NYC sues apps / Walmart may buy Vizio / The fight for Amazon's "Road House" / Three new Peacock dramas

Plus today's calendar, "The Sympathizer" teaser, "Loudermilk" a hit on Netflix, "American Rust" moves to Prime Video, and more

Inside Streaming For February 15, 2024

Hey all, thanks for opening today's Inside Streaming. I very much enjoyed today's deep dive from Variety into the bizarre journey of MGM's "Road House" remake, which hits Prime Video in March. Amazon's "deal" with producers -- that if they can turn in the movie for less money, they'd get a theatrical release -- makes some practical sense, on one level. A theatrical release brings with it millions of dollars in new costs, so if you can save some of that money from the budget, you're spending less overall.  But that also means the movies you're releasing to theaters aren't going to look as good or be as polished as the ones going direct to streaming, which kind of inherently will get less attention from audiences, at least at first. Amazon and MGM don't want to put their best feet forward, even with something as relatively easy to sell as an action movie with a hugely recognizable title? Considering that theatrical releases tend to add luster to a film's reputation and make them more popular once they land on streaming platforms anyway... kneecapping "Road House" to save a few million bucks on budget, especially when you're freaking AMAZON DOT COM, seems like a failure of vision to me. But I'm not running a Hollywood studio so there you go... Lon p/lon-harris

1 The City of New York filed a lawsuit against Meta, Snap, TikTok owner ByteDance, and Google, accusing their products of damaging the mental health of children and young adults. Fellow plaintiffs include the New York City school district and various health organizations. More: The suit argues that the tech companies purposefully designed and marketed their platforms to "addict youth, with minimal parental oversight," violating laws related to public nuisances and gross negligence. The city further claims that its public services have been significantly impacted by children suffering from social media and internet-related mental health crises. A spokesperson for TikTok noted that the company has "industry-leading safeguards" for teen users, while a Google representative argued that "providing young people with a safer, healthier experience online has always been core to our work." Similar litigation was filed in 2022 in California by a group of school districts, who argued that apps like TikTok and YouTube are "designed to maximize screen time," which can result in "various emotional and physical harms" for users.

2 The Wall Street Journal reports that Walmart is in negotiations to purchase smart TV maker Vizio, in a deal valued around $2 billion. Vizio is the most frequently-sold TV brand by Walmart stores. More: WSJ notes that negotiations are still ongoing and the deal could still fall apart. Walmart hopes to use Vizio's streaming platforms to sell ads and pitch its products directly to consumers. Walmart is the nation's largest retailer by revenue, but relies largely on its in-store grocery business in the US; it hopes to move more of its business over to e-commerce to increase margins and compete more directly with Amazon.

3 DAILY CALENDAR THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 15 YOUNG SHELDON: The CBS comedy series -- a spinoff of "Big Bang Theory" centered on a young Sheldon Cooper (Iain Armitage) -- returns Thursday night for its seventh and final season, in which now 14-year-old Sheldon goes to college. Zeo Perry, Lance Barber, Montana Jordan, and Annie Potts co-star; Jim Parsons narrates as Adult Sheldon. [Paramount+] GHOSTS: CBS supernatural comedy series -- inspired by a British original -- starring Rose McIver and Utkarsh Ambudkar as a couple who inherit a haunted mansion that's filled with restless spirits, that only one of them can see. Brandon Scott Jones, Richie Moriarty, Danielle Pinnock, and Asher Grodman co-star. It's back this week for a third season. [Paramount+] SO HELP ME TODD: The CBS legal comedy-drama series returns on Thursday night for a second season. Skylar Astin stars as a private investigator who reluctantly accepts a job working for his strict mother's (Marcia Gay Harden) law firm. Madeline Wise and Tristen J. Winger co-star. [Paramount+] THE VINCE STAPLES SHOW: Five-episode satirical comedy series in which the actor and rapper stars as a fictionalized version of himself, navigating the ups and downs of life in a surreal, alternate Long Beach, California. Season 1 guest stars include Vanessa Bell Calloway, Andrea Ellsworth, Naté Jones, Arturo Castro, and Bryan Greenberg. Staples co-created the series with Ian Edelman and Maurice Williams; Kenya Barris executive produced. [Netflix] CROSSROADS: The 2002 coming-of-age comedy-drama from MTV Films follows three teenage girls on a cross-country road trip to Los Angeles, and features a lead performance from Britney Spears. Shonda Rhimes wrote the script; Tamra Davis directs. The film was re-released to theaters last year as part of the promotion for Spears' memoir. Today's Netflix's release marks its first-ever appearance on a subscription streaming platform. [Netflix] HOUSE OF NINJAS: Action-thriller series from Japan about the world's last ninja clan, the Tawara Family, who come out of the shadows in the present day to confront a crisis threatening to rip the nation apart. Kento Kaku stars and executive produces; Yôsuke Eguchi, Tae Kimura, Kengo Kôra, and Nobuko Miyamoto co-star. [Netflix] ALRAWABI SCHOOL FOR GIRLS: The Arabic-language coming-of-age drama series from Jordan is back for a second season. Andrai Tayeh stars as Mariam, a student at an elite private school who befriends a group of fellow social outcasts. Noor Taher, Rakeen Sa'ad, and Yara Mustafa co-star. [Netflix] LITTLE NICHOLAS: LIFE OF A SCOUNDREL (PÍCARO: EL PEQUEÑO NICOLÁS): True-crime docuseries from Spain, profiling professional con man Francisco Nicolás Gómez Iglesias, known to the public as "Little Nicolás." While studying law, "Nicolás" led a secretive double life, infiltrating the elite worlds of Spanish government, society, and even the royal family. He collaborated in the series and relates his story in his own words. [Netflix] READY, SET, LOVE: Debut romantic comedy series from Thailand, set in an alternate reality in which women vastly outnumber men.  To compensate, the government sponsors a game show -- "Ready, Set, Love" -- in which women compete for one available man's attention. Pongtiwat Tangwancharoen, Kemisara Paladesh, and Nichapalak Thongkham co-star. [Netflix] VIGIL: British procedural drama series, created for BBC One, and featuring mysteries that involve cutting-edge military equipment. Season 2's investigation involves a hacked combat drone that kills several soldiers. Suranne Jones, Rose Leslie, and Gary Lewis co-star. [Peacock] CALLIOU: Brand-new animated series from WildBrain, based on Canadian author's Christine L'Heureux beloved character, who previously starred in an iconic '90s and '00s series that aired on PBS in the US. Curious 4-year-old Caillou investigates the world around him along with his father, mother, and younger sister, Rosie. [Peacock] THE TRUTH ABOUT JIM: Four-part true-crime docuseries from Investigation Discovery, in which three women investigate allegations that their abusive relative -- San Francisco teacher Jim Mordecai -- was also a notorious serial killer. Skye Borgman ("Abducted in Plain Sight") directs. [Max] BEA'S BLOCK: Animated series for preschoolers from Sesame Workshop, originally produced for HBO Max Latin America, about a group of young wooden friends who spread positivity and kindness throughout the community of Blocktown. Season 1 hits Max in the US today. [Max] NEXT GOAL WINS: 2023 sports comedy-drama feature from co-writer/director Taika Waititi, inspired by a true story and the 2014 documentary of the same name. Michael Fassbender stars as Dutch-American coach Thomas Rongen, who attempts to turn the America Samoa national soccer team -- ranked one of the worst in the world -- into a championship squad. Oscar Knightley, Kaimana, David Fane, Rachel House, and Elisabeth Moss co-star. [Hulu] JOAN BAEZ: I AM A NOISE: 2023 documentary profile in which the singer and activist looks back on her 60-year career and shares some of her behind-the-scenes personal struggles. The film combines archival footage and fresh interviews with Baez, Bill and Hillary Clinton, filmmaker Michael Moore, and others. Miri Navasky, Maeve O'Boyle, and Karen O'Connor co-direct. [Hulu] CHURCHY: Debut comedy series from creator and star Kevin Fredericks and LeBron James' company, SpringHill. Fredericks plays the son of a Texas mega-church founder who's passed over for leadership by his father, and resolves to start his own ministry from the ground up. Anthony Elfoniza, Lexi Allen, and London Solomon co-star. The series started life on social media before moving over to BET+ for its first full season. [BET+]

4 Variety ran down the history of Amazon's "Road House" reboot, and the strange journey that brought it directly to the Prime Video service. Director Doug Liman plans to protest Amazon's decision to send the movie directly to theaters by skipping the premiere at next month's SXSW festival. More: "Road House" was greenlit by MGM in 2021, prior to Amazon's acquisition of the studio. After Amazon closed the MGM deal, the producers and star Jake Gyllenhaal were offered a choice: bring the budget down to $60 million and go to theaters, or make the film for $85 million but go directly to Prime Video. Behind the scenes, however, original "Road House" producer Joel Silver continued fighting for a theatrical release, enlisting Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel to make an appeal on the film's behalf. In late 2023, Amazon Studios chief Jennifer Salke fired Silver from the "Road House" reboot project due to his personal conduct, and the studio cut ties with the producer more generally. The new "Road House" hits Prime Video on March 21.

5 At the Television Critics Association (TCA) winter press tour, NBCUniversal announced three new drama series headed to the Peacock service. Filmmaker James Wan ("Aquaman," "The Conjuring") will produce a still-untitled techno spy thriller for star Simu Liu. More: The Wan project comes from "Legacies" vet Thomas Brandon, and stars Liu as a US intelligence analyst who realizes his brain has been hacked. The suburban thriller series "All Her Fault" comes from "Wolf" and "Suspicion" vet Megan Gallagher, and centers on a mom whose child goes mysteriously missing during what seems like an ordinary playdate. Peacock is also developing the scripted true-crime series "Devil in Disguise," based on a 2021 Peacock docuseries about serial killer John Wayne Gacy; that project was created by "Dr. Death" vet Patrick Macmanus. Wan is also developing the horror-thriller series "Teacup" for Peacock, which was first announced in 2022.

6 HBO dropped a new teaser for the limited historical drama series "The Sympathizer." The series comes from "Oldboy" and "Decision to Leave" director Park Chan-wook; it's based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by author Viet Thanh Nguyen. More: Hoa Xuande stars as a spy during the final days of the Vietnam War, who eventually moves to the US as a refugee and resumes his espionage activities. Robert Downey Jr. and Sandra Oh co-star; Downey Jr. plays multiple roles in the series. Park writes, produces, and showruns the series alongside Canadian writer/filmmaker Don McKellar ("The Red Violin"). "The Sympathizer" debuts on HBO and Max on April 14.

7 The comedy-drama series "Loudermilk," originally produced in 2017 for the AT&T Audience network, has found an audience after making its way to Netflix. The show hit #8 on Nielsen's list of the most watched streaming originals for the week of January 8-14, with 846 million minutes viewed. More: "Loudermilk" hit Netflix's internal Top 10 list in several countries in January, including Australia, Austria, Germany, the UK, Ireland, Luxembourg, and Switzerland. The first two seasons of "Loudermilk" aired on AT&T Audience before the network shut down; a third season was produced for Amazon Prime Video in April 2021. The series comes from filmmaker Peter Farrelly ("Green Book"), and stars Ron Livingston as a curmudgeonly former music critic and rehab counselor, who is himself a recovering alcoholic. Farrelly teased his Season 4 plans to Deadline and suggested the show could easily be brought back for more episodes.

8 The crime drama series "American Rust," based on the novel by Philipp Meyer, will return for a second season on a new platform: Amazon Prime Video. The series was originally produced for Showtime, where it was canceled after a single season. More: Jeff Daniels stars as a chief of police from a small Pennsylvania town whose girlfriend (Maura Tierney) is accused of murder. Daniels and Tierney are both back for Season 2, as is showrunner Dan Futterman. Amazon originally planned to produce a second season of "American Rust" specifically for the Freevee service, but now that both Prime Video and Freevee are ad-supported, the company is merging their streaming libraries.  All 10 Season 2 episodes of "American Rust" hit Prime Video on March 28.

9 QUICK HITS If your business accepted Visa or MC from Jan. 1, 2004 to Jan. 25, 2019, you may be entitled to a share of the historic $5.6 billion settlement.* The theatrical cut of Ridley Scott's historical epic "Napoleon" -- an Oscar nominee for its visual effects, production, and costume design -- comes to Apple TV+ on March 1. "Saturday Night Live" vet Molly Shannon joined the cast of "Only Murders in the Building" ahead of its fourth season; the new episodes will jump between Los Angeles and New York. Oscar-nominated "American Fiction" writer/director Cord Jefferson will write and produce Amazon's series adaptation of the John Katzenbach novel "Just Cause"; Scarlett Johansson stars in the series, in her first major TV role. Disney+ dropped a trailer for "X-Men '97," a continuation of the classic "X-Men: The Animated Series" featuring returning stars Lenora Zann (Rogue), Cal Dodd (Wolverine), Alsion Sealy-Smith (Storm) and others; the new episodes debut on March 20. The Paramount+ horror procedural series "Evil" will end after its upcoming fourth season, which debuts in May. Hulu canceled the comedy series "This Fool" after two seasons; though the streamer says the series didn't grab a large enough audience to merit a third season, there are no plans to remove it from the platform. At the European Film Market (EFM), Amazon grabbed the international rights for the sci-fi thriller "Ash," from rapper and filmmaker Flying Lotus; Eiza González stars as an astronaut who awakens on a distant planet but doesn't trust the man (Aaron Paul) who claims he's there to rescue her. The long-awaited fourth and final season of Netflix's "Umbrella Academy" arrives in August. Sony Pictures TV entered development on a "Bewitched" reboot with writer/producer Judalina Neira ("The Boys," "Daisy Jones and the Six"), who also signed an overall deal with the studio. Netflix grabbed international rights for the Israeli drama series "A Body That Works," about a childless couple who enlist the services of a surrogate; "Fauda" vet Lior Raz co-stars. Amazon unveiled a trailer for the new Indian crime drama series "Poacher," from "Dehli Crime" creator Richie Mehta and executive producer Alia Bhatt ("RRR"); the fact-based series centers on forestry officials and others investigating an ivory poaching ring. Tubi took the US and Canadian rights to the British comedy thriller series "Dead Hot," about two traumatized best friends who try to numb their emotional pain via hard partying; Bilal Hasna and Vivian Oparah co-star. Veteran Walt Disney Company executive Debra O'Connell will oversee a newly-created news division, that includes ABC News along with local TV stations. NBC ordered a pilot for the drama series "Grosse Point Garden Society," about four members of a suburban gardening club who get "caught up in murder and mischief"; "Good Girls" vets Jenna Bans and Bill Krebs co-created the project and will write the pilot. Dive into advanced tips and tricks with the Kubernetes Cookbook. Get your copy, compliments of the cloud experts at DoiT.* *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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