AMC Networks downsizing / Flanagan exits Netflix / "Mandalorian" S3 in March / HBO Miss Cleo doc

Plus the weekend calendar, Oh Young-soo charges, Keough joins "Under the Bridge," "The Boys" S4 casting, and more

Inside.com Part of   Network December 02, 2022

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In a securities filing this week, AMC Networks executives estimated they'll spend between $350 million and $475 million to restructure the company. Suffering from a loss of cable revenue due to "cord-cutting" and a sagging ad market, AMC announced a series of company-wide layoffs this week. More: AMC also plans to take tax write-downs on hundreds of millions in expenses related to content, which could cause these titles to leave streaming platforms permanently. It's unclear which titles will be impacted by the write-down, but the filing suggested they'll be "legacy television series and films" that are no longer on "active rotation" on linear or digital platforms. AMC's CEO Christina Spade also resigned this week after less than three months on the job. HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

Flanagan and Macy "The Haunting of Hill House" and "Midnight Mass" creators Mike Flanagan and Trevor Macy signed a multi-year deal to produce new series for Amazon Studios. The duo have produced content for Netflix since 2019. More: Flanagan and Macy's most recent series, the Christopher Pike adaptation "The Midnight Club," was canceled by Netflix yesterday after a single season. Flanagan posted his creative plans for what would have been the show's second season on Tumblr. The duo apparently met with a number of streamers and studios before settling on Amazon as their new home. Flanagan and Macy's company, Intrepid Pictures, has one final project coming up for Netflix: the Edgar Allan Poe adaptation "The Fall of the House of Usher," due for release next year. Flanagan also directed the Stephen King adaptations "Doctor Sleep" and "Gerald's Game," along with the theatrical horror films "Ouija: Origin of Evil" and "Oculus." DEADLINE

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WEEKEND CALENDAR FRIDAY, DECEMBER 2 SLOW HORSES: The darkly comic espionage drama series -- based on the books by Mick Herron -- returns on Friday for a second season. The show is centered on a group of discarded MI5 agents who have been given out-of-the-way postings to "Slough House"; in Season 2, the team investigates an old Cold War secret that could result in carnage on the streets of London. Gary Oldman, Kristin Scott Thomas, Jack Lowden, Saskia Reeves, and Jonathan Pryce co-star. [Apple TV+] THREE PINES: Alfred Molina stars in this debut mystery-drama series as Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, who's investigating a series of perplexing crimes committed around the seemingly-idyllic Quebec village of Three Pines. The series is based on the Gamache novels by Louise Penny, and specifically the character's 2005 debut, "Still Life." [Amazon] RICHES: British drama series -- co-produced with ITVX -- about the battle for control of a cosmetics empire after the self-made CEO and founder (Hugh Quarshie) suffers a stroke. Deborah Ayorinde, Sarah Niles, Brendan Coyle, and Hermione Norris co-star; Abby Ajayi ("Inventing Anna") created and wrote the series. [Amazon] YOUR CHRISTMAS OR MINE? In this British holiday rom-com, two students in love each plan surprise holiday trips home, but accidentally swap places, dooming them to spend Christmas with one another's family. Asa Butterfield, Cora Kirk, Daniel Mays, Angela Griffin, and Harriet Walter co-star. [Amazon] LADY CHATTERLEY'S LOVER: Romantic drama feature, based on the classic novel by D.H. Lawrence, about the love affair between an unhappily married aristocrat (Emma Corrin) as the gamekeeper (Jack O'Connell) on her husband's country estate. Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre ("The Mustang") directed; David Magee ("Mary Poppins Returns") wrote the adaptation. [Netflix] FIREFLY LANE: The drama series -- based on the novel by Kristin Hannah -- tracks the close friendship between Tully Hart (Katherine Heigl) and Kate Mularkey (Sarah Chalke) over the course of 30 years. The show will wrap up with a two-part second season; the first batch of 8 episodes arrive on Friday. [Netflix] SR. Documentary from filmmaker Chris Smith ("Fyre," "American Movie") profiling the pioneering actor and filmmaker Robert Downey Sr., who passed away in July of 2021. The film features insights and memories from Downey's son, the actor Robert Downey Jr., along with Paul Thomas Anderson, Alan Arkin, Sean Hayes, Norman Lear, and others. [Netflix] MY UNORTHODOX LIFE: The reality series centers on Julia Haart, a former Orthodox Jew who left her strict religious community to work in the New York fashion industry. It's back on Friday for a second season. [Netflix] SCROOGE: A CHRISTMAS CAROL: Animated musical retelling of the classic Charles Dickens tale about a misanthropic old miser (Luke Evans) who's taught about the meaning of Christmas by three ghostly visitors. The voice cast includes Jessie Buckley, Olivia Colman, Johnny Flynn, and Jonathan Pryce. [Netflix] WARRIORS OF FUTURE (MING YAT ZIN GEI): 2022 Cantonese-language sci-fi action film from Hong Kong, about a post-apocalyptic alien invasion that opens with a meteor strike on the Earth. Louis Koo stars as soldier Tai Loi, the only survivor from his elite unit who uncovers a vast and high-reaching conspiracy. [Netflix] SUPERMODEL ME: REVOLUTION: The reality competition series -- featuring models from various Asian countries attempting to launch their fashion industry careers -- airs and streams internationally on a variety of platforms. Season 6 -- which was rebranded with the subtitle "Revolution" -- was produced in Singapore and features judges Cindy Bishop, Yu Tsai, Ase Wang, Hanli Hoefer, and Catriona Gray. [Netflix] HOT SKULL (SICAK KAFA): Dystopian sci-fi thriller series from Turkey, starring Osman Sonant as a linguist who's mysteriously immune from a global plague that spreads through language and speech. Mert Baykal ("Fi") created the series and wrote and directed several episodes. [Netflix] BROS: Romantic comedy starring Billy Eichner and Luke Macfarlane as two gay men in Manhattan who find themselves drawn into a relationship, despite a mutual distaste for commitment. Eichner co-wrote the script along with Nicholas Stoller ("Neighbors"); Judd Apatow produced. [Peacock] NCAA BASKETBALL: The inaugural "Peacock Classic" men's college basketball game is a 2021 National Championship rematch between Baylor and Gonzaga. NBC Sports' coverage begins at 8 pm ET live from the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. [Peacock] DOLLY PARTON'S MOUNTAIN MAGIC CHRISTMAS: NBC musical holiday special -- recorded at the Dollywood amusement park -- in which the country music icon remembers the true meaning of Christmas, with help from her Three Wise Mountain Men and an all-star line-up of special guests. The cast also includes Miley and Billy Ray Cyrus, Jimmy Fallon, Willie Nelson, Jimmie Allen, and Zach Williams. [Peacock] A BIG FAT FAMILY CHRISTMAS: 2022 holiday rom-com, produced by the Hallmark Channel, in which young photographer Liv Chang (Shannon Chan-Kent) is asked to cover her own family's exclusive holiday party, a secret she exclusively confides in her handsome new co-worker (Shannon Kook). Tia Carrere co-stars. [Peacock] SEAN PATTON: NUMBER ONE: 90-minute debut comedy special from the Brooklyn-based stand-up, recorded at the legendary Tipitina's in his hometown of New Orleans. [Peacock] ISU SHORT TRACK WORLD CUP: The 2022 ISU "Four Continents" Speed Skating Championships will be held in Quebec City's new Centre de Glaces Intact Assurance arena. [Peacock] TOYOTA US OPEN SWIMMING: The 2022 US Open Championships will stream live from the Greensboro Aquatic Center in Greensboro, North Carolina. [Peacock] PREMIERSHIP RUGBY: This weekend's matches include Bath Rugby vs. Harlequins; Bristol Bears vs. Leicester Tigers; London Irish vs. Newcastle Falcons; and Gloucester Rugby vs. Northampton Saints. [Peacock] THE TERRITORY: 2022 documentary from National Geographic offering an immersive look at the fight to protect the Amazon rainforest being waged by a network of farmers and Brazil's indigenous Uru-eu-wau-wau people. The film offers unprecedented access to both the Uru-eu-wau-wau people and their leadership, as well as the settlers illegally burning and clearing local areas of the rainforest. Alex Pritz ("The First Wave") directed; Darren Aronofsky produced. [Disney+] PENTATONIX: AROUND THE WORLD FOR THE HOLIDAYS: In this unscripted musical special, the acapella group investigates holiday traditions from around the world, getting some help from their international assortment of fans. [Disney+] THE GREAT AMERICAN BAKING SHOW: CELEBRITY HOLIDAY: Holiday special edition of the reality competition series, in which celebrity contestants Chloe Fineman, Marshawn Lynch, D'Arcy Carden, Nat Faxon, Liza Koshy, and Joel Kim Booster whip up homemade treats for judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith. Ellie Kemper and Zach Cherry co-host. [Roku] DARBY AND THE DEAD: Supernatural teen comedy feature starring Riele Downs as Darby, a young outcast who gains the ability to communicate with spirits following a near-death experience. After the most popular girl in school, Capri (Auli'i Cravalho), dies in a freak hair-straightening accident, she pressures Darby to ensure that her blowout 17th birthday party proceeds as planned. Chosen Jacobs, Asher Angel, Wayne Knight, Derek Luke, and Tony Danza co-star. [Hulu] AMERICAN CARNAGE: In this 2022 dystopian horror-comedy, the children of undocumented immigrants are arrested and given a dire choice by a corrupt governor: deportation or working in an elder care facility. Once arriving at their assignments, however, the teens find that they're actually at the center of a fiendish conspiracy. Jenna Ortega, Jorge Lendeborg Jr., Allen Maldonado, Jorge Diaz, Bella Ortiz, and Brett Cullen co-star. [Hulu] GONE IN THE NIGHT: Winona Ryder and John Gallagher Jr. star in this 2022 thriller as a couple who visit a remote cabin for a weekend getaway, only to find a strange younger couple already staying at the property. "Homecoming" podcast vet Eli Horowitz co-wrote and directed. [Hulu] MATT ROGERS: HAVE YOU HEARD OF CHRISTMAS? Musical comedy and variety special, featuring the "I Love That For You" vet performing a mix of stand-up comedy, sketches, and original songs. Guests include Bowen Yang, Josh Sharp, and Aaron Jackson. [Showtime] HOTEL FOR THE HOLIDAYS: The first original holiday rom-com from Amazon's free ad-supported streaming service stars Madelaine Petsch as a busy New York hotel manager who finds herself romantically torn between a visiting prince (Max Lloyd-Jones) and the property's charming head chef (Mena Massoud). [Freevee] SATURDAY, DECEMBER 3 BULLET TRAIN: 2022 action-comedy from "Atomic Blonde" and "Hobbs & Shaw" vet David Leitch, based on the 2010 novel "Maria Beetle" by Japanese author Kōtarō Isaka. Brad Pitt stars as a reluctant assassin tasked with retrieving a briefcase on a fictionalized version of the Tokaido Shinkansen bullet train, who finds himself facing off with a number of other deadly hired guns. [Netflix] DREAMS DRAWN BY DUST: Arabic-language thriller series, starring Mehyar Khaddour as an innocent man who's accused of murdering a colleague, prompting him to flee the authorities -- and the dead man's vindictive father -- in Beirut. [Netflix] SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE: Saturday's episode of the long-running variety series features guest host Keke Palmer and musical guest SZA. [Peacock] 2022 NASCAR AWARDS: NASCAR's 2022 awards ceremony -- which will crown this year's NASCAR Cup Series, Xfinity Series, and Camping World Truck Series champions -- will once again be held at the Music City Center in Nashville. [Peacock] A FABLED HOLIDAY: Holiday rom-com from Hallmark Channel in which childhood best friends Talia (Brook D'Orsay) and Anderson (Ryan Paevey) reunite while visiting a magical small town that's filled with Christmas spirit. [Peacock] THE HOLIDAY STOCKING: In this holiday drama feature, another Hallmark original, new angel A.J. attempts to finish the one task he was unable to complete in life: convincing his estranged sisters to finally reconcile. Tamala Jones, Mykelti Williamson, B.J. Britt, and Nadine Ellis co-star. [Peacock] HUDA'S SALON: Arabic-language thriller from Palestinian-Dutch writer-director Hany Abu-Assad ("Omar"), starring Maisa Abd Elhadi as Nadia, a young mother in Bethlehem who pours her heart out to her new hairdresser, Huda (Manal Awad). Huda, who has connections with the secret police, in turn uses this information to blackmail her new client. [Hulu] FIS ALPINE WORLD CUP: This weekend, the international alpine skiing competition will hold its Men's Downhill and Men's Super-G events in Beaver Creek, Colorado. NBC Sports' coverage begins Saturday at 4 pm ET. [Peacock] SUNDAY, DECEMBER 4 SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL: Sunday's NFL Week 13 match-up between the Indianapolis Colts and the Dallas Cowboys begins streaming on Peacock at 7 pm ET. [Peacock] UNDERCOVER HOLIDAY: Another holiday rom-com from Hallmark, this one stars Noemi Gonzalez as a pop star who returns home for the holidays and reveals to her shocked family that her over-protective security guard (Stephen Huszar) is also her new boyfriend. [Peacock] GEORGE & TAMMY: Limited series based on the complicated but long-standing relationship between country music power couple George Jones (Michael Shannon) and Tammy Wynette (Jessica Chastain). Katy Mixon, Walton Goggins, Kelly McCormack, John Teer, and Steve Zahn co-star; Abe Sylvia ("The Eyes of Tammy Faye") created. [Showtime] FIT FOR CHRISTMAS: Original holiday romance feature from CBS, starring Amanda Kloots as a Christmas-obsessed fitness instructor who falls for a mysterious businessman (Paul Greene) with questionable plans for her beloved local community center. It debuts Sunday night at 8:30 pm ET/8:00 pm PT on both CBS and Paramount+. [Paramount+]

Season 3 of "The Mandalorian" hits Disney+ on March 1. The new episodes will follow-up on the spinoff series "The Book of Boba Fett," which saw bounty hunter Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) reunite with his young charge, Grogu. More: Supporting actors Carl Weathers, Giancarlo Esposito, and Katee Sackhoff will all reprise their roles for Season 3; Christopher Lloyd makes a guest appearance. Weathers is also slated to direct a Season 3 episode. Another "Mandalorian" spinoff series -- "Ahsoka," starring Rosario Dawson as Jedi Ahsoka Tano -- is also scheduled for release next year. Jon Favreau created "The Mandalorian" and also produces and writes episodes. VARIETY

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HBO Max released a trailer for a new documentary about the Psychic Readers Network hotline service and its spokeswoman, Miss Cleo. "Call Me Miss Cleo" centers on Youree Dell Harris, who portrayed Miss Cleo in a series of iconic 1990s TV commercials. More: The character of Miss Cleo was Jamaican; Harris, who died of cancer in 2016, was an actress who was born in Los Angeles. Nonetheless, many of the subjects interviewed in the new documentary suggest that Miss Cleo was more than just a performance for Harris, and that she felt a deeper connection to the role. The film features interviews with a number of Harris' friends and contemporaries, along with celebrity fans Raven-Symoné and Debra Wilson. Jennifer Brea ("Unrest") and Celia Aniskovich ("Fear City: New York vs. The Mafia") co-directed. "Call Me Miss Cleo" debuts on HBO Max on December 15. EW

78-year-old actor Oh Young-soo, who was Emmy-nominated for his role as Squid Game competitor Oh Il-nam, was indicated this week in Korea on indecent assault charges. Oh is accused of inapprorpiately touching a woman in 2017. More: The complaint against Oh was filed in December of 2021; no further details were released. According to South Korean cable network JTBC, Oh has denied wrongdoing in the case, and claims that he simply held a woman's hand to escort her around a lake. In January, Oh became the first Korean actor to win a Golden Globe for his performance in "Squid Game," the most popular international Netflix series to date. CBS NEWS

Godfrey and Keough "The Terminal List" vet Riley Keough will produce and star in the upcoming Hulu series "Under the Bridge," based on the non-fiction book by late author Rebecca Godfrey. Godfrey, a novelist, returned to her hometown of Victoria, BC, in 1977 and immersed herself in a strange local murder case, which ultimately inspired the book. More: Keough will portray Godfrey in the series, which will chronicle her investigation into the murder of 14-year-old Reena Virk. Virk's death drew attention to the strange relationship between the accused murderer and a group of seven teenage girls. The story has been compared to Truman Capote's investigation into the 1959 murders of the Clutter family of Holcomb, Kansas, which inspired his book "In Cold Blood." Keough will also star in the upcoming Amazon series "Daisy Jones  & The Six," based on the book by Taylor Jenkins Reid. DEADLINE

QUICK HITS Great ideas are recession-proof. See how innovators in every industry are turning their ideas into code faster and cheaper with Crowdbotics.* Rosemarie DeWitt ("The Staircase") will join the cast of Amazon's "The Boys" in its upcoming fourth season as the mother of Jack Quaid's character, Hughie; Simon Pegg returns in Season 4 as Hughie's dad. A US remake of the African drama series "MTV Shuga" is in development at CBS Studios for Paramount+; the American version will follow the lives of six ambitious, tech-savvy young people in Baltimore. Character actor and NFL veteran Brad William Henke -- who co-starred as Corrections Officer Desi Piscatella on Netflix's "Orange is the New Black" -- died on November 29 at the age of 56. Michael Gandolfini ("The Many Saints of Newark") joined the cast of Disney+'s "Daredevil" revival series, "Born Again," in a major role; details about his character were not released. Actors Mark Strong, Jade Anouka, and Chris Mason joined the cast of HBO Max's "Dune" prequel series, "The Sisterhood." TV's syndicated "The Jennifer Hudson Show" will now stream exclusively on the Roku Channel; new episodes premiere online the day after they air. Season 2 of the Netflix comedy-drama series "Ginny & Georgia" premieres on January 5, nearly two years after the first season's February 2021 debut. An upcoming Netflix documentary tracks filmmaker Lee Hyuk-rae's search for a legendary, never-released early short film by Oscar-winning Korean director Bong Joon-ho ("Parasite").  Learn how consumers act, think, and what they expect in this special report covering purchasing habits, social media, and more. Get the free report.* *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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