Live sports on Max / "Gen V" merch store / Disney+ pulls GroupWatch / "Percy Jackson" teaser

Plus today's calendar, "Dark Winds" renewed, Paramount+ coming to Japan, "Love at First Sight" #1 on Netflix, and more

Inside Streaming For September 20, 2023

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Welcome back to Inside Streaming! Sad news about Disney+ pulling its GroupWatch feature, though the revelation has flown so under the radar, clearly not that many people were actually using it regularly. The idea of streaming something simultaneously with friends in far-flung locales likely had more appeal during the COVID-19 lockdowns, when everyone was stuck at home and bored and seeking opportunities to socialize. I saw a few blogs and commentators suggesting that the move was intended as part of Disney's crackdown on password sharing, but this doesn't actually make any sense. Everyone already had to be logged in to Disney+ to use GroupWatch. If anything, it probably boosted Disney+ sign-ups -- at least temporarily in 2020 -- as new subscribers were introduced to the service by their friends. Just a reminder to stay alert out there and think about what you're reading, because people will say just about anything on the internet, whether they've thought about it and researched it or not. Have a great day! Lon p/lon-harris

2 Warner Bros. Discovery formally announced plans to add a live sports tier to the Max platform. Access to live sports feeds will cost an additional $10 per month. More: The hub, which will feature Bleacher Report branding, debuts on October 5. Existing Max subscribers will get a free preview of the live sports hub through February 29, at which point they'll have to start paying for access as well. Unlike previous Bleacher Report live sports offerings, this one will only be available through the Max platform. Warner Bros. Discovery currently holds rights to broadcast NBA, NHL, Major League Baseball, and NCAA Men's Basketball games; all live games that air on WBD networks (such as TNT, TBS, and truTV) will also stream on Max.

2 Amazon launched a "virtual shopping experience" to compliment the release of "The Boys" spinoff series, "Gen V." The company teased more shopping integrations for future Prime Video releases. More: From the show's Prime Video page, users can explore a virtual campus of the fictional "Godolkin University," including a Campus Store featuring branded merch. The site also includes a campus map, information about the superhero statues featured in the quad, an "orientation video," and other content to explore. Netflix and Disney+ have both also experimented with merchandising tie-ins for their most popular shows; Netflix merch and apparel can be found at Netflix.shop. The first three "Gen V" episodes hit Prime Video on September 29.

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3 DAILY CALENDAR WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20 MURDAUGH MURDERS: A SOUTHERN SCANDAL: The true-crime docuseries returns for a second season, produced in the aftermath of Alex Murdaugh's March conviction for the murders of his wife Maggie and son Paul. The new episodes include interviews with a number of key witnesses from Murdaugh's trial. [Netflix] NEW AMSTERDAM: The fifth and final season of the NBC medical drama series debuted last year on TV and hits Netflix in its entirety today. It's based on a memoir by Dr. Eric Manheimer, and takes place among the doctors and patients of New York's fictional, underfunded New Amsterdam Medical Center. Ryan Eggold, Janet Montgomery, Jocko Sims, Tyler Labine, and Sandra Mae Frank co-star. [Netflix] HARD BROKEN: Debut Arabic-language crime drama series from Lebanon, about a circle of friends who discover they've all been keeping secrets from one another during the course of a murder investigation. Muhannad al-Hamdi, Rasha Bilal, Talal Jurdi, and Rodrigue Sleiman co-star. [Netflix] THE SUPER MODELS: Debut docuseries profiling four iconic supermodels from the 1980s and '90s: Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford, Linda Evangelista, and Christy Turlington. The four-part series tracks their collective rise to fame, looks at their massive impact on the fashion industry, and catches up with them in the present day. The four models co-produced along with filmmaker Ron Howard. [Apple TV+] THE D'AMELIO SHOW: The reality series tracks the lives of sisters and social media influencers Charli and Dixie D'Amelio, along with their parents, Marc and Heidi. It's back for a third season. [Hulu] I CAN SEE YOUR VOICE: The Fox musical game show is based on a South Korean original, and challenges celebrity panelists to guess which contestants can sing well based on their visual appearance and various clues. Ken Jeong hosts; Cheryl Hines and Adrienne Bailon-Houghton serve as regular panelists. It's back this week for a third season. [Hulu] NAME THAT TUNE: Fox's revival of the classic musical game show returns this week for a fourth season. Jane Krakowski hosts while Randy Jackson serves as bandleader. New episodes air Tuesday nights on TV and hit Hulu on Wednesdays. [Hulu] THICK SKIN: Four-part docuseries produced for the SundanceTV network, in collaboration with pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk, that looks at fatphobia and social stigmas around weight from the perspectives of four larger-bodied Philadelphia women. [AMC+] AVERAGE JOE: Debut dark comedy series, originally produced for BET+. Deon Cole stars as a plumber whose recently deceased father stole $10 million and a car from the Russian Mafia; now they're after him to make good on the debt. Tammy Townsend, Malcolm Barrett, Cynthia McWilliams, and Michael Trucco co-star; Robb Cullen ("Lucky") created. [Paramount+] CURSED FRIENDS: 2022 horror-comedy feature, produced for the Comedy Central network. Four friends in the present day discover that a Halloween night game they played together in 2002 made dark predictions that are now coming true. Jessica Lowe, Nicole Byer, Harvey Guillén, Andrew Lewis Caldwell, James Austin Johnson, Joey Fatone, Jon Gabrus, and Rob Riggle co-star; Will Arnett executive produced. [Paramount+] THE SURREAL LIFE: VH1's reboot of the classic reality series throws a group of random celebrities into a house, where they compete in challenges to determine which one is the most authentic. Season 1 aired in 2022, and features Dennis Rodman, Frankie Muniz, Tamar Braxton, Kim Coles, Stormy Daniels, August Alsina, Manny MUA, and CJ Perry. The show is returning soon to cable for a new season. [Paramount+] ICE AIRPORT ALASKA: Smithsonian Channel reality series about the challenges of operating Ted Stevens International Airport in Anchorage, Alaska, a busy cargo hub where temperatures routinely drop below -38 Celsius. Seasons 2 and 3 aired in 2022 and 2023, and hit Paramount+ in the US today. [Paramount+] IT'S PONY: Animated kids' series from the UK, which airs on the Nicktoons cable network in the US. It centers on Annie (Jessica DiCicco), a 9-year-old whose only joy in life is spending time with her pony, named Pony (Josh Zuckerman). Season 2 aired in 2022 on cable and hits Paramount+ today. [Paramount+] MARVEL STUDIOS' ASSEMBLED: THE MAKING OF SECRET INVASION: The behind-the-scenes docuseries looks at the making of Marvel Studios shows and films. The latest episode features the Disney+ limited series "Secret Invasion," and includes interveiws with stars Samuel L. Jackson, Ben Mendelsohn, Cobie Smulders, Martin Freeman, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Emilia Clarke, Olivia Colman, and Don Cheadle. [Disney+] THE GHOST AND MOLLY MCGEE: The Disney Channel animated series centers on the friendship between an enthusiastic, optimistic tween (Ashly Burch) and the grumpy ghost (Dana Snyder) who haunts her house. Four fresh Season 2 episodes come to Disney+ today. [Disney+] PJ MASKS: POWER HEROES: This animated reboot/continuation of the original "PJ Masks" series introduces a group of new young heroes to the team. The first five episodes aired earlier this year on Disney Junior and come to Disney+ today. [Disney+]

4 Disney+ has removed the GroupWatch feature, allowing subscribers in different locations to watch shows and films together in sync. The feature's absence was first noticed and discussed by users on Reddit, but later confirmed by Disney to What's On Disney Plus. More: GroupWatch first launched in 2020. All users had to be signed in through their own Disney+ account to utilize the feature. It's unclear why Disney removed GroupWatch, though Cord Cutters News suggests it was likely not getting much use.

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5 Disney+ released a teaser for the upcoming series adaptation of "Percy Jackson and the Olympians," based on the books by Rick Riordan. The fantasy-adventure series, from Disney's 20th Television, debuts on December 20. More: Walker Scobell stars as Jackson, a 12-year-old modern-day demigod who's accused of stealing the master lightning bolt from Zeus (Lance Reddick). Leah Sava Jeffries and Aryan Simhadri co-star as Annabeth and Grover, Percy's friends who help him restore order to Olympus. Guest stars include Adam Copeland, Suzanne Cryer, Jessica Parker Kennedy, Glynn Turman, Jason Mantzoukas, Megan Mullally, and Jay Duplass. Riordan co-wrote the pilot with executive producer and showrunner Jon Steinberg. Riordan's original book series consists of five novels; the first two books were previously adapted into films in the '10s.

6 AMC renewed the mystery-drama series "Dark Winds" for a third season. Season 2 wrapped up on AMC and AMC+ on September 3; the new episodes are expected to arrive in 2025. More: The first season of "Dark Winds" is currently featured on Max, as part of a cross-promotion with AMC+. The series is based on the "Leaphorn & Chee" books by author Tony Hillerman; Zahn McClarnon and Kiowa Gordon co-star as investigators working in Navajo territory in the 1970s. Graham Roland created the series while John Wirth serves as showrunner; Robert Redford and George R.R. Martin are among the executive producers. According to Nielsen, Season 2 averaged around 1.7 million viewers per episode on TV. For both seasons, more than 90% of the production team -- both in front of and behind the camera -- have been Indigenous.

7 Paramount+ will soon be available in Japan for the first time. Beginning on December 1, subscribers to the Japanese cable and internet provider J:COM and the pay-TV service Wowow will get access to Paramount+ content at no additional charge. More: Japan will be the second Asian country to get Paramount+; the service launched in South Korea last June. Paramount is also available through a local TV provider in Korea, and streams on the regional platform TVing. The service is also available through local partnerships in Italy, the UK, Germany, and France.

8 QUICK HITS Big ideas demand a proven approach to product development. Revelry's process helps dev teams form and deliver deliver 30-40% faster than industry standards.* Though "One Piece" remained Netflix's most-watched series last week, the streamer's overall most-viewed English-language title was the romantic comedy feature "Love at First Sight," co-starring Haley Lu Richardson and Ben Hardy. Adult Swim debuted the new opening credits from "Rick and Morty" Season 7; the sequence removes the "Created By" credit acknowledging fired co-creator, Justin Roiland. The four-part docuseries "Beckham" -- chronicling international football star David Beckham's life and career from his own perspective -- hits Netflix on October 4.  The Australian comedy series "Colin From Accounts" will stream on Paramount+ in the US, starting on November 9; Harriet Dyer and Patrick Brammal co-star as strangers who are united by a bizarre string of events. Netflix ordered a sequel to the Norwegian action-fantasy film "Troll"; director Roar Uthaug, who also helmed the disaster film "The Wave," will return for the new installment. HBO released a trailer for the true-crime documentary "Last Stop Larrimah," investigating the never-solved disappearance of a 70-year-old local in a small Australian town in 2017; the film debuts on Max on October 8. "The Boogeyman," an adaptation of Stephen King's short story from "Host" vet Rob Savage, comes to Hulu in the US on October 5. Netflix dropped a trailer for the reality competition series "Surviving Paradise"; half of the contestants live in a fabulous villa, while the other half square off in the wild forest below for a shot at moving up the hierarchy. The music documentary "Louis Tomlinson: All of Those Voices" -- a profile of the former One Direction member following along as he recorded his 2022 album "Faith in the Future" -- hits Paramount+ on October 4; Tomlinson narrates the film himself. A mysterious Japanese ad campaign suggests that Netflix may have renewed the action-fantasy series "Alice in Borderland" for a third season. "Doom Patrol" director Bosede Williams chatted with Entertainment Weekly about wrapping up the wacky, absurdist comic book series; the fourth and final season debuts in October on Max. Optimize your cloud costs today. This practical guide explains the steps to implement FinOps practices and how to get buy-in from your team.* *This is sponsored content

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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 Lon Harris

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