"Fair Play" to Netflix / Queen of Sheba Hulu series / Peacock drops two shows / Timothée Chalamet Apple ad

Plus today's calendar, are "Break Point" players cursed?, Discovery+ drops Channels, "Mosquito Coast" canceled, and more

Inside.com Part of   Network January 23, 2023

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According to Deadline, Netflix is nearing a deal to acquire the drama feature "Fair Play" at this year's Sundance Film Festival. The deal is apparently valued at around $20 million. More: Deadline reports that seven distributors -- also including Searchlight and Neon -- have made offers for "Fair Play" so far. The film stars Phoebe Dynevor and Alden Ehrenreich as co-workers engaged in a passionate love affair who both find themselves in the running for the same coveted promotion. Eddie Marsan and Rich Sommer co-star; Chloe Domont ("Uncertain Terms") directed. When finalized, this will be the first major acquisition deal at this year's Sundance. DEADLINE

Wells, Tesfai, and Coogler Hulu's Onyx Collective is developing a scripted drama series based on the Biblical figure, the Queen of Sheba. The story will follow the rise to power of a young woman named Makeda in ancient Ethiopia, who ultimately becomes the first queen on the African continent.  More: Chantelle Wells ("Yellowjackets") and Azie Tesfai ("Supergirl") co-created the series; Tesfai is a native of Ethiopia who conceived of the series and brought it to Proximity Media, which then recruited Wells as a collaborator. "Black Panther" filmmaker Ryan Coogler will executive produce. The Queen of Sheba is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible; there remains debate among historians about whether or not she's based on a real historical figure. Onyx -- which develops content exclusively for Hulu -- also grabbed two documentary projects at this week's Sundance Film Festival: a profile of musician Sly Stone from Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson and Coogler's "Anthem," about the collaboration between composer Kris Bowers and producer Dahi. HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

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DAILY CALENDAR MONDAY, JANUARY 23 ACCUSED: Debut Fox anthology crime series, based on a classic BBC One series of the same name. Each episode opens in a courtroom in a different city, and looks back at a crime from the defendant's point of view. Season 1 cast members include Abigail Breslin, Wendell Pierce, Rachel Bilson, Rhea Perlman, Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Molly Parker, Michael Chiklis, and Margo Martindale. New episodes air Sundays on TV and hit Hulu on Mondays. [Hulu] YOLO: SILVER DESTINY: The Adult Swim animated series "YOLO: Crystal Fantasy" returns for a second season with a new title, "Silver Destiny." The show centers around the surreal adventures of rowdy Australian party girls Sarah (Sarah Bishop) and Rachel (Todor Manojlovic). "Smiling Friends" vet Michael Cusack executive produces. [HBO Max] UNDER THE VINES: Comedy-drama series about a prissy lawyer from London (Charles Edwards) and a free spirit from Sydney (Rebecca Gibney) who jointly inherit a failing New Zealand vineyard, and must find some way to work together in order to keep it alive. Season 2 hits Acorn TV in the US today. [Acorn TV] MINIONS: THE RISE OF GRU: This 2022 animated comedy is a direct follow-up to 2015's "Minions," and the fifth overall film in the "Despicable Me" franchise. The action centers on 11-year-old Gru (Steve Carell), who's determined to join the supervillain team The Vicious 6 with help from his zany henchmen. Pierre Coffin, Taraji P. Henson, Michelle Yeoh, and Alan Arkin co-star. [Netflix] NARVIK (KAMPEN OM NARVIK): Norwegian war drama set during the Battles of Narvik, fought around the titular town between April and June 1940. Narvik provided Hitler's Nazi regime with an important port for iron ore, prompting a two-month Allied campaign to cut off the supply route. Erik Skjoldbjærg ("Insomnia") directed. [Netflix]

"Vampire Academy" Peacock canceled the YA fantasy-drama series "Vampire Academy" after a single season. The streamer's teen-focused murder-mystery series "One of Us Is Lying" will also close out after two seasons. More: "Vampire Academy" is based on a series of books by Richelle Mead, and comes from "Vampire Diaries" vets Julie Plec and Marguerite MacIntyre. The first season premiered on October 27 of last year. On a post to Instagram, actor Jonette Kaiser teased that the show could potentially live on if picked up by a different network or streamer. "One of Us Is Lying" was based on Karen M. McManus' novel and centered around the death of a high school student during detention, and the four classmates who become prime suspects. EW

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A new Apple TV+ ad features actor Timothée Chalamet wondering why he hasn't been cast in any of the streamer's shows or films. "Call Me With Timothée Chalamet" mirrors a similar spot -- "Everyone but Jon Hamm" -- that debuted in January 2022. More: The new ad features Chalamet browsing Apple TV+'s library, including the Jennifer Lawrence drama "Causeway," the documentary "Selena Gomez: My Mind and Me," the comedy series "Ted Lasso," and the celebrated sci-fi drama "Severance." Chalamet also takes note of Martin Scorsese's next film -- "Killers of the Flower Moon" -- which will hit Apple TV+ later on this year. After Hamm's appearance in an Apple ad last year, the actor was actually cast on the streamer's series "The Morning Show"; he'll debut during Season 3. Chalamet will next be seen on the big screen in the origin story "Wonka" and the sci-fi sequel "Dune: Part Two." VARIETY

Felix Auger-Aliassime No players featured in Netflix's behind-the-scenes pro tennis docuseries "Break Point" remain active in this year's Australian Open. Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime was the last Netflix player to compete in the tournament, before losing in the fourth round. More: Generally poor showings from players featured in the Netflix series have led to speculation about a "Netflix Curse." Series regulars Nick Kyrgios, Ajla Tomljanovic, and Paula Badosa all withdrew from the tournament due to injuries, while Maria Sakkari, Taylor Fritz, Casper Ruud, Matteo Berrettini, Ons Jabeur, and Thanasi Kokkinakis were eliminated in early rounds. Earlier this week, Auger-Aliassime laughed off suggestions that the Netflix series had impacted any players' performances, saying "I don’t think it’s connected, anyhow. It’s funny how things work out sometimes." The first five episodes of "Break Point" debuted last month; the second half arrives in June. CNN

Discovery+ dropped its support for "Channels," its hub for live-streaming content from cable networks. The Channels hub featured live feeds from cable's HGTV, TLC, and Discovery, and was included as part of a basic Discovery+ subscription. More: Discovery+'s library of on-demand content will be unimpacted by the change. A post from Discovery+ about the removal suggests that users can still access all the same shows on-demand by using the "Search" function, and doesn't provie a reason for the shift. Discovery+ is expected to merge with the HBO Max service in the spring, as part of a new platform simply called "Max." 9 TO 5 GOOGLE

QUICK HITS Employee training is crucial, but building a scalable program for it is complex work. Use this checklist to take yours to the next level.* Apple canceled the drama series "The Mosquito Coast" -- based on the 1981 novel by Paul Theroux -- after two seasons. Fans of Netflix's canceled YA fantasy drama series "Warrior Nun" purchased billboard space promoting the #SaveWarriorNun campaign across the street from the company's Los Angeles headquarters. Netflix's Marilyn Monroe biopic "Blonde" leads the nominations for this year's Golden Raspberry (or Razzie) Awards with 8 dis-honors, including Worst Picture, Worst Screenplay, and Worst Director. Season 2 of the unscripted driving series "Fantastic Friends" -- co-starring "Harry Potter" franchise vets James and Oliver Phelps (who played the Weasley twins, Fred and George) -- wrapped up production on its second season in the UK; "Potter" vets Mark Williams, Matt Lewis, Alfie Enoch, Nat Tena, and Stanislav Yanevski all make guest appearances. Revolutionary Talent is the Future of HR. Are you ready to tackle your goals for 2023?* *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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