Amazon Prime Video ads / Max 2024 highlight reel / PPV boxing on Prime Video / "The Brothers Sun" Netflix trailer

Plus today's calendar, "Harlem" renewed for S3, Chappelle's next stand-up special, "Rebel Moon" moves up a day, and more

Inside Streaming For December 07, 2023

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Hello again and thanks for opening today's Inside Streaming news brief. Ads are coming next to Amazon Prime Video, as the company has started inking its first sponsorship deals for the platform. Every streamer is keen to move subscribers over from their loss-leading premium subscription plans -- which don't generate enough revenue to pay for their costly programming line-ups -- over to ad-supported tiers. Still, with Amazon, integrating ads into Prime Video streams is a bit counter-intuitive. First off, there's already a free ad-supported Amazon streaming platform, Freevee, which currently co-exists right alongside Prime Video. Freevee is zero-cost to use, while ad-supported Prime Video will still require a baseline subscription, but still, the branding here is getting a bit tricky. As well, Prime Video was originally designed and sold as a "perk" for people signing up for Amazon's Prime shipping deal. What kind of free perk makes you watch ads first before you get to actually enjoy it? Seems like the entire philosophy behind the Prime Video platform has started to shift. It's no longer just an added benefit for people who want extra Tide Pods and toothpaste sent right away, but a media platform that must stand or sink on its own merits. Lon p/lon-harris

1 Amazon's ad sales unit signed a three-year deal with Mediabrands, a division of Interpublic Group (IPG) that places marketing investments around the globe. When Amazon's Prime Video platform begins serving ads next year, many of Mediabrands' clients will be included. More: Interpublic is the first major advertising holding company to announce a partnership with Amazon, though more are anticipated. IPG Mediabrands clients include Geico, New Balance, Constellation Brands, Carnival Cruises, and General Mills, among others. In 2024, all Prime Video subscribers will move over to an ad-supported model; those wishing to keep ad-free access will be asked to pay an additional $2.99/month. The ads will intially roll out in the US, UK, Germany, and Canada, with other countries to follow later in the year.

2 A new sizzle reel posted by Max -- titled "The One to Watch in 2024" -- teases a number of upcoming shows and films. Among the highlights is a first look at "Welcome to Derry," a prequel to Stephen King's "It" from Andy and Barbara Muschietti, who directed and produced the recent film adaptations. More: Andy Muschietti will direct several episodes of "Welcome to Derry"; the cast includes Jovan Adepo, Chris Chalk, Taylour Paige, James Remar, and Madeleine Stowe. Other shows featured in the reel include the latest installment of "True Detective," "House of the Dragon" Season 2, and "The Batman" spinoff series "The Penguin." The teaser confirms that new seasons of "The Last of Us," "Euphoria," "And Just Like That...," and "The White Lotus" have all been pushed to 2025.

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3 DAILY CALENDAR THURSDAY, DECEMBER 7 COACH PRIME: The behind-the-scenes sports docuseries chronicles college football seasons from the perspective of NFL star-turned-coach Deion Sanders. The six-episode Season 2 follows Sanders' and the CU Boulder Buffaloes' 2023 season. [Amazon] HILDA: Animated fantasy-adventure series, based on the graphic novels by Luke Pearson. Bella Ramsey stars as a free spirit who moves from the edge of a haunted forest to the big city, but still manages to find and befriend the local supernatural creatures and monsters. It's back for a third and final season. [Netflix] WORLD WAR II: FROM THE FRONTLINES: Six-part historical docuseries from the UK looking back at WWII through enhanced, remastered archival footage and eyewitness accounts from all sides of the conflict. John Boyega narrates. [Netflix] MY LIFE WITH THE WALTER BOYS: Debut YA drama series, based on the 2014 novel by Ali Novak that was originally published on Wattpad. Nikki Rodriguez stars as a recently orphaned teen from New York who's taken in by a rural Colorado family with 10 sons. Sarah Rafferty, Marc Blucas, and Alisha Newton co-star. [Netflix] I HATE CHRISTMAS (ODIO IL NATALE): The holiday romantic comedy series from Italy -- based on a Norwegian original -- is back for a second season. Pilar Fogliati stars as Gianna, a nurse who dreads her yearly trips back home for the holidays, where she faces a barrage of questions about finding a husband. [Netflix] THE ARCHIES: Hindi-language teen musical comedy from India, based on characters from Archie Comics. In the 1960s, Archie Andrews (Agastya Nanda) and his friends form a band and fight against developers trying to tear down a beloved piece of Riverdale history. Mihir Ahuja, Vedang Raina, Khushi Kapoor, and Suhana Khan co-star; Zoya Akhtar ("Ghost Stories") co-wrote and directed. [Netflix] NAGA: 2023 Arabic-language thriller film from Saudi Arabia, starring Adwa Bader as a teen who sneaks out of her parents' home to go on a date, only to find herself lost and stranded in the desert dunes outside Riyadh. Newcomer Meshal Al Jaser wrote and directed. [Netflix] ANALOG SQUAD: Period drama series from Thailand, about a middle-aged man in the 1990s who hires a group of misfits to pretend to be his family while reuniting with his estranged, dying father. Nopachai Chaiyanam, Namfon Kullanat Preeyawat, and Kritsanapoom Pibulsonggram co-star. [Netflix] HIGH TIDES (KNOKKE OFF): Debut teen romantic drama series from Belgium, about a group of young friends searching for love and acceptance while spending a summer at the seaside. Pommelien Thijs, Willem De Schryver, Eliyha Altena, and Manouk Pluis co-star. [Netflix] FERMAT'S CUISINE (FERMAT NO RYÔRI): Debut drama series from Japan, starring Fumiya Takahashi as a gifted mathematician who embarks on a new career in the restaurant business after befriending a brilliant chef (Jun Shison). The series is based on a manga by Yugo Kobayashi. [Netflix] SHOWING UP: 2023 indie comedy-drama from co-writer/director Kelly Reichardt ("First Cow"), starring Michelle Williams as a constantly distracted sculptor who's locked in an artistic rivalry with her tenant. This is Reichardt and Williams' fourth collaboration; it premiered at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, where it was nominated for the Palme d'Or. [Paramount+] THE ENVOYS (LOS ENVIADOS): Spanish-language mystery-thriller series starring Miguel Ángel Silvestre and Luis Gerardo Méndez as Vatican officials tasked with traveling around the globe to investigate alleged miracles and healings. It's back for a second season. Argentine filmmaker Juan José Campanella ("The Secret in Their Eyes") executive produces. [Paramount+] ELMO & TANGO'S HOLIDAY HELPERS: "Sesame Street" holiday special in which lovable Muppet Elmo and his puppy Tango team up with HGTV personality Jasmine Roth to renovate and upgrade a school classroom. [Max] BOOM BOOM BRUNO: Debut crime drama series from Germany, starring Ben Becker as an arrogant rural sheriff who trains an inexperienced new partner (Vincent zur Linden) while investigating the murder of a local drag queen. Franz Hartwig, Rike Eckermann, and Sabrina Ceesay co-star. [Max] BLACK MOLD: 2023 indie horror film about two underground artists who break into a long-abandoned facility for their work, then encounter the dangerously paranoid squatter who's been living on the property. Agnes Albright, Andrew Bailes, and Jeremy Holm co-star. It's the debut of writer/director John Pata. [Tubi]

4 Amazon signed a multi-year overall agreement with Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) that will bring multiple pay-per-view events to Prime Video. PBC launched in 2015 and boasts around 150 active fighters across various divisions. More: Prime Video will stream all of PBC's US pay-per-view events, starting in March 2024. Anyone can purchase the PBC Prime Video streams, whether or not they are a current Prime Video subscriber. A PBC Championship Boxing series will also stream exclusively on Prime Video; specifics about the cards and dates have yet to be announced. PBC events were previously streamed via Showtime Sports in the US; Paramount Global has announced plans to wind down that brand entirely.

5 Netflix posted a trailer for the upcoming action comedy-drama series "The Brothers Sun," starring Michelle Yeoh. "Scream Queens" and "Pose" vet Brad Falchuk (the husband of Gwyneth Paltrow) co-created the series along with newcomer Byron Wu. More: Yeoh and Sam Song Li co-star as a mother and son from Los Angeles who discover they're caught up in the midst of a Taiwanese gang war; Justin Chien plays Yeoh's estranged elder son, now a mysterious assassin. Falchuk and Wu executive produce alongside director Kevin Tancharoen ("Glee: The 3D Concert Movie") and Mikkel Bondesen ("Burn Notice"). Yeoh -- who won the Oscar for Best Actress earlier this year for her role in "Everything Everywhere All At Once" -- also co-starred in Disney+'s 2023 series "American Born Chinese." "The Brothers Sun" hits Netflix on January 4.

6 Amazon renewed the ensemble comedy series "Harlem" for a third season. The show comes from "Girls Trip" and "The Blackening" vet Tracy Oliver, and centers on four best girlfriends living and working in the iconic New York neighborhood. More: Meagan Good, Grace Byers, Shoniqua Shandai, Jerrie Johnson, and Tyler Leplsey co-star. The full main cast is expected to return for the new episodes. "Harlem" is a co-production of Amazon MGM Studios and Universal Television.

7 Dave Chappelle's next Netflix stand-up comedy special arrives on New Year's Eve. The streamer released a brief teaser on social media Wednesday morning. More: The teaser features Morgan Freeman announcing "He's back, folks." Chappelle's last Netflix special, "The Closer," was released in 2021; it was his sixth overall for the streaming platform. "The Closer" received 2 Emmy nominations but proved controversial upon release; it was criticized by GLAAD for "ridiculing trans people," and prompted a walkout by Netflix staffers.

8 QUICK HITS Want to master Kubernetes? The Kubernetes Cookbook is a must-have guide to discover guidance on cloud architecture analytics, optimization, governance, and more.* Netflix bumped up the release of filmmaker Zack Snyder's upcoming sci-fi epic "Rebel Moon" by one day; the film will now land at 7 pm PT on December 21, with a "cinematic billboard" running across Netflix's global homepage. Apple's period war drama "Masters of the Air," based on Donald L. Miller's book about WWII's 100th Bombardment Group, hits TV+ on January 26; the streamer posted a new trailer this week. Amazon posted a trailer for the upcoming series reimagining of "Mr. and Mrs. Smith," starring Donald Glover and Maya Erskine as married covert assassins; the series debuts February 2 on Prime Video. Late producer Norman Lear -- who died this week at age 101 -- left behind a number of ongoing projects; the TV icon will make a guest appearance in the upcoming animated Netflix series "Good Times," based on his classic sitcom. Netflix dropped a trailer for "Fool Me Once," its latest mystery drama series based on the works of author Harlan Coben; Michelle Keegan stars as a widow who comes to believe that her late husband (Richard Armitage) may still be alive. Psychological thriller series "Constellation" -- starring Noomi Rapace as an astronaut who returns to Earth and finds that several details about her life have changed during her absence -- hits Apple TV+ on February 21; Jonathan Banks co-stars in the series, which comes from "Doctor Who" vet Peter Harness. Kelsey Grammer chatted with The Hollywood Reporter about the "Frasier" revival, which just wrapped up its first season, and suggested the sitcom will likely run on Parmaount+ "for several years to come." Deadline reports that Netflix will likely greenlight French and German versions of the "Surviving Paradise" reality dating franchise; the series comes from "Squid Game: The Challenge" vets Studio Lambert. The animated family adventure film "The Tiger's Apprentice" -- based on the books by Laurence Yep -- hits Paramount+ on February 2; the cast includes Brandon Soo Hoo, Henry Golding, Lucy Liu, Sandra Oh, and Michelle Yeoh. During a recent episode of her podcast, "B*tch Sesh," actor Casey Wilson complained about working alongside Tim Allen on Disney+'s "The Santa Clauses," calling it "the single worst experience I've ever had with a co-star ever." Toast to 2024: Key affiliate marketing trends to help your campaigns start off on the right foot in the new year. Get the free report.* *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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