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| Hello readers and thanks for opening today's Inside Streaming newsletter. I'm disappointed to say the least that WBD has opted to shut down Rooster Teeth. Yet another beloved, iconic digital media brand that was scooped up by a big entertainment company with the promise of new opportunities and synergy, only to get hollowed out over time and eventually scrapped for parts. Here's hoping that WBD at least leaves Rooster Teeth's 20 years of content online and accessible. In the past, when shutting down legacy digital media brands (like Machinima), the company has basically deleted its entire catalog, erasing years of work from the world as if it never even existed, and making it that much harder for the creatives who toiled away on that content to secure future jobs. Lon
p/lon-harris | |
| 1 | | Roku altered its Dispute Resolution Terms, and required users to consent to the changes before signing in to the company's smart TVs and devices. Roku shut down access to all its products until users agreed to the new terms. More: - The terms include a forced arbitration agreement that prevents users from filing or joining lawsuits against Roku.
- Among the major changes is an "Informal Dispute Resolution" section which requires anyone with legal complaints to bring them first to Roku for a "Meet-and-Confer" call, essentially adding an extra step before any potential arbitration.
- According to TechCrunch, if Roku owners wish to opt out of the changes, they must physically mail a written notice to the company's legal team.
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| 2 | | Netflix renewed the action fantasy series "Avatar: The Last Airbender" for two additional seasons. Season 3 will serve as a conclusion for the show, which is based on a popular animated series originally aired on Nickelodeon. More: - "Avatar" has been Netflix's top-ranked English-language series since its debut on February 22.
- According to the streamer, it has around 41.1 million views to date.
- Season 1 has 8 episodes but there's no word yet on how many Seasons 2 and 3 will feature.
- Gordon Cormier stars as Aang, a 12-year-old with remarkable powers who must master the art of "bending" all four elements in order to save the world; Ian Ousley, Kiawentiio, Dallas Liu, and Paul Sun-Hyung Lee co-star.
- The original Nickelodeon series debuted in 2005 and also ran for three seasons; it inspired a spinoff series, "The Legend of Korra," and a poorly-received live-action film adaptation from director M. Night Shyamalan.
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| 3 | | DAILY CALENDAR WEDNESDAY, MARCH 6 FULL SWING: The immersive behind-the-scenes golf docuseries from Box to Box, the "Drive to Survive" studio, chronicles the action from the previous year's PGA tour, on and off the course. Season 2 follows Luke Donald, Zach Johnson, Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas, Dustin Johnson, Rickie Fowler, Tom Kim, and others. [Netflix] THE PROGRAM: CONS, CULTS AND KIDNAPPING: Docuseries from filmmaker Katherine Kubler investigating allegations of corruption and abuse at disciplinary schools, "behavior modification programs," and boarding schools for troubled teens. Kubler herself is a veteran of one such program, The Academy at Ivy Ridge of Ogdensburg, New York. [Netflix] SUPERSEX: Italian biographical drama series from writer/creator Francesca Manieri ("Anna"), starring Alessandro Borghi as iconic adult film actor Rocco Siffredi. Jasmine Trinca, Adriano Giannini, and Linda Caridi co-star. [Netflix] EXTRAORDINARY: The British fantasy comedy series stars Máiréad Tyers as a young woman without special abilities in a world where almost everyone has superpowers. Sofia Oxenham, Bilal Hasna, and Luke Rollason co-star. Season 2 hits Hulu in the US today. [Hulu] THE CLEANING LADY: The Fox crime drama series stars Ãlodie Yung as a Cambodian doctor who moves to the US and gets involved in the Las Vegas criminal underworld in order to support her family. It's back for a third season; new episodes air Tuesdays on TV and make their streaming debut on Wednesdays. [Hulu] ALERT: MISSING PERSONS UNIT: The Fox procedural drama series follows the cases of the Philadelphia Police Department's Missing Persons Unit. Scott Caan and Dania Ramirez co-star as lead investigators whose own child has gone missing; Ryan Broussard, Adeola Role, Graham Verchere, and Alisha-Marie Ahamed round out the cast. It's back this week for Season 2; new episodes air Tuesdays on TV and hit Hulu on Wednesdays. [Hulu] PORT PROTECTION ALASKA: The National Geographic reality series follows the lives of individuals living in the rugged and remote community of Port Protection, on Prince of Wales Island, Alaska. Season 7 debuts today on both Disney+ and Hulu. [Hulu and Disney+] KIFF: Animated series from Disney Channel about the adventures of a young optimistic squirrel (Kimiko Glenn) and her best friend, a sweet and mellow rabbit (H. Michael Croner). Four fresh Season 1 episodes hit Disney+ today. [Disney+] ON THE CASE WITH PAULA ZAHN: The Investigation Discovery series finds the veteran journalist revisiting criminal investigations by speaking with the parties involved, including investigators, lawyers, family members of victims, and frequently the perpetrators themselves. It's back for a 27th season. [Max] MY 600-LB. LIFE: The TLC reality series -- documenting the lives of severely obese people as they attempt to drop some weight and improve their health and lifestyle -- returns this week for a 12th season. [Max] | | | |
| 4 | | A top Warner Bros. Discovery executive suggests that Max will soon join Netflix and Disney+ in cracking down on password sharing. The comments were made by WBD's CEO and President of Global Streaming, JB Perrette, during Morgan Stanley's Technology, Media, and Telecom 2024 gathering. More: - According to Perrette, WBD sees tightening rules around sharing passwords as a "growth opportunity."
- Perrette suggested Max will start implementing the changes later on this year and into 2025.
- Netflix was the first major US streamer to crack down on sharing passwords in May of 2023; its subscriber count has gone up by around 40 million since making the changes.
- As the Max platform has been around for a lot less time than Netflix, it's unlikely that WBD will see as significant a boost in sign-ups.
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| 5 | | Warner Bros. Discovery announced plans to shut down its Rooster Teeth division. The Austin-based gaming and entertainment studio started life as an independent digital media channel in 2003. More: - Popular Rooster Teeth releases over the years include the groundbreaking animated "Halo" parody "Red vs. Blue," the anime-inspired action-fantasy series "RWBY," and the animated mecha series "Gen:Lock" from producer Michael B. Jordan.
- WBD will lay off around 150 full-time Rooster Teeth employees; dozens of other content creators and contractors will also be impacted.
- WBD hopes to sell off some Rooster Teeth productions and intellectual property, along with the division's Roost Podcast Network.
- Rooster Teeth was founded in 2003 by Burnie Burns, Matt Hullum, Geoff Ramsey, Jason Saldaña, Gus Sorola, and Joel Heyman; it was purchased by Fullscreen, which was then purchased by Otter Media, before being sold to WarnerMedia.
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| 6 | | Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch predicts that the combined Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery live sports streamer will attract five million subscribers by 2029, its fifth projected year of operations. Murdoch said he hopes the new service will debut later on this year. More: - Murdoch described the companies' plans as a "pro-consumer package" that bundles together "a majority of sports."
- While the service will combine the live events licensed by Disney's ESPN, Fox, and WBD, it leaves out Comcast's NBCUniversal and Paramount's CBS, which accounts for a significant portion of NFL games, not to mention college sports, golf, tennis, soccer, horse racing, and more.
- Murdoch compared the service to cable replacement options like YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV.
- Murdoch suggested that some predictions -- which see the service reaching 10-20 million subscribers -- were overly optimistic.
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| 7 | | According to Disney's internal figures, the FX period drama series "ShÅgun" debuted to 9 million streaming views internationally, across all platforms. That makes it the most-watched global debut for any scripted series from Disney General Entertainment. More: - Disney+ shows produced by Marvel, Star Wars, Disney Branded TV, Pixar, and National Geographic do not fall under the Disney General Entertainment banner, and thus were not included in this record.
- "ShÅgun" streams on Hulu in the US, and either Disney+ or Star+ around the rest of the world.
- Disney now defines a "view" in the same fashion at Netflix; total viewing time for the series divided by its running time.
- For "ShÅgun," that comes out to 630 million minutes of viewing time for a 70-minute debut episode.
- In the US, "ShÅgun" had the best streaming debut for any FX series in Hulu history; the record was previously held by Season 2 of "The Bear."
- "ShÅgun" is based on a popular 1975 novel by James Clavell that previously inspired a popular TV miniseries; it stars Cosmo Jarvis as a British sailor who finds himself stranded in Japan in the year 1600, when it's largely closed to outsiders.
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- "The Wire" vet David Simon is developing a new HBO drama series set within the foster care and child protective services systems, based on New Yorker articles written by Larissa MacFarquhar; the project is tentatively titled "The System."
- Prime Video renewed the sci-fi comedy series "Upload" for a fourth and final season; the series comes from "The Office" and "King of the Hill" vet Greg Daniels.
- CBS ordered a "Young Sheldon" spinoff series featuring Montana Jordan and Emily Osment reprising their roles as Georgie and Mandy; no title has been announced.
- Comic and magician Justin Willman ("Magic for Humans") returns to Netflix next month with a new series, "The Magic Prank Show," in which he'll use illusions to help everyday people screw with their friends; the series debuts on April 1st.
- Amazon dropped a trailer for the romantic drama feature "The Idea of You," starring Anne Hathaway as a 40-year-old single mom who embarks on a whirlwind romance with the much younger lead singer of a popular boy band (Nicholas Galitzine); the film hits Prime Video on May 2.
- Disney picked up the Korean spy drama series "The Tyrant," about a bioweapon that's stolen during a handoff between the Korean and US governments; the series will stream on Disney+ internationally.
- Netflix released a trailer for the three-part docuseries "Testament: The Story of Moses," exploring the life of the Biblical leader of the Hebrews through a combination of expert interviews and scripted re-enactments; the series debuts March 27.
- Iconic video game creator Hideo Kojima praised "Dune: Part Two" on social media, predicting that the film will inspire a revival of interest in movie theaters and a "resistance" to the cultural dominance of streaming services.
- The upcoming eight-episode HBO docuseries "Jerrod Carmichael Reality Show" follows the actor and comedian on a "quest for love, sex, and truth"; it debuts on March 29.
- "Atonement" filmmaker Joe Wright will direct the first two episodes of Paramount+'s spy thriller series "The Department," an adaptation of the French series "Le Bureau des Legendes"; "Ford v. Ferrari" and "Edge of Tomorrow" scribes Jez and John-Henry Butterworth will write all 10 episodes.
- Popular YouTube star and children's educator Ms. Rachel will debut her first book later this year, through a new partnership with Random House.
- Ahead of International Women's Day, Netflix unveiled a female-focused slate of original films and shows from Africa; the line-up includes the series "Baby Farm" and "Postcards" and the feature film "House of Ga'a," based on a true story from the 18th Century Oyo Empire.
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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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