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| Hello again! Lots of big stories to follow today, from Plex struggling to get its ad-supported service off the ground, to NBCU expanding their FAST channel offerings. Also, YouTuber Colleen Ballinger (aka Miranda Sings) is discovering this week that a flip response to an ongoing scandal is sometimes worse than no response at all. Clearly, Ballinger feels that her interactions with underage fans, while inappropriate, still don't merit a full "cancellation." I lack the information and insight to sound off on that, but clearly, any response video -- as a baseline -- must demonstrate that the accused party is at least taking the allegations seriously. This is where I suspect Ballinger's ukulele song -- however well-intentioned -- perhaps failed to connect with her audience. Alright, that's it from me. Enjoy today's issue! We'll be back tomorrow with the weekend calendar and a new chart. Lon
p/lon-harris | |
| 1 | | According to Deadline, SAG-AFTRA and Hollywood studios and streamers are considering an extension of their current contract negotiations. The current SAG-AFTRA contract expires on Friday, June 30, at midnight PT; the extension could run for an additional week, through July 7, according to Deadline's report. More: - A group of over 300 SAG-AFTRA members sent leadership a widely-publicized letter this week, urging them not to accept anything less than a "transformative deal"; 1,000 members have now signed the letter, including SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher.
- Insiders told Deadline that the contract extension is a positive sign that some kind of compromise remains possible, but noted that the letter changed the tone of the negotiations from "rosy" to "complicated."
- Another source told Deadline that people should not read too much into the extension, which was mainly intended to work around the July 4 holiday weekend.
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| 2 | | Plex announced plans to lay off 20% of its workforce this week. The company will eliminate 37 jobs in an effort to cut costs, with the goal of becoming profitable within 18 months. More: - Plex started out as a media server company, offering software that's available on a freemium model.
- In 2019, the company introduced a free, ad-supported streaming service utilizing their server technology.
- The streaming service has been severely impacted by the overall downturn in the digital ad market.
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| 3 | | DAILY CALENDAR THURSDAY, JUNE 29 THE WITCHER: The fantasy-drama series -- based on the writings of Andrzej Sapkowski and their video game adaptations -- returns for a third season, the last to star Henry Cavill as monster hunter Geralt of Rivia. (Liam Hemsworth is set to replace Cavill in Season 4.) The first five Season 3 episodes premiere today; the final three arrive on July 27. Anya Chalotra, Freya Allan, and Joey Batey co-star. [Netflix] ŌOKU: THE INNER CHAMBERS: Debut anime series based on the manga by Fumi Yoshinaga, set during Japan's Edo period in the 17th Century. It centers on a mysterious plague that causes the male population to plummet, leading to drastic shifts in culture and society. [Netflix] WARRIOR: The martial arts crime drama series -- based on a concept by Bruce Lee -- aired for two years on Cinemax, and moves over to the Max platform for its third season. Andrew Koji stars as Ah Sahm, a martial arts expert who moves to San Francisco's Chinatown in the late 19th Century. Olivia Cheng, Jason Tobin, Dianne Doan, and Kieran Bew co-star. [Max] TEN-YEAR-OLD TOM: Animated comedy series from creator, writer, director, and star Steve Dildarian ("The Life and Times of Tim"), about an average kid who receives very questionable guidance from all of the adults in his life. It's back for a second season. [Max] REVEALED: Debut reality series from HGTV, in which creative designer Veronica Valencia Hughes and her team investigate their clients' genealogy and family background, then use the information to develop themed home renovations. Season 1 premieres today on both cable and Max. [Max] SECRET CHEF: Quirky first-year culinary competition series from executive producer and celebrity chef David Chang. 10 competitors with all different levels of skill and experience prepare dishes in an underground kitchen labyrinth, where they receive instructions from an animated chef's hat. In lieu of judges, competitors evaluate one another's food and select a winner. [Hulu] GROWN-ISH: The "Black-ish" spinoff's sixth and final season debuted last night on Freeform; new episodes hit Hulu on Thursdays. Marcus Scribner stars as Andre Johnson Jr., who followed in his sister Zoey's (Yara Shahidi) footsteps to study at the fictional Cal U. Trevor Jackson, Diggy Simmons, and Daniella Perkins co-star. [Hulu] LACE: The legal drama series stars Maryam Basir as LA attorney Lacey McCullough, who's occasionally willing to compromise on ethical matters while zealously defending her wealthy, powerful clients. Season 2 premieres this week on AMC's ALLBLK platform. [ALLBLK] | | | |
| 4 | | The Max comedy series "The Other Two" will close out with its current third season. According to The Hollywood Reporter, there have been a number of staff complaints about creators and showrunners Chris Kelly and Sarah Schneider throughout the show's run, but this was not the primary reason for the cancellation. More: - The series finale debuted this week.
- Most of the allegations center around inappropriate or abusive behavior by Kelly which was then overlooked or enabled by Schneider.
- Apparently, there was a formal investigation into the allegations, and Kelly and Schneider were both cleared of wrongdoing.
- Tina Fey referenced the behind-the-scenes issues on "The Other Two" during a speech in March at the PEN America Literary Awards while honoring the show's producer, Lorne Michaels.
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| 5 | | A new report in the Los Angeles Times suggests that "Squid Game" creator Hwang Dong-hyuk has not shared in the show's financial success. According to the report, Hwang signed over the show's intellectual rights to the streamer, and thus has received no residuals, despite its massive global audience. More: - The Times reports that "Squid Game" increased Netflix's internal value by around $900 million.
- Netflix has become one of the top overall buyers for Korean TV shows; the platform now has around as many Korean-language originals as it does Spanish-language programs.
- However, a number of South Korean creatives and production companies have apparently started to push back against the company's "exploitative labor practices."
- Pre-production continues moving forward on Season 2 of "Squid Game"; several new actors joined the ensemble just this week.
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| 6 | | YouTuber Colleen Ballinger -- who often appears in character as her alter-ego, Miranda Sings -- posted a video this week responding to allegations that she engaged in inappropriate relationships with underage fans. Ballinger's response video features her playing a ukulele song, during which she admits to making "dumb mistakes" and "jokes in poor taste," while denying allegations of being a "groomer" or "predator." More: - The 36-year-old opens the video by noting that her representatives urged her not to comment publicly on the accusations; her sung response is intended as a humorous loophole.
- YouTuber Adam McIntyre has accused Ballinger of engaging in an inappropriate relationship with him beginning when he was 13, which included sending him underwear as a joke.
- McIntyre tweeted a response to the ukulele video, writing "the mask has slipped... everyone meet the REAL Colleen Ballinger."
- The video was met with a strong backlash on both YouTube and social media.
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| 7 | | NBCUniversal announced a new line-up of free streaming channels, coming soon to both the Amazon Freevee and Xumo Play services. The slate includes channels dedicated to "Saturday Night Live"; the "Real Hosuewives," "Top Chef," and "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" reality franchises; "Saved by the Bell"; "Murder, She Wrote"; and Spanish-language news and entertainment from Telemundo. More: - Xumo Play is a joint venture between the cable company Charter and NBCUniversal parent company, Comcast.
- Xumo Enterprises will handle distribution of the content to third-party services, such as Freevee.
- NBCU also offers various free ad-supported news channels across a number of FAST platforms; the Peacock subscription app also includes a number of programmed 24/7 streaming channels.
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| 8 | | "The Righteous Gemstones" has significantly grown its audience at the start of its third season. The first two Season 3 episodes currently have around 2.85 million viewers across both HBO and Max, about 30% ahead of the show's Season 2 debut performance. More: - 643,000 people tuned in to the third episode of "Gemstones" Season 3 on Sunday, a 19% same-day jump over the Season 3 premiere.
- According to HBO, the show has now surpassed both "Eastbound and Down" and "Vice Principals," to become creator and star Danny McBride's most popular series yet.
- Season 2 of "Gemstones" averages around 5.1 million viewers per episode; Season 1 episodes had around 4.8 million average viewers.
- The satirical series chronicles the lives of the Gemstones, a family of wealthy and corrupt mega-church pastors and televangelists.
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| 9 | | MGM+ renewed the sci-fi horror series "FROM" for a third season. The new episodes will debut in 2024. More: - In a statement, executive producer and director Jack Bender teased "a lot more story to tell... and shocking, weird roads to take you on."
- The series is set in a mysterious town that traps anyone who enters and prevents them from leaving; Harold Perrnieau stars as the local sheriff.
- "FROM" Season 2 debuted in April and wrapped up its run last week.
- According to MGM+, "FROM" is the streamer's second most-popular series, after the period crime drama "Godfather of Harlem."
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- Max updated the credits on its landing pages to separate out writers, directors, and producers by title, five weeks after the platform's controversial "Creators" heading sparked a Hollywood backlash.
- Vizio announced an overhaul of its smart TV interface, which now resembles the homepage of a streaming platform.
- "The Morning Show" Season 3 makes its Apple TV+ debut on September 13, with the first two episodes dropping simultaneously.
- Peacock posted a trailer for "To the Edge," a three-episode "adventure docuseries" in which actor Orlando Bloom overcomes his fears and seeks spiritual awareness by embarking on a string of daring physical and mental challenges.
- Gillian Anderson joined the cast of "The Abandons," a new Netflix Western series from "Sons of Anarchy" vet Kurt Sutter; "Game of Thrones" vet Lena Headey will lead the ensemble.
- Deadline reports that "Russian Doll" co-creator Leslye Headland is in final talks to direct the film adaptation of Taylor Jenkins Reid's novel "The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo" for Netflix; the book is set during an interview between a young journalist and an aging Hollywood starlet.
- Hulu has made the Season 3 finale of the FX comedy series "Dave" free to stream on YouTube; the episode features a number of celebrity guest appearances.
- On "The View," Kim Cattrall said she insisted on bringing back costume designer Pat Field as a condition for her return as Samantha Jones on "And Just Like That..."
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INSIDE STREAMING LEADERBOARD (ALL-TIME) |
 | 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 Eduardo Garcia | |
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