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| Hello again and thanks for opening today's Inside Streaming. I saw a lot of tweets and reviews kind of dismissing Apple's new detective drama, "Sugar," but I like those kinds of noir-y mysteries, and lead actor Colin Farrell. So I checked it out anyway last night, and I really enjoyed it. Blew through all three available episodes, and I'll definitely keep going and finish out the season. I'm a bit perplexed why the show isn't connecting with audiences. It's weird and sexy and a little funny, and the mystery is engrossing enough without getting so complicated, it starts overshadowing the style and the character beats. I think maybe it's just too sincere for today's audiences, a knowing nod to classic film and detective stories that wears its heart on its sleeve. Audiences today expect ironic winking self-awareness. Shows that adopt a throwback style and try to immerse you in an alternate reality without playing post-post-post-modern meta-games with the viewer come off as pretentious or out of touch. Anyway, I'm digging it. Lon
p/lon-harris | |
| 1 | | Two Democratic representatives from the House Judiciary Committee suggested that a proposed joint sports streaming venture from Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery could be anti-competitive. Rep. Jerrold Nadler of New York and Rep. Joaquin Castro of Texas raised the possibility in a letter, sent on Tuesday to the CEOs of all three companies. More: - Nadler and Castro have requested answers about the proposed streaming venture by April 30.
- The questions all concern how the joint venture would affect "access, competition, and choice in the sports streaming market," and include specifics about pricing, intent, and how the new company would be organized.
- Specifically, Nadler and Castro suggest that the joint venture could result in high prices for consumers, and less profitable licensing terms for leagues, teams, and distributors.
- Representatives from Fox, Disney, and WBD all declined to comment on the letter.
- Few details have emerged about the joint venture, which is expected to launch in the fall of this year.
- Bloomberg has also reported that the Justice Department plans to review the merger for potential "consumer harms," while Fubo TV has filed a federal lawsuit seeking to block the venture's launch on antitrust grounds.
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| 2 | | The Scandinavian service Viaplay now streams through Amazon Prime Video Channels in the US. Viaplay previously had a standalone US app and service, which shut down in February. More: - Viaplay subscriptions cost $5.99 per month through Prime Video, starting with a free seven-day trial.
- The Swedish company instituted a number of cost-cutting measures in 2023, including layoffs, pulling out of the North American and UK markets, and culling its roster of costly original programming; the service will also shut down in the Baltics and Poland in the coming months.
- High profile content coming to Viaplay includes the Börje Salming biographical sports drama "Börje - The Journey of a Legend"; the action thriller "Furia"; and the WWII film "Gold Run."
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| 3 | | DAILY CALENDAR WEDNESDAY, APRIL 17 THE CIRCLE: The reality competition series -- in which players move into isolated apartment units and communicate entirely via a social media app, allowing them to "catfish" and deceive one another -- returns this week for a sixth season. The new episode introduces an AI competitor for the first time. Michelle Buteau hosts. [Netflix] OUR LIVING WORLD: Debut ecologically-focused nature series that examines how all life on Planet Earth is interconnected. Cate Blanchett provides narration. "Our Great National Parks" vet James Honeyborne produced. [Netflix] THE GRIMM VARIATIONS: Debut Japanese anime anthology series from "Spy x Family" and "Vinland Saga" vets Wit Studio, featuring six dark fantasy stories inspired by Brothers Grimm fairy tales. [Netflix] DON'T HATE THE PLAYER (MAUVAIS JOUEURS): Debut reality competition series from France, in which 13 contestants face off for spaces in a luxury villa and a shot at a €150,000 grand prize. Claude Dartois hosts. [Netflix] UNDER THE BRIDGE: Scripted true crime miniseries, based on the book by Rebecca Godfrey, and chronicling her investigation into the 1997 murder of Canadian teen Reena Virk by a group of her peers and classmates. Riley Keough, Lily Gladstone, Vritika Gupta, and Izzy G co-star; Quinn Shephard ("Not Okay") wrote the adaptation and executive produced. [Hulu] DRAIN THE OCEANS: The National Geographic docuseries examines shipwrecks, sunken cities, and other undersea wonders through a combination of interviews, scientific data, and digital recreations. Six fresh Season 6 episodes hit Hulu and Disney+ today. [Hulu and Disney+] DR. OAKLEY, YUKON VET: The Nat Geo Wild reality series tracks the cases and personal life of Yukon and Alaska veterinarian Dr. Michelle Oakley. Season 12 aired last year on cable and hits Hulu and Disney+ today. [Hulu and Disney+] PJ MASKS: POWER HEROES: Animated reboot/continuation of the original "PJ Masks," introducing a group of new young heroes to the team. 8 fresh Season 1 episodes come online today. [Disney+] SEE YOU IN ANOTHER LIFE (NOS VEMOS EN OTRA VIDA): Scripted true-crime miniseries from Spain, based on the nonfiction book "We'll Meet in This Life or the Next" by Manuel Jabois, looking back on the 2004 Madrid train bombings -- among the deadliest terror attacks in European history -- from the perspectives of two of the perpetrators. Quim Àvila Conde and Pol López co-star. [Hulu] | | | |
| 4 | | Apple renewed the sci-fi series "For All Mankind" for a fifth season, and also ordered a new spinoff. While the main series follows an alternate timeline of the 20th Century "space race" from the American perspective, "Star City" tracks the same events from the POV of the Soviet space program. More: - "For All Mankind" vets Ron Moore, Matt Wolpert, and Ben Nedivi co-created "Star City"; Wolpert and Nedivi will serve as showrunners.
- Moore no longer works directly on either series, after exiting Sony in 2021 for a new deal at Disney; he's credited as an executive producer on both shows.
- Apple also recently announced the Season 2 renewal of its kaiju drama series "Monarch: Legacy of Monsters," which also came with news of potential spinoffs.
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| 5 | | Netflix released a trailer for the six-episode limited drama series "A Man in Full." The show -- based on the novel by Tom Wolfe -- comes from writer, executive producer, and showrunner David E. Kelley ("Big Little Lies"). More: - Jeff Daniels stars as an Atlanta real estate tycoon who finds himself backed into a corner, surrounded by personal rivals and enemies, while under the looming threat of bankruptcy.
- Diane Lane, Lucy Liu, Tom Pelphrey, William Jackson Harper, and Aml Ameen co-star.
- Regina King ("One Night in Miami...") and Thomas Schlamme ("The West Wing") divide up directing duties on the series and both serve as executive producers.
- The full series premieres on May 2.
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| 6 | | Spectrum launched a new low-cost streaming service exclusively for the company's internet customers. Spectrum TV Stream features streaming access to around 90 channels for $39.99 per month More: - The channels include Disney, Discovery, Fox, BET, Bloomberg, CNN, A&E, Comedy Central, Hallmark, Food Network, MTV, AMC, and many others.
- A Spanish-language package is also available, with 45 channels for $24.99 per month.
- The package does not include channels featuring sports content, which helped to keep the monthy price tag lower.
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| 7 | | Steve Buscemi joined the cast of Netflix's "Wednesday" ahead of the hit teen mystery-comedy's second season. The "Fargo" and "Con Air" star will portray the new principal of the fantastical boarding school, Nevermore Academy. More: - Buscemi previously starred on the HBO period gangster drama "Boardwalk Empire," and has also made memorable appearances on the series "Miracle Workers," "The Sopranos," "30 Rock," and "The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt."
- He also directed episodes of "The Sopranos."
- "Wednesday" ranks among Netflix's most popular original series of all time; Season 1 took home 4 Emmy Awards.
- Star Jenna Ortega and creators/showrunners Alfred Gough and Miles Millar will all return for Season 2.
- Filmmaker Tim Burton, who worked with Buscemi on the film "Big Fish," directed the first two "Wednesday" Season 1 episodes and executive produces the series.
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- Barbra Streisand recorded an original song, "Love Will Survive," for the Peacock/Sky period drama series "The Tattooist of Auschwitz"; the song, composed by Hans Zimmer and Kara Talve, plays over the show's final scene and closing credits.
- Filmmaker Park Chan-wook is developing an English-language TV adaptation of his celebrated 2003 Korean revenge drama feature "Oldboy" for Lionsgate Television.
- Netflix released a trailer for its upcoming series adaptation of Gabriel García Marquez's celebrated magical realist novel "One Hundred Years of Solitude"; the Spanish-language series, produced in Colombia with support from the Marquez family, comes to Netflix later this year.
- Iliza Shlesinger will produce her first stand-up special for Amazon Prime Video, as part of her upcoming "The Get Ready Tour"; the special will be recorded in November at the Eccles Theater in Salt Lake City, Utah.
- "Manifest" vet Melissa Roxburgh joined the cast of CBS' "Tracker" as Dory, the sister of Justin Hartley's lead character Colter Shaw; she'll make her first appearance on the May 5 episode.
- Crystal Kung Minkoff is exiting the cast of "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" after three seasons; she was the first-ever Asian-American housewife to appear on the show.
- Netflix unveiled the French-language action film "Ad Vitam," starring Guillaume Canet as a desperate husband seeking answers after his wife is kidnapped by an armed gang; the film is in production now in Paris.
- Comedy Central ordered an animated series based on the classic video game "Golden Axe" from "Star Trek: Lower Decks" creator Mike McMahan; the cast includes Matthew Rhys and Danny Pudi.
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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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