AMC-SAG deal / Max adds Top 10s / "Hijack" hits Nielsen chart / "True Detective" pushed to 2024

Plus the weekend calendar, Peacock adds "Pearson," "Lower Decks" Season 4 trailer, Disney vs. Charter Spectrum, and more

Inside Streaming For September 01, 2023

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Happy Friday, everyone! AMC Networks reached an interim agreement this week with SAG-AFTRA that will let them continue working on "Walking Dead" and Anne Rice shows, even as all their fellow AMPTP members keep waiting on a new overall deal. That obviously puts them at a competitive advantage, but it also kind of blows a big hole in the entire argument that the studios and streamers have been making up until this point. If actors' and writers' demands are truly as outrageous and unreasonable as the Bob Igers and David Zaslavs of the world have been insisting, how can smaller film studios like A24 and Neon, and TV networks like AMC, possibly afford to meet their terms? As the strikes loomed earlier this year, the strategy of many entertainment and media CEOs was to essentially depict themselves as helpless, slaves to the math. Iger, Zaslav, Netflix's Ted Sarandos, and others tried to sound sympathetic to the economic and career challenges facing writers and actors, but argued that they had no choice. Streaming services weren't bringing in enough money, the ad market is down, and there just isn't enough cash on hand to pay the people who make the content. It's hard to keep up this kind of argument, though, without a united front. Once some studios and networks demonstrate that they can figure out the math, and continue producing new product at a profit, it makes all the studio chiefs who aggressively argued that this was impossible look inept or duplicitous or both. Enjoy your weekend! Thanks for reading Inside Streaming! Lon p/lon-harris

1 AMC Networks signed new deals with SAG-AFTRA this week, allowing them to immediately resume production on several high-profile series. "Walking Dead" spinoffs "Daryl Dixon" and "The Ones Who Live," and Season 2 of the Anne Rice adaptation "Interview with the Vampire," will return to set in the coming days. More: According to Deadline, AMC reached interim agreements with SAG-AFTRA exclusively for these three shows, rather than a new overall agreement. All three of the shows are produced in-house by AMC Studios. AMC Networks is an "authorized company" in the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), but it is not among the companies that actively participate in negotiations with guilds. AMC Networks CEO Kristin Dolan has suggested that the strikes will not noticeably impact the company's supply of new programming until "well into 2024."

2 Max added a new Top 10 list to its front page, featuring the most popular content currently streaming on the platform. Netflix also has a prominent Top 10 list for shows and films on its homepage, but the two services use differnet methodologies to compile their lists. More: Max's Top 10 will debut over the next week in the US; other countries will get their own customized versions soon. To qualify for the list, series must have had a new episode released within the past 6 weeks, while movies must have debuted within the past 8 weeks. Currently, "The Flash" is listed as the #1 film on Max, while "Hard Knocks: A Season with the New York Jets" sits atop the TV ranking. Max refreshes its list daily, and bases the ranking on the number of user profiles accessing a particular title. Netflix bases its Top 10 on total viewing hours divided by a film or show's running time. Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV+ also have their own Top 10 lists on their front pages.

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3 WEEKEND CALENDAR FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 1 THE WHEEL OF TIME: The epic fantasy series, based on the novels by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson, is back for a second season. Josha Stradowski stars as Rand al'Thor, an ordinary shepherd who has learned that he's the Dragon Reborn, a legendary champion fated to protect the world against a powerful sorcerer known as The Dark One. Rosamund Pike, Daniel Henney, Madeleine Madden, Marcus Rutherford, and Zoë Robins co-star. [Amazon] DISENCHANTMENT: The animated fantasy-comedy series returns to Netflix with its fifth and final batch of episodes. The series follows the adventures of Dreamland's hard-drinking Queen Bean (Abbi Jacobson), her elf friend Elfo (Nat Faxon), and her personal demon, Luci (Eric Andre). "The Simpsons" and "Futurama" vets Matt Groening and Josh Weinstein executive produce. [Netflix] LOVE IS BLIND: AFTER THE ALTAR: The reality series catches up with couples and singles who first met on "Love is Blind." The entire Season 4 "Pod Squad" returns this weekend for three 40-minute reunion specials. [Netflix] S.W.A.T. Season 6 of the CBS procedural drama series -- which follows the cases of the LAPD's Special Weapons and Tactics unit -- aired last year on TV and hits Netflix in its entirety on Friday. Shemar Moore, Alex Russell, Kenny Johnson, Rochelle Aytes, and David Lim co-star. [Netflix] BAKUGAN: Debut anime series, spun off from the previous series "Bakugan Battle Brawlers" and "Bakugan: Battle Planet," and based on the toy line from Spin Master Corp. The story centers on a group of 10-foot-tall alien creatures, known as Bakugan, who get displaced by an interplanetary war and crash land on Earth, where they team up with a group of human teens. [Netflix] A DAY AND A HALF (EN DAG OCH EN HALV): This Swedish action-thriller is the directorial debut of actor Fares Fares, who also co-wrote the script. An unhinged husband and father (Alexej Manvelov) takes the medical center where his wife works hostage, in a desperate last-bid attempt to see his estranged daughter. Fares co-stars as the police officer who attempts to peacefully resolve the stand-off. [Netflix] HAPPY ENDING: Dutch romantic comedy feature, starring Gaite Jansen as Luna, who's unsure how to tell her boyfriend Mink (Martijn Lakemeier) that she's been faking her orgasms throughout their relationship. When close friend Eve (Joy Delima) suggests they have a threesome, it brings new urgency to the issue. Joosje Duk makes her debut as a writer/director with the film. [Netflix] FRIDAY NIGHT PLAN: Hindi-language coming-of-age comedy feature from India, about two brothers who take a break from their usual rivalry and join forces in a last-ditch effort to attend the hottest party of the year. Babil Khan, Medha Rana, Amrith Jayan, and Juhi Chawla co-star; Vatsal Neelakantan wrote and directed. [Netflix] POWER BOOK IV: FORCE: The crime drama series, the third spinoff of "Power," follows drug kingpin Tommy Egan (Joseph Sikora) as he moves his operation from New York to Chicago. Isaac Keys, Kris D. Lofton, and Lili Simmons co-star. Season 2 debuts Friday on the Starz streaming service and hits cable on Sunday. [Starz] PERPETRATOR: 2023 indie horror film from writer/director Jennifer Reeder ("Knives and Skin"). Kiah McKirnan stars as Jonny Baptiste, a reckless teenage girl who's been sent to live in an unfamiliar town with her Aunt Hildie (Alicia Silverstone). Just as Jonny undergoes a strange genetic transformation, girls at her school begin to go missing, prompting her to investigate further. [Shudder] PREMIER LEAGUE: NBC Sports' coverage of Matchweek 4 begins on Friday at 3 pm ET on Friday with Luton Town v. West Ham. The streams are available to all Peacock Premium subscribers. [Peacock] HYPNOTIC: 2023 action thriller from co-writer/director Robert Rodriguez ("Sin City"), starring Ben Affleck as a police detective investigating a string of bizarre crimes that seem to relate to his daughter's disappearance. Alice Braga, JD Pardo, and William Fichtner co-star. [Peacock] CUT, COLOR, MURDER: Mystery drama feature from Hallmark about a savvy hairdresser (Julie Gonzalo) and novice detective (Ryan McPartlin) who join forces to investigate the murder of a beauty pageant founder. [Peacock] THE BAD GUYS: 2022 DreamWorks animated heist comedy about a group of legendary, notorious animal criminals who team up to use their skills for good in order to avoid a lengthy prison sentence. Sam Rockwell, Marc Maron, Awkwafina, Craig Robinson, Zazie Beetz, Richard Ayoade, and others provide the voices. [Peacock] THE 4th QUARTER: LEGACY: Independent sports drama feature, starring Tavares M. Wilson (who also wrote the script) as Dallas Hughes, an aging quarterback with one final season left in which to cement his legacy. Tai Anderson, Alphonso A'Qen-Aten Jackson, and McDaniel Austin co-star. [Peacock] AMITYVILLE FILMS: A collection of films from the "Amityville" horror franchise move over to Peacock today, including 2022's "Amityville Uprising," in which a chemical blast and subsequent toxic acid rain triggers a gruesome disaster on Long Island. [Peacock] SIMULANT: Sci-fi thriller film from Canada, about an android designed to provide comfort for grieving widows who enlists the services of a hacker to get around his programming restrictions, with the ultimate goal of triggering a machine uprising. Robbie Amell, Jordana Brewster, Simu Liu, and Sam Worthington co-star; April Mullen directs. [Hulu] SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 2 WWE PAYBACK: The professional wrestling pay-per-view event streams live on Peacock starting at 8 pm ET from the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This is first Payback event since 2020, and the first ever to stream on Peacock. The line-up includes a steel cage match between Becky Lynch and Trish Stratus, Seth Rollins vs. Shinsuke Nakamura for the World Heavyweight Championship, and Rhea Ripley vs. Raquel Rodriguez for the Women's World Championship title. [Peacock] COLLEGE FOOTBALL: This weekend's streamed matches include East Carolina at Michigan, West Virginia at Penn State, and Notre Dame v. Tennessee State. [Peacock] LOVE AGAIN: 2023 romantic comedy-drama film, inspired by the 2016 German film "SMS Für Dich." Priyanka Chopra Jonas stars as a grieving woman who deals with the pain of her fiancé's death by sending romantic texts to his old number. When the number is reassigned, she finds herself falling for its new owner (Sam Heughan). Céline Dion co-stars in her first-ever dramatic film role. Jim Strouse ("The Incredible Jessica James") co-wrote and directed. [Netflix] SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 3 MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL: Sunday's game between the Philadelphia Phillies and Milwaukee Brewers starts at 12:30 pm ET on Peacock. [Peacock] LOVE IN THE GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS: A NATIONAL PARK ROMANCE: Romantic comedy feature from Hallmark, starring Arielle Kebbel and Zach Roerig as former sweethearts who are now competing for the same archaeological research grant. [Peacock] THE MENU: 2022 comedy-horror film from "Succession" vet Mark Mylod. Ralph Fiennes stars as a celebrity chef with a nefarious plan for the diners attending a special event at his elite restaurant. Hong Chau, Nicholas Hoult, Anya Taylor-Joy, Janet McTeer, and John Leguizamo co-star. [Hulu] IS SHE THE WOLF? Debut reality dating series from Japan, in which five men and five women seek new partners by getting to know one another. But hidden among the women is at least one "wolf" who will refuse to get attached to any of the participants. [Netflix]

4 With 357 total minutes viewed, Apple's "Hijack" ranked #7 on Nielsen's list of most-viewed original streaming series during the week of July 31-August 6. That makes it the second Apple TV+ original to hit the Nielsen charts, after breakout comedy series "Ted Lasso." More: "Lasso" remains the only Apple show to hit #1 on Nielsen's weekly chart for original streaming shows. "Hijack" stars Idris Elba as a passenger on a flight from Dubai to London that's taken over by terrorists. "Suits" remained #1 on the Nielsen list this week, with 3.2 billion minutes viewed on both Netflix and Peacock; it's the seventh straight week that the USA Network legal comedy-drama series has topped the list, and the sixth week in a row that it has exceeded 3 billion minutes of viewership. Peacock also had a big week on the Nielsen charts; "The Super Mario Bros. Movie" was the second most-watched film, with 717 million minutes viewed in its first four days, while "Twisted Metal" hit the Top 10 Shows chart with 326 million minutes viewed.

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5 HBO pushed back the premiere of the latest "True Detective" season, subtitled "Night Country," until January 2024. Though no specific release date had been announced, the series had previously been included in Max previews of 2023 programming. More: The exact reasons for the delay are unknown but likely involve the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Jodie Foster and Kali Reis star in the new season as detectives in a small Alaska town investigating the disappearance of an Arctic Research Station's entire staff. Issa López wrote and directed all the episodes, and serves as the showrunner; Barry Jenkins ("Moonlight") is among the executive producers, along with original series creator Nic Pizzolatto. The move leaves HBO and Max with a slim schedule of originals for the remainder of 2023; both "The Gilded Age" and Spanish horror season "30 Coins" return for second seasons in October.

6 The "Suits" spinoff "Pearson," which ran on USA Network for just one season in 2019, is now available to stream on Peacock. "Pearson" follows lawyer Jessica Pearson (Gina Torres) as she enters the world of Chicago politics. More: "Pearson" was launched during the "Suits" Season 7 finale, but was ultimately canceled around six weeks after the end of its first season. Peacock apparently hopes that revived interest in the main "Suits" series could lead fans to check out the spinoff as well. According to "Suits" creator Aaron Korsh, no further spinoffs are in the works, despite the show's newfound success on Netflix and Peacock.

7 Paramount+ posted a new trailer for the upcoming fourth season of the animated "Star Trek" comedy series "Lower Decks." The new episodes hit Paramount+ next week, on September 7. More: The new episodes will find the crew of the USS Cerritos interacting with the USS Voyager, previously featured in the Star Trek shows "Voyager" and "Prodigy." Season 3 of "Lower Decks" is streaming for free on YouTube through September 30. The "Lower Decks" crew also made a guest appearance -- in live-action -- on this past season of "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds." Episodes of the series will screen along with classic episodes of "Star Trek: The Animated Series" on Star Trek Day this year.

8 QUICK HITS Defend your home with Frontpoint's DIY security. Hurry, Labor Day sale is ending soon - lock in your savings now!* As part of an ongoing carriage dispute, Disney pulled its channels from the Charter Spectrum cable service on Thursday, interrupting live sports broadcasts. According to box office analyst Jeff Block, Disney+ is developing a spinoff series based on the Pixar film "Elemental"; despite a soft opening in theaters, the film ultimately crossed the $400 million mark this summer. Netflix released a trailer for "Bodies," a time-jumping crime drama series from the UK based on the graphic novel by Si Spencer; it follows four detectives at different moments in history as they investigate the same murder case. Inspired by a listicle from Vanity Fair, "Game of Thrones" author George R.R. Martin picked the "Six Feet Under" series finale as his all-time favorite episode of television. Utah YouTuber Ruby Franke was arrested this week on charges of aggravated child abuse after her 12-year-old son allegedly escaped from his home and ran to a neighbor's house asking for food and water; Franke dispensed parenting advice on her now-defunct channel, "8 Passengers." B-movie studio Full Moon Features, best known for the "Puppet Master" franchise, is developing a direct-to-streaming movie inspired by the social media "Barbenheimer" phenomenon; the film centers on a group of female dolls who build an atomic bomb with the goal of bringing down the patriarchy. Optimize your health in key areas with a customized program built for you and your life. Use code FOUNDER to receive $500 off.* *This is sponsored content

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Knowledge Hub Term of the Day SOD/EOD: Start-of-day (SOD)/end-of-day (EOD) reporting is a management process for prioritizing daily goals and reporting accomplishments. Read More Question of the Week Do you share details about your salary with your coworkers? Join the conversation

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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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