| Thanks for opening today's Inside Streaming! So sorry we missed you yesterday. It was an unavoidable lapse. But I've moved the Monday calendar over to today, so you definitely don't miss anything. (Be sure to check out "Dune: Part Two" on Max if you didn't catch it in theaters. It was incredibly immersive in IMAX but I'm sure it'll still be cool on your TV.) Lon
p/lon-harris | |
| 1 | | Comcast formally introduced its StreamSaver bundle, which begins rolling out to customers next week. The package, available to all Comcast TV and broadband customers, includes access to Peacock Premium with ads, Netflix Basic with ads, and Apple TV+ at a discounted price. More: - The bundle costs $15 per month, offering a roughly 35% discount over the cost of subscribing to all three services individually.
- Comcast wil also add Netflix and Apple TV+ access to its streaming Now TV service, which also offers Peacock and 40 free ad-supported channels; that package cost $30 per month.
- Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) plan to introduce a bundle packaging Max, Disney+, and Hulu together this summer.
- As well, Disney, WBD, and Fox will soon team up on the joint streamer Venu Sports, launching in the fall.
|     | |
| 2 | | Disney announced significant layoffs from Pixar Animation Studios, which are now underway. Around 175 employees -- roughly 14% of Pixar's total workforce -- will lose their jobs this week. More: - Disney CEO Bob Iger has spoken at length recently about slowing the studio's output, particularly for streaming services, while focusing more on quality and profitability.
- The layoffs have been long rumored, and Pixar staff have known they were coming since January.
- According to The Hollywood Reporter, Pixar will exclusively produce feature films for theaters, not content for streaming services.
- The first Pixar streaming series based on an original concept -- the Little League baseball-themed "Win or Lose" -- hits Disney+ later this year.
| | | |
| A message from our sponsor, OUR SPONSOR. |  | | Join industry’s leading AI conference - free passes available! Ai4 2024 is the world’s leading gathering of artificial intelligence leaders in business. Jump on the opportunity to join… - 4500+ attendees
- 350+ speakers
- 150+ AI exhibitors
- 75+ countries
Act fast - passes are selling quickly. Don’t miss out on the epicenter of AI innovation. See the full agenda here.
Register Now | |
|
| 3 | | DAILY CALENDAR MONDAY, MAY 20 STAX: SOULSVILLE USA: Four-part docuseries from HBO looking back at the history of iconic Memphis record label Stax and its massive influence on the development of R&B, blues, and particularly soul music. Jamila Wignot ("Riotsville, USA") directs. [Max] SPACE SHUTTLE COLUMBIA: THE FINAL FLIGHT: Four-part docuseries from CNN and BBC looking back at the NASA Space Shuttle and its tragic final mission. In 2003, Columbia spent 16 days in orbit and then disintegrated upon re-entry into Earth's atmosphere in 2003, killing all seven astronauts on board. The series premiered on cable in April. [Max] THE PARISIAN AGENCY: EXCLUSIVE PROPERTIES (L'AGENCE): The French reality series centers on the family owned Boulogne-based luxury real estate firm Kretz & Partners and its various clients. Season 4 aired earlier this year in France and hits Netflix in the US today. [Netflix] TUESDAY, MAY 21 DUNE: PART TWO: 2024 sci-fi epic from co-writer/director Denis Villeneuve, completing his two-part adaptation of the classic 1965 Frank Herbert novel. As Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) gathers followers among the Fremen on Planet Arrakis, he grows concerned about the future impact of his revolutionary movement. Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Austin Butler, and Christopher Walken co-star. [Max] LOLLA: THE STORY OF LOLLAPALOOZA: Three-part musical docuseries about the history and legacy of the iconic rock festival, and its intimate connection with Jane's Addiction frontman Perry Farrell. The series features new interviews with Farrell along with Chance the Rapper, Flea, Trent Reznor, Ice-T, Tom Morello, and others. [Paramount+] RACHEL FEINSTEIN: BIG GUY: The comedian's first hour-long Netflix special is dedicated to firefighter families, and largely centers around her marriage to a Colombian-Irish Catholic fire chief (and cryptocurrency enthusiast). [Netflix] HELL ON EARTH: THE VERÓNICA CASE (LA MANO EN EL FUEGO): True-crime documentary feature from Spain, about the aftermath of rape allegations made by 13-year-old Verónica Rodríguez García against her 63-year-old neighbor in the late 1990s. After their small town community sided with the neighbor in the conflict, Verónica and her mother took matters into their own hands. [Max] | | | |
| 4 | | HBO ordered a first season for a half-hour comedy series from star Steve Carell and co-creator Bill Lawrence ("Ted Lasso"). The series, scripted by Lawrence and his former "Scrubs" collaborator Matt Tarses, is set on a college campus. More: - Carell stars as an author who has a complicated relationship with his daughter.
- Both Lawrence and Tarses have overall deals with Warner Bros. Television, which will produce the series for HBO.
- HBO is looking to refresh its comedy line-up, and also has new series in development from high-profile creators Rachel Sennott and Tim Robinson.
| | | |
| 5 | | According to UK tabloid The Sun, alleged "Baby Reindeer" inspiration Fiona Harvey sent hundreds of abusive emails to a British politician. The report suggests that Harvey -- who allegedly inspired the show's stalker character, Martha -- sent UK Labour Party leader Keir Starmer over 276 angry and personally insulting emails in under eight months. More: - Starmer is a member of Parliament who represents London neighborhoods near where Harvey lived at the time; she was apparently upset about some local housing issues.
- The fictional series "Baby Reindeer" was created by comedian and writer Richard Gadd, based on his real-life experiences.
- Harvey, who self-identified as the inspiration for the Martha character, has threatend to sue Netflix and Gadd over the series; she insists that many of the details from the show, particularly the suggestion that she has served time in prison for stalking, were completely fabricated.
| | | |
| 6 | | Hulu grabbed the US streaming rights for a pair of British LGBTQ+ dating shows. "I Kissed a Boy" and its spinoff, "I Kissed a Girl," are the UK's first-ever queer dating series. More: - "I Kissed a Boy" hits Hulu in the US on June 15; "I Kissed a Girl" is still completing its BBC run and will come to Hulu later on this year.
- On the shows, couples are matched up by experts, start off with a kiss, and then move in to a villa together, where they have the option of getting to know one another better, or re-matching with different singles.
- Both shows are hosted by pop star Dannii Minogue.
- ITV has also sold some international rights for the "I Kissed A..." franchise; one or both series will air and stream on TV2 Echo in Denmark, TVNZ in New Zealand, 10Play in Australia, VMI in Ireland, and YES in Israel.
| | | |
| 7 | | Netflix dropped a trailer for the action thriller "Trigger Warning." Jessica Alba stars as a special forces commando who leaves active duty to investigate the sudden, mysterious death of her father. More: - Indonesia's Mouly Surya ("Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts") -- the first filmmaker from her country to compete at the Sundance Film Festival -- directed.
- Alba is a veteran of the action genre, having starred in James Cameron's TV series "Dark Angel" and the films "Fantastic Four" and "Machete"; she nonethless embarked on an intense training regimen for the role.
- "Trigger Warning" hits Netflix on June 21.
| | | |
| 8 | | QUICK HITS - Apple TV+'s series adaptation of the 1981 sci-fi fantasy feature "Time Bandits" debuts on July 24; Kal-El Tuck stars as an 11-year-old who's whisked away on a time-traveling adventure by a ragtag band of thieves.
- Several new actors joined the cast of Netflix's "The Sandman" ahead of Season 2, portraying members of the "Endless Family" of natural forces; Esmé Creed-Miles will portray Delirium, Adrian Lester is Destiny, and Barry Sloane will take on the role of "The Prodigal."
- Production has finally resumed on Season 5 of Paramount Network's smash hit "Yellowstone"; the final six episodes are scheduled to hit cable in November.
- Crime comedy series "Bad Monkey," based on the Carl Hiaasen novel, makes its Apple TV+ debut on August 14; Vince Vaughn stars as a former Miami cop turned Florida Keys health inspector who stumbles into a murder case.
- Tobias Santelmann and Joel Kinnaman will co-star in Netflix's Nordic noir series "Jo Nesbo's Detective Hole," based on the author's crime novels; Santelmann took the role of homicide detective Harry Hole, with Kinnaman playing his rival, corrupt cop Tom Waaler.
- The comedy-drama feature "Am I OK?" comes to Max on June 6; the film, which co-stars Dakota Johnson and Sonoya Mizuno as long-time friends whose relationship is about to undergo a major shift, premiered at Sundance in 2022.
- Peacock's "Fresh Prince" reimagining "Bel-Air" returns for a third season on August 15; Jabari Banks stars as Will, who moves from Philadelphia to the tony Los Angeles neighborhood to live with wealthy relatives.
- Two-part documentary "How Music Got Free" hits Paramount+ on June 11 in the US and Canada, and the following day internationally; the series, which premiered at SXSW, looks at how technological innovations in the 1990s and early '00s changed the music industry.
- Apple grabbed the global rights for Season 2 of the French-Japanese drama "Drops of God"; the series is financed largely by Hulu Japan, France Télévisions, and Legendary, and will stream on Apple everywhere outside of France and Japan.
- Filmmaker David Cronenberg originally pitched his latest project, "The Shrouds," as a Netflix series, but the concept was rejected by the streamer; the film screened this week to critical raves at Cannes.
- During an appearance on a Barstool Sports podcast, comedian Nikki Glaser criticized Ben Affleck's performance on Netflix's Tom Brady Roast, telling the hosts "I know what happened: he didn't prepare."
- Wang Chung members Jack Hues and Nick Feldman told Variety they had no idea John Mulaney planned to use their song, "To Live and Die in LA," as the theme song for his Netflix chat series, "Everybody's in LA," but they found its incorporation into the show "extremely gratifying."
| | | |
| Upcoming Events | * This is a sponsored event | | | |
 | 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 | |
| |
 | Apply today for a complimentary pass or register now for 41% off final prices. | |
|
| |
Comments
Post a Comment