Amazon plotting Creed-verse / SNL editor strike / Omi in a Hellcat sentenced / Iger on Hulu plans

Plus the weekend calendar, "Shrinking" renewed for S2, Oscar films on streaming platforms, "Caped Crusader" to Amazon, and more

Inside.com Part of   Network March 10, 2023

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Filmmaker and star Michael B. Jordan and Amazon are reportedly discussing ways to potentially expand the "Creed" franchise with additional film and TV projects. "Creed III" from Amazon-owned MGM opened to a franchise-record $58.6 million at the domestic box office last week, and broke $100 million worldwide. More: Jordan stars in the "Creed" films as boxer Adonis Creed -- the son of Apollo Creed and a protégé of Rocky Balboa -- and also directed the most recent entry, "Creed III." Few details about Jordan's specific plans for the franchise were made available, but some reports suggest that an anime series has been discussed.  VARIETY

"Saturday Night Live" post-production editors announced plans to go on strike, starting with the NBC show's April 1 broadcast. Unless a new deal with NBCUniversal is signed this month, 12-20 members of the show's editing and post-production team will halt work. More: The editors are seeking new bargaining sessions to address health benefits and "pay inequities." The group is affiliated with the Motion Pictures Editors Guild and is part of IATSE Local 700. According to Variety, "SNL" editors are currently paid at rates far below the industry standard, and current offers from NBCUniversal do not address the gap. Several "SNL" cast members have spoken out in support of the editors; a number of cast members wore shirts reading "Contract Now" during the show's "goodbye" segment on February 4. VARIETY

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WEEKEND CALENDAR FRIDAY, MARCH 10 PUSS IN BOOTS: THE LAST WISH: 2022 animated adventure film from DreamWorks, serving as a direct sequel to the 2011 film "Puss in Boots," which was spun off from the "Shrek" franchise. The film follows the swashbuckling cat fugitive (Antonio Banderas) on a quest to restore the first eight of his nine lives. Salma Hayek Pinault, Harvey Guillén, Florence Pugh, Olivia Colman, Ray Winstone, John Mulaney, and Wagner Moura co-star. [Peacock] LUTHER: THE FALLEN SUN: 2023 crime thriller film, spun off from the British TV series of the same name. Idris Elba returns as brilliant but disgraced detective John Luther, who breaks out of prison in order to continue his pursuit of a fiendish psychopath (Andy Serkis). Cynthia Erivo and Dermot Crowley co-star. [Netflix] OUTLAST: Debut survival competition series in which 16 "lone wolf" survivalists will be forced to work together in teams as they brave the harsh Alaskan wilderness. The winners receive a $1 million grand prize. [Netflix] NIKE TRAINING CLUB: A new collection of fitness and workout videos from Nike debuts on Netflix today, including Volume 2 of "10 Minute Workouts" and "Bodyweight Burn," plus "Fitness for Runners," "Ignite & Inspire," and "Yoga with Xochil." [Netflix] THE GLORY: The Korean thriller series returns with the second half of its 16-episode first season. Song Hye-kyo stars as a private school teacher enacting a complex revenge plot against her former high school tormentors. [Netflix] RANA NAIDU: Action crime drama from India, based on the American series "Ray Donovan." Rana Daggubati stars as an infamous "fixer" working within the Bollywood film industry whose life and work are thrown into chaos when his father (Venkatesh Daggubati) is unexpectedly released from prison. [Netflix] HAVE A NICE DAY! (¿ENCONTRO LO QUE BUSCABA?) Spanish-language comedy-drama feature starring Álvaro Guerrero as a retired radio DJ, desperate to raise some quick funds, who takes a job bagging groceries. [Netflix] UNPRISONED: Kerry Washington and Delroy Lindo co-star in this comedy series from Disney's Onyx Collective, as a therapist and her ex-convict father who rekindle their relationship after he's released from prison. Faly Rakotohavana co-stars; author Terry McMillan created and executive produces the series. [Hulu] THE NEW YORK TIMES PRESENTS: SIN EATER: Two-part investigative documentary profiling infamous Hollywood private investigator and "Hollywood fixer" Anthony Pellicano. Over the years, Pellicano was accused of a wide range of illegal and questionable activities, including racketeering, wiretapping, and illegal possession of firearms. [Hulu] WATCHER: Maika Monroe stars in this 2022 psychological thriller as an American living in Bucharest who continually sees a strange man watching her from across the street, but can't convince anyone to listen to her concerns. Karl Glusman and Burn Gorman co-star. [Hulu] MOST DANGEROUS GAME: NEW YORK: The thriller series -- which debuted on the mobile-only Quibi platform before moving over to Roku Channel -- returns for a second season. Christoph Waltz returns as Miles Sellars, who organizes deadly games in which elite hunters track and kill human targets; David Castañeda joins the cast as the group's latest prey. [Roku] CHANG CAN DUNK: 2023 coming-of-age sports drama feature, starring Bloom Li as a constantly-underestimated 16-year-old who's determined to learn how to slam dunk. Ben Wang, Dexter Darden, Chase Liefeld, and Angel Oquendo co-star; music video vet Jingyi Shao wrote and directed. [Disney+] MOONSHINE: Canadian comedy-drama series about a group of siblings feuding over control of their family's Nova Scotia resort. Jennifer Finnigan, Peter MacNeill, Corinne Koslo, Anastasia Phillips, and Emma Hunter co-star. The first two seasons come to Amazon Freevee in the US on Friday. [Freevee] JACKASS FOREVER: This unscripted 2022 comedy is the fourth entry in the "Jackass" film series, and reunites the main cast for a new collection of sketches and outrageous stunts for the first time since 2010. Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O, Chris Pontius, Dave England, Wee Man, Danger Ehren, and Preston Lacy co-star. [Amazon] THIS IS CHRISTMAS: 2022 romantic comedy feature from the UK. Alfred Enoch and Kaya Scodelario co-star as commuters whose train gets stuck in the countryside at Christmastime, prompting them and their fellow passengers to throw a spontaneous holiday party. Timothy Spall, Jack Donoghue, Steve Oram, and Alexandra Roach co-star. [Paramount+] SATURDAY, MARCH 11 NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL: Men's college basketball matches air on CBS and stream on Paramount+ for all Premium subscribers. This weekend's lineup, leading into the 2023 March Madness tournament, includes championship matches for the Big Ten, Mountain West, and Atlantic 10 divisions. Coverage starts at 1 pm ET. [Paramount+] COMBATE GLOBAL: MMA fights from promoter Combate Global previously aired on Univision and streamed on Paramount+ on Friday nights but move to Saturdays this year. Coverage begins at 7:30 pm PT. [Paramount+] SERIE A: The Italian soccer league streams on Paramount+ for all Premium subscribers. This weekend's matches include Empoli vs. Udinese, Napoli vs. Atalanta, and Bologna vs. Lazio. [Paramount+] SUNDAY, MARCH 12 A SPY AMONG FRIENDS: Six-episode Cold War spy thriller series from the UK, based on the nonfiction book by Ben Macintyre. Damian Lewis stars as MI6 intelligence officer Nicholas Elliott, who discovers to his dismay that his close friend and colleague Kim Philby (Guy Pearce) has been secretly working as a double agent for the Soviets. Alex Cary ("The Riches," "Homeland") wrote the adaptation. [MGM+]

"Omi in a Hellcat shows off his car collection" New Jersey YouTube personality Bill Omar Carrasquillo -- better known as "Omi in a Hellcat" -- was sentenced to 5 1/2 years in prison on Tuesday after pleading guilty to a cable TV piracy scheme. Carrasquillo was also ordered to forfeit $30 million in assets, including nearly $6 million in cash and a number of exotic cars. More: Carrasquillo has more than 800,000 followers on his YouTube channel, where he flaunted his lavish lifestyle and numerous luxury goods. The 36-year-old admitted to illegally streaming content stolen from cable boxes to paying online subscribers via his "Gears TV" platform. Charges included conspiracy, copyright infringement, money laundering, fraud, and tax evasion. PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER

Speaking at this week's Morgan Stanley technology conference, Disney CEO Bob Iger expressed uncertainty about the future of the Hulu service. Iger said it's "very tricky" to determine Hulu's long-term value, though he noted that the platform remains "very attractive for advertisers." More: Under the terms of a 2019 deal, Disney can force Comcast to sell its 33% stake for around $9 billion in early 2024. Though it's long been anticipated that Disney would go through with the buyout as planned, some analysts now believe Comcast could ultimately take over Disney's stake instead; Iger has said that "all options are on the table." Hulu only operates in the US; it had around 48 million subscribers at the end of 2022, with 4.5 million of those users paying for the cable replacement Hulu + Live TV service. DEADLINE

Apple renewed the comedy series "Shrinking" for a second season. The show is still in the midst of its initial run; the 8th of 10 Season 1 episodes went up this week. More: The show comes from "Ted Lasso" vets Bill Lawrence and Brett Goldstein, along with Jason Segel. Segel also stars as a grieving therapist who develops a new strategy and gets totally honest with his patients, against the advice of his long-time mentor (Harrison Ford). Goldstein, Lawrence, and Segel told THR in January that they have a three-season plan for the series. "Shrinking" comes from Warner Bros. TV, which has overall deals in place with both Lawrence and Goldstein. HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

All the films nominated for Best Picture at this weekend's Academy Awards are now available to stream online, except for James Cameron's "Avatar: The Way of Water." According to Samba TV, the most-streamed Best Picture nominee since the nominations were announced has been "Top Gun: Maverick" on Paramount+, while "Elvis" is the most-streamed nominee overall. More: According to Samba's figures, "Elvis" has been viewed by around 9 million US households on HBO Max to date. "Top Gun: Maverick," meanwhile, was viewed by about 2.4 million US households since Oscar nominees were announced on January 24. "Everything Everywhere All At Once" -- which won top prizes at the PGAs, the DGAs, the SAG Awards, and the Independent Spirit Awards -- is considered this year's frontrunner for Best Picture. DEADLINE

Amazon ordered two seasons of an animated DC Comics series, "Batman: Caped Crusader," from producers J.J. Abrams, Matt Reeves, and Bruce Timm. The show was originally developed for HBO Max, and was among the many projects that were infamously canceled following the Warner Bros. Discovery merger. More: Abrams and Reeves previously collaborated on The WB Network's "Felicity"; Reeves directed the most recent "Batman" film, starring Robert Pattinson. Timm -- a veteran of the classic '90s "Batman: The Animated Series" -- will lead the new show's creative team, along with veteran comic book writer Ed Brubaker. Abrams referred to the show as "thrilling, cinematic" and "evocative of Batman's noir roots." HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

A new original crime drama series from Lionsgate Television and producer Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson will likely go to Paramount+. The series, tentatively titled "Vice City," comes from "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts" writers Darnell Metayer and Josh Peters, along with "John Wick" filmmaker Chad Stahelski. More: The series centers on three friends who return home to Miami in the mid-1980s and form a heist crew along with a mysterious Colombian immigrant. Jackson also produces Starz's "Power" and "BMF" franchises through his company, G-Unit Film & Television; he previously had an overall deal at Starz. Despite sharing the title "Vice City" and a Miami setting, the new show is not affiliated with the "Grand Theft Auto" video game franchise. DEADLINE

QUICK HITS Demonstrating security and compliance can be time-consuming and expensive. Until you use Vanta. Start a free trial.* "The Sopranos" creator David Chase is teaming with "A Teacher" vet Hannah Fidell on a new series for FX. "House of the Dragon" co-creator and showrunner Ryan Condal promised at a screening of the series on Tuesday that Season 2 will live up to its title and introduce "five new dragons." "Drive to Survive" studio Box to Box Productions partnered with Apple on an upcoming behind-the-scenes docuseries about Major League Soccer; Apple recently signed a major deal to stream MLS games over the next 10 years. The People's Choice Country Awards -- a brand new award ceremony -- will air on NBC and stream on Peacock in September from the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville. Hulu ordered three new reality series: "Love in Fairhope," about five generations of Alabama women; "Royal Rules of Ohio," following the lavish lives of three Ghanaian sisters in Columbus; and "Secrets and Sisterhood: The Sozahdahs," chronicling the escapades of 10 Muslim-American sisters in LA. During a recent Twitch livestream, "Stranger Things" actor Grace Van Dien revealed that she re-focused her career on video game streaming after being sexually harassed by an unnamed movie producer. Prime Video ordered a second season of James May's culinary tutorial series "Oh Cook!"; the "Grand Tour" vet will also travel to India for an upcoming third season of "Our Man In..." Hallmark plans to continue its "Aurora Teagarden Mysteries" franchise with Skyler Samuels taking over the lead role, as a younger version of the character, from Candace Cameron Bure; Hallmark content streams on Peacock in the US. Netflix grabbed worldwide rights to the musical documentary "Lewis Capaldi: How I'm Feeling Now," in which the 26-year-old artist returns home to Scotland and grapples with the sudden onset of fame and increasing demand for a sophomore album. Former "Chicago Fire" series regular Jesse Spencer -- who departed the show in 2021 -- returns this week for a single Season 11 episode. *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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