"One Piece" renewed / "Suits" still at #1 / AMPTP & WGA to meet again / Bryon Allen ABC offer

Plus the weekend calendar, "Big Mouth" returns, Hulu adds Top 15 list, "Our Flag" S2 trailer, and more

Inside Streaming For September 15, 2023

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Happy Friday, Inside Streaming readers! Congrats to "One Piece" fans on the renewal of the live-action adaptation for a second season. Though there are a few examples of previous adaptations with cult followings (like the Wachowski's "Speed Racer" movie), Netflix's take on "One Piece" seems to have finally and permanently shattered the perception that there's no way to update classic manga or anime franchises in a way that's satisfying for old and new fans alike. This does inevitably lead right into another challenge... How to truly take on a saga as vast and long-running as "One Piece" in the context of a Netflix live-action series. We're talking about an anime that has run for 20 seasons, with well over 1,000 episodes. "Grace and Frankie" is the current longest-running Netflix live-action series in history, and it went for 7 seasons and just 94 episodes. (That's right, Netflix has never had a live-action show reach the 100-episode milestone.)  At some point, live-action "One Piece" will have to start majorly condensing these storylines, or just skipping entire arcs from the manga and anime. Will fans remain interested after realizing this is by necessity going to be a mega-abridged version of the Straw Hat Pirates' adventures? We'll just have to wait and see... Lon p/lon-harris

1 Netflix and original manga creator Eiichiro Oda confirmed that the live-action "One Piece" series will return for a second season. Oda -- who declines to show his face on camera -- made the video announcement personally, through one of the franchise's "Transponder Snails." More: Oda's announcement also teases the Season 2 appearance of fan-favorite character Tony Tony Chopper, a reindeer-human hybrid. Oda encourages fans to be patient, as Season 2 will take a while to produce, though he does not specifically cite the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes as the reason. According to producer Marty Adelstein -- whose company, Tomorrow Studios, developed the project -- Season 2 scripts are already written and ready to shoot as soon as the strikes conclude. Adelstein and co-producer Becky Clements recently teased that the live-action "One Piece" could continue for up to 6-12 seasons.

2 "Suits" once again topped the Nielsen rankings of the most-watched streaming series between August 14-20, its ninth consecutive week at #1. The show more than doubled the audience of the second-place finisher, Netflix's limited series "Painkiller." More: The total weekly viewing time for "Suits" was around 2.84 billion minutes across both Netflix and Peacock; this is the first week since June that the show failed to hit the 3 billion minute benchmark. Only two other shows have hit 3 billion minutes viewed in a single week all year; Netflix's "Outer Banks" and "The Night Agent." "Painkiller" hit 1.12 billion minutes of watch time between August 14-20, making it the most-watched streaming original of the week; two more Netflix shows, "The Lincoln Lawyer" and "Depp v. Heard," ranked second and third. HBO's sports drama "Ballers" is also having a solid run this summer; the show was viewed for 696 million minutes on both Netflix and Max, good enough for 9th place overall.

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3 DAILY CALENDAR FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 15 FAST X: The 10th film in the "Fast & Furious" action franchise pits Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his extended family against Dante Reyes (Jason Momoa), the maniacal vengeance-minded son of late Brazilian drug kingpin Hernan Reyes. Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, John Cena, Brie Larson, Charlize Theron, Nathalie Emmanuel, Jordana Brewster, Sung Kang, Alan Ritchson, and Helen Mirren co-star; Louis Leterrier ("Now You See Me") directs. [Peacock] UNIVERSAL HORROR FILMS: A line-up of classic Universal horror films from the 1930s and '40s comes to Peacock today, including "Bride of Frankenstein," "The Mummy's Curse," "The Invisible Man Returns," "Dracula's Daughter," and two versions of "The Phantom of the Opera." [Peacock] WILDERNESS: Thriller series from the UK, based on the novel by B.E. Jones. Jenna Coleman stars as Liv, who learns that her boyfriend Will (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) is having an affair just before they embark on a backpacking tour of America's National Parks. While Will focuses on healing the relationship, Liv's mind turns gradually to revenge. Marnie Dickens ("Thirteen") wrote the adaptation. [Amazon] A MILLION MILES AWAY: 2023 biographical drama feature, based on the true story of NASA flight engineer Jose Hernandez and his memoir, "Reaching for the Stars." Michael Peña stars as the astronaut, whose inspiring journey took him from a rural Mexican village all the way to the International Space Station. Alejandra Márquez Abella ("Narcos: Mexico") directs. [Amazon] WRITTEN IN THE STARS (MATCH NAS ESTRELAS): Astrology-themed reality dating show from Brazil, in which singles are set up on dates based on the compatibility of their zodiac signs. Ingrid Guimarães hosts. [Amazon] LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT: Romantic comedy feature, based on the 2011 novel "The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight" by Jennifer E. Smith. Haley Lu Richardson and Ben Hardy co-star as strangers who connect on a trans-Atlantic flight, but get separated before they can exchange contact info. Now it's up to fate to intervene and reunite them. Dexter Fletcher, Jameela Jamil, and Rob Delaney co-star; Vanessa Caswill ("Thirteen") directs. [Netflix] THE WORLD'S TOUGHEST PRISONS: The British docuseries features journalist and former convict Raphael Rowe visiting prisons around the world and speaking with both inmates and guards about the conditions and way of life there. It's back for a seventh season, featuring stops in Finland, the Czech Republic, Indonesia, and the Solomon Islands. [Netflix] EL CONDE: Darkly comic Spanish-language horror film from Chilean co-writer/director Pablo Larraín ("Jackie," "Spencer"), in which former dictator Augusto Pinochet (Jaime Vadell) is now a 250-year-old vampire who's desperate to end his life. Gloria Münchmeyer, Alfredo Castro, and Paula Luchsinger co-star. "El Conde" premiered at this year's Venice Film Festival. [Netflix] SURVIVING SUMMER: Season 2 of the Australian teen drama series makes its Netflix debut today. Sky Katz stars as rebellious New York teen Summer Torres, who travels to Victoria and spends her summers with a group of competitive surfers. [Netflix] MISEDUCATION: Debut English-language comedy-drama series from South Africa, starring Buntu Petse as a wannabe influencer who must rebuild her life and following after a devastating public humiliation. Lunga Shabalala, Baby Cele, and Prev Reddy co-star. [Netflix] THE CLUB (KULÜP): Period drama series from Turkey, starring Gökçe Bahadir as an ex-convict looking out for her daughter (Asude Kalebek) while working at a prominent Istanbul nightclub in the 1950s. It's back this week for a second season. [Netflix] LANG LANG PLAYS DISNEY: Concert special, recorded at the Royal Albert Hall, featuring the Chinese pianist performing new arrangements of classic Disney songs along with London's Royal Philharmonic orchestra. [Disney+] ELEVATOR GAME: Supernatural horror film, inspired by the viral internet phenomenon from Korea and Japan. Megan Best stars as a young woman who believes her sister's disappearance is related to a strange ritual, in which participants attempt to visit an alternate dimension. Rebekah McKendry ("Glorious") directs. [Shudder] ROBOTS: 2023 sci-fi romantic comedy, based on the short story "The Robot Who Looked Like Me" by Robert Sheckley. Shailene Woodley and Jack Whitehall co-star as a pair of lifelike androids, designed to serve as doubles and helper robots for an affluent suburban couple, who steal their owners' identities and go on the run together. Ant Hines ("Borat Subsequent Moviefilm") and Casper Christensen ("Klown") co-wrote the script and directed. [Hulu] WB 100th BEHIND THE SHIELD: Clip show commemorating the 100th anniversary of Warner Bros., and featuring highlights from the studio's many notable films and TV series. Morgan Freeman narrates. [Max] TEEN TITANS GO! The animated comedy series, taking a humorous look at the DC Comics superhero team, airs on Cartoon Network. A fresh batch of episodes from the show's currently-in-progress eighth season come to Max today. [Max] THE END OF SEX: 2022 Canadian romantic comedy feature about a married couple who ship their kids off to camp in hopes of reigniting the passion in their relationship. Jonas Chernick co-wrote the script and co-stars alongside Emily Hampshire; Sean Garrity ("I Propose We Never See Each Other Again After Tonight") directed. [Paramount+] SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 16 48 HOURS: The CBS news magazine series examines shocking true-crime cases and other real-world human dramas. It's back this weekend for a 37th season. Episodes air on CBS and stream on Paramount+ at 10 pm ET. [Paramount+] BATWHEELS: The animated kids' series, based on DC Comics characters, follows a group of crime-fighting vehicles in Gotham City. A fresh batch of Season 1 episodes come to HBO Max today. [Max] SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 17 60 MINUTES: The CBS news magazine show -- which covers politics, health, science, pop culture, and more -- returns on Sunday night for a 56th season. Current hosts include Lesley Stahl, Scott Pelley, Anderson Cooper, Bill Whitaker, Sharyn Alfonsi, Jon Wertheim, and Cecilia Vega. Episodes air on CBS and stream on Paramount+ Sunday nights at 7 pm ET. [Paramount+] THE GOLD: Scripted crime drama series from the UK, inspired by the infamous Brink's-Mat robbery of 1983, in which thieves made away with £26 million of gold bullion, diamonds, and cash from a warehouse near Heathrow Airport. Hugh Bonneville, Dominic Cooper, Charlotte Spencer, Sean Harris, and Jack Lowden co-star; Neil Forsyth ("Guilt") created, wrote, and directed. [Paramount+] PSYCHO: THE LOST TAPES OF ED GEIN: Four-episode true-crime docuseries profiling the infamous 1950s serial killer and grave robber, whose gruesome crimes inspired films including "The Silence of the Lambs," "Psycho," and "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre." The new series is partly based on never-before-heard recordings that give insight into Gein's perverse mind. James Buddy Day ("Blumhouse's Compendium of Horror") directs. [MGM+] NOTES OF AUTUMN: Romantic comedy-drama feature from Hallmark about two best friends (Ashley Williams and Luke Macfarlane) living in very different spots who agree to temporarily swap places in the hopes of rediscovering their passion for life. [Peacock]

4 The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) announced plans to resume negotiations with the Writers Guild of America (WGA) next week. The two sides last sat down on August 22, but that meeting reportedly went poorly and little to no progress was made. More: The AMPTP apparently reached out to the WGA on Wednesday about scheduling a new meeting. Friday marks the 137th day of the WGA strike; actors union SAG-AFTRA joined in mid-July. Issues that still need to be resolved include minimum staff levels for writers rooms, residuals for streaming content, protections against the use of AI, and more transparency around viewership.

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5 Media mogul Byron Allen offered Disney $10 billion in exchange for the ABC broadcast network and the FX and National Geographic cable channels. According to Bloomberg, the offer is preliminary, and intended as a starting point for negotiations. More: Disney CEO Bob Iger has indicated that the company is open to selling off some of its TV properties. Bloomberg also indicated this week that Disney has explored the possibility of selling ABC to the Nexstar Media Group, which recently purchased a majority stake in The CW network. Allen was also considered a potential recent buyer for the BET cable network, before Paramount decided not to sell it off after all.

6 Netflix's adult animated comedy series "Big Mouth" returns for a seventh season on October 20. The new episodes will feature a packed line-up of guest stars, including Megan Thee Stallion, Lupita Nyong'o, Stephanie Beatriz, Zazie Beetz, Padma Lakshmi, Billy Porter, Rosie Perez, Brian Tyree Henry, Zach Galifianakis, and many others. More: "Big Mouth" has already been renewed for an eighth and final season, which will make it the longest-running original scripted series in Netflix history. The semi-autobiographical show -- exploring the horrors of puberty -- was created by Nick Kroll (who also provides a number of voices) and Andrew Goldberg; the main voice cast also includes John Mulaney, Maya Rudolph, Jason Mantzoukas, Jordan Peele, Fred Armisen, and Jenny Slate. Season 7 finds the characters finally graduating from junior high and moving on to high school.

7 Hulu is the latest streaming platform to add a featured list of its most popular content. On Thursday, the streamer added the "Top 15 Today" hub to its homepage, featuring trending movies and TV shows. More: The "Top 15 Today" list will be updated daily. The first Top 15 led with the comedy-mystery series "Only Murders in the Building," currently in the midst of its third season. The first three "Pirates of the Caribbean" films were also featured on Hulu's debut list. Netflix has had a featured Top 10 for both its movies and TV shows for some time; Warner Bros. Discovery's Max recently followed suit and added a list of its own.

8 QUICK HITS Hyperstack: Scale AI projects with NVIDIA GPUs. Enjoy per-minute billing. Secure your H100s & A100s today!* Max dropped a full trailer for Season 2 of the historical pirate comedy series "Our Flag Mans Death"; three new episodes land on October 5. Puck News goes deep on the long-standing tension between "Yellowstone" star Kevin Costner, creator Taylor Sheridan, and the show's producing team, leading to a summer of conflict over closing out the series. Legendary filmmaker John Carpenter directed an episode of the upcoming Peacock unscripted true-crime series "John Carpenter's Suburban Screams"; it's Carpenter's first credited project as a director since 2010's "The Ward." Max dropped a teaser for "Kite Man: Hell Yeah!" an animated spinoff of "Harley Quinn" following Kite Man (Matt Oberg) and Golden Glider (Stephanie Hsu) as they open a bar together; the series debuts next year. "Drew Barrymore Show" co-head writer Cristina Kinon spoke with the Daily Beast about the decision to bring the show back during a WGA strike, noting that "it's not too late" for Barrymore to reverse course and stand in solidarity with her writers. The 20th Century Studios horror film "Appendage" debuts exclusively on Hulu on October 2; Hadley Robinson stars as an anxious fashion designer whose body starts undergoing bizarre, inexplicable changes. Tubi's latest ad campaign follows up on its popular 2023 Super Bowl ad; the spots will initially appear to be an NFL post-game show before revealing that they're actually an ad for Tubi. Netflix renewed the true-crime docuseries "Missing: Dead or Alive?" for a second season; the show follows South Carolina sheriffs and deputies as they investigate missing person cases. Apple ordered the DreamWorks animated kids series "Curses!," a "spooky adventure comedy" about a family that must recover stolen artifacts to reverse an ancient spell; John Krasinski is an executive producer. Amazon ordered a series based on the Korean comic "Knuckle Girl"; the story centers on a young female boxer whose sister is kidnapped by a criminal gang. Netflix signed a multi-year creative partnership with Indian studio Yash Raj Films; their first collaboration will be the four-part fact-based thriller series "The Railway Men." Before launching your next influencer campaign, compare the latest cost metrics to your budget. Get the benchmarks in this blog.* *This is sponsored content

Upcoming Events SEP 21 Join us for pitches, drinks and networking at HanaHaus in Palo Alto on September 21 at 6pm.* Palo Alto, California Get your free ticket here! OCT 16 Meet Our Fund 5, Building and Investing in AI San Mateo, California Save Your Seat * This is a sponsored event

Knowledge Hub Term of the Day Customer relationship management: Customer relationship management (CRM) is a strategy for managing a company's interactions with its customers or potential customers. 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 Lon Harris

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