the official logline, the new series "finds two young lovers in a psychological game of cat and mouse" and will unfold "from conflicting points of view." VARIETY

"House of the Dragon" co-creator and showrunner Ryan Condal extended his overall deal with HBO. Condal was originally signed to a deal with HBO in 2020, after the network and streamer ordered a full first season for the "Game of Thrones" spinoff. More: HBO has renewed "House of the Dragon" for a second season. Condal co-created the series with author George R.R. Martin and Miguel Sapochnik. Condal and Sapochnik were co-showrunners for Season 1; Condal will take over as sole showrunner on Season 2. Condal previously co-created the USA Network series "Colony" with Carlton Cuse and wrote the Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson action-fantasy film "Hercules"; he also wrote a draft for a new remake of "Highlander" which remains in development at Lionsgate. DEADLINE

"Ted Lasso" A new collaboration between Apple and Bumble has brought the fictional dating app Bantr -- featured on the comedy series "Ted Lasso" -- into the real world. A new "Bantr Live" experience will be available to users as part of Bumble's Date Mode starting on October 13 at 7 pm (local time). More: "Bantr Live" features an interface in which users can connect via chat without seeing one another's photos for three minutes; at that point, they'll be prompted to either exit the conversation or connect more permanently. This was a crucial plot point in Season 2 of "Ted Lasso," as two characters connected via the app without realizing they already knew one another through work. Bumble users will also get an offer for a free two-month subscription to Apple TV+. VARIETY

QUICK HITS Get the best practices from 7 successful influencer campaigns and the brands who created them.* Apple dropped a new trailer for the upcoming third season of the workplace comedy series "Mythic Quest," arriving on November 11. Writer and actor Sonia Denis ("High Maintenance") joined the cast of the Disney+ Marvel Comics series "Ironheart"; Dominique Thorne headlines the series as Riri Williams, a brilliant young inventor who designs her own Iron Man-inspired armored suit. Father and son duo Damon Wayans and Damon Wayans Jr. will co-star in a new CBS comedy series; the elder Wayans co-wrote the series with former "Last Man Standing" producer Kevin Hench. Newly-released promotional images from Amazon showcase new "The Boys" superheroes Sister Sage (Susan Heyward) and Firecracker (Valorie Curry); the show's fourth season is currently in production in Toronto. "Amsterdam" and "Rust and Bone" vet Matthias Schoenaerts joined the cast of HBO's upcoming limited political thriller series "The Palace"; Kate Winslet stars in the project, which comes from director and executive producer Stephen Frears. Netflix unveiled a new slate of six original shows and films from Thailand, including the heist-comedy feature "The Lost Lotteries"; the culinary satire "Hunger"; and the "love triangle thriller" "Delete." *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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