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| Good morning and thanks for opening today's Inside Streaming! I'm very intrigued by this new Adam Sandler sci-fi film "Spaceman," which seems like yet another venture outside of his Happy Madison comfort zone. Sandler's maybe the one old-school Hollywood talent whose films have gotten much better, and built a wider and more appreciative audience, since moving from theatrical releases to Netflix. While his big-screen slapstick comedies mainly appealed to teens, dramas like last year's "Hustle" and family films like this year's animated musical "Leo" or the coming-of-age comedy "You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah" have broadened his appeal among other demographics. But even the slapstick comedies, like 2020's "Hubie Halloween," seem to be scoring better as well. Something about Netflix's way of working just gels with Sandler's style. It's a fascinating team-up. Lon
p/lon-harris | |
| 1 | | According to The Wall Street Journal, Amazon may invest in regional cable broadcaster Diamond Sports Group. The company, which holds broadcast rights for around 40 major sports teams from across the US, has filed for bankruptcy, as customers flee cable subscriptions for streaming platforms. More: - Should the deal go through, Amazon Prime Video would presumably become the new streaming home for Diamond's broadcasts and events; the company would apparently continue to operate its cable networks.
- Teams with current Diamond Sports deals include roughly half of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the National Basketball Association (NBA), and about one-third of the National Hockey League (NHL).
- No specific terms of the deal were released; any agreement would still be subject to approval by the bankruptcy court.
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| 2 | | According to Wall Street Journal reporter Joe Flint, Peacock's deal with Major League Baseball (MLB) expired at the close of the 2023 season. Peacock streamed Sunday morning and early afternoon games, under the "Sunday Leadoff" brand; the deal extended through 2022 and 2023 only. More: - According to Flint, MLB has yet to decide what to do with these Sunday games; they could return to Peacock or move to another service.
- The "Sunday Leadoff" package was apparently valued at around $30 million per season; for point of comparison, MLB's media rights deal with ESPN is valued at around $560 million annually.
- The deal proved unpopular with many fans, as it placed some games behind Peacock's paywall.
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| 3 | | DAILY CALENDAR TUESDAY, DECEMBER 19 EVERY BODY: Documentary profiling three adults who are part of the intersex community, and received non-consensual surgical procedures as children. The film looks at the development of our modern understanding of intersex people and the medical abuses many members of the community have suffered. Julie Cohen ("RBG," "Julia") directed. [Amazon] TREVOR NOAH: WHERE WAS I: The comedian and former "Daily Show" host's latest stand-up special -- his fourth for Netflix -- was recorded at the Fox Theatre in Detroit on the heels of his "Off the Record" tour. The hour-long show focuses on observations made during Noah's recent world travels, including thoughts on various cultural norms and national anthems. [Netflix] 90 DAY PILLOW TALK: THE OTHER WAY: In this TLC reality series -- a "90 Day Fiancé" spinoff -- couples from the franchise welcome cameras into their homes as they revisit and react to episodes of the original series, while reflecting on their experiences. It's back for a fifth season. [Max] CONTRABAND: SEIZED AT THE BORDER: Unscripted series from Discovery chronicling the daily jobs of American customs and Border Protection officers. Season 2 debuted earlier this year on cable and hits Max today. [Max] BORDER CONTROL: SWEDEN: The Discovery UK reality series centers on customs officials, investigators, dog handlers, and scouts working Sweden's borders, ports, and airports. [Max] | | | |
| 4 | | A number of Tesla owners have reported that the Disney+ streaming app has been removed from the "Tesla Theater" platform in all the company's vehicles. On social media, it's been widely suggested that the move is likely retaliatory on the part of Tesla CEO Elon Musk, in response to Disney pulling advertisements off of X/Twitter. More: - Over the last few months, a number of major brands -- including Disney, along with Apple and Sony -- have pulled ads from X/Twitter.
- When asked about the situation during an interview at the New York Times' Dealbook summit in November, Musk encouraged these companies to cease advertising on X permanently and appeared to call out Disney CEO Bob Iger by name.
- According to Electrek, Tesla informed Disney of the decision to pull Disney+ from its vehicles last week, without providing a clear reason.
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| 5 | | Netflix released a trailer for the sci-fi drama "Spaceman," the new film from "Chernobyl" director Johan Renck. Adam Sandler stars as an astornaut on a long journey who forms a close, emotional bond with an alien (voiced by Paul Dano) he finds hiding in his ship. More: - Carey Mulligan, Kunal Nayyar, Lena Olin, and Isabella Rossellini co-star.
- The film is based on the 2017 novel "Spaceman of Bohemia" by Czech author Jaroslav Kalfař; playwright Colby Day scripted the adaptation.
- "Spaceman" hits Netflix on March 1.
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| 6 | | Amazon dropped a trailer for the limited series "Expats," based on the novel "The Expatriates" by Janice Y. K. Lee. "Farewell" filmmaker Lulu Wang wrote, directed, and served as showrunner on the six-part series; Nicole Kidman stars and executive produced. More: - The novel follows the lives of three American women living in 2014 Hong Kong, who are united by a tragedy; Sarayu Blue and Ji-young Yoo co-star alongside Kidman.
- A feature-length episode of the series screened at the Toronto International Film Festival earlier this year.
- Kidman apparently approached Wang with the project after seeing "The Farewell," having already optioned the rights to Lee's novel.
- "Expats" hits Prime Video on January 26.
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| 7 | | The adult animated sci-fi comedy series "The Second Best Hospital in the Galaxy" premieres on Prime Video around the world on February 23. The series comes from co-stars and executive producers Maya Rudolph and Natasha Lyonne, along with creator, showrunner, writer, and EP Cirocco Dunlap. More: - Stephanie Hsu and Keke Palmer co-star as intergalactically renowned alien surgeons Dr. Sleech and Dr. Klak; in addition to Rudolph and Lyonne, the voice cast also includes Kieran Culkin and Sam Smith.
- Amazon MGM Studios produced the series along with Titmouse, the animation company behind Max's "Scavengers Reign," Netflix's "Big Mouth," and Paramount's "Beavis and Butt-head" reboot.
- Dunlap is a veteran of "Big Mouth" -- where she collaborated with Rudolph -- and also wrote on Lyonne's Netflix series "Russian Doll."
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- Apple renewed the period drama series "The Buccaneers" -- based on an unfinished Edith Wharton novel -- for a second season.
- The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against Texas district attorney Lucas Babin in his attempt to prosecute Netflix on child pornography charges; DA Babin's case, which the court rejected in a unanimous 3-0 opinion, involved the controversial 2020 French-Senegalese drama film "Cuties."
- During an interview with comedian and influencer Ziwe Fumudoh -- posted exclusively on her YouTube channel -- former Republican Rep. George Santos praised Bowen Yang's "Saturday Night Live" impression of him and predicted that the proposed HBO movie about him, based on Mark Ciusano's biography "The Fabulist," will never make it to air.
- "Luke Cage" vet Simone Missick joined the cast of Apple's upcoming comedy-drama series "Government Cheese"; David Oyelowo stars as a recently-released ex-convict attempting to get back in his family's good graces.
- Veteran character actor Alexander Siddig joined the cast of Apple's epic sci-fi drama "Foundation" ahead of its third season; he'll play psychohistorian and Hari Seldon expert Dr. Ebling Mis.
- Alvin Gray -- the director of the viral Tubi film "The Nurse That Saw the Baby on the Highway" -- has another ripped-from-the-headlines drama on its way to the free ad-supported streamer; "The Rapper Who Got Shot in the Heel" is clearly inspired by a real-life shooting incident involving music artists Tory Lanez and Megan Thee Stallion.
- The ensemble for the still-untitled HBO crime drama series from "Mare of Easttown" vet Brad Inglesby keeps growing; Raúl Castillo, Jamie McShane, and Sam Keeley have all signed on for supporting roles.
- Indie distributor Film Movement launched its own streaming channel -- Film Movement Plus -- through Amazon Prime Video this week; the channel is available for $5.99/month and features a curated collection of independent cinema and arthouse classics from around the globe.
- While promoting the franchise's new London stage show, "Stranger Things" creators Matt and Ross Duffer shot down a popular internet fan theory, which posits that none of the show's events have occurred, and the characters are just playing an elaborate game of "Dungeons & Dragons."
- "Rick & Morty" executive producer Scott Marder and cast members Ian Cardoni and Spencer Grammer chatted with Collider about the show's just-wrapped 7th season, its first without original creator and voice actor Justin Roiland.
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 | 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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