CBS News reboot / WrestleMania sets Peacock record / Stallone allegations / Jon Snow series stalls

Plus today's calendar, Disney+ Beach Boys documentary, Netflix licenses "Heels," CBS renews "NCIS," Mubi teams with Whitney Museum, and more

Inside Streaming For April 10, 2024

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Morning all and thanks for opening today's Inside Streaming. It's my last day in Florida, so tomorrow I'll be back to normal posting hours. But I still want to ask... did you enjoy receiving Inside Streaming a bit earlier than usual? Or is later in the day preferable? Reply to this email and let me know what you think! I tend to favor West Coast time, because more of the day's big news has broken and I think it makes the email more "up-to-date." But I know some readers might like to wake up and have it essentially ready to go when they hit their computer for the day. Let me know where you stand. I'm always open to making adjustments. Lon p/lon-harris

1 CBS News announced major changes to its free streaming content, featuring more live coverage, longer shows, and a new name. The former CBS News Streaming Network relaunches on April 22 as CBS News 24/7. More: CBS News 24/7 will feature a combination of original reporting from local stations and the network's broadcast news division. The new approach includes a live one-hour "whip-around" real-time newscast, which will serve as the anchor for the rest of the coverage. Expanded shows include the election-themed "America Decides," John Dickerson's "Daily Report," and the misinformation-debunking "CBS News Confirmed." According to internal figures, CBS News was streamed for more than 21 billion minutes in 2023.

2 According to NBCUniversal's internal data, this past weekend's "WrestleMania 40" was the most-streamed live entertainment event in Peacock history. The show streamed live from Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelaphia on the evenings of April 6 and 7, and was viewed for a total of 1.3 billion minutes. More: Night 1 streams were viewed 26% more than last year's "WrestleMania" show, while Night 2 streamed to a 30% larger audience. This was also the second most-viewed Peacock weekend of all time, behind only the NFL Wild Card game on January 13. The documentary "Bray Wyatt: Becoming Immortal" -- a profile of the late professional wrestler -- got a big boost from "WrestleMania"; it's now Peacock's most-viewed original sports documentary in its debut week. Overall, this year's "WrestleMania" was the most successful live event in WWE history, also breaking attendance and merch sales records.

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3 DAILY CALENDAR WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10 THE CHALLENGE: ALL STARS: The MTV reality competition series brings together veterans from a number of popular franchises, including "The Real World," "Road Rules," "The Challenge," and "Are You The One?" for a series of grueling match-ups, with the winner receiving a $300,000 prize. Season 4 competitors include Adam Larson, Ayanna mackins, Derek Chavez, Janelle Casanave, Leroy Garrett, Laurel Stucky, Syrus Yarbrough, Veronica Portillo, and many others; TJ Lavin hosts. [Paramount+] NICK CANNON PRESENTS: WILD 'N OUT: The long-running unscripted comedy series features a variety of improv comedy games and sketches performed by a regular ensemble along with special celebrity guests. Nick Cannon and DJ D-Wrek co-host. Seasons 19 and 20 aired in 2022 and 2023; both come to Paramount+ today. [Paramount+] GRAND CAYMAN: SECRETS IN PARADISE: Debut reality series from Freeform, following the glamorous lives of locals and expats living on the titular Caribbean island. The cast includes Food Network vet Elizabeth Chambers (whose high-profile split with actor Armie Hammer plays into the season) along with Selita Ebanks, Courtney McTaggart, Chelsea Flynn, Craig Jervis, Connor Bunney, and Cass Lacelle. Episodes air Tuesdays on cable and hit Hulu on Wednesdays. [Hulu] BLOOD FREE: Debut sci-fi drama series from Korea. After the CEO of a controversy-stirring lab-grown meat company (Han Hyo-joo) begins receiving death threats, she hires a recent Naval Academy graduate (Ju Ji-hoon) as her personal bodyguard. [Hulu] THE INCREDIBLE DR. POL: The Nat Geo Wild reality series focuses on the life and practice of veterinarian Dr. Jan Pol and his wife, Diane, in Central Michigan farm country. Season 24 premiered earlier this year on cable and hits both Hulu and Disney+ today. [Hulu and Disney+] FIREBUDS: The animated Disney Junior series follows the adventures of a fire engine and his young friends, who help first responders out on rescue missions. 4 fresh episodes from the show's second season come to Disney+ today. [Disney+] UNLOCKED: A JAIL EXPERIMENT: Eight-part docuseries examining a six-week experimental prison program devised by Pulaski County, Arkansas Sheriff Eric Higgins. Sheriff Higgins' new approach gives inmates more freedom to set their own schedules and determine how they spend their time, with additional incentives for good behavior. [Netflix] WHAT JENNIFER DID: Feature true-crime documentary highlighting the case of young Canadian woman Jennifer Pan. While Pan initially claimed that her family had been abducted and attacked by armed home invaders, she was later convicted as part of a murder-for-hire plot against her own parents. Jenny Popplewell ("American Murder: The Family Next Door") directed. [Netflix] ANTHRACITE: SECRETS OF THE SECT (LE MYSTÈRE DE LA SECTE DES ECRINS): Debut 6-episode mystery thriller series from France. Noémie Schmidt stars as a computer geek who travels to a remote mountain town to investigate her journalist father's disappearance, in a case with hidden connections to a 30-year-old suicide cult. Camille Lou, Jean-Marc Barr, Kad Merad, and Hatik co-star. [Netflix] THE HIJACKING OF FLIGHT 601 (SECUESTRO AL VUELO 601): Spanish-language period crime drama series from Colombia, inspired by a real incident. In 1973, two armed revolutionaries take control of Flight 601 and threaten to blow up the aircraft unless the Colombian government pays a ransom and releases 50 political prisoners. Mónica Lopera, Christian Tappan, Enrique Carriazo, and Ángela Cano co-star. [Netflix] HAPLESS: The British "cringe comedy" series stars Tim Downie as an investigative journalist working for The Jewish Inquirer, the 4th biggest Jewish publication in the UK. Josh Howie, Lucy Montgomery, and Jeany Spark co-star; Gary Sinyor ("Bob the Butler") wrote and directed. The first two seasons both hit Peacock in the US today. [Peacock] BAIL JUMPERS: First-year series from Investigation Discovery, featuring candid conversations between bounty hunters and the fugitives they're returning to prison. Season 1 debuted earlier this year on cable and comes to Max today. [Max]

4 In private Facebook posts that have been shared via screenshots, a Georgia casting agent accuses Sylvester Stallone of verbally abusing and mocking background actors on the set of Paramount+'s "Tulsa King." Director Craig Zisk has denied the allegations. More: Casting director Rose Locke alleged in a private Facebook group that Stallone created a "toxic environment" on the set. Another commenter, claiming to be a background actor on the show, added that Stallone complained to the show's director that many of their colleagues were "ugly" and asked to be surrounded by "pretty young girls." Several other commenters, including the admin of another Facebook group -- Charleston SC Background Actors/Crew -- collaborated Locke's claims. Zisk claims that, while he informed the casting director that background extras must appear "young and hip" -- only to be surprised by an older collective of performers -- everyone remained "polite and did their jobs." Zisk will remain on "Tulsa King" as a director and executive producer for Season 2.

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5 In a new interview with ScreenRant, actor Kit Harington revealed that a proposed "Game of Thrones" spinoff focused on his character, Jon Snow, is not moving forward at HBO. Harington said that the series is now "off the table," as the creative team "couldn't find the right story to tell." More: According to a blog post from "Thrones" author George R.R. Martin, Harington had devised the idea for a Jon Snow series himself, and brought in his own team of writers and producers to develop the concept. The original "Thrones" series concluded with Jon Snow exiled from Westeros, and embarking on a new life with the Wildlings north of The Wall. The "Thrones" prequel series "House of the Dragon" returns for a second season later this year; another spinoff, "The Hedge Knight," just cast its lead actors this week.

6 The Disney+ documentary "The Beach Boys" -- chronicling the seminal American rock band -- debuts on May 24. The film combines archival footage with fresh interviews from band members Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine, David Marks, and Bruce Johnston. More: Other interview subjects featured in the film include Janelle Monáe, Lindsey Buckingham, Don Was, and rock historian Josh Kun. The film was co-directed by Frank Marshall ("The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart") and Thom Zimny ("Sly").

7 Netflix licensed both seasons of the canceled Starz independent wrestling drama series "Heels." Though the streamer has not greenlit a third season, The Hollywood Reporter suggests this is possible depending on viewership. More: "Heels" ran for 16 total episodes on Starz. The series stars Stephen Amell and Alexander Ludwig as brothers who are feuding both in and out of the ring. Even if "Heels" is a Netflix hit, Season 3 plans could be complicated by the actors' busy schedules: Amell will star on NBC's "Suits" spinoff "Suits: LA" while Ludwig is committed to the MGM+ sci-fi drama series "Earth Abides."

8 QUICK HITS When it's time to grow your company, make Ohio your competitive advantage with better sites, sharper talent, earlier funding, and less red tape.* CBS renewed the original "NCIS" and "The Neighborhood" for additional seasons. Mubi teamed with the Whitney Museum, and will stream eight films from this year's Whitney Biennial program. Producers and executives Sue Naegle and Ali Krug signed an overall deal with Universal's UCP, and will produce an adaptation of the Elin Hilderbrand novel "The Five-Star Weekend" for Peacock. Yet more actors have joined the cast of Hulu's "Only Murders in the Building" Season 4; new additions include Richard Kind and Daphne Rubin-Vega. Netflix acquired global rights for the thriller feature "Don't Move," from "50 States of Fright" vets Brian Netto and Adam Schindler and producer Sam Raimi; it centers on a woman who must escape the clutches of a serial killer after being drugged with a paralytic agent. Hulu dropped a trailer for the documentary "The Contestant," about an early Japanese reality show that trapped a man in a small room and forced him to win magazine contests in order to survive; the film hits Hulu on May 2. YouTuber Quinton Hoover (aka "Quinton Reviews") and his father collaborated on a 38-hour long video about the cultural influence of "The Beverly Hillbillies" and "Petticoat Junction." HBO's reality series "We're Here" -- in which celebrity drag queens travel across America and mentor locals participating in their own drag shows -- returns for a fourth season on April 26. According to friends of Prince Andrew who spoke with The Daily Beast, he was "delighted" by Rufus Sewell's portrayal of him in Netflix's film "Scoop"; the Prince apparently found the film more "even-handed" than he'd anticipated. Netflix signed an overall deal with Colombian producers Camilo Prince and Pablo González; their film "The Hijacking of Flight 601" debuts on the streamer today. Based on early product listings, spotted by bloggers at 91Mobiles, Walmart is apparently prepping a robust new Google TV streaming device. Netflix will screen entries from its 1984 "Milestone Movies" collection at three theaters in New York and Los Angeles this week, including "Beverly Hills Cop," "Footloose," "Gremlins," the original David Lynch "Dune," and "Neverending Story." In a new oral history of NBC's sitcom "Parks and Recreation," Rashida Jones discusses a fake legal spinoff series ("Philly Justice") for which the cast and writers produced a brief pilot. *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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