Which streamer is most cancel-happy?
And anticipated Star Wars show is now a movie
What to know
Which streamer really cancels shows most frequently?… You probably think it’s Netflix, but it’s actually Max! This according to research gathered by Variety Intelligence Platform (VIP+) and Luminate that examined the cancelation rates at each streamer (shows canceled vs total number of shows). It goes Max, Disney+, Paramout+, Hulu, Netflix, Peacock, Prime, Apple — in that order. There are a lot of misconceptions around cancellation trends it seems. The streamers don’t actually cancel shows all that more frequently than the linear networks, and Netflix, often derided for being cancel happy, is the only destination to have improved its cancellation rate from 2020 to 2023. ❌
Donald Glover’s Lando is actually a movie… This according to his brother Stephen, who is a co-writer on the project, and confirmed by Variety from Lucasfilm. But if Lucasfilm couldn’t make a Han Solo movie work in theaters, they must be very confident to think a Lando movie will. Meanwhile, Donald Glover’s Mr. and Mrs. Smith series at Amazon has been delayed to 2024. 🤔
Bill Maher joins Drew Barrymore in bringing back talk show without writers, WGA plans to picket… This is exactly what I was worried about, others following Drew’s lead. The WGA is obviously not happy about this and many are saying by bringing these talk shows back, they’re ceding power to the studios and prolonging the strike. 🪧
A24 lands interim agreement for Past Lives award season campaign… If the strike carries on through award season (Dec-March), indie studios like A24 and Neon, who have been signing interim agreements with SAG, could gain some serious advantages over the big studios. Campaigning is so crucial. 🏆
It’s official: NSYNC debuting new song in Trolls Band Together… As I said in the previous newsletter, that’s why they reunited at the VMAs. TMZ reports there likely won’t be a tour or new album, and as of now, a boy-band Super Bowl show is just rumor. 🧌
Sony CEO: If strikes continue there won’t be a lot of movies in mid 2024… If only the studios had the power and capital to end the strikes right now. Oh wait, they do! 🙃
Hit anime adaptation One Piece has been renewed by Netflix for a second season… No surprise there. 🏴☠️
Martin Scorsese is against top 10 lists of movies… What is MovieTok going to do?! 🤣
WB releases trailer for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom… Just to prove it exists. 🐟
Upgrade to a full Pop Culture Brain Daily subscription for $1/month or $6/year.
What’s new
The Other Black Girl — Sept 13 | Hulu dramedy thriller series | Ⓜ️ 66
A Haunting In Venice — Sept 15 | Gothic mystery film in theaters | Ⓜ️ 62
Returning: Welcome to Wrexham s2, The Morning Show s3,
What to watch
They do not make ‘em like this anymore. Daniel Goldhaber’s taut and provocative indie thriller How to Blow Up a Pipeline, which is now miraculously on Hulu, is the exact type of movie we need right now. It’s lean and character driven, politically and socially minded, yet nonetheless enthralling. Its stakes are massive, yet its feet are firmly on the ground. It is the antithesis of the bloated, CGI-heavy blockbusters the studios put in theaters—and ever increasingly on streaming—each week. Despite its title, it is not an instruction manual, but instead an empathetic and illuminating portrait of the real people affected by our environmental crisis. It imagines what they could be driven to do when marginalized and decimated by the system. The fact that U.S. and Canadian authorities feared it would inspire people to partake in real acts of violence speaks to how gutsy and artistically crucial this movie is. We’ve become so complacent with hollow mainstream entertainment that’s mostly meant to satisfy but not nourish or challenge us — everything is junk food. How to Blow Up a Pipeline has a better idea.
For all past ‘what to watch’ recommendations, see the full list here!