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| Good morning and thanks for opening today's Inside Streaming brief. It's not quite ONE SERVICE TO RULE THEM ALL, but it seems like most sports fans who have cut the cord will want/need to get on this joint Fox/Disney/WBD streaming platform. Any games that go to NBC or CBS stations won't be included, as Comcast and Paramount aren't taking part, but that will still put a whole lot of content on this one central service. With sports fans increasingly enraged by crucial games being streamed behind paywalls on underdog streamers like Peacock, a move like this felt fairly inevitable. Still, this kind of consolidation might not be an entirely positive thing for consumers. All of the streamers competing for sports licenses meant that they'd have to dedicate themselves to quality, both the maintain their deals with the leagues and keep fans happy. All of them throwing in together means sports fans have just a handful of options for watching games, and have to basically make do with what they get. Lon
p/lon-harris | |
| 1 | | Disney's ESPN, Fox Corp., and Warner Bros. Discovery will collaborate on a new sports streaming service. The still-unnamed service will apparently feature content from all major US sporting leagues, according to a new report in The Wall Street Journal. More: - Each company will own a one-third stake in the new venture, which is anticipated to launch sometime in the fall of 2024.
- Disney still plans to maintain an independent ESPN streaming service, which will serve as a general hub for streaming sports content.
- The new service won't have universal access to American sporting events; content licensed by NBCUniversal owner Comcast and CBS owner Paramount, for example, won't be available.
- No subscription price has yet been announced, but WSJ suggests it will still be cheaper than a traditional cable package.
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| 2 | | Actor Gina Carano filed a lawsuit against Disney and Lucasfilm for discrimination and wrongful termination. Carano's complaint, filed on Tuesday in a federal court in California, claims that she was fired from the Disney+ "Star Wars" series "The Mandalorian" because she's an outspoken conservative on social media apps. More: - The suit further alleges that Disney and Lucasfilm demanded a public apology, and harassed and defamed Carano, after she refused to delete or change her posts.
- Carano is seeking a court order that would force Lucasfilm to re-cast her in the series.
- X owner Elon Musk has agreed to help fund Carano's suit, as part of a vow he made to defend users of the app who have been discriminated against for expressing their opinions.
- Lucasfilm fired Carano -- who portrayed the mercenary Cara Dune on "The Mandalorian" -- in 2021, following a post to X (then Twitter) comparing present-day efforts to silence conservatives to the activities of the Nazi regime; she was also dismissed by her talent agency, UTA.
- Previously, Carano had frequently posted about popular topics among conservatives on social media, including criticism of mask use during the COVID pandemic, the use of identifying pronouns for LGBTQ people, and suggestions that the 2020 election had been stolen.
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| 3 | | DAILY CALENDAR WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 7 THE MARVELS: 2023 superhero fantasy film from Marvel Studios, directly following up on the 2019 film "Captain Marvel" and the Disney+ shows "WandaVision" and "Ms. Marvel." Carol Danvers (Brie Larson), Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris), and young Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) join forces, mostly by accident, to thwart a cataclysmic scheme enacted by Kree leader Dar-Benn (Zawe Ashton). Samuel L. Jackson co-stars; Nia DaCosta ("Candyman") co-wrote and directed. A "Marvels"-themed episode of the behind-the-scenes docuseries "Assembled" also hits Disney+ today. [Disney+] 50/50 FLIP: Home renovation reality series from A&E in which husband and wife team Krystal and Dedric Polite employ their "50/50" strategy: renovating a home with less than $50,000 in under 50 days. It's back for a second season. [Hulu] TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS: THE QUALIFIERS: Reality miniseries from Food Network, setting up the new fifth season of host Guy Fieri's competition series "Tournament of Champions." 16 chefs face off to earn one of just four spots in the new season. [Max] BAR RESCUE: The Paramount Network reality series finds food and beverage industry consultant Jon Taffer helping to renovate and revitalize struggling nightclubs, bars, and pubs. A new batch of Season 8 episodes hits Paramount+ today. [Paramount+] MTV COUPLES RETREAT: In this reality series, famous couples work through their real issues with help from life coaches and relationship experts. Season 3 couples include Bre-Z & Chris Amore; Joe & Kendra Robinson; Falynn & Jaylan Pina; and FatBoy SSE & Tiana Kimbrough. AJ Johnson and Tony Gaskins co-host. [Paramount+] THE LOVE EXPERIMENT: Debut reality series from MTV in which three single best friends try out a dating app full of eligible men known as "The Hall." Season 1 aired last summer on cable and hits Paramount+ in the US today. [Paramount+] RAËL: THE ALIEN PROPHET (LE PROPHÈTE DES EXTRATERRESTRES): Docuseries from France looking at the origins and influence of the UFO-based religion Raëlism, founded in the 1970s by Claude Vorilhon. The series features interviews with followers, critics, and Vorilhon himself. [Netflix] LUZ: THE LIGHT OF THE HEART: Family adventure series from Brazil, about an orphan girl (Marianna Santos) who runs away from the Indigenous family and village that raised her to investigate her true origins. [Netflix] | | | |
| 4 | | A rigger working on the set of the Disney+/Marvel Studios superhero series "Wonder Man" died on Tuesday after falling from a catwalk. He was identified as 41-year-old Juan Carlos Osorio of Temple City, California. More: - The series was not filming at the time of Osorio's accident.
- The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA, plans to investigate the incident.
- "Wonder Man" officially kicks off production next month at Radford Studios in Studio City; it was one of many productions delayed by the Hollywood strikes of 2023.
- Yahya Abdul-Mateen II stars as Simon Williams, the heir to an industrial fortune who gains "ionic powers" after joining forces with the villainous Baron Zemo.
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| 5 | | Netflix partnered with Major League Baseball (MLB) on two upcoming projects relating to the Boston Red Sox. The deal includes a docuseries modeled on the F1 behind-the-scenes showcase "Drive to Survive," following the Red Sox throughout the 2024 season. More: - As well, Netflix is developing a two-part documentary from Meadowlark Media about the 2004 Red Sox team, which ended the franchise's 86-year streak without a World Series championship.
- The documentary will arrive later this year; the behind-the-scenes docuseries is scheduled to premiere in 2025.
- MLB Studios, the league's in-house production team, is collaborating on both projects.
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| 6 | | During the TV Critics Association winter press tour, AMC announced a number of updates to its Anne Rice-inspired "Immortal Universe" franchise. The franchise's flagship series, an adaptation of the author's novel "Interview with the Vampire," returns for a second season on May 12. More: - "Breaking Bad" vet David Constabile joins the cast of "Vampire" for Season 2, while Delainey Hayles takes over the central role of Claudia from departing actor Bailey Bass.
- Another Anne Rice adaptation, "Mayfair Witches," also returns for a second season this year; Alyssa Jirrels, Ted Levine, and Thora Birch all join the ensemble for the new episodes.
- AMC also teased a third Immortal Universe series from filmmaker John Lee Hancock, based on the fictional secret society Order of the Talamasca, which appears in several Rice novels.
- At the same event, AMC also announced a third season of the anthology period horror series "The Terror," subtitled "Devil in Silver."
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| 7 | | Production on Season 3 of the Apple sci-fi drama "Foundation" has been postponed due to both technical and budget issues. No date has yet been set for resuming production on the expansive and costly series. More: - This is the second time production on "Foundation" Season 3 has been paused; the show had already filmed for a few weeks in spring of 2023 before the Hollywood strikes shut it down.
- According to Deadline, about one third of the season has already been shot.
- The series was inspired by the Isaac Asimov novels; Jared Harris stars as far-future mathematician Hari Seldon, who seeks to prevent humanity from falling into a new Dark Age after the collapse of a massive interplanetary Empire.
- The cast also includes Lee Pace, Lou Llobell, Leah Harvey, and Laura Birn.
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- "The Grand Tour" returns to Prime Video on February 16 with its penultimate installment, "Sand Job," in which Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May explore the route of the legendary Paris-Dakar rally in Africa.
- Variety reports that model and influencer Emily Ratajkowski is likely to join the cast of Lena Dunham's Netflix comedy series "Too Much"; Megan Stalter and Will Sharpe co-star in the series, about the unlikely relationship between an American workaholic living in London and a British slacker.
- New set photos confirm that original "Daredevil" regulars Deborah Ann Woll and Elden Henson reprise their roles for the Disney+ reboot series "Daredevil: Born Again."
- Apple grabbed the global rights to the independent drama feature "Fancy Dance," starring Oscar nominee Lily Gladstone; the film, from first-time co-writer/director Erica Tremblay, premiered at last year's Sundance.
- Fox renewed the Joel McHale sitcom "Animal Control" for a third season; the show returns for Season 2 in March.
- Amazon is developing a limited series based on the Tia Williams novel "Seven Days in June" for Prime Video; "Bel-Air" and "Grey's Anatomy" vet Felicia Pride will write the series and serve as showrunner.
- "Walking Dead" franchise producer Scott Gimple spoke with TVLine about the possibility of a crossover event, bringing together the plots of all the various spinoff series.
- Peacock's "Apples Never Fall" and MGM+'s "Hotel Cocaine" will premiere in the international competition at France's annual Series Mania event in March; other shows in the running include the UK comedy series "Boarders," French drama "Dans L'Ombre," and the HBO Europe/Disney+ Franco-Hungarian production "Rematch."
- Some conservative commentators on social media -- including the widely-followed account @EndWokeness -- complained about Netflix's historical docuseries "Alexander: The Making of a God," which alludes to the Ancient Macedonian ruler's bisexuality.
- During a panel at MegaCon Orlando, "Stranger Things" star Gaten Matarazzo suggested that the show should kill off more characters, noting that the central line-up feels "too safe."
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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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