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| Good morning! Very full issue today so I'll keep this brief. Look out for "Barbie" on VOD very soon, despite still being #1 at the US box office. Clearly, WB is unafraid of digital sales cannibalizing its own theatrical profits. That used to be a chief concern in Hollywood, but increasingly, it looks like movie theaters and streaming platforms have a more symbiotic relationship that executives and insiders once believed. Some fans prefer seeing films in theaters, even if they're otherwise available to stream, while a healthy theatrical run makes streaming films more clickable and appealing to subscribers at home. So in some ways, it's win-win! Enjoy today's issue. We'll be back tomorrow with the weekend calendar. Lon
p/lon-harris | |
| 1 | | Paramount Global announced that it will no longer sell off a majority stake in the BET Media Group. The division includes both VH1 and BET Studios, along with the BET cable network and the BET+ streaming service. More: - Sources told Wall Street Journal that Paramount reversed plans for the sale after it became clear that it wouldn't "result in any meaningful deleveraging of its balance sheet."
- Bidders for BET included media moguls Sean "Diddy" Combs, Tyler Perry, and Byron Allen.
- Combs is already the owner of the Revolt network, and had previously worked with Paramount Global on MTV's "Making the Band" franchise.
- Perry, meanwhile, currently owns a minority stake in BET, and produces the bulk of the network's original programming.
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| 2 | | The box office mega-hit "Barbie" comes to VOD on September 5. The film is currently available to pre-order on Amazon Prime Video for $19.99. More: - "Barbie" has brought in $537.5 million at the US box office so far, making it Warner Bros. highest-grossing domestic release in history, surpassing "The Dark Knight's" $536 million total.
- It's also likely that "Barbie" will soon overtake "The Super Mario Bros. Movie's" $574 million total, making it the year's highest-grossing American film.
- Another summer hit, the action sequel "Fast X," comes to Peacock on September 15; that film is already available to rent or buy on VOD.
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| 3 | | DAILY CALENDAR THURSDAY, AUGUST 17 THE UPSHAWS: The sitcom, chronicling the ups and downs of a working-class Black American family from Indiana, returns with a batch of new episodes. (This is "Part 4," by Netflix's counting). Wanda Sykes co-created the series with Regina Y. Hicks and stars alongside Mike Epps and Kim Fields; Jenifer Lewis and Marsha Warfield make guest appearances this year. [Netflix] MY DAD THE BOUNTY HUNTER: The animated sci-fi action comedy series, about two kids who discover their father is secretly an intergalactic bounty hunter, returns for a second season. Laz Alonso, Yvonne Orji, Priah Ferguson, and JeCobi Swain co-star. [Netflix] KILLING IT: The satirical dark comedy series from "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" vets Dan Goor and Luke Del Tredici stars Craig Robinson as an aspiring entrepreneur whose pathway to riches involves python hunts, feuds with swamp-dwellers, and even more unconventional exploits. Claudia O'Doherty and Rell Battle co-star. All eight Season 2 episodes hit Peacock today. [Peacock] COLD CASE FILES: DNA SPEAKS: Debut true crime docuseries -- spun off from "Cold Case Files" -- in which victims' families and law enforcement utilize advancements in DNA and forensic technology to re-assess cold cases. Bill Kurtis narrates. [Hulu] FOUR SAMOSAS: Indie romantic action-comedy starring Venk Potula as an aspiring rapper who's so determined to put a stop to his ex-girlfriend's engagement, he plots an elaborate heist to steal her wedding diamonds. Summer Bishil, Sharmita Bhattacharya, Nirvan Patnaik, and Karan Soni co-star; Ravi Kapoor ("Miss India America") wrote and directed. [Hulu] TRACY MORGAN: TAKIN' IT TOO FAR: The actor and comedian's first-ever Max special was shot at the Wilbur Theater in Boston. Much of the material relates to Morgan's 2014 car accident, which left him with several broken bones and a traumatic brain injury. [Max] I LOVE YOU, AND IT HURTS (TE QUIERO Y ME DUELE): Debut Spanish-language coming-of-age musical drama series, produced in Mexico by iconic Argentine TV producer Cris Morena ("Floricienta"). The story centers on two young people from parallel universes who meet by chance. Roberto Aguilar, Mar Sordo, César Díaz, Jorge Salinas, Heider Moreno and Ana Celeste co-star. [Max] THE WONDER YEARS: ABC's revival of the classic sitcom follows the lives of a Black American family in 1960s Montgomery, Alabama. Elisha "EJ" Williams, Dulé Hill, Saycon Sengbloh, and Don Cheadle co-star. The first half of the show's second season hits Disney+ in the US today. [Disney+] MERCY: 2023 direct-to-VOD action film starring Leah Gibson as an ex-military doctor who falls back on her combat experience after a group of armed criminals seizes control of the hospital where she works. Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Jon Voight co-star; Tony Dean Smith ("Disappearance in Yellowstone") directed. [Paramount+] | | | |
| 4 | | Warner Bros. Discovery laid off a number of staffers from the Max marketing team. Though no specific numbers were announced, a source told Deadline that the layoffs were in the "double digits." More: - These are the first staff reductions in WBD's marketing group since the merger of HBO Max and Discovery+ in May.
- WBD has not revealed many specifics regarding the launch of Max, but reported that it has around 95.8 million total subscribers across all of its streaming services as of June 30.
- WBD executives have pursued a number of cost-saving strategies following the $43 billion WarnerMedia-Discovery deal; they have promised investors between $3-$4 billion in savings.
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| 5 | | A new report from Adalytics indicates that Google's ad-targeting software may be tracking children's behavior across the internet. The trackers could violate COPPA (Children's Online Privacy Protection Act), a federal law requiring all online services to obtain parental consent before collecting personal data about users under the age of 13 for advertising purposes. More: - In 2019, YouTube and parent company Google greed to pay a $170 million fine from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the State of New York, after it was revealed the company had illegally collected information about underage users.
- YouTube has previously vowed to limit the collection of viewer data generally, and to stop serving personalized ads on content designed for children.
- Two US Senators -- Democrat Ed Markey of Massachusetts and Republican Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee -- responded to the new report by sending a letter to the FTC, urging an investigation into whether or not Google and YouTube violated COPPA.
- Overall, Adalytics identified more than 300 ads for products intended for adults that were featured on over 100 YouTube videos aimed at children; the report also found a number of YouTube ads featuring violent content that were streamed on kid-friendly channels.
- In June, a separate Adalytics report indicated that Google has repeatedly misled advertisers, and violated its own ad guidelines, via its TrueView platform.
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| 6 | | Apple and Legendary's "Godzilla" series has the new title "Monarch: Legacy of Monsters." The series is set in the same fictional universe as Legendary's Monsterverse film franchise, including 2021's "Godzilla vs. Kong" and the upcoming sequel "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire." More: - The series centers on siblings who are investigating Monarch, the secret organization tracking giant monsters across the globe.
- Father-and-son duo Kurt and Wyatt Russell play the same character -- Army officer Lee Shaw -- at two different ages.
- "Severance" and "Mad Men" vet Chris Black developed the series along with comic book writer and "Hawkeye" consultant Matt Fraction; Matt Shakman ("WandaVision") directs the first two episodes.
- No release date for the series has been announced.
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| 7 | | The FX cable network announced premiere dates for its fall 2023 line-up. FX shows stream on Hulu, either simultaneously with their cable debuts or the following day. More: - The network pushed the debut of the limited series "A Murder at the End of the World" from August 29 to November, due to the ongoing Hollywood strikes; Emma Corrin stars as a hacker and amateur sleuth who's invited to a strange retreat by a reclusive billionaire (Clive Owen).
- The anthology crime drama series "Fargo" returns for a fifth season on November 21; the new episodes are set in Minnesota and North Dakota in 2019, and star Juno Temple and Jon Hamm.
- The next installment of "The New York Times Presents" will look at the Miss USA rigging scandal and its impact on parent company Miss Universe.
- "American Horror Story" returns for a new season, subtitled "Delicate," on September 20; the spinoff anthology "American Horror Stories" hits Hulu on October 26.
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| 8 | | Season 3 of the horror-comedy series "Chucky," a spinoff of the "Child's Play" film franchise, debuts on the USA and Syfy cable networks on October 4. Unlike previous seasons, which arrived on streaming platforms months after their broadcast premieres, Season 3 episodes of "Chucky" will hit Peacock the day after their TV debuts. More: - Seasons 1 and 2 of "Chucky" are currently available to stream on Peacock.
- Long-time "Child's Play" franchise star Jennifer Tilly joins the series for its third season.
- In a new promotional clip, killer doll Chucky (voiced by actor Brad Dourif) makes the Season 3 announcement himself at a press conference from Hackensack, New Jersey.
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| 9 | | Netflix released a trailer for "The Heart of Invictus," a five-part docuseries from Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's company, Archewell Productions. The series takes viewers behind-the-scenes of the international sporting event The Invictus Games, in which international teams of wounded, injured, and sick veterans and active duty military compete. More: - Prince Harry founded the event in 2014 and appears in the docuseries.
- The series will profile athletes competing in the Games, alongside a look at preparations for the international event.
- Orlando von Eisiedel ("The White Helmets") directs.
- "The Heart of Invictus" hits Netflix on August 30.
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- 20th Century Studios will release the "Predator" spinoff film "Prey" on 4K UHD, Blu-ray, and DVD on October 3; the film never received a theatrical release, but is currently available to stream on Hulu.
- A new Twitch tool allows livestreamers to keep users who have been banned from their chats from watching their broadcasts.
- Any subscribers still signed up for Netflix's disc delivery program when it shuts down permanently on August 29 will receive extra DVDs in the mail as a "fun finale" bonus.
- Amazon has listed its Fire TV streaming devices at some deep discounts this week; the Fire TV Stick Lite is now available for just $20.
- Netflix's next behind-the-scenes sports docuseries will follow top sprinters from around the world; no specific line-up of featured runners has been announced.
- New York Times technology writer Brian X. Chen explored the various reasons that it has become harder to clearly hear the dialogue on streaming shows.
- "The Treasure of Foggy Mountain," the first scripted feature from "SNL" comedy trio Please Don't Destroy (Martin Herlihy, John Higgins, and Ben Marshall), hits Peacock on November 17; the guys co-star as three dudes who encounter hairless bears, desperate park rangers, cult leaders, and more hazards while seeking hidden riches in the woods.
- "The Last of Us" co-creator and showrunner Craig Mazin spoke with THR about hearing from Steven Spielberg, the Emmy nominations he's most proud of, and the difficulty of casting Abby ahead of Season 2.
- On the new episode of Bethenny Frankel's "Just B" podcast, former "Vanderpump Rules" co-star Rachel Leviss speaks out about her recent decision to exit the series and complains about "exploitation" by the Bravo network.
- The Showtime limited series "Fellow Travelers" -- based on Thomas Mallon's novel, and centering on a clandestine love affair between two men (Matt Bomer and Jonathan Bailey) in McCarthy-era DC -- makes its Paramount+ debut on October 27.
- The upcoming Netflix film "Reptile" reunites actors Benicio del Toro and Alicia Silverstone, who previously co-starred together in 1997's "Excess Baggage."
- The "Community" episode "Advanced Dungeons & Dragons" remains unavailable on any streaming service, due to a scene in which Ken Jeong's character, after dressing up as a "dark elf," is accused of doing blackface.
- Legendary British chat show host Sir Michael Parkinson -- who interviewed luminaries such as Muhammad Ali and Madonna, and was featured on the cover of Paul McCartney and Wings' 1973 album "Band on the Run" -- died at age 88 after a brief illness.
- IPOs are a rare chance to invest in VC-backed startups, but this AI company opened its round to retail investors. Invest and learn more about Jurny.*
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INSIDE STREAMING LEADERBOARD (ALL-TIME) |
 | Writer | | 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." | | This newsletter was edited by Eduardo Garcia | |
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