It's a January bloodbath

And James Gunn unveils DC slate

What to know

• Showtime cancels American Gigolo, Let the Right One In, Three Women, pulls those and others; Hulu cancels Reboot; FX cancels Kindred… It was a bloody Monday in streaming land. On the heels of Paramount announcing that Showtime would officially fold into Paramount+—a move that will save the company $300M—the above three series were canceled and removed from Showtime’s library. Then, a number of other shows including Jim Carrey’s Kidding (which was good!) and Super Pumped (which had been renewed!) were also pulled. It seems like the disappearing content trend is here to stay. Variety reports that everything pulled from Showtime will have the chance at being sold to a third party (maybe a FAST channel like the WBD deal below?). Meanwhile over at Disney, Hulu axed the starry sitcom Reboot and FX 86’ed the slavery time-travel drama Kindred (both of which were just alright, solid B+ shows in my opinion). Variety says the series will be shopped elsewhere, but I wouldn’t hold your breath. The big takeaway here? It’s possible the peak TV bubble has finally popped. 🫧

• James Gunn pulls back the DCU curtain… Superheroes, superheroes, and more superheroes. Announced movies — Superman: Legacy (written by Gunn, said to be the start of the DCU, 2025), The Brave and The Bold (new Batman and his son Damian Wayne as Robin) The Authority, Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, Swamp Thing, and Matt Reeves’s The Batman II (which is in its own continuity). TV series — Waller (Peacemaker spinoff starring Viola Davis), Wonder Woman: Paradise Lost (prequel series said to be Thrones-ish) Booster Gold, Lanterns, and Creature Commandos (animated). The current DC slate (Shazam 2, Flash, Aquaman 2, Blue Beetle, Joker: Folie a Deux, Penguin series) is all still happening ahead of the new DCU kickoff. Properties not in the DCU continuity will be clearly labeled as “Elseworlds” stories, a very smart move. All in all, Gunn and Safran seem to have a good balance of familiar, bankable characters and the lesser-known ones. Additionally, it’s worth noting that Gunn said The Flash is “one of the greatest superhero movies ever made.” 👀

• WBD’s canceled shows to play on Roku and Tubi FAST channels… FAST (free ad-supported streaming television) is another way for media companies to make money off their content libraries, and Warner Bros. Discovery definitely needs that right now. The company is bringing shows from its entire suite of brands (HBO, HGTV, Food Network, etc) to The Roku Channel and Tubi — including recently canceled series like Westworld, FBoy Island, and The Nevers. Seeing as this is a third-party license deal, I wonder if WBD is still planning to launch its own FAST service? 📺

• Robert Zemeckis’ Here will use de-aging AI tech on Tom Hanks and Robin Wright… Zemeckis and Hanks gonna Zemeckis and Hanks. Here is being adapted from the graphic novel of the same name “that is set in a single room and follows its inhabitants over many years.” So I guess de-aging makes sense, but I’ve become less convinced by Zemeckis and Hanks’ collaborations over the years especially ones that rely heavily on new technology. For every Forrest Gump and Cast Away, there’s a Polar Express or Pinocchio. 🤔

• Guillermo del Toro planning next stop motion film… Speaking of Pinocchio adaptations from 2022, Guillermo del Toro, the director of Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio (which is the favorite to win the animated feature Oscar), is planning to adapt Kazuo Ishiguro's The Buried Giant in stop motion. As with all del Toro project announcements, take this with a grain of salt — he’s been known to hype films that never come to be. Also, stop motion animation notoriously takes forever, so even if this does come to fruition, it’s going to be a while. 🎬

• The Last of Us boosts Linda Ronstadt’s “Long Long Time” by 4,900% on Spotify… Have we got the next “Running Up That Hill” on our hands? Possibly. You know what else is up? The Last of Us viewership which grew another 12% with episode three. For the first time, HBO has 4 currently running shows with more than 15M viewers per episode. 🎹

• Andrea Riseborough’s Oscar nomination won’t be rescinded, but the Academy will address parties responsible for “concerning” campaign tactics… That seems like the most sensible solution to the issue. Rescinding her nomination would have caused a shitstorm. 🏆

• Will Smith reportedly set to return as the Genie in Disney’s Aladdin 2; Smith and Martin Lawrence making Bad Boys 4… The Fresh Prince is back to slap you in the face with movies.🧞‍♂️

• AMC offering $5 tickets to Till, Wakanda Forever, Devotion, and The Woman King during Black History Month… You can’t go wrong with any of those. 👏

• You People debuts at no. 1 on streaming movie charts with 55 million hours watched… Netflix is review proof. 📈

• King of the Hill revival ordered at Hulu… Mmhmm. 🍻

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What’s new

• Pamela, a Love Story — Jan 31 | Netflix documentary | 🍅 100%

• 80 for Brady — Feb 3 | Comedy movie in theaters | 🍅 62%

• Knock at the Cabin — Feb 3 | High concept thriller in theaters | 🍅

• The Grammys — Feb 5 | CBS award show

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What to watch

And now a haiku about The Banshees of Inisherin…

Off-beat, Coen-esque laughs
Expose warring ways of life
Heartbreak blindsides you

For all past ‘what to watch’ recommendations, see the full list here!