 Star Henry Cavill plans to exit Netflix's fantasy drama series "The Witcher" after the show's upcoming third season. "Hunger Games" vet Liam Hemsworth -- the brother of "Thor" actor Chris Hemsworth -- will take over the role of monster hunter Geralt of Rivia for the show's fourth season and beyond. More: - Cavill posted about the news on Instagram, writing "As with the greatest of literary characters, I pass the torch with reverence for the time spent embodying Geralt and enthusiasm to see Liam's take on this most fascinating and nuanced of men."
- "The Witcher" Season 3 is scheduled for release sometime in 2023; a prequel series, "Blood Origin," arrives in December.
- Cavill did not provide a reason for his departure, but it's been rumored that he'll return to the role of Superman in new films for DC Studios.
CNET 
| |
Wells Fargo downgraded its rating on Paramount Global stock to "underweight" and cut its price target from $19 to $13. Analyst Steven Cahill said the bank is concerned about "the linear ecosystem across all media" and "an uncertain direct-to-consumer outlook." More: - Essentially, Cahill argues -- based on positive moves by Paramount's management -- that Wall Street has been overly-bullish on the stock.
- According to Cahill's analysis, Paramount is trading at 8.5 times its estimated EBITDA, vs. Warner Bros Discovery, which trades at 7x, or Fox at 6x.
- Cahill suggests Paramount needs a more solid path to profitability than running its own direct-to-consumer streaming service, and proposes a potential split/sale with another media company, such as Lionsgate.
HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
| |
DAILY CALENDAR MONDAY, OCTOBER 31 CONFESS, FLETCH: 2022 crime comedy, based on the 1976 novel by Gregory Mcdonald, and starring Jon Hamm as wisecracking investigative journalist Irwin "Fletch" Fletcher. While digging into the theft of some valuable paintings, Fletch is wrongfully accused of murder and must solve to case himself to prove his innocence. Greg Mottola ("Superbad") co-wrote and directed. [Showtime] INSIDE MAN: Four-part drama series from "Doctor Who" and "Sherlock" vet Steven Moffat, which aired earlier this year on BBC One in the UK. The story concerns a vicar (David Tennant) in a quiet English town, an American death row inmate (Stanley Tucci), a journalist (Lydia West), and a trapped math teacher (Dolly Wells) whose lives intersect in unexpected ways. [Netflix] TOP CLASS: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE SIERRA CANYON TRAILBLAZERS: The sports reality series from LeBron James and Maverick Carter's Uninterrupted profiles the elite Southern California high school basketball program, which features a number of future NBA draft picks. Season 3 debuts today on Amazon's Freevee service. [Freevee] CRIMES OF THE FUTURE: Sci-fi drama from iconic writer/director David Cronenberg ("The Fly," "Videodrome"), set in a future in which human evolution has virtually eradicated pain, leading to new developments in culture and body modification. Viggo Mortensen and Léa Seydoux co-star as performance artists who incorporate surgery into their work; Kristen Stewart co-stars. [Hulu] UNHUMAN: 2022 direct-to-VOD horror-comedy feature from Blumhouse. After their school bus crashes en route to a field trip, a group of misfit students finds themselves in the midst of a terrifying fight to survive against a horde of strange creatures. Brianna Tju, Benjamin Wadsworth, and Uriah Shelton co-star. [Paramount+]
| |
 Disney is developing a spinoff "WandaVision" series that continues the story of the new Vision. Paul Bettany is expected to reprise the role of the artificially intelligent android in the new series, which is tentatively titled "Vision Quest," according to Deadline. More: - In "WandaVision," two different versions of the Vision character faced off; one variation, known as "White Vision," flew off to an unknown destination in the series finale.
- Deadline reported that Bettany's "WandaVision" co-star Elizabeth Olsen may also reprise her role as Wanda Maximoff in the new series.
- Another "WandaVision" spinoff series, centered on Kathryn Hahn's witch character Agatha Harkness, hits Disney+ next year.
- Both that series and the White Vision show will be overseen by "WandaVision" lead writer Jac Schaeffer.
DEADLINE
| |
 NBCUniversal's "BravoCon" reality TV convention dominated online conversation during the weekend of October 14. The convention and Bravo reality shows more generally drove 7.3 million short-form video streams across Bravo's website, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and OneApp throughout the event. More: - BravoCon featured panels dedicated to the cable network's reality TV line-up, including the blockbuster "Real Housewives" franchise.
- Much of the conversation concerned a recent "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" feud between Lisa Rinna and Kathy Hilton; Rinna was in attendance at BravoCon and received boos from the crowd.
- BravoCon resulted in approximately 1.36 billion impressions over the weekend; social media conversations around the event increased by 377% over the 2019 version.
VARIETY
| |
 Peacock released a teaser for the limited series "The Best Man: The Final Chapters." The series serves as a follow-up to the 1999 romantic comedy-drama "The Best Man" and its 2013 sequel, "The Best Man Holiday." More: - Malcolm D. Lee, who wrote and directed the "Best Man" films, returns as creator, writer, EP, director, and co-showrunner of the series.
- "Insecure" vet Dayna Lynne North co-developed, wrote, and produced the series with Lee, and serves as his co-showrunner.
- Cast members Morris Chestnut, Melissa De Sousa, Taye Diggs, Regina Hall, Terrence Howard, Sanaa Lathan, Nia Long, and Harold Perrineau all return for the series.
- All eight episodes of "The Best Man: Final Chapters" hit Peacock on December 22.
DEADLINE
| |
 The CW canceled the DC Comics superhero series "Stargirl" after three seasons. New episodes will continue to air through December 7. More: - Brec Bassinger stars in the series as teen Courtney Whitmore, who becomes the superhero Stargirl and forms the Justice Society of America after discovering the Cosmic Staff.
- The "Stargirl" creative team was apparently warned that Season 3 might be the last, and treated the season finale as a potential end to the series.
- Nexstar Media Group completed its acquisition of a controlling interest in The CW last month; a number of the network's shows, including "The Flash," "Nancy Drew," and "Riverdale," are wrapping up this season.
DEADLINE
| |
 Nomvete, Addai-Robinson, Córdova Three actors of color from Amazon's "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" spoke to Variety about the divisive and racist online reactions to their casting as major characters in the J.R.R. Tolkien-inspired fantasy series. Cynthia Addai-Robinson (Queen Regent Miriel), Ismael Cruz Córdova (Arondir), and Sophia Nomvete (Princess Disa) participated in the discussion. More: - Cruz said that the vitriol of the reactions from some fans online "shows you what the power of shows like this is," and points to the importance of diverse casting.
- Addai-Robinson added that the goal, over time, is to normalize the presence of actors of color across all genres, including epic fantasy.
- Nomvete said that she has felt a shift in reactions after the show's debut, and noted that she has even received "apologies" from some readers who initially opposed her casting.
- Following its debut, "The Rings of Power" was "review-bombed" by fans, many of whom were upset about the colorblind casting choices, prompting Amazon to suspend public reviews on the series entirely.
VARIETY
| |
 Fielding and Lucas In an interview with The New Yorker, "Great British Bake Off" judge Prue Leith discussed the backlash to the show's recent episode highlighting Mexican culture and cuisine. Leith said there was "no intention to offend" Mexican viewers, which would not be in "the spirit of the show." More: - Leith added that she feels that the show is a "force for good, most of the time," and that the set is a "safe space" where everyone is sympathetic and avoids "nastiness."
- Many fans questioned the show's depictions of traditional Mexican foods like guacamole and tacos, and took offense to hosts Matt Lucas and Noel Fielding's costumes and jokes.
- A Japanese-themed episode of "GBBO" in 2020 produced a similar wave of online responses.
DEADLINE
| |
QUICK HITS - This app makes it easy to learn vocab and phrases with lessons, games, videos, podcasts, and more. Plus, for a limited time you can get 55% off.*
- Apple's "Severance" added a number of actors to its ensemble ahead of its second season, including Gwendoline Christie, Bob Balaban, Merrit Wever, John Noble, and Alia Shawkat.
- According to producer Ryan Murphy, Evan Peters physically stayed in character as Jeffrey Dahmer throughout six months of shooting Netflix's "Monster – Dahmer," wearing weights on his arms and in his shoes to capture the serial killer's unique gait and posture.
- Curators from the British Film Institute (BFI) deemed a number of Netflix original productions -- including "Bridgerton," "Top Boy," "The Dig," and "Heartstopper" -- to be "culturally significant," and plan to add them to the organization's National Archive collection.
- Tom Hanks brought back his beloved "Saturday Night Live" character David S. Pumpkins for the show's Halloween episode over the weekend.
- Disney+ posted a new clip from "Willow," a sequel series following up on the 1988 fantasy-adventure film; the new show arrives on November 30.
- Have you been thinking about changing your pup's daily meals for something better? Science-backed Nom Nom offers 50% off a two-week trial specifically for Inside readers.*
*This is sponsored content
| |
 |  | 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." |  | | Editor | Eduardo Garcia is a writer and editor based in New York. He is the author of "Things You Can Do," an illustrated book about climate action. Bylines in The New York Times, The Guardian, Slate, Scientific American, and others. In one of his previous lives, Eduardo worked as a Reuters correspondent in Latin America for nearly a decade. | |
Comments
Post a Comment