New NASCAR deals / Streaming residual agreements / AMC seeking more "pop-ups" / Disney+ holiday perks

Plus today's calendar, Fieri signs $100M Food Network deal, "Mr. Birchum" headed to DailyWire+, "Griselda" trailer, and more

Inside Streaming For November 30, 2023

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Thanks for opening today's Inside Streaming brief! Lots of news today, so I'll get to it quickly. The insight into the WGA and SAG-AFTRA contracts, and how they're dealing with residuals, is particularly eye-opening. Seems to create a pretty major loophole, where actors and writers have a far better shot at receiving residual bonuses if they make content for less popular/subscribed platforms. It'd be almost impossible to qualify for a Netflix or Amazon Prime series, considering their massive userbases, whereas any heavily-watched Apple or Peacock show is virtually guaranteed a spot. Perhaps up-front payments at these major streamers will have to go even higher to compensate? Unclear at this early date. Enjoy today's issue! We'll see you back here on Friday for the weekend edition. Lon p/lon-harris

1 NASCAR announced new seven-year licensing agreements with Fox Sports and NBC Sports, along with new partners Amazon Prime Video and TNT. The deals cover all NASCAR Cup Series races from 2025 through 2031. More: Specific financial terms of the deals were not disclosed. The majority of NASCAR races will continue to air on Fox and NBC; the networks scooped up 14 events each, with Fox keeping the Daytona 500 and NBC holding the playoffs and championship races. Prime Video and TNT Sports will split 10 midseason races, and also grabbed rights to all practice and qualifying sessions. NASCAR's Xfinity Series -- featuring up-and-coming drivers -- will air on CW, under a previously-signed agreement.

2 Deadline unpacked how the new streaming residual deals negotiated by the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and actors union SAG-AFTRA will work in practice. Both guilds ensured "success-based bonuses" as part of their new three-year contracts. More: In order to qualify for bonuses, a streaming title must be viewed by the equivalent of 20% of the platform's total domestic subscribers within its first 90 days of release. Views are defined by the current model used by Netflix and Disney+: total hours viewed divided by the runtime of the content. Under the WGA contract, writers for each qualifying episode receive an additional 50% above their set residual payments. For SAG-AFTRA, principal performers will receive 75% of the allotted residual payment; the other 25% will go into a fund to be distributed among all guild members. There have been some concerns from SAG-AFTRA members that the guild has a lot of leeway in how these funds are distributed and spent; LMU professor David Offenberg cautioned that SAG leadership could use the funds however they wished. Popular shows streaming on platforms with a smaller userbase are thus more likely to trigger residual payments. Amazon Prime Video shows are particularly unlikely to qualify, as a large chunk of subscribers don't watch any streaming content, and signed up purely for the free shipping deal. Voting on the SAG-AFTRA contract continues through December 5; The Wrap suggests that ratification will likely be decided by a thin margin.

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3 DAILY CALENDAR THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 30 VIRGIN RIVER: The final two holiday-themed episodes of the romantic drama's fifth season arrive today, resolving the cliffhanger and revealing the real father of Charmaine's (Lauren Hammersley) twins. Alexandra Breckenridge, Martin Henderson, and Colin Lawrence co-star. [Netflix] FAMILY SWITCH: 2023 holiday comedy feature from director McG ("Charlie's Angels," "The Babysitter"), based on the 2010 kids' book "Bedtime for Mommy" by Amy Krouse Rosenthal. Just before Christmas, on the most important day of each of their lives, members of the Walker family all magically swap bodies. Jennifer Garner, Ed Helms, Emma Myers, Brady Noon, and Rita Moreno co-star. [Netflix] OBLITERATED: Debut action comedy series from "Cobra Kai" vets Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg, and Josh Heald. It centers on an elite military team that throws a wild party in Vegas after believing that they've neutralized a bomb, only to discover they disarmed a dud and the real explosive continues to threaten the city. Nick Zano, Shelley Hennig, Terrence Terrell, Alyson Gorske, and C. Thomas Howell co-star. [Netflix] THE BAD GUYS: A VERY BAD HOLIDAY: Debut animated holiday special, spun off from the 2022 DreamWorks film "The Bad Guys," which itself was based on a graphic novel by Aaron Blabey. Following an accident involving a giant Santa balloon, the team abandons plans for a holiday heist in order to save Christmas. Michael Godere, Ezekiel Ajeigbe, Raul Ceballos, and Chris Diamantopoulos co-star. [Netflix] SCHOOL SPIRITS: Teen supernatural drama series from first-time creators Nate and Megan Trinrud, based on their graphic novel. Peyton List stars as a recently deceased high school student who teams up with more ghosts and a few still-living classmates to investigate her own murder. The series debuted earlier this year on Paramount+; it will now stream on Netflix as well. [Netflix] HARD DAYS: 2023 action thriller from Japan, about a corrupt police detective (Junichi Okada) who comes up with a devious plan to cover up a hit-and-run accident, only to find he's being extorted by a mysterious witness to the crime. Michihito Fujii ("The Journalist") co-wrote and directed. [Netflix] SLOW HORSES: The UK espionage comedy-drama series -- based on the "Slough House" novels by Mick Herron, and centering on a group of MI5 outcasts -- returns for a third season, adapted from Herron's "Real Tigers." Gary Oldman, Kristin Scott Thomas, Jack Lowden, and Saskia Reeves co-star; Ṣọpẹ Dìrísù and Katherine Waterston join the ensemble for Season 3. [Apple TV+] BOOKIE: Debut comedy series from creator Chuck Lorre ("Two and a Half Men," "The Big Bang Theory"), starring Sebastian Maniscalco as a long-time LA bookmaker whose business is threatened by legal internet gambling. Omar Dorsey, Andrea Anders, Vanessa Ferlito, Jorge Garcia, and Charlie Sheen co-star. [Max] SELENA + CHEF: HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS: The cooking series returns with four new holiday specials, produced for Food Network. Selena Gomez and her friend Raquelle Stevens are joined by chefs Alex Guarnaschelli, Michael Symon, Claudette Zepeda, and Eric Adjepong to prepare some ideal recipes for Christmas and New Year's gatherings. [Max] PARIS IN LOVE: The reality series centers on Paris Hilton, husband Carter Reum, and their growing family. Hilton's mom Kathy and sister Nicky Hilton Rothschild co-star. It's back for a second season. [Peacock] WILD CRIME: The ABC News Studios true-crime docuseries follows detectives as they investigate crimes in remote or otherwise challenging locations. Season 3, debuting today on Hulu, examines the murder of experienced hiker Meredith Emerson, who vanished along with her dog while navigating Georgia's Blood Mountain in 2008. [Hulu] A COMPASSIONATE SPY: Documentary profile of physicist Ted Hall, a veteran of the Manhattan Project who passed some of America's atomic secrets on to the Soviet Union. The film relates the story via interviews with Hall and his wife, archival footage, and dramatic re-enactments. Steve James ("Hoop Dreams," "Life Itself") directs. [Hulu]

4 Speaking at the Content London conference, AMC Networks CEO Kristin Dolan said the company is "actively" exploring more collaborative deals with other streamers. A recent agreement with Warner Bros. Discovery temporarily brought a number of AMC shows over to the Max platform in the US. More: AMC uses the collaborations to gain exposure for its shows, but holds back current seasons for its own services. AMC shows that streamed on Max include "Dark Winds," "Fear the Walking Dead," "Killing Eve," and "A Discovery of Witches." According to Dolan, during the peak of the Max "pop-up," AMC shows accounted for seven of the top 10 most popular series on Max.

5 Disney+ announced a collection of new "perks" for subscribers, available through January 31, 2024. The perks include a number of discounts on Disney merchandise or related experiences. More: Offers include 20% off the "Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora" PC game, 15% off selected Disney-themed Funko Pop toys, 50% off D23 Gold Memberships and related offers, and 15% off Disney-inspired merchandise from Loungefly. There's also a collection of 30 free comics from Marvel available for download, a free gift from Disney Emoji Blitz, and digital rewards from Disney Movie Insiders. Disney+ subscribers can also enter contests for a chance to win a cruise on the new Disney Treasure ship or a Walt Disney Resort vacation. Full details and a list of offers can be found on the Disney+ website.

6 Food Network signed a new three-year agreement with celebrity chef and TV personality Guy Fieri, valued at $100 million. Fieri will continue to host his three ongoing Food Network shows: "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives," "Guy's Grocery Games," and "Tournament of Champions." More: The deal makes Fieri not only the highest-paid Food Network star, but the highest-earning TV chef; Gordon Ramsay pulls in around $20 million per year for his Fox shows. Fieri rose to prominance as the winner of the 2006 season of "The Next Food Network Star"; he has made a home on the cable network ever since. Former CNN president Jon Klein explained to Washington Post that Fieri also has value for Warner Bros. Discovery as a recognizable personality who can serve "as a pillar for the Max tent."

7 Conservative media website and streamer Daily Wire ordered its first animated scripted series, "Mr. Birchum." The comedy series for adults comes from creator and star Adam Carolla, based on a character he debuted on KROQ radio's "Kevin and Bean Show" in the 1990s. More: The series centers on Mr. Birchum, an old-fashioned junior high school shop teacher who feels lost and adrift in today's modern world. In addition to KROQ, the Birchum character also made appearances on Comedy Central's prank call show "Crank Yankers." The voice cast also includes Megyn Kelly, Tyler Fischer, Alonzo Bodden, Brett Cooper, Candace Owens, Danny Trejo, Patrick Warburton, Rob Riggle, and Roseanne Barr. This marks news anchor Megyn Kelly's first-ever role in a scripted project, and Roseanne Barr's first acting role since her exit from "Roseanne" in 2018.

8 Netflix dropped a trailer for the crime drama series "Griselda," starring Sofia Vergara as infamous Miami cartel boss Griselda Blanco. The six-episode limited series is not directly connected to the "Narcos" universe, but was co-created by "Narcos" vets Eric Newman, Doug Miro, and Carlo Bernard, along with Ingrid Escajeda ("Silo"). More: In the 1970s and '80s, the Colombian-born Blanco grew a massive Florida drug empire, through a combination of "savagery and charm." The series co-stars Alberto Guerra, Christian Tappán, Martín Rodriguez, Vanessa Ferlito, and Juliana Aidén Martinez. Escajeda and Miro serve as co-showrunners; "Narcos" and "The Sandman" vet Andrés Baiz directed all six episodes. All six episodes debut on January 25.

9 QUICK HITS Competitors are killing your efficiency. Read how Greenhouse gained $85mil in revenue from reps who used Klue over non-Klue users.* Apple canceled the basketball drama series "Swagger" after two seasons. According to the BBC, an upcoming "The Grand Tour" special set in Zimbabwe could mark the end of the long-running unscripted automotive series; Amazon has confirmed co-host Jeremy Clarkson's reality series "Clarkson's Farm" will return for Season 4. NBC renewed the freshmen drama series "Found" and "The Irrational" for second seasons. Netflix dropped a trailer for the third and final season of the animated fantasy-adventure series "Hilda," based on the graphic novels by Luke Pearson; the last 8 episodes arrive on December 7. Tubi hired former Endeavor Streaming CTO David Salmon as its new executive VP and managing director of international, as it explores a potential expansion into the European Union and the UK. The British thriller series "Criminal Record" makes its Apple TV+ debut in the US on January 10; Peter Capaldi and Cush Jumbo co-star as two brilliant detectives in sharp disagreement over an old murder case. The CBS sitcom "Bob Hearts Abishola" will conclude following its fifth season; the series finale airs (and streams on Paramount+) on May 13. Netflix acquired the global rights to the true-crime documentary feature "Man on the Run," about international fugitive Low Taek Jho (aka Jho Low); he's accused of masterminding a scheme to steal billions from the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund known as 1MDB. During a Q&A at the New York Times' Dealbook conference, mega-producer Shonda Rhimes said she expected to be called out publicly during the Hollywood strikes for jumping from ABC to Netflix in 2017, helping to kickstart the streaming revolution; Rhimes said she made the change not because of money, but for the creative freedom promised by streaming platforms. A recording of the stage version of Hayao Miyazaki's classic animated film "Spirited Away" will hit Max in the US on December 24; "Spirited Away: Live on Stage" is performed in Japanese, and will stream with English subtitles. Writer/producer Chuck Lorre chatted with Rolling Stone about burying the hatchet with Charlie Sheen, over a decade after their "Two and a Half Men"-related falling out; Sheen co-stars in Lorre's new Max series, "Bookie." "Blindspot" vet Luke Mitchell joined the cast of "Chicago Med" ahead of its ninth season; he'll co-star as ER doc Mitch Ripley. *This is sponsored content

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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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