CBS upends news format / IATSE reaches deal / Max Originals are HBO again / Netflix toys with free sign-ups

Plus today's calendar, "Red One" trailer, "Interview with the Vampire" S3, Netflix's "The Union," "Caped Crusader" first look, and more

Inside Streaming For June 26, 2024

Thanks for opening today's Inside Streaming daily brief! I'm delighted to hear that "Interview with the Vampire" will be returning for a third season. Season 2 has been terrific, and I'm consistently impressed by the way the show has taken a familiar story and reworked it from the inside out. It still feels faithful to Anne Rice's original vision, and it's clearly set in the world she created, but nothing about this take feels rote or expected. Even when I know a certain story beat is coming, because it MUST for the narrative to proceed, there's always still an element of surprise or even shock at how things actually play out in this new version. I wish I liked "The Mayfair Witches" nearly as much, but I found Season 1 pretty flat and uninteresting. Hopefully it just needs more time to find its footing. (If you don't have AMC+, I honestly feel like this + "Monsieur Spade" + "The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live" + all the great horror films on Shudder make it MORE than worth your while. I think it's a better value than Peacock or Paramount+ or even potentially Hulu.) Lon p/lon-harris

1 On Wednesday, CBS introduces a new "whip-around" format to its "CBS News 24/7" stream. Rather than a typical news anchor reading from a prompter, "CBS News 24/7" now features busy hosts cutting constantly between various news feeds, determining where to send viewers next in real time. More: The individual feeds are coming in live from CBS newsrooms around the world. In-studio hosts will communicate with news teams around the nation and the world on-air, in order to prioritize and direct the reporting and coverage. CBS News president and CEO Wendy McMahon told Variety that the goal of the show is to "immediately [immerse] you in the biggest stories of the day." "CBS News 24/7" streams on the CBS News app and CBSNews.com.

2 The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), the union representing Hollywood crew members, has reached a tentative new contract with studios. The current IATSE contract expires in about one month. More: News of a tentative agreement comes just two days after IATSE and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) resumed negotiations. According to IATSE leadership, the new deal includes wage gains, protections against AI, and increases to both pensions and health plans. The negotiations also pivoted around proposed extensions to work days and workplace safety concerns. The contract will cover around 50,000 members of local IATSE chapters, who are mostly based in and around Los Angeles.

3 DAILY CALENDAR WEDNESDAY, JUNE 26 THE BEAR: The acclaimed FX comedy-drama series -- which received 10 Emmy Awards for its initial run -- returns to Hulu tonight at 9 pm ET. All 10 Season 3 episodes arrive simultaneously. Chef Carmy Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White) and his dedicated team re-open their former Chicago sandwich shop as a fine dining establishment. Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Ayo Edebiri, Liza Colón-Zayas, and Abby Elliott co-star. [Hulu] SUMMERING: 2022 coming-of-age indie drama from co-writer/director James Ponsoldt ("The End of the Tour"), about four girls who embark on a mysterious late summer adventure together one week before starting middle school. Lia Barnett, Lake Bell, Sarah Cooper, Ashley Madekwe, and Megan Mullally co-star. [Hulu] A LOVE SONG: Romantic drama from writer, director, and co-editor Max Walker-Silverman, starring Dale Dickey and Wes Studi as former childhood friends who meet back up for a visit in their autumn years. It premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. [Hulu] LAND OF WOMEN: Debut crime comedy-drama series, based on the novel by Sandra Barneda. Eva Longoria (who also executive produced) stars as a wealthy wife and mother who flees to her Spanish hometown after her husband disappears, leaving behind considerable debts to some dangerous loan sharks. Carmen Maura, Santiago Cabrera, and Gloria Muñoz co-star; Ramón Campos ("Cable Girls") created. [Apple TV+] WORST ROOMMATE EVER: The true-crime docuseries from Blumhouse TV centers on real stories about roommate situations gone horribly, at times terrifyingly awry. It's back for a second season. [Netflix] THE REAL CSI: MIAMI: Debut true-crime docuseries from CBS, looking at real-life criminal investigations that utilize the same kinds of forensic techniques featured on the popular procedural drama. New episodes air and stream simultaneously on CBS and Paramount+. [Paramount+] MTV CRIBS: The iconic unscripted MTV series features celebrities giving tours of their own homes and living spaces. Season 19 debuted last year on cable; new episodes hit Paramount+ today. [Paramount+] ON THE FLY: ADVENTURES AT ALTITUDE: First-year unscripted series from the Smithsonian Channel about everyday people who have pursued their love of aviation and flight in a variety of inspirational and creative ways. Season 1 aired last year on cable and hits Parmaount+ today. [Paramount+] THE LAST 747: Documentary special produced for the Smithsonian Channel about the history and development of the Boeing 747 jet and its lasting impact on aviation and commercial air travel. [Parmaount+] PSYCHIC KIDS: CHILDREN OF THE PARANORMAL: Unscripted series from A&E, following up on the original "Psychic Kids" series from a decade ago, and featuring updates on the lives of the primary cast. The series centered on children with extraordinary, allegedly extra-sensory abilities who worked with thearpists and other experts to hone and control their gifts. Season 3 of the revival comes to Disney+ today. [Disney+] THE COUNT: LOVE AND HONOR (EL CONDE: AMOR Y HONOR): Debut Spanish-language drama series from Telemundo, based on the classic Alexandre Dumas novel "The Count of Monte Cristo." Fernando Colunga stars as a farmer who's framed for double-murder, only to escape with a fortune and seek elaborate revenge against his enemies; Ana Brenda Contreras co-stars. [Peacock]

4 Warner Bros. Discovery rebranded a number of upcoming "Max Originals" as HBO shows. The list includes the "Harry Potter" series adaptation, a series based on DC Comics' Green Lantern Corps, and the "IT" prequel series "Welcome to Derry." More: The new announcement was made by HBO and Max content chief Casey Bloys; he's also the one who originally announced the "Max Originals" branding back in 2020. At the time, Bloys said the company needed "to delineate between an HBO show and a Max show." The "Potter" series has brought in "Succession" vets Francesca Gardiner and Mark Mylod; Gardiner will serve as showrunner, while Mylod will direct multiple episodes. "Lanterns" is the first live-action series created by DC Studios under new co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran; "True Detective: Night Country" vet Chris Mundy will showrun.

5 According to Bloomberg, Netflix is exploring the idea of offering free ad-supported subscriptions in some markets. The streamer's plans for now are focused on Europe and Asia; it's unlikely a free Netflix plan will be offered in the US. More: Netflix is having some success with its ad-supported plans but hopes to start showing ads to significantly more viewers. A free option in some markets would help expand the streamer's advertising base to additional consumers. Netflix has already experimented with a free ad-supported plan in Kenya, but discontinued the option last year. During a recent appearance on the "Decoder" podcast, Tubi CEO Anjali Sud explained her platform's major recent success by pointing out the psychological difference between "being free with ads, and asking people to pay to watch ads."

6 Amazon MGM Studios' holiday action-comedy "Red One" hits theaters in November before coming to Prime Video. Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans co-star as an unlikely duo who must rescue a kidnapped Santa Claus (J.K. Simmons) and save Christmas. More: Lucy Liu, Kiernan Shipka, Bonnie Hunt, and Nick Kroll co-star. Jake Kasdan, who previously collaborated with Johnson on the "Jumanji" remake and its sequel, directed; Chris Morgan ("Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw") wrote the script. This was the film that inspired behind the scenes rumors about Johnson's tardiness and frequent absences, which reportedly bloated its already-significant budget.

7 AMC renewed its "Interview with the Vampire" series for a third season. The Season 2 finale debuts on June 30. More: The series both adapts and reimagines the original Anne Rice novel of the same name, and once more centers on vampire Louis de Pointe du Lac (Jacob Anderson) relating his life story to journalist Daniel Molloy (Eric Bogosian). Season 3 will apparently include elements from Rice's novel "The Vampire Lestat," and features the iconic character (Sam Reid) forming his own rock band. AMC has two more shows in its "Immortal Universe" of Anne Rice adaptations: "The Mayfair Witches," set to return for a second season, and the in-development spinoff "The Talamasca." "Interview with the Vampire" episodes premiere simultaneously on cable and AMC+.

8 QUICK HITS The action-comedy feature "The Union" comes to Netflix on August 16; Halle Berry stars as a spy who recruits her civilian ex-boyfriend (Mark Wahlberg) for an important mission. Amazon's new animated DC Comics series "Batman: Caped Crusader" hits Prime Video on August 1; "Batman: The Animated Series" vet Bruce Timm produces alongside "The Batman" director Matt Reeves and J.J. Abrams. The Paramount+ crime drama "Tulsa King" returns for a second season on September 15; "Nip/Tuck" and "Weeds" vet Craig Zisk joins the creative team this year, which also includes Taylor Sheridan and Terence Winter. Netflix dropped a trailer for the YA mystery series "A Good Girl's Guide to Murder," based on the novel by Holly Jackson; "Wednesday" vet Emma Myers stars as high school student Pip Fitz-Amobi, who sets out to prove that her friend has been wrongfully accused of a terrible crime. Disney's latest request to end an antitrust class action lawsuit by streaming subscribers has been denied; the lawsuit, filed in November of 2022, argues that controlling both ESPN and Hulu has allowed Disney to artificially inflate streaming prices. Joseph Fiennes and Natascha McElhone signed on for Amazon's upcoming series "Young Sherlock," about the iconic detective's early years; Fiennes, the uncle of series star Hero Fiennes Tiffin, will portray Sherlock's father, Silas Holmes. Werner Coetser, Brendan Murray, and Clive Russell all joined the cast of Netflix's "One Piece" ahead of its second season; they all play new allies of the Straw Hat Pirates.  Netflix and Jennifer Lopez's Nuyorican Productions optioned the Emily Henry novel "Happy Place," and plan to adapt it into a series; the book centers on a seemingly perfect couple who break up, but decline to reveal the news to friends or family. Disney+ released a trailer for the British period drama series "Rivals," about the long-standing personal feud between Member of Parliament Rupert Campbell-Black (Alex Hassell) and his neighbor, TV executive Tony Baddingham (David Tennant) in the 1980s; the series will stream on Hulu in the US later this year. Filmmaker Barry Jenkins spoke with IndieWire about adding his acclaimed Amazon Prime Video series "The Underground Railroad" to the Criterion Collection, and his distaste for interrupting content with ads. Apple ordered a six-part docuseries about the Vietnam War from 72 Films, the studio behind "9/11: One Day in America"; the series' release will commemorate the 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon. The acclaimed German period drama series "Babylon Berlin" has been renewed for a fifth and final season; the series streams on Topic in the US. Ella Purnell spoke with the Hollywood Reporter about moving from Showtime's hit "Yellowjackets" over to Amazon's hit "Fallout," and her concerns about becoming known as the "cannibalism chick." Kenya Moore will not return to "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" cast following a suspension, though according to TMZ, she has not been formally fired by the Bravo network.

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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