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| Hello again and thanks for opening today's Inside Streaming brief: Peacock is still growing, hitting 28M subscribers in the most recent quarter. But it's still losing tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars a month, and lagging well behind industry leaders like Netflix (around 250M subs worldwide) or Disney+ (closer to 150M worldwide). NBCUniversal is closing the gap, bit by bit, thanks to lots of pre-standing live sports deals, WWE content, a popular line-up of Universal movies, and occasional breakout hits like "Poker Face" or "Chucky." But it's slow going at this late point in the race. It's going to very hard for services like Peacock, Paramount+, AMC+, and others on that level to shake the perception that they're less essential than counterparts like Prime Video or Hulu that just got to market much earlier and have far more visibility. We're still in an era where Peacock can have a well-reviewed and generally liked "hit" show -- a "Bupkis" or "Wolf Like Me" or "Girls5eva" -- that goes completely unnoticed by the mainstream culture, just because not enough people have Peacock. If making hit shows isn't enough to bring in a mass of new eyeballs, what else can they possibly do? Lon
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| 1 | | NBCUniversal's Peacock streaming service added 4 million subscribers in Q3, bringing its total user base to around 28 million. The streamer lost around $565 million for the quarter, down from $614 million in Q3 losses one year ago. More: - NBCU executives predicted that Peacock will lose around $3 billion this year, hitting its "peak losses" before profitability starts to turn around; they've since cut this estimate to $2.8 billion in losses.
- Parent company Comcast's overall streaming revenue came in at $840 million in Q3, up 64% from the prior year.
- Comcast topped both revenue and profit estimates, but lost a significant number of high-speed broadband customers, and also experienced a drop in ad revenue; shares tumbled by around 7% in Thursday morning trading.
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| 2 | | Paramount+ canceled the thriller series "Fatal Attraction" and "Rabbit Hole" after a single season each. "Fatal Attraction" was a reboot of the iconic 1987 film, while "Rabbit Hole" was an espionage drama starring Kiefer Sutherland. More: - In a statement, Paramount+ thanked the creative teams for both shows and assured viewers the first seasons will remain available to stream on the platform moving forward.
- "Fatal Attraction" debuted on April 30; it starred Lizzy Caplan and Joshua Jackson in the roles made famous by Glenn Close and Michael Douglas in the film.
- "Rabbit Hole" premiered on March 26 and concluded on May 7 after 8 episodes; it was created by "This is Us" and "WeCrashed" vets John Requa and Glenn Ficarra.
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| 3 | | DAILY CALENDAR THURSDAY, OCTOBER 26 AMERICAN HORROR STORIES: The FX anthology horror series -- a spinoff of creators Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk's "American Horror Story" -- is back for a four-episode "Huluween event," with all episodes debuting together today. Plot details remain under wraps, but one of the episodes -- "Tapeworm" -- is confirmed to star "Real Housewives" vet Lisa Rinna. [Hulu] MASTER GARDENER: 2023 crime thriller from writer/director Paul Schrader ("First Reformed"). Joel Edgerton stars as a meticulous horticulturalist whose carefully constructed life -- tending to a wealthy senior's beautiful estate -- starts to unravel after he takes on a new apprentice. Sigourney Weaver, Quintessa Swindell, and Esai Morales co-star. "Master Gardener" premiered at 2022's Venice Film Festival. [Hulu] THE TORSO KILLER CONFESSIONS: Two-part true-crime series from A&E profiling Detective Robert Anzilotti, who spent decades investigating convicted serial killer Richard Cottingham and his potential involvement in a number of cold cases. The series debuted in February on cable and comes to Hulu in the US today. [Hulu] THE HAUNTED MUSEUM: The Travel Channel anthology series features spooky scripted shorts from filmmaker Eli Roth, inspired by real items from the personal collection of paranormal investigator Zak Bagans. Season 2 premieres this week on both Max and cable. [Max] THE DESPAIRED: 2023 horror film starring Drew Sidora as a grieving mail carrier who discovers a mysterious letter that resurrects her husband (Terrence "T.C." Carson) from the dead, but at a terrible cost. Denise Boutte, Jared Wofford, and Jason Louder co-star; Jean-Pierre Chapoteau co-wrote and directed. [BET+] STAY OUT: Original BET+ horror feature starring Kareem J. Grimes as a businessman who discovers a devious plot by his late uncle to possess his body. Dane DiLiegro, Caylee Cowan, and Jade Harlow co-star; Jared Safier directs. [BET+] PLUTO: Debut anime series based on the manga by Naoki Urasawa and Takashi Nagasaki, which itself was inspired by Osamu Tezuka's '60s classic "Astro Boy: The Greatest Robot on Earth." In a future in which humans and androids peacefully co-exist, a detective investigates a conspiracy targeting the world's most advanced robots. Original "Astro Boy" animator Masao Maruyama led the creative team. [Netflix] SEBASTIAN FITZEK'S THERAPY (SEBASTIAN FITZEK'S DIE THERAPIE): Six-part limited thriller series from Germany, based on a best-selling novel. Stephan Kampwirth stars as a psychiatrist whose 13-year-old daughter disappeared two years ago. Now, his sessions with a mysterious new patient somehow shed fresh light on the case. [Amazon] | | | |
| 4 | | The three 60th Anniversary "Doctor Who" specials will stream on Disney+ in the US, starting on November 25. David Tennant, who previously portrayed the Tenth Doctor, returns for the specials as the newly-regenerated Fourteenth Doctor; Catherine Tate will also reprise her role as former companion Donna Temple-Noble. More: - Disney+ will be the global streaming home for the specials everywhere except Ireland and the UK, where they'll air on the BBC.
- Debut special "The Star Beast" premieres on the 25th, followed by "Wild Blue Yonder" on December 2 and finally "The Giggle" on December 9.
- Neil Patrick Harris joins the cast as a new incarnation of classic "Doctor Who" villain The Toymaker.
- A number of former "Doctor Who" cast members will also make appearances, including Jacqueline King, Karl Collins, and Jemma Redgrave.
- Russell T. Davies -- who previously worked on Tennant's run as the Tenth Doctor -- returns as writer and showrunner for the three specials.
- "Sex Education" vet Ncuti Gatwa will take over the series as the Fifteenth Doctor in 2024.
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| 5 | | Netflix dropped a new trailer for the Leonard Bernstein biopic "Maestro," from star, co-writer, and director Bradley Cooper. The film centers on Bernstein's complicated relationship with his wife, Felicia Montealegre Cohn Bernstein, played by Carey Mulligan. More: - The film will get a limited theatrical release on November 22; it hits Netflix around the world on December 20.
- Cooper co-wrote the film along with "Spotlight" and "First Man" vet Josh Singer.
- Both Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg executive produced the film.
- Matt Bomer, Maya Hawke, and Josh Hamilton co-star.
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| 6 | | Kiefer Sutherland will narrate Apple's upcoming three-part docuseries about the murder of John Lennon. "John Lennon: Murder Without a Trial" chronicles the investigation into Lennon's death, and the legal proceedings against his killer, Mark David Chapman. More: - Chapman ultimately confessed to shooting Lennon at the entrance to his New York City apartment building in 1980.
- The series was produced utilizing never-before-seen materials collected from the New York City Police Department, parole board, and DA's office; it also features interviews with Chapman's legal team, psychiatrists, detectives, prosecutors, and others.
- Chapman remains in prison in New York State to this day; he did not personally participate in the series.
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| 7 | | Paramount+ released a trailer for writer/director Brian Helgeland's crime drama feature "Finestkind." "Yellowstone" creator Taylor Sheridan is on board as an executive producer. More: - Ben Foster and Toby Wallace co-star as estranged brothers who are forced to enter a shady deal with a Boston crime syndicate; Jenna Ortega and Tommy Lee Jones co-star.
- Helgeland is best known for writing the Oscar-winning "LA Confidential" screenplay and directing the classic period comedy "A Knight's Tale."
- "Finestkind" was previously in development back in 2018, with Zendaya, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Ansel Elgort attached to star.
- The film hits Paramount+ on December 15.
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- Hulu released a trailer for "Cypher," a hybrid documentary and scripted feature following the career of young rapper Tierra Whack from the streets of Philadelphia to international stardom; the film, which won an award at the 2023 Tribeca festival, hits select theaters and Hulu on November 24.
- "Veep" stars Tony Hale and Sam Richardson will reunite for a special episode of "Critical Role," benefitting Comic Relief US.
- Paramount is reorganizing its product and tech teams; Chief Product Officer Rob Gelick, who played an important role is managing the Pluto and Paramount+ streaming platforms, will exit the company, along with several junior staffers.
- Netflix announced the four-episode fact-based limited series "The Railway Men," its first collaboration with Indian production house Yash Raj Films.
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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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