Black Friday deals / "Squid Game" lawsuit / "The Crown" #1 in UK / "Doctor Who" 60th anniversary video

Plus the weekend calendar, "Yellowstone" Season 6 plans, "Witcher" author says Netflix ignores him, Reid Scott joins "L&O," and more

Inside Streaming For November 24, 2023

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Thanks for opening today's Inside Streaming news brief! If you're in the US, hope you're having a great holiday weekend. And if you're anywhere in the world, I hope you're not watching this Netflix "Squid Game" reality competition show, which is truly awful and tone-deaf. I rarely use this space to BLAST shows, so you know this one had me particularly rankled. I'm not sure it's possible to demonstrate less comprehension of the original "Squid Game" series and why it connected with audiences around the globe. Not only is the unscripted take crass and ugly -- a microcosm of the original series' satirical complaints about the brutality of capitalism and the wedges it drives between people -- but it was also apparently dangerous to produce! Several are claiming they suffered hypothermia and nerve damage during production. Instead, I recommend Max's new documentary about Little Richard, "I Am Everything." It's a wonderful look at his career and impact that makes great use of archival footage and fresh interviews. I really enjoyed it and no one suffered hypothermia while making it, I suspect. Lon p/lon-harris

1 A number of streamers and e-commerce sites selling streaming technology are offering Black Friday discounts in the US. A monthly subscription to Peacock's ad-supported tier is going for just $1.99 per month for 12 months, or $19.99 for a full year. More: Amazon is offering a number of discounted streaming subscriptions through its Prime Video Channels platform, including savings on Paramount+, Showtime, MGM+, Starz, and more niche services. Walmart has Roku 4K smart TVs available starting at $188. The New York Times has a list of various discounts on home theater essentials, including smart TVs, soundbars, speakers, and more.

2 Two contestants from "Squid Game: The Challenge" threatened legal action against Netflix and producers Studio Lambert. The two unnamed participants claim they suffered hypothermia and nerve damage while filming the reality series under freezing conditions in the UK. More: The injuries were apparently sustained while filming the show's "Red Light/Green Light" competition, in which players must freeze in place when faced with a giant robotic doll. While shooting the sequence at Cardington Studios in Bedford, England, Netflix confirmed that 3 out of the 456 players required medical attention. The contestants are being represented by Express Solicitors, a British personal injury firm.

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3 WEEKEND CALENDAR FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 24 NFL BLACK FRIDAY GAME: The NFL's first-ever Black Friday game -- between the Miami Dolphins and the New York Jets -- streams exclusively on Amazon Prime Video, without airing on broadcast TV, starting today at 3 pm ET. The stream will feature updates about Amazon Black Friday deals, along with a halftime performance by Garth Brooks. [Amazon] ELF ME: Holiday adventure-comedy feature from Italy about a shy kid (Federico Ielapi) who teams up with an unconventional elf (Pasquale Petrolo) to save Christmas from a ruthless businessman. Music video vet YouNuts directs. [Amazon] LOL: IF YOU LAUGH, IT'S OVER! (SE RIR, JÁ ERA!): The Brazilian version of Amazon's "LOL" unscripted comedy franchise returns this week for a third season. 10 comedians face off in an intense six-hour battle to determine who can keep a straight face the longest; the winner earns a R$350,000 donation to the charity of their choice. Tom Cavalcante hosts. [Amazon] HANNAH WADDINGHAM: HOME FOR CHRISTMAS: Musical holiday special in which the "Ted Lasso" star performs classic Christmas songs along with the English National Opera, the London Gay Men's Chorus, The Fabulous Lounge Singers, an 18-piece band, and celebrity guests at The Coliseum in London. [Apple TV+] GENIE: Holiday fantasy comedy feature based on the 1991 television film "Bernard and the Genie"; both versions were written by "Love Actually" vet Richard Curtis. Paapa Essiedu stars as a workaholic who gets help from a magical genie (Melissa McCarthy) to win his family back ahead of Christmas. Denée Benton, Marc Maron, Luis Guzmán, and Alan Cumming (who also appeared in the original TV film) co-star; Sam Boyd ("Love Life") directed. [Peacock] CATCH ME IF YOU CLAUS: Holiday rom-com from Hallmark in which a news anchor finds an intruder in her home, who claims to be Santa's son, Chris. Italia Ricci and Luke Macfarlane co-star. [Peacock] WHAT COMES AROUND: 2023 indie thriller, based on the play "The Thing With Feathers" by Scott Organ (who wrote the adaptation himself). Grace Van Dien stars as a teen whose new relationship with an online stranger (Kyle Gallner) turns into a deadly game of cat and mouse. Summer Phoenix co-stars. Amy Redford ("The Guitar") directs; she's the daughter of iconic actor Robert Redford. [AMC+] CONSECRATION: Horror-thriller film from British writer/director Christopher Smith ("Creep," "Triangle"). Jena Malone stars as a woman who visits a convent on Scotland's Isle of Skye to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death of her brother, a priest. Danny Huston and Janet Suzman co-star. [Hulu] A NEARLY NORMAL FAMILY (EN HELT VANLIG FAMILJ): Crime drama series from Sweden, based on a novel by Mattias Edvardsson, about two otherwise-upstanding suburban parents who face a string of moral dilemmas after their 19-year-old daughter is arrested for murder. Björn Bengtsson, Lo Kauppi, and Alexandra Karlsson Tyrefors co-star. [Netflix] I DON'T EXPECT ANYONE TO BELIEVE ME (NO VOY A PEDIRLE A NADIE QUE ME CREA): Spanish-language comedy-thriller from Mexico, based on the novel by Juan Pablo Villalobos. Darío Yazbek stars as a writer who travels to Barcelona to study literature, but winds up getting involved in an underground criminal network. Natalia Solián, Alexis Ayala, and Juan Miniujín co-star; Fernando Frias ("I'm No Longer Here") directs. [Netflix] DOI BOY: Romantic thriller from Thailand and Cambodia, starring Awat Ratanapintha as a refugee sex worker who's drawn by a client into a conspiracy against a political activist. Nontawat Numbenchapol ("Soil Without Land") directs. [Netflix] ELENA KNOWS (ELENA SABE): Spanish-language drama feature from Argentina, based on the novel by Claudia Piñeiro. Despite her advancing Parkinson's disease, a woman leads a relentless investigation into her daughter's sudden, inexplicable death. Mercedes Morán and Erica Rivas co-star; Anahí Berneri ("Verdict") directs. [Netflix] MY DEMON: Debut Korean fantasy-comedy series about demon who loses his powers after getting involved with a mean-spirited heiress. Kim Yoo-jung and Song Kang co-star. [Netflix] REPLACING CHEF CHICO: This romantic comedy-drama is Netflix's first-ever original series from The Philippines. Alessandra De Rossi stars as a dedicated sous-chef who must step up when the boss at her fine dining restaurant slips into a coma. Piolo Pascual and Sam Milby co-star. [Netflix] LAST CALL FOR ISTANBUL (ISTANBUL IÇIN SON ÇAGRI): Turkish romantic comedy-drama feature about two strangers -- both married -- who spend a night of excitement, desire, and temptation together after a chance meeting in a New York airport. Kivanç Tatlitug and Beren Saat co-star; Gönenç Uyanik ("Love 101") directs. [Netflix] WEDDING GAMES (UNIÃO INSTÁVEL): Romantic comedy feature from Brazil, about a couple who decide to exchange their wedding vows on the exact spot where they first met, leading to a variety of unforeseen complications. Dan Ferreira and Dandara Mariana co-star; Silvio Guindane directed. [Netflix] THE LIVES OF FELIX (LAS VIDAS DE FÉLIX): Humorous and thoughtful Spanish docuseries in which 29-year-old new father Fèlix Colomer looks back on his diverse jobs, hobbies, and life experiences to date, and considers which ones he will recommend to his son, Riu. [Max] SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 25 HOLIDAY ROAD: Holiday rom-com from Hallmark about nine strangers, stranded at an airport on Christmas, who rent a van and take a road trip together to Denver. Sara Canning, Warren Christie, Princess David, and Kiefer O'Reilly co-star. [Peacock] LETTERS TO SANTA: Holiday romantic comedy from Hallmark about siblings who attempt to reunite their separated parents via the use of a magical pen. Katie Leclerc and Rafael de la Fuente co-star. [Peacock] SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 26 FARAWAY DOWNS: Expanded version of filmmaker Baz Luhrman's epic 2008 period film "Australia," reworking it into a six-part miniseries. Nicole Kidman stars as an English aristocrat who travels to the Australian Outback after her husband's death, on the eve of World War II, to look after his million-acre cattle ranch. There, she falls for a local drover (Hugh Jackman), adopts an Indigenous boy (Brandon Walters), and faces off against a corrupt land baron (Bryan Brown). [Hulu] A GOOD PERSON: 2023 drama feature from writer/director Zach Braff ("Garden State"), starring Florence Pugh as a young woman who loses everything after being involved in a tragic car accident. Morgan Freeman, Celeste O'Connor, and Molly Shannon co-star. [Amazon] HAUL OUT THE HOLLY: LIT UP: Holiday comedy from Hallmark, following up on the 2022 film "Haul Out the Holly." Lacey Chabert returns as Emily, who now embraces her neighborhood's Christmas decorating traditions. Wes Brown, Melissa Peterman, Stephen Tobolowsky, and Peter Jacobson co-star. [Peacock]

4 In its debut week, Season 6 of "The Crown" was the most streamed show on Netflix in the UK. The premiere Season 6 episode has been seen by around 2.8 million viewers in the UK alone; Episode 2 was viewed around 2.3 million times in Week 1. More: The first four new "Crown" episodes were the Top 4 most-viewed programs in the UK all week; the 2019 Liam Neeson action film "Cold Pursuit" landed in fifth place. Nonetheless, the Season 6 numbers were a bit behind Season 5's numbers from late 2022; the Season 5 premiere was viewed by 2.9 million UK households in its first week. The second half of "The Crown" Season 6 -- which will conclude the series -- debuts on December 14.

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5 BBC released a video commemorating the 60th anniversary of the "Doctor Who" sci-fi franchise. The clip includes first looks at Ncuti Gatwa as the Fifteenth Doctor and Millie Gibson as his new compansion, Ruby Sunday. More: November 23 was the actual 60th anniversary of "Doctor Who," which debuted in 1963. Gatwa and Gibson will make their first appearances in the 2023 holdiay special "The Church at Ruby Road," before co-starring in the new season debuting next year. A re-edited version of the 2013 "Doctor Who" special "An Adventure in Space and Time" also aired on BBC Four in the UK, replacing a shot of Matt Smith's Eleventh Doctor with new footage of Gatwa as the character's Fifteenth incarnation.

6 In an interview with Taste of Country, Christian musician Cory Asbury revealed that he'd been cast as a long-lost Dutton Brother for the now-cancelled sixth season of "Yellowstone." Asbury has also discussed the stalled plans on the "Dutton Rules" podcast. More: After failing to reach a new agreement with star Kevin Costner, "Yellowstone" will now end at the close of its fifth season. The final Season 5 episodes are now set to debut in November 2024. Two new "Yellowstone" spinoffs -- tentatively titled "1944" and "2024" -- are currently in development at Paramount+; Matthew McConaughey has been tapped to lead the latter series.

7 During an interview at Vienna Comic Con with YouTubers Cerealkillerz, original "The Witcher" author Andrzej Sapkowski says he made a number of suggestions to Netflix about the fantasy series, but they "never listened to me." Sapkowski suggested that this was typical behavior for adaptations, joking: "Who's this? It's a writer. It's nobody." More: The "Witcher" author also suggests that he had little input in the video game franchise based on his works, from Polish developer CD Projekt Red. Sapkowski started publishing "Witcher" novels and stories in 1990; he's currently working on the tenth novel in the series. Meanwhile, Netflix is currently producing a fourth season of the fantasy drama series, which will be the first without original star Henry Cavill; Liam Hemsworth will take over the role of Geralt of Rivia.

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Knowledge Hub Term of the Day Long (position): A long position involves the purchase of a security from another party believing it will appreciate in value. Read More Question of the Week What perks would convince you to return to the office? Join the conversation

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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