HBO Max price hike / FX's Landgraf at TCAs / Starz grabs "Minx" / "Wednesday" hits another milestone

Plus the weekend calendar, Chinese gov't streaming stakes, ITVX's first month, "Criminal Minds" renewed, and more

Inside.com Part of   Network January 13, 2023

HBO Max announced a price increase for its ad-free tier, from $14.99/month to $15.99. For current subscribers, the rate hike will take effect at the start of their next billing cycle. More: The price increase comes just a few months before a planned merger of HBO Max and Discovery+ into a new platform simply called "Max." The company explained that the additional revenue will allow them to invest more in content and the app itself. Throughout 2022, WB Discovery CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels made the public case that streaming services -- including HBO Max -- have been priced too low. CNBC

FX chairman John Landgraf, who's credited with coining the term "Peak TV," spoke about the trend of purging and "un-renewing" shows across the streaming landscape. While speaking at the Television Critics Association's annual winter press tour, Landgraf noted that, in 2022 alone, the industry aired or streamed 599 scripted original series, a 7% increase over 2021. More: Landgraf compared the streaming TV market to the early days of Hollywood, when studios cranked out "1000s of movies" before discovering how to optimize the new product and effectively market it to consumers. Landgraf said that FX has no specific plans to radically shift its content strategy or mass-cancel shows, but he also wouldn't entire rule it out either. According to Landgraf, "Fargo" creator Noah Hawley will enter production on his "Alien" spinoff series later this year. TV LINE

WEEKEND CALENDAR NOTE: The former "Epix" streaming service has rebranded as MGM+ in 2023. FRIDAY, JANUARY 13 HUNTERS: The exploitation movie-inspired crime drama series -- about a group of Nazi hunters covertly operating in '70s New York -- returns to Prime Video on Friday for its second and final season. In the new episodes, the team sets their sights on the ultimate prize, Adolf Hitler, who remains alive in South America. Logan Lerman, Al Pacino, Dylan Baker, Lena Olin, Kate Mulvany, Tiffany Boone, Josh Radnor, and Carol Kane co-star; Jordan Peele executive produced. [Amazon] THE TEST: The sports docuseries takes viewers behind the scenes with the Australian men's cricket team, as they navigate leadership changes and strive to reclaim the championship title. The new episodes chronicle the 2021/2022 season. [Amazon] SERVANT: The thriller series from executive producer M. Night Shyamalan returns for a fourth and final season on Friday. Lauren Ambrose and Toby Kebbell co-star as new parents who hire a mysterious nanny (Nell Tiger Free) with a troubled past and seemingly supernatural abilities. Rupert Grint co-stars. [Apple TV+] SUPER LEAGUE: THE WAR FOR FOOTBALL: Four-part docuseries examining the short-lived attempt to launch a breakaway European soccer "Super League" in 2021, before an aggressive backlash from fans stopped the organizers in their tracks. Jeff Zimbalist ("The Line") directed. [Apple TV+] YOUR HONOR: The crime drama series stars Bryan Cranston as former New Orleans judge Michael Desiato, whose attempts to cover up his son's hit-and-run accident ultimately cause his own life and career to unravel. Michael Stuhlbarg, Hope Davis, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Carmen Ejogo, Hunter Doohan, and Sofia Black-D'Elia co-star. Season 2 debuts Friday on Showtime's streaming platforms and Sunday night on cable. [Showtime] THE DROP: "Cringe" comedy feature starring "Pen15" vet Anna Konkle as a woman whose trip to a tropical island for a destination wedding gets off to a bad start when she accidentally drops her friend's baby. Jermaine Fowler, Jillian Bell, Utkarsh Ambudkar, and Robin Thede co-star; Sarah Adina Smith ("Buster's Mal Heart") co-wrote and directed. [Hulu] BREAK POINT: Netflix's latest behind-the-scenes sports docuseries from "Drive to Survive" producers James Gay-Rees and Paul Martin follows a group of men's and women's tennis pros throughout a full year of circuit and tournament play. Participating players include Felix Auger-Aliassime, Matteo Berrettini, Taylor Fritz, Thanasi Kokkinakis, Nick Kyrgios, Maria Sakkari, Iga Swiatek, and Frances Tiafoe. [Netflix] DOG GONE: Adventure drama, inspired by a true story, starring Rob Lowe and Johnny Berchtold as a father and son with a troubled relationship who join together on a search along the Appalachian trail for their beloved missing dog, Gonker. Stephen Herek ("Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure") directed. [Netflix] SKY ROJO: The pulpy Spanish crime series from "Money Heist" vet Álex Pina returns to Netflix on Friday for a third and final season. Verónica Sánchez, Lali Espósito, and Yany Prado co-star as three sex workers who escape their pimp (Asier Etxeandia) along with 4 million of his euros, then find themselves trailed by his psychotic henchman (Miguel Ángel Silvestre). [Netflix] TRIAL BY FIRE: Hindi-language limited series -- based on actual events -- relating the true story of Neelam and Shekhar Krishnamoorthy. The grieving parents lost two children in a 1997 fire at a South Dehli movie theater, then spent 20 years seeking justice for the victims. Prashant Nair ("Umrika") directed the series and served as showrunner. [Netflix] SUZAN & FREEK: BETWEEN YOU & ME (TUSSEN JOU EN MIJ): Dutch documentary profiling the musical duo, with a look at how they balance their public careers along with their private lives as a couple. [Netflix] THE BIG SOIRÉE (EL GRAN SARAO): Four-episode humorous reality series from Spain, following comedians and friends Sílvia Abril and Toni Acosta as they emotionally deal with getting older in the days leading up to their shared, blowout 50th birthday party. The series aired on the TNT network in Spain and hits HBO Max in the US today. [HBO Max] I DON'T LIKE DRIVING (NO ME GUSTA CONDUCIR): Spanish-language comedy series -- also from TNT -- starring Juan Diego Botto as a misanthropic college lecturer who's forced to attend driving school in order to renew his license. [HBO Max] SATURDAY, JANUARY 14 MISS UNIVERSE 2022: The 71st Miss Universe pageant will stream live on Roku from the New Orleans Morial Convention Center in Louisiana. Former Miss Universe Olivia Culpo and Jeannie Mai Jenkins will host the telecast, replacing former presenter Steve Harvey, who was under contract with Fox. A Spanish-language broadcast will also air on Telemundo and stream on Peacock starting on Sunday. [Roku] THE WEDDING VEIL INSPIRATION: The latest entry in Hallmark's ongiong "Wedding Veil" romance franchise finds Paolo (Paolo Bernardini) returning to Italy to care for his ailing father, while Emma (Autumn Reeser) discovers a new passion for art. Lacey Chabert and Alison Sweeney co-star. [Peacock] CRASH COURSE IN ROMANCE: Debut romantic comedy series from South Korea. Jeon Do-yeon stars as a banchan shop owner who decides to return to college as an adult, and enlists the help of a popular private math tutor (Jung Kyung-ho) to get through her entrance exams. [Netflix] SUNDAY, JANUARY 15 THE LAST OF US: Post-apocalyptic drama series, based on the video game franchise, and set in a dystopian world in which a deadly fungal outbreak turns humans into zombie-like monsters. Pedro Pascal stars as Joel, a hardened survivor smuggling a young girl (Bella Ramsey) across what remains of the United States. Gabriel Luna, Anna Torv, Merle Dandridge, Murray Bartlett, and Nick Offerman co-star; original game developer Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin ("Chernobyl") created the series. [HBO Max] MAYOR OF KINGSTOWN: Crime thriller series from "Yellowstone" and "Tulsa King" creator Taylor Sheridan, starring Jeremy Renner as a powerful fixer working in a Michigan city that's dominated by private prisons. Dianne Wiest, Hugh Dillon, Taylor Handley, and Emma Laird co-star. It's back this weekend for a second season. [Paramount+] GODFATHER OF HARLEM: The period crime drama series -- which returns this weekend for a third season -- stars Forest Whitaker as real-life New York crime boss Bumpy Johnson. Michael Raymond-James, Vincent D'Onofrio, Ilfenesh Hadera, Lucy Fry, Whoopi Goldberg, and Giancarlo Esposito co-star; Jason Alan Carvell also replaces Nigél Thatch this season as Malcolm X. Episodes air on the Epix cable network and stream on MGM+. [MGM+] MURF THE SURF: JEWELS, JESUS, AND MAYHEM IN THE USA: Four-part true-crime docuseries profiling infamous jewel thief Jack Roland Murphy, with a particular focus on his involvement in the 1964 heist of a collection from New York's American Museum of Natural History. RJ Cutler ("Belushi") wrote and directed. [MGM+]

Starz grabbed the period comedy-drama comedy series "Minx," which was canceled at HBO Max in December. The show's second season was mostly finished with production at the time of HBO Max's cancellation; it will air and stream on Starz instead. More: Starz acquired the rights to both seasons of the show, which debuted on HBO Max in Spring 2022. Starz President and CEO Jeffrey Hirsch said the show was "a perfect fit for our brand, with our dedication to narratives by, about, and for women." The series is set in the 1970s, and stars Olivia Lovibond and Jake Johnson as an unlikely duo who team up to create an erotic magazine for women. HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

According to Nielsen, Netflix's "Wednesday" remained the most popular streaming series in the US during the week of December 12-18, with 2.2 billion minutes viewed. Overall, the series was viewed for 16.8 billion minutes in its first four weeks on Netflix. More: "Wednesday" is now the second most-viewed streaming series in history in its first month, trailing only the fourth season of Netflix's "Stranger Things." "Ozark" is now in third place with 15.3 billion minutes viewed. Netflix's docuseries "Harry & Meghan" took second place for this week, and was the only other program to surpass the 1 billion minutes viewed milestone. DEADLINE

A new report from The Financial Times claims that the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) has taken a 1% stake in a digital subsidiary of Alibaba. The company, based in Guangzhou, includes China's third most-popular video streamer, Youku, along with the mobile internet browser UC Web. More: The CAC is also reportedly seeking a similar stake in the company's top video, gaming, and social media company, Tencent. According to Variety, the CAC's "golden shares" would be limited to Tencent's video business, and would not impact its video games business -- the world's largest -- or its corporate upper management. Tencent Video is China's largest long-form streaming platform, and had around 120 million paid subscribers in September 2022. "Golden shares" convey special powers on their owners -- usually a founder or a government agency -- in addition to their economic value. In this case, it's likely China's ruling Communist Party wants oversight over video content and distribution, along with insight into corporate finances and strategic planning. VARIETY

"A Spy Among Friends" ITV's free ad-supported streaming service, ITVX, saw a 55% jump in viewership over the UK network's previous streaming destination during its first month. ITVX replaces the ITV Hub service, which was notoriously outdated and frequently crashed during popular live events. More: ITV has already committed more than £800 million ($975 million) to fund ITVX over the next four years. The streaming platform got a boost during its first month from the World Cup soccer tournament and the launch of the spy thriller series "A Spy Among Friends," starring Damian Lewis and Guy Pearce. Even without the World Cup, ITV reported that hours streamed on the new platform were up 29% year-over-year in December and early January. THE GUARDIAN

QUICK HITS Delight your family, guests, or team like never before with Vestaboard, the award-winning messaging display. Learn more.* Paramount+ renewed the revived procedural drama "Criminal Minds: Evolution" for a second season. Morgan Freeman joined the cast of Taylor Sheridan's upcoming Paramount+ CIA drama "Lioness," alongside Nicole Kidman and Zoe Saldaña. Now that it's selling ads, Netflix secured a showcase during the traditional "upfront week" in New York, and will present its line-up to potential sponsors on May 17. "Rick & Morty" co-creator Justin Roiland was charged with felony domestic violence in Orange County, California, in connection to a 2020 incident. Paramount+ greenlit a revival film based on the classic Nickelodeon series "Zoey 101"; Jamie Lynn Spears will reprise her lead role as Zoey Brooks for "Zoey 102," which is now in production. Author Paul Theroux discussed the Apple TV+ adaptation of his novel "The Mosquito Coast" with Deadline, including his hopes for a potential third season. MSNBC canceled Hallie Jackson's show as part of an overall line-up change; she'll expand her daily program on NBC News Now by one hour. Rapper Saweetie will make a guest appearance on Season 2 of Peacock's "Bel-Air." Netflix canceled the animated comedy-horror series "Dead End: Paranormal Park" after two seasons. Andrew Callaghan, the filmmaker and host behind HBO's "This Place Rules," denied the allegations of sexual misconduct against him that have gone viral on TikTok. Paramount+ dropped a trailer for the debut YA supernatural drama series "Wolf Pack," based on the books by Edo Van Belkom; Sarah Michelle Gellar and Rodrigo Santoro co-star. Italian authorities have charged filmmaker Michael Bay with killing a pigeon on the set of his 2018 Netflix film "6 Underground"; the director denies the allegations, and told TMZ that all homing pigeons used in the production landed safely. There’s a new email automation strategy that’s helping mailers double, even triple their email open rates.* *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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