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| Good morning! Some disappointing news to start off the week, as Friday's meeting between the WGA and AMPTP failed to produce any meaningful movement forward in terms of the Hollywood labor crisis. But that's no reason to get disheartened! These kinds of false starts are not entirely uncommon. It's all part of the process. As well, the fact that reality stars are sort of circling the idea of unionizing themselves, and potentially joining the strike, is an extremely positive sign for anyone siding with the writers and actors, or just hoping for a speedy resolution more generally. Reality shows are about to become the lifeblood of studios and streamers once they run out of scripted content; losing the ability to produce new reality content might just be the thing that forces the AMPTP back to the table. Enjoy today's issue and thanks for reading! Lon
p/lon-harris | |
| 1 | | Representatives of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) met on Friday but there was no forward movement in the actual negotiations. This was the first meeting between WGA and AMPTP negotiators in three months. More: - The AMPTP, led by Carol Lombardini, represents major Hollywood studios as well as the largest streaming platforms.
- These kinds of "false starts" are not uncommon in Hollywood labor negotiations; both the WGA and AMPTP restarted negotiations only to call them off again during the 2007-2008 strike.
- In a statement, WGA's negotiating committee said "So far, the companies have wasted months on their same failed strategy"; the AMPTP called the WGA response "unfortunate."
- As of today, there are no concrete plans to resume negotiations.
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| 2 | | Despite producing a number of popular films and TV shows in the country, so far, Netflix has not met with representatives from the Korea Broadcasting Actors Union. According to the Los Angeles Times, leaders from the union -- along with unions representing South Korean writers and production workers -- have attempted to reach out to Netflix but have thus far been ignored. More: - In a written statement to the Los Angeles Times, Netflix said it's following all Korean laws and noted that, as a streaming service, it is not required to pay broadcast residuals in the country.
- Local Korean streamers, including Tving and Wavve, have met with the unions to begin the negotiation process.
- Netflix recently announced plans to invest $2.5 billion in Korean content over the next several years; because the streamer outsources production to local studios, it's not technically classified as a South Korean employer, and thus doesn't have a legal requirement to meet with unions.
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| 3 | | DAILY CALENDAR MONDAY, AUGUST 7 UGLIEST HOUSE IN AMERICA: SUMMER ROAD TRIP: Six-episode HGTV reality spinoff series in which comedian and actress Retta ("Parks and Recreation") takes a road trip across the US, visiting 15 homes with unappealing or outdated designs and decor. In the finale, Retta will select her pick for the ugliest house in America, and the owners will receive a renovation by Alison Victoria valued at $150,000. [Max] KIM VS. KANYE: THE DIVORCE: Two-part docuseries, produced for Discovery+, chronicling the tumultuous marriage and separation of reality star and influencer Kim Kardashian and controversial rapper Kanye West. The series was made with cooperation from both West and Kardashian's legal teams. [Max] WICKED TUNA: The Nat Geo reality series features commercial tuna fishermen based in Gloucester, Massachusetts, and follows along as they compete to see who can bring in the most profitable hauls. Seasons 10 and 11 come to Hulu today. [Hulu] BEYBLADE BURST QUADSTRIKE: Episodes from the seventh overall season of the anime series "Beyblade Burst" hit Hulu in the US today. These episodes take place during the Masquerade Tournament. The series airs on the Disney XD cable network. [Hulu] GABBY'S DOLLHOUSE: The hybrid live-action and animated series for young kids centers on a young girl named Gabby who shrinks down to explore her enchanted dollhouse along with some feline friends. Season 8 arrives today. [Netflix] | | | |
| 4 | | CW Network president Dennis Miller will remain in his post through 2027. Miller joined The CW as president last year, following the network's acquisition by Nexstar Media Group. More: - Brad Schwartz works closely with Miller as CW's president of entertainment.
- Together, Miller and Schwartz have pivoted the network away from original scripted programming and toward a mix of imported series, reality content, and live sports.
- By 2025, CW aims to air more than 400 hours of sports programming per year.
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| 5 | | Paramount Global announced plans to add original content from overseas to its US platform, Paramount+. The ongoing writers and actors strikes have halted production of Paramount's original shows and films in the US; the international content will help keep Paramount+'s library fresh in the interim. More: - The UK drama series "The Gold" will become available internationally on September 14, and on September 17 in the US.
- Korean crime thriller "Bargain" and Season 2 of the Spanish-language drama "Los Enviados" will both hit Paramount+ in the US in the fall; Season 1 of "Los Enviados" is the platform's top Spanish-language series in the US to date.
- More international series on the horizon include the British drama "Sexy Beast," based on the 2000 film, and the South Korean originals "Queen Woo" and "A Bloody Lucky Day."
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| 6 | | Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence revealed to NBC Sports that he was offered a spot in Season 2 of Netflix's "Quarterback" behind-the-scenes docuseries, but turned it down. During a weekend appearnace on NBC's "Pro Football Talk," Lawrence said he enjoyed "Quarterback" Season 1 but decided "it's just not the right time for me" to appear in the show. More: - Season 1 of "Quarterback" follows Patrick Mahomes, Kirk Cousins, and Marcus Mariota throughout the 2022 NFL season.
- Netflix has confirmed that the show will return for Season 2, but has not yet announced any participating players.
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| 7 | | Season 2 of the "Guardians of the Galaxy" spinoff series "I Am Groot" hits Disney+ on September 6. Season 2 features five new shorts in which the adorable Baby Groot character gets into mischief and learns valuable life lessons. More: - Vin Diesel reprises his voice role as Baby Groot for the new episodes.
- Season 1 vet Kirsten Lepore is also back as writer/director.
- While Groot only ever says three words ("I am Groot"), once characters get to know him, they are ultimately able to understand his language; at the end of the third "Guardians of the Galaxy" film, his dialogue became discernible to audience members for the first time.
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- Gal Gadot chatted with Digital Spy (prior to the SAG-AFTRA strike) about her new Netflix spy adventure "Heart of Stone," and how "Wonder Woman" inspired her to make more female-driven action films; "Heart of Stone" hits Netflix on Friday.
- Iconic filmmaker William Friedkin of "The Exorcist" and "The French Connection" fame died Monday in Los Angeles at age 87.
- Paul Tassi of Forbes notes that Apple's epic sci-fi series "Foundation" looks similar to wildly expensive shows like Disney's "Secret Invasion" but costs considerably less to produce; Apple spent around $45 million on the show's first season, compared to the Marvel series' $212 million budget.
- India's Disney+ Hotstar platform ordered "The Freelancer," a thriller series based on the 2017 book "A Ticket to Syria," from "Special Ops" vet Neeraj Pandey; the series, based on a true story, centers on the rescue of a young girl who's being held against her will in war-torn Syria.
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Term of the Day Cash burn: Cash burn is defined as the amount of cash a company utilizes to meet its expenses in a specific period. Question of the Week Do you think the 9-to-5 workday still relevant in today's modern workplace? Join the conversation |
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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