WGA talks resume / NFL+ adds NFL Network content / "Suits" stays at #1 / Netflix "House of Usher" first look

Plus the weekend calendar, Sandler co-stars with his family, RIP Johnny Hardwick, Hulu's "Spellbound" trailer, and more

Inside Streaming For August 11, 2023

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Good morning and happy Friday! I'm very intrigued by these discussions about potentially allowing reality TV stars to join SAG-AFTRA. What started as just some stray comments from Bravo vet Bethenny Frankel has now developed into a full-on movement that even SAG-AFTRA leadership has acknowledged. The unionization of reality stars would be a pretty considerable blow to networks and streamers, PARTICULARLY TV NETWORKS, which are leaning heavily into unscripted content to get them through these current labor stoppages. If CBS loses "Big Brother" and "Survivor" on top of all their scripted series... it's unclear what kind of material they'd even have left to fill their primetime schedule, against which they could sell advertising. Imported shows from Canada, the UK, and elsewhere presumably? Old reruns? Paramount+ originals? It certainly adds an extra layer of complexity to this entire labor crisis for the traditional media and entertainment companies. OK, enjoy today's issue! We'll see you back here next week. Lon p/lon-harris

1 The Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) plan to resume negotiating for a new deal on Friday. The AMPTP will present fresh responses to the latest round of WGA proposals. More: In a statement, the WGA negotiating committee said that they remain "ready to make a fair deal"; the AMPTP declined to comment. The two sides last met on August 4, but reportedly made little or no headway; the meeting ended acrimoniously. The WGA strike reached its 100th day this week; it's now just 52 days away from becoming the longest WGA strike in history. In more strike news this week, SAG-AFTRA leadership confirmed that it's working toward "the protection of reality performers" following calls to unionize from "Real Housewives" star Bethenny Frankel and others.

2 This upcoming football season, for the first time, NFL+ premium subscriptions will include access to the NFL Network, RedZone, and "coaches film" replays. The complete Premium package costs $14.99 per month. More: This marks the first time NFL Network and RedZone content have been available to stream anywhere without a cable subscription. Basic NFL+ subscriptions will also remain available without the bonus content, for $6.99 per month. NFL+ allows football fans to stream local and primetime games on mobile devices, but it does not include out-of-market games; for those, an NFL Sunday Ticket subscription is required. NFL Sunday Ticket moves to YouTube TV for the first time this year. The news was first reported in a tweet by Front Office Sports.

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3 WEEKEND CALENDAR FRIDAY, AUGUST 11 HEART OF STONE: Spy action film starring Gal Gadot as international operative Rachel Stone, who's on a desperate quest to keep a powerful weapon known as "The Heart" from falling into the wrong hands. Jamie Dorman, Alia Bhatt, Sophie Okonedo, and Matthias Schweighöfer co-star; "Peaky Blinders" vet Tom Harper directed. [Netflix] DOWN FOR LOVE: Debut reality series from New Zealand following six singles with Down Syndrome as they navigate the ups and downs of dating. [Netflix] ASTEROID CITY: 2023 comedy-drama feature from writer/director Wes Anderson, presented as a vintage TV broadcast of a fictional play. The story concerns a Junior Stargazer convention in a small desert town in the 1950s which is interrupted by the arrival of extraterrestrials. Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, Bryan Cranston, and Edward Norton co-star. [Peacock] BILLIONS: The Showtime drama series returns this weekend for a seventh and final season, featuring the return of Damian Lewis as hedge fund guru Bobby Axelrod. Paul Giamatti, Corey Stoll, and Maggie Siff co-star. New episodes hit streaming on Fridays and debut Sunday nights on cable. [Paramount+] ALL UP IN THE BIZ: Documentary profile from Showtime utilizing archival footage, celebrity interviews, scripted re-enactments and animated sequences to explore the life and work of rapper Biz Markie and assess his influence on hip-hop history. Interview subjects include Nick Cannon, Tracy Morgan, Darryl McDaniels, Fat Joe, Doug E. Fresh, and others; Sacha Jenkins ("Cypress Hill: Insane in the Brain") directed. [Paramount+] RED, WHITE & ROYAL BLUE: Romantic comedy feature, based on the 2019 novel by Casey McQuiston, about a personal rivalry between a British prince (Nicholas Galitzine) and the US President's son (Taylor Zakhar Perez) that eventually transitions into a love affair. Uma Thurman, Stephen Fry, Sarah Shahi, and Rachel Hilson co-star; Broadway vet Matthew Lopez co-wrote and directed. [Amazon] MEN IN KILTS: A ROADTRIP WITH SAM AND GRAHAM: The travel series features "Outlander" co-stars Sam Heughan and Graham McTavish embarking on educational and adventurous road trips together. Season 2 brings the duo to New Zealand, where they'll taste local food, try their hand at mountaineering, and explore the rich cultural traditions of the Māori. [Starz] FIGHT TO SURVIVE: Debut reality competition series from The CW. 17 competitors -- including veterans of other reality franchises, such as "Survivor," "Alone," and "Naked and Afraid" -- will attempt to outlast one another, and compete for vital resources, on a remote tropical island over the course of 25 days. The winner receives a $250,000 prize. Akbar Gbajabiamila hosts. [CW] BEAUTIFUL DISASTER: 2023 romantic drama film from co-writer/director Roger Kumble, based on his 2011 novel. Dylan Sprouse stars as a college lothario and amateur boxer who makes a sexy wager with a beautiful freshman (Virginia Gardner): if he wins his next fight, she has to move in with him for one month. [Hulu] SAM & KATE: 2022 romantic comedy-drama from writer/director Darren Le Gallo, making his feature debut. The multi-generational family saga stars two real-life parent-child duos: father and son Dustin and Jake Hoffman, and mother and daughter Sissy Spacek and Schuyler Fisk. [Hulu] THE COMMUNION GIRL (LA NIÑA DE LA COMUNIÓN): 2022 horror film from Spain, inspired by an urban legend. Carla Campra and Aina Quiñones co-star as teens in the 1980s who unleash an unspeakable evil after finding a haunted doll on their way home after a night out. [Shudder] SATURDAY, AUGUST 12 BIG SKY RIVER: THE BRIDAL PATH: Romantic drama feature from Hallmark, starring Emmanuelle Vaugier as a woman who moves to Montana after a messy divorce, then starts falling for her handsome new neighbor (Kavan Smith). [Peacock] BELLE COLLECTIVE: Reality series, produced for the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN), chronicling the lives and careers of five Black female entrepreneurs from Jackson, Mississippi. The second half of the show's second season aired on TV in 2022 and hits Max today. [Max] I SURVIVED BEAR GRYLLS: TBS reality competition series in which the survivalist challenges fans and "armchair adventurers" to a series of custom obstacle courses. Season 1 aired earlier this summer on cable and hits Max today. [Max] BEHIND YOUR TOUCH: First-year mystery-comedy series from South Korea, about the unlikely crime-solving partnership between an aggressive detective (Lee Min-ki) and a veterinarian with psychic powers (Han Ji-min). Though the duo start out with small-time crimes, they soon find themselves on the trail of a deadly serial killer. [Netflix] SUNDAY, AUGUST 13 A SAFARI ROMANCE: Hallmark romantic comedy about a wildlife biologist (Brittany Bristow) who joins forces with a theme park designer (Andrew W. Walker) to create an over-the-top safari attraction. [Peacock] ZOM 100: BUCKET LIST OF THE DEAD: Japanese comedy-horror anime series, based on the buzzy manga by Haro Aso and Kotaro Takata, about a bored office worker who embraces the zombie apocalypse as a chance to finally check items off his bucket list. The same manga also inspired a new live-action movie adaptation on Netflix. [Hulu]

4 The USA Network comedy-drama series "Suits" remained #1 on Nielsen's US streaming chart for a third consecutive week between July 10 and July 16, ratcheting up another 3.7 billion minutes viewed. The series once again broke its own record for the most minutes streamed of any acquired series within a single week. More: "Suits" is now streaming in the US on both Netflix and Peacock. All together, the show has been viewed for more than 12.8 billion minutes in a single month. Viewing remains concentrated within the show's first few seasons, indicating that "Suits" will likely remain in the Nielsen Top 10 for some time. A number of striking former "Suits" writers have drawn attention to the fact that they have not benefitted from the show's breakout success on Netflix and Peacock; in an editorial published by the LA Times, "Suits" writer Ethan Drogin notes that he received $251.71 in streaming residuals for the show last fiscal quarter. New episodes of the Australian kids' cartoon "Bluey" received record viewership on Disney+ in mid-July, with 1.4 billion minutes viewed.

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5 The latest Netflix horror series from writer/director Mike Flanagan, "The Fall of the House of Usher," arrives on October 12. The series is inspired by the writings of Edgar Allan Poe. More: Flanagan's previous Netflix series include "Midnight Mass," "The Midnight Club," "The Haunting of Hill House," and "The Haunting of Bly Manor." Bruce Greenwood and Mary McDonnell star in the new series as wealthy, feuding siblings Roderick and Madeline Usher, whose position at the head of Fortunato Pharmaceuticals is threatened by a mysterious woman from their past. Carla Gugino, Carl Lumbly, Mark Hamill, Michael Trucco, Henry Thomas, Kate Siegel, Rahul Kohli, and T'Nia Miller co-star. Flanagan created the series and directed four of the eight episodes.

6 Adam Sandler co-stars alongside members of his real-life family in the upcoming Netflix comedy feature "You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah." The film is based on a 2005 novel of the same name by author Fiona Rosenbloom. More: Sandler's 14-year-old daughter Sunny Sandler stars as a middle school student who has a falling out with her best friend (Samantha Lorraine) on the eve of her bat mitzvah celebration. Sandler's 17-year-old daughter Sadie and wife Jackie also appear in the film, as does Idina Menzel, who co-starred with the comedian and "SNL" vet in "Uncut Gems." "You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah" hits Netflix on August 25.

7 Actor and comedian Johnny Hardwick, who voiced Dale Gribble on the classic animated series "King of the Hill," died at the age of 64 in his home in Texas this week. A cause of death was not revealed. More: A lifelong Texan, Hardwick had helped "King of the Hill" creators Mike Judge and Greg Daniels to develop the animated series, and was originally hired as a staff writer before joining the voice cast. Hardwick voiced Dale from 1997 to 2010 in all but one of the show's 259 episodes. Hulu has announced plans for a revival "King of the Hill" series; according to Vulture, Hardwick had not completed his work on the new episodes.

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Lon Harris 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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