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| Happy Monday, and thanks for opening Inside Streaming! "Foundation" wrapped up its second season last week on Apple TV+, and I think at this point it's maybe the most impressive streaming original that no one talks about. The series is massive and epic, taking place across dozens of planets over the course of hundreds of years, and somehow it manages to avoid the "staginess" that you so often get with these kinds of large-scale streaming shows. (You know what I mean... huge expansive establishing shots of fairy tale kingdoms or alien worlds, but then all the actual dialogue scenes are clearly shot with actors in a warehouse in Burbank posing in front of an animated backdrop.) "Foundation" feels sprawling and detailed, and some of it at least was definitely produced outside. It takes a while to get attuned to the show's weird rhythm, occasionally abstract hard sci-fi worldbuilding, and anthology-like approach to seasons, where a few characters remain but the entire premise and storyline are freshly reinvented. But it's worth investing the time, if you happen to have Apple TV+. Along with the platform's "Silo" and "Severance," this is one of the best sci-fi shows going right now. Lon
p/lon-harris | |
| 1 | | Drew Barrymore reversed course on Sunday, pausing the return of her talk show until the conclusion of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Other talk shows that had announced returns -- including "The Talk," "The Jennifer Hudson Show," and "Real Time with Bill Maher" -- followed Barrymore's lead and also canceled plans to resume production. More: - In a post to Instagram on Sunday, Barrymore apologized "to anyone I have hurt" and to her team, and vowed to pause production of "The Drew Barrymore Show" "until the strike is over."
- Some daytime talk shows -- such as "The View," "Tamron Hall," and "Live with Kelly and Mark" -- have already returned to air.
- In a post to Twitter/X, Maher explained that, when he'd decided to resume "Real Time," he had believed there was "no end in sight" to the strikes; with the WGA and AMPTP resuming negotiations this week, he reconsidered his decision.
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| 2 | | According to a report from Bloomberg, Disney will likely fall short of its 2024 streaming subscriber goals by tens of millions of customers. In August of 2022, then-CEO Bob Chapek set a goal of 215-245 million Disney+ subscribers by 2024; current CEO Bob Iger has declined to provide public subscriber forecasts in the interim. More: - Disney+ has lost subscribers over the past year, following both price increases and the loss of cricket streaming rights in the Indian market.
- As of the company's last quarterly report, Disney+ had 146.1 million global subscribers.
- Since 2022, investor focus has largely shifted from subscriber numbers to profitability; the price hikes have helped Disney to narrow its financial losses from streaming.
- Bloomberg also reported that Disney has had preliminary talks about potentially selling off its Disney+ Hotstar platform, along with other assets related to the Indian TV market.
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| 3 | | DAILY CALENDAR MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 18 SUPERPOWER: Documentary from co-director and presenter Sean Penn, taking a personal look at the war in Ukraine and the country's president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Penn had planned to make a film about Zelenskiy's journey from comedian and actor to politician, but shifted focus in early 2022 when Russian forces invaded the country. Penn and co-director Aaron Kaufman made seven total trips to Ukraine to shoot the film. [Paramount+] MRS. SIDHU INVESTIGATES: Debut UK crime comedy-drama series, based on a popular BBC Radio 4 show. Meera Syal stars as Mrs. Sidhu, a nosy caterer and Indian "aunty" from Slough with a unique approach to crime-solving. Craig Parkinson, Gordon Kennedy, Naana Agyei Ampadu, and Gurjeet Singh co-star. [Acorn TV] BAD AXE: 2022 documentary from first-time filmmaker David Siev, about his Asian-American immigrant family's struggle to keep their Bad Axe, Michigan restaurant open during the COVID-19 pandemic. The film premiered at last year's South by Southwest festival. [Hulu] MY LITTLE PONY: MAKE YOUR MARK: The animated kids' series is based on the Hasbro toy line, and takes place after the events of the 2021 film "My Little Pony: A New Generation." It's back with its fifth collection of new episodes. [Netflix] LATINO SHORT FILM COLLECTION: A number of selections from the HBO Max Latino Short Film Competition hit the Max platform today, including 2022 winner "Chico Virtual," starring Jaden Michael. Other titles include "Double Cultura," "El Carrito," "Keep/Delete," "La Macana," "Thank You, Have a Nice Day," and "Un Pequeño Corte." [Max] | | | |
| 4 | | Netflix grabbed the global rights to writer/director' Richard Linklater's latest film, "Hit Man." The $20 million deal was the largest signed at this year's Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). More: - The darkly comic noir thriller originally premiered at Venice to critical acclaim.
- "Top Gun: Maverick" vet Glen Powell co-wrote the film with Linklater and stars as a schoolteacher who works with the New Orleans Police Dept., posing as a hit man for the purposes of sting operations.
- When a mysterious woman ("Andor" vet Adria Arjona) tries to hire him to kill her abusive husband, the situation takes a more complicated turn.
- The film is based on actual events, and was inspired by a Texas Monthly article by Skip Hollandsworth.
- This is Powell's fourth collaboration with Linklater after "Fast Food Nation," "Everybody Wants Some!!," and "Apollo 10 1/2."
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| 5 | | HBO canceled the sports drama series "Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty" after two seasons. The cancellation was announced on Sunday night, as the Season 2 finale aired; a quick final scene, wrapping up the story, had not been provided in advance to reviewers but was added to the final cut prior to airing and streaming. More: - This summer's Season 2 premiere received 629,000 total viewers across both Max and television, a considerable dip from the Season 1 premiere in March 2022.
- Season 1's finale was viewed by 1.6 million viewers on the day of its release.
- The series was based on Jeff Pearlman's book about the Los Angeles Lakers' "Showtime" era in the 1980s; in a thread posted to Twitter/X last month, Pearlman implored fans to stream Season 2 of the series, saying "we need viewers" and the show's future" hangs in the balance."
- Season 2 closes the entire series out with the Lakers' dramatic loss to the Boston Celtics in the 1984 NBA Finals.
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| 6 | | Disney+ plans to release new episodes of "Loki" Season 2 on Thursday nights. The fantasy-drama series is now scheduled to debut on Thursday, October 5 at 6 pm PT. More: - The "Star Wars" series "Ahsoka" is currently following a similar schedule, debuting at 6 pm PT on Tuesday nights.
- Prior to this summer, Disney had premiered all of its high-profile new shows at 12 am PT on Wednesday mornings.
- The first season of "Loki" had actually kickstarted Disney+'s Wednesday release schedule; at launch, the platform typically premiered new shows on Fridays.
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| 7 | | ABC will air the full 10-game "Monday Night Football" line-up this season, for the first time in 17 years. Typically, some games would only air on ESPN, but this season, both networks will simulcast the full schedule. More: - The move will help to pad out ABC's sparse fall schedule, which has been significantly impacted by the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.
- In addition to the Monday night games, ABC will also simulcast a primetime NFL game on Saturday, December 30, and a doubleheader on Saturday, January 6.
- NFL commissioner Roger Goodell teased the plans to expand the NFL's TV footprint this season in a recent Hollywood Reporter cover story, referring to football games as "the best reality television going."
- ABC was the original, exclusive home for "Monday Night Football' from the franchise's premiere in 1971 through 2005.
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- "Yellowstone" made its network TV debut on CBS this past Sunday night, but many viewers complained that the Western drama series was heavily censored for broadcast TV.
- The New York Times explored a new phenomenon in the cable industry: repackaging and selling streaming platform subscriptions.
- Netflix shared a first look at an upcoming animated film based on Roald Dahl's book "The Twits" from "Ralph Breaks the Internet" vet Phil Johnston.
- Britain's public broadcasters BBC, ITV, Channel 4, and Channel 5 announced the free streaming service Freely, which will replicate the experience of viewing their live TV networks; in 2024, Freely will replace the Freeview platform, which is currently streamed in around 16 million households.
- The third and final season of Netflix's animated adventure series "Hilda" arrives on December 7; the first two new episodes will premiere at this year's Ottawa International Animation Festival.
- "Saturday Night Live" veterans Kenan Thompson and Sarah Sherman joined the cast of Syfy and USA's "Chucky" ahead of its two-part third season; the new episodes debut October 4 on cable and hit Peacock the following day.
- ABC canceled the period comedy reboot "The Wonder Years" after two seasons.
- The Nickelodeon nostalgia comedy sequel "Good Burger 2" hits Paramount+ on November 22 in the US and Canada; Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell recreate their iconic '90s roles for the new film.
- "Bridgerton" vet Claudia Jessie joined the cast of Netflix's "Toxic Town" series, based on a real UK environmental scandal known as the "Corby Poisonings."
- Optimize your cloud costs today. This practical guide explains the steps to implement FinOps practices and how to get buy-in from your team.*
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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 Lon Harris | |
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