According to a report from CNBC, Warner Bros. Discovery executives have settled on "Max" as the name for the merged HBO Max/Discovery+ streaming service. CNBC suggests that the name switch has already been passed to the company's legal team for vetting. More: - Apparently, some debate about the name remains ongoing among the upper levels of corporate management.
- The joint streaming service is moving through development under the code name "BEAM" until the final name is selected.
- Executives apparently wanted a name that would distinguish the combined service as a new product, and wouldn't further dilute the HBO brand.
- CNBC reports that the new platform will bear aesthetic similarities to Disney+, and will feature various WB Discovery brands (including HBO, Discovery, DC Comics, and WB films) as content hubs.
- Price tiers for the new service apparently remain under consideration.
CNBC 
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Long-time Amazon executive Jeff Blackburn, one of the architects of the company's Prime Video expansion, announced his retirement on Friday. Blackburn most reently served as SVP of Global Media & Entertainment for Amazon, overseeing divisions include Prime Video, Amazon Studios, Podcasts, Audible, Games, and Twitch. More: - Mike Hopkins and Steve Boom will move up to fill in the role vacated by Blackburn; both will report directly to Amazon CEO Andy Jassy.
- Blackburn has recently been focused on aligning Amazon's various entertainment products and endeavors, such as planning weekly Amazon Music concerts around streaming "Thursday Night Football" games.
- Blackburn exits during a moment when streaming video has seemingly become more central to Amazon's future plans.
- According to Parks Associates, buoyed by the success of "Thursday Night Football" games and the epic fantasy series "The Rings of Power," Amazon ranked as the #1 subscription streaming service in the US in September, surpassing Netflix in the rankings for the first time.
DEADLINE
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DAILY CALENDAR MONDAY, DECEMBER 5 HIS DARK MATERIALS: The fantasy-drama series, based on the novels by Philip Pullman, returns for a third and final season on Monday. Dafne Keen stars as young Lyra Belacqua, who uncovers a vast conspiracy concerning a mysterious substance known as "Dust" while searching for her missing friend. Ruth Wilson, Amir Wilson, Simone Kirby, Will Keen, James McAvoy, and Lin-Manuel Miranda co-star. [HBO Max] BACK IN THE GROOVE: Debut reality dating series in which three single women in their 40s travel to the "Groove Hotel" in the Dominican Republic, to meet and romance a group of 24 eligible twenty-something men. Taye Diggs hosts. [Hulu] HOUSEBROKEN: The Fox adult animated comedy series -- starring Lisa Kudrow as an anthropomorphic therapy dog named Honey -- returns this week with two new holiday-themed episodes. The cast also includes Clea DuVall, Nat Faxon, Will Forte, Tony Hale, and Sharon Horgan. [Hulu] MIGHTY EXPRESS: MIGHTY TRAINS RACE: Half-hour animated special spun off from the Netflix Jr. series, about a town where kids and talking trains work side-by-side. [Netflix]
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 Universal's "Minions: The Rise of Gru" According to NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell, the Peacock streaming service currently has around 18 million paid subscribers. That's a considerable jump from the 15 million subs with which Peacock ended the previous quarter on September 30. More: - Shell attributed the Peacock bump to the appeal of incoming programming from Hulu, live sports, and Universal films.
- Disney apparently still plans to purchase NBCU's remaining 33% stake in the Hulu service by 2024.
- At the UBS media conference, Shell predicted that Disney would write NBCU "a big check" for their Hulu shares; the price is anticipated to be in the tens of billions.
- According to Shell, the ad market has been "worsening steadily over the last six months," driven by uncertainty about a possible recession, adding "there's no question it's getting worse."
DEADLINE
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 A message from GREENHOUSE Okta achieves hiring goals and a 227% ROI using Greenhouse Recruiting. Find out how you can too. If you’re expanding your customer base and need qualified talent to accomplish those goals, first look into the efficiency of your hiring platform and check if it makes the sourcing of qualified candidates more efficient. Okta, a leader in identity security and user authenticity, has been successfully aligning the pace of hiring to the pace of business growth with the Greenhouse hiring platform while measuring a 227% ROI! Find out how Okta adjusted their hiring strategy and achieved their hiring goals by: - Automating processes to save time, including data entry and reporting
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READ CASE STUDY
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 AMC+ canceled the sci-fi drama series "Moonhaven" after a single season. A Season 2 renewal was announced in July, and scheduled to stream in 2023, but this decision has been reversed. More: - The news comes just days after AMC Networks announced a major round of layoffs and other cost-cutting measures.
- Revenue from subscribers to the company's various niche streaming services has not proven sufficient to offset the cord-cutting losses from its cable TV networks.
- According to AMC, "Moonhaven" was the most-watched AMC+ exclusive series to date, and the company's overall most-watched 2022 debut after "Dark Winds."
- The show, from creator and showrunner Peter Ocko ("Lodge 49"), was set 100 years in the future in a seemingly utopian colony on the moon.
COLLIDER
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 The first half of Netflix's docuseries about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex premieres later this week, on December 8. A second batch of three episodes will follow on December 15. More: - "Harry & Meghan" offers an intimate look at the couple's love story, including their decision to step away from their royal duties.
- "What Happened, Miss Simone?" and "Becoming Cousteau" vet Liz Garbus directed.
- The Duke and Duchess signed a multi-year Netflix development deal in 2020 through their company, Archewell Productions.
- Prince Harry's memoir, "Spare," is also set to hit bookstore shelves on January 10, 2023.
PEOPLE
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 Netflix shared a trailer for the comedy feature "You People," the directorial debut of "Black-ish" creator Kenya Barris. The film stars Jonah Hill, who produced and co-wrote the script with Barris, and Eddie Murphy. More: - The film centers on a string of cultural clashes encountered by an interracial couple, played by Hill and Lauren London; Murphy co-stars as the father of London's character.
- The large ensemble cast also includes David Duchovny, Nia Long, Sam Jay, Elliot Gould, Rhea Perlman, Deon Cole, Andrea Savage, Mike Epps, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus.
- Though this is Barris' first feature as a director, he helmed a number of episodes of "Black-ish" and the Netflix series "#BlackAF."
- "You People" hits Netflix on January 27.
VARIETY
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 Apple renewed the thriller series "Surface" for a second season. Gugu Mbatha-Raw stars as a woman struggling with memory loss following a traumatic head injury who's searching for clues about her true identity and past. More: - While Season 1 was set in San Francisco, the action apparently moves to London for Season 2.
- "High Fidelity" vet Veronica West created and the series and produces; she also serves as showrunner.
- Reese Witherspoon is also onboard the project as a producer through her company, Hello Sunshine.
HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
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 Amazon dropped a trailer for the upcoming "The Boys" spinoff series, "Gen V." The new series takes place at Godolkin University, where young superheroes hone their abilities and prepare for their future crime-fighting careers. More: - In "The Boys" comics, the students who train at Godolkin go on to become a team known as The G-Men, a parody of Marvel's X-Men.
- The cast includes Clancy Brown, Sean Patrick Thomas, Jason Ritter, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Jaz Sinclair, Chance Perdomo, Lizzie Broadway, Shelley Conn, and Maddie Phillips.
- No release date has been set, but "Gen V" will arrive sometime in 2023.
- This is the second "Boys" spinoff series after the animated anthology "Diabolical," which has been renewed for a second season.
THE PLAYLIST
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- Netflix released another trailer for "The Last of Us" series adaptation, arriving on January 15.
- The Cramps' 1981 song "Goo Goo Muck" saw a massive bump on Spotify after being featured in a memorable dance sequence from Netflix's "Wednesday."
- Apple posted a trailer for the fourth and final season of the horror series "Servant"; new episodes arrive starting Friday, January 13.
- Discovery+ greenlit the new series "What Am I Eating? with Zooey Deschanel," in which the actor and mom will explore everyday food mysteries and investigate the hidden world of manufactured foods.
- HBO canceled the unconventional comedy series "Los Espookys" -- about a group of friends who turn their love of horror films into a peculiar small business -- after 2 seasons.
- In a recent interview with "Extra," "House of the Dragon" star Steve Toussaint teased some of the storyline from the show's upcoming second season, noting that his character, Lord Coryls Velaryon, will be looking for payback for the Hightowers' Season 1 power grab.
- "Game of Thrones" vet Kate Dickie (she plays Lady Lysa Arryn of House Tully) joined the cast of Disney+'s "Loki" for its upcoming second season, in an undisclosed villain role.
- Taking care of yourself matters, and BetterHelp connects you to a therapist within 48 hours, without having to leave home. Get 25% off your first month.*
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 |  | 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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