Zaslav on WBD, DC / Rogen Hollywood series to Apple / "Yellowstone" S5 premiere ratings / "Bridgerton" balls

Plus today's calendar, Lohan returns, "Space Cadet" first look, new "Willow" clip, RIP "Selling Tampa," and more

Inside.com Part of   Network November 15, 2022

Presented by

WB's "Aquaman" Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav spoke about some of the challenges still facing the new company at the RBC Media conference this week. Zaslav called the prevailing logic behind the streaming business "irrational," with many streamers spending more on content than they can reasonably bring in via ads or subscriptions. More: According to Zaslav, HBO spent $2.5 billion on content in 2019 and brought in $2.5 billion that year; last year, it spent $7 billion on content and lost $3 billion. Zaslav was particularly critical of the decision to release all WB-produced films directly to the HBO Max service during the pandemic; he suggested that few new users were subscribing to the service in order to view that content, and it could have been licensed to other platforms at a profit. Zaslav also previewed a new Discovery+ and HBO Max combined service, and discussed the possibility of launching a Tubi or Pluto-like ad-supported service. Zaslav also referred to DC as "a hugely undervalued asset" and praised the selection of James Gunn and Peter Safran as its new creative leads. DEADLINE

Apple won the rights to a new show business-themed comedy series from Seth Rogen and his company, Point Grey Pictures. Rogen will star in the series and also direct, executive produce and write episodes along with his long-time business partner, Evan Goldberg. More: The story takes place at a present-day Hollywood studio, struggling to survive in today's competitive marketplace. Apple grabbed the rights to produce the show in a competitive situation against a number of other studios and streamers, according to Deadline. "Veep" alumni Peter Huyck and Alex Gregory will also write scripts and serve as showrunners on the series. Huyck and Gregory's next project is HBO's "The White House Plumbers," starring Woody Harrelson and Justin Theroux. DEADLINE

A message from SYNTHESIS AI How can synthetic data create more efficient, robust, and ethical ML models?  Synthesis AI’s CEO & founder, Yashar Behzadi recently sat down with Inside AI to discuss the state of computer vision and machine learning, how synthetic data is evolving, and where generative AI is heading. Learn more about how Synthesis AI is working with ML practitioners to generate large, labeled datasets for developing accurate ML models across ID verification, driver monitoring, VR/AR, and other human-centric computer vision use cases. Watch on-demand now

DAILY CALENDAR TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 15 SMILE: 2022 psychological horror film from first-time writer/director Parker Finn, based on his short "Laura Hasn't Slept." Sosie Bacon stars as a therapist who begins experiencing inexplicable and terrifying phenomena after witnessing a patient's bizarre suicide. Kal Penn, Kyle Gallner, Caitlin Stasey, and Jessie T. Usher co-star. [Paramount+] DEON COLE: CHARLEEN'S BOY: In the comedian's second Netflix special, he discusses his love of older women, his difficulty using hotel showers, and the importance of praying before bedtime. [Netflix] JURASSIC WORLD CAMP CRETACEOUS: HIDDEN ADVENTURE: Interactive special, spun off from the animated "Jurassic World" series, in which viewers must help the campers search previously unexplored areas of Isla Nublar for food, supplies, and new survival strategies. [Netflix] R.I.P.D. 2: RISE OF THE DAMNED: 2022 direct-to-VOD sequel to the 2013 supernatural action-comedy, about an afterlife agency (the "Rest In Peace Department," or RIPD) that hunts down undead spirits who are hiding out with the living. The latest adventure is set in the Old West and stars Jeffrey Donovan as a dead sheriff and new R.I.P.D. recruit. [Netflix] RUN FOR THE MONEY: Reality competition game show revival series from Japan in which celebrity contestants race through an empty city, trying to evade black-clad "Hunters" for as long as they can. The more time they spend running, the more cash they stand to earn. [Netflix] JOHANNA NORDSTRÖM: CALL THE POLICE (RING POLISEN): The Swedish comedian and podcast host's new special features material about her love of true-crime television, TikTok scolds, and why she should be her country's pandemic poster girl. [Netflix] A FRIEND OF THE FAMILY: TRUE EVIL: Companion true-crime documentary relating the real story behind the Peacock limited series "Friend of the Family." It centers on the dual abductions of Jan Broberg, when she was 12 and 14 years old, by a neighbor and "friend of the family" named Robert Berchtold. [Peacock] ONCE UPON A TIME IN LONDONGRAD: Six-part docuseries, originally produced for Sky, looking back at 14 mysterious deaths in the UK over two decades with alleged connections to Russian oligarchs or the Russian government. [Peacock] BLACK WIDOW MURDERS: True-crime docuseries from cable's Oxygen Network telling stories of innocent-seeming women who committed diabolical murders. Season 1 aired earlier this fall on cable and hits Peacock today. [Peacock]

The Season 5 premiere of Paramount Network's "Yellowstone" smashed ratings records, pulling in 12.1 million live viewers. Viewership sharply increased over last season, particularly among younger viewers in the 18-34 age range. More: 2.53 million viewers between 18 and 34 watched the Season 5 premiere on its first day, a 52% increase over the Season 4 premiere. Simulcasts of the premiere on the cable networks CMT, TV Land, and Pop TV also saw a major uptick in viewership over Season 4. This means the "Yellowstone" Season 5 premiere outdrew HBO's "House of the Dragon," which pulled around 10 million TV viewers to its premiere episode earlier this year. Though it's a Paramount-produced show, the first four seasons of "Yellowstone" currently stream on Peacock. COLLIDER

A message from OUTSYSTEMS Discover How the Future Develops with Low-Code IT teams are investing in low-code platforms to accelerate their digital journey and evolve legacy applications to a modern stack. But, ‘regular’ low-code is not enough. You need high-performance low-code: powerful, innovative, and future-proof. Access the OutSystems Low-Code Academy today to discover: Strategy. How do I build a high-performance development team? Direction. What can we accomplish with high-performance low-code? Validation. Which low-code platform is right for my team? Access the low-code academy today. Start Learning

The Los Angeles Times attended one of Netflix's "Bridgerton"-themed live experiences, known as "The Queen's Ball." The installations immerse fans in a gala event patterend after the lavish balls in the period drama series, and have earned an estimated 580 million social impressions across Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, and Google to date. More: Season 1 of "Bridgerton" remains one of Netflix's most popular TV seasons to date; it was streamed for more than 625 million hours in its first month on the platform. So far, Netflix and its partners have sponsored more than 800 "Bridgerton" balls in cities including Atlanta, Montreal, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, with more than 150,000 total attendees to date. According to the Times, 38 marriage proposals have resulted from "Bridgerton" events. 80% of ticket-buyers to the "Bridgerton" balls are female; more than 90% of the guests dress up in Regency Era-themed fashion. LA TIMES

36-year-old former teen star Lindsay Lohan returns to feature filmmaking after nearly a decade in the new Netflix holiday comedy "Falling for Christmas." The "Freaky Friday" star discussed getting back into comedy, and her future acting plans, with Forbes. More: Lohan stars in and executive produced "Falling for Christmas," and played an active role behind-the-scenes in steering the project. Lohan signed a two-movie deal with Netflix earlier this year; the next project will be another rom-com, titled "Irish Wish." Though she said she loves doing romantic comedies, Lohan also expressed interest in making an action film down the road, potentially for Marvel Studios. "Falling for Christmas" is streaming now on Netflix. FORBES

QUICK HITS Apis Cor holds the current Guinness World Record for the largest 3D-printed building on Earth. Invest in the future of construction.* The forthcoming Amazon Prime original rom-com "Space Cadet" stars Emma Roberts as a Florida party girl who, via a string of coincidences, gets enlisted by NASA for astronaut training. Disney+ posted another exclusive clip from the "Willow" spin-off series ahead of its November 30 debut. The Daily Beast's Kyndall Cunningham lamented Netflix's decision to cancel the reality spinoff "Selling Tampa" after just one season, and offers a fond remembrance of its "genuinely funny" depiction of newcomers entering the luxury real estate game. Spanish soccer coach Luis Enrique plans to livestream his experiences at this year's World Cup in Qatar via Twitch. *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.

A synthetic data platform to enable more capable and ethical computer vision AI.

Powerful. Proven. Built for Devs. See how high-performance low-code is different.

767 Bryant St. #203, San Francisco, CA 94107 Copyright © 2022 Inside.com

Did someone forward this email to you? Head over to inside.com to get your very own free subscription! You received this email because you subscribed to Inside Streaming. Click here to unsubscribe from Inside Streaming list or manage your subscriptions.