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| Thanks once again for opening today's Inside Streaming brief. I watched a strange French docuseries on Netflix about the Raëlians, the UFO-themed cult that pretended it had cloned a baby in the early '00s for no clear reason. It's certainly a compelling story -- as long-time readers know, I love a good cult doc -- and they have incredible access to the organization, its leadership, its primary detractors, and even founder/guru Claude Vorilhon (aka Raël). But like a lot of other recent cult documentaries, it sort of pulls its punches until the very end. I noticed this as well with Netflix's recent "Mother God" series. They spend the bulk of the running time allowing the group's followers to explain themselves and tell their stories, and basically present their version of the narrative first. And then in the final episode or half-hour, we get the objective version from people who weren't in the actual cult. So for three episodes, we get the Raëlians essentially depicted as horny nerds who maybe exaggerated some of their claims, and then in the final episode, we get the truth: this was a massively exploitative, decades-long fraud run operated by an abusive sex pest with absolute authority. I don't know... It makes for compelling TV this way, like a TWIST at the end of a mystery. But it feels almost irresponsible to me? If you stopped watching after 3 episodes, wow, you did not get the whole story. Lon
p/lon-harris | |
| 1 | | Tyler Perry expanded his partnership with Netflix, and plans to develop additional TV series for the streamer. The first new show to emerge from the deal will be "Beauty in Black," an hour-long drama which the filmmaker and mogul will write, direct, and produce himself. More: - "Beauty in Black" centers on two very different women who become entangled in one another's lives.
- Perry also has a first-look movie deal with Netflix; he's currently working on the fact-based WWII film "Six Triple Eight" with Kerry Washington, and the legal drama "Mea Culpa" with Kelly Rowland.
- Perry had previously developed content for Paramount's BET and its BET+ streaming service, and even made an offer for a majority stake in the brand; he later described the bidding process and subsequent negotiations as "disrespectful."
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| 2 | | Paramount Global CEO Bob Bakish announced plans to cut 800 jobs in the US, with more layoffs coming over time. As of December 2022, the company had around 24,500 total employees. More: - Bakish first discussed the imminent layoffs back in January, and described them as a necessary cost-cutting move that will help the company adjust to "current realities" of the marketplace.
- Impacted employees will be notified by the end of business on Tuesday.
- Shari Redstone, who holds a majority stake in Paramount through her company, National Amusements, is reportedly considering a sale of the entire company, or some divisions; the stock is down around 7% so far this year.
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| 3 | | DAILY CALENDAR TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 13 THE SPACE RACE: Documentary feature from National Geographic exploring the history and legacy of America's first Black astronauts. Lisa Cortes ("Little Richard: I Am Everything") and Diego Hurtado de Mendoza ("The People's Fighters") directed. The film hits Disney+ and Hulu today after debuting Monday night on cable. [Hulu and Disney+] CBS FBI FRANCHISE: All three of producer Dick Wolf's "FBI" procedural dramas return for new seasons tonight on Paramount+ and CBS. It's Season 6 for flagship "FBI," Season 5 for "FBI: Most Wanted," and Season 3 for "FBI: International." [Paramount+] FIVE BLIND DATES: Romantic comedy feature from Australia, starring Shuang Hu (who also co-wrote the screenplay) as a tea shop owner who's told by a fortune teller that she'll meet her soul mate on one of her next five dates. Yoson An, Jon Prasida, Tzi Ma, Desmond Chiam, Tiffany Wong, and Ilai Swindells co-star; Shawn Seet ("Storm Boy") directs. [Prime Video] BOTTOMS: 2023 satirical comedy feature from "Shiva Baby" writer/director Emma Seligman. Rachel Sennott (who co-wrote the script) and Ayo Edebiri co-star as high school best friends, both lesbians, who start a girls' fight cub as a way to get closer to their cheerleader crushes. Ruby Cruz, Havana Rose Liu, Kaia Gerber, and Marshawn Lynch co-star. [Prime Video] TAYLOR TOMLINSON: HAVE IT ALL: The comedian and "After Midnight" host's third Netflix special was filmed at Capital One Hall in Tysons, Virginia, and features material about landing your dream job, finding an ideal partner, and managing anxiety and stress. [Netflix] SUNDERLAND 'TIL I DIE: Sports docuseries from the UK, taking a behind-the-scenes look at the English football club Sunderland A.F.C. It's back for a third and final season, documenting the team's pursuit of the EFL Championship in 2022. [Netflix] KILL ME IF YOU DARE (ZABIJ MNIE, KOCHANIE): Dark romantic comedy feature from Poland, starring Weroniką Książkiewicz and Mateusz Banasiuk as a married couple who start plotting one another's murders after they score a winning lottery ticket. Filip Zylber ("Squared Love") directs. [Netflix] | | | |
| 4 | | A proposed class action lawsuit filed in a California federal court last week claims that Amazon breached its contract with Prime subscribers and violated consumer protection laws by placing ads on Prime Video streams. Amazon put all current Prime subscribers on its new ad-supported streaming plan; removing the ads requires a manual $3/month subscription upgrade. More: - The lawsuit specifically concerns Prime subscribers who had signed up for an annual plan, and saw the terms of their subscriptions change.
- The lawsuit alleges that the shift was deceptive and "unfair," requiring subscribers to "pay extra to get something they already paid for."
- The proposed lawsuit seeks at least $5 million in restitution, along with a court order blocking Amazon from any further "deceptive conduct" for anyone who subscribed prior to December 28, 2023.
- Amazon also confirmed that baseline Prime subscribers no longer have access to Dolby Vision HDR or Dolby Atmos surround sound on Prime Video streams; the additional $3/month fee also upgrades to these features.
- Last year, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) also accused Amazon of deceptive practices regarding Prime subscriptions, including misleading language around automatic renewals and "cancellation trickery."
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| 5 | | According to Nielsen, Sunday night's Super Bowl was viewed by an audience of 123.4 million, setting a new record for a live TV event. Last year's Super Bowl held the Nielsen record, with 115.1 million views. More: - These are all preliminary ratings; Nielsen's final tally will be released some time on Tuesday.
- The figures include all Super Bowl viewership across CBS, Paramount+, Univision, the NFL's digital channels, and Nickelodeon's kid-friendly simulcast; according to Nielsen, the vast majority of these views went to CBS.
- The game likely got a boost from the presence of pop star Taylor Swift in the stands, as well as the game going into overtime.
- Nielsen reports that overall NFL viewership this season was up 7%, just missing the all-time record set in 2015.
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| 6 | | Apple renewed the sci-fi drama series "Invasion" for a third season. The new episodes go into production later on this month. More: - The series chronicles an alien invasion of Earth from multiple human perspectives.
- The cast includes Golshifteh Farahani, Shiloi Kutsuna, Shamier Anderson, and India Brown.
- Simon Kinberg ("The Twilight Zone") and David Weil ("Hunters") co-created the series, and will return for the new episodes.
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| 7 | | Netflix dropped a trailer for the dark fantasy-adventure film "Damsel." Millie Bobby Brown stars as a young woman in a fairy tale kingdom who agrees to marry a handsome prince, then discovers the royal family plans to sacrifice her to a dragon. More: - Angela Bassett, Robin Wright, Ray Winstone, and Shohreh Aghdashloo co-star.
- This is Spanish director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo's first new film since 2011's "Intruders"; he previously directed the zombie sequel "28 Weeks Later."
- "Damsel" hits Netflix on March 8.
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- Netflix announced its first in-person "upfront" showcase for advertisers, to be held in New York on May 15; the streamer had planned a live upfront presentation for May 2023, but ultimately opted for a virtual event due to the WGA strike.
- Lisa from the K-pop girl group Blackpink has joined the cast of "The White Lotus" ahead of its third season; she'll be credited under her full name, Lalisa Manobal.
- The YouTube version of Usher's Super Bowl Halftime Show features a cleaned-up recording of Alicia Keys singing "If I Ain't Got You"; though Keys memorably fumbled the opening note during the performance, the YouTube clip sounds more polished.
- Though a series adaptation of author Sarah J. Maas' "A Court of Thorns and Roses" fantasy-romance novels remains technically in development at Hulu, Variety reports that it's unlikely to make it to the screen.
- The family of Colombian drug trafficker Griselda Blanco settled a lawsuit against Netflix and star/producer Sofía Vergara over the recent limited series "Griselda"; the family has dismissed the complaint with prejudice, meaning it can't be refiled at a later date.
- Stand-up Hannah Gadsby is developing a new special for Netflix, "Gender Agenda," featuring a line-up of seven genderqueer comedians from around the globe; Gadsby will serve as "curator" and host.
- Filmmaker Josh Safdie ("Uncut Gems") will direct Adam Sandler's next Netflix comedy special, his first for the streamer since 2018's "100% Fresh"; Sandler and Safdie also have plans to collaborate on an upcoming movie set in the world of sports memorabilia.
- Netflix renewed the autobiographical comedy-drama series "Survival of the Thickest" for a second season, and also ordered a comedy special from star and co-creator Michelle Buteau.
- On "Jimmy Kimmel Live" this week, pop star Katy Perry announced plans to exit her role as an "American Idol" judge after this season; Perry has been a series regular for the past seven seasons, since 2018.
- In an interview with THR, Jennifer Lopez reveals that she self-financed her new experimental musical feature "This Is Me... Now: A Love Story" when other plans fell through; the 65-minute film hits Amazon Prime Video later this week.
- Dive into advanced tips and tricks with the Kubernetes Cookbook. Get your copy, compliments of the cloud experts at DoiT.*
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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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