We’re teaming up and uncovering all the secrets inside the House of Mouse: From the drama over Bob Iger’s bathroom (really!) to the mysterious disappearance of ESPN and other Disney-owned channels for Charter and Spectrum cable customers. (We even have the latest details on the last-minute deal they struck on Monday!)

Plus: Why is Comcast eagerly moving up the Hulu sale? What does Brian Roberts know that we don’t?? And is it the identity of Ben Glenroy’s killer?!

Yes, we’re also digging into season 3 of Only Murders in the Building, which just passed the halfway point and is turning into quite the whodunit. Except this season one of the whos who might’ve dunit is none other than Meryl Streep. What does her celebrity star power do to the carefully-balanced gravity of our beloved Hulu comedy? Listen through to the end of the episode to find out our opinions on "the Meryl of it all" and our predictions about the identity of the latest killer stalking the halls of the Arconia.

But first! Join us as we…

• Catch up on the Hollywood strikes!
• Discuss Rolling Stone’s bombshell piece about the toxic culture at Jimmy Fallon’s Tonight Show.
• And pour one out for Quibi (again!).

———

📺 Review: Only Murders in the Building (Season 3)

🚨 Spoiler Alert: All Episodes through Season 3, Episode 6 (starting at 41:23) 🚨

• Number of Seasons Overall: 3 (Season In Progress)
• Where to Watch: Hulu
• When to Watch: New episodes release Tuesdays

———

🔗 Links:

• Roku turns to layoffs (again) and removes streaming content to cut costs – Chris Welch, The Verge
• Roku Channel Content Removals Target Originals Unpopular With Viewers – Todd Spangler, Variety
• SAG-AFTRA is seeking authorization to strike against the video game companies, now, too – William Hughes, A.V. Club
• 'One Piece' Season 2 Scripts Are Finished, Producers Say – Jennifer Maas, Variety
• Warner Bros. TV suspends high-profile development deals, because studios don't want to pay anyone – Sam Barsanti, A.V. Club
• AMC cuts a separate deal to keep filming Walking Dead and Interview With The Vampire – William Hughes, A.V. Club
• In a bid to build buzz, a whole lot of AMC shows are coming to Max ad-free – Wes Davis, The Verge
• Inside Jimmy Fallon's Tonight Show: 16 Staffers Allege Erratic Behavior – Krystie Lee Yandoli, Rolling Stone
• Jimmy Fallon Apologizes to ‘Tonight Show’ Staff Following “Toxic Workplace” Accusations – Rick Porter, The Hollywood Reporter
• Marvel delays Agatha, What If...?, Echo, and X-Men '97 – William Hughes, A.V. Club
• Comcast and Disney Move Up Hulu Sale Talks to September 2023 – Jennifer Maas, Variety
• ESPN’s standalone streaming channel is included in Charter and Disney’s new deal – Emma Roth, The Verge
• Disney and Charter reach deal to end cable blackout, expand access to streaming services – Lillian Rizzo, CNBC
• Disney Says Charter Dispute Is Driving A 60% Increase In Hulu + Live TV Subscriptions – Dade Hayes, Deadline
• Disney's wildest ride: Iger, Chapek and the making of an epic succession mess – Alex Sherman, CNBC
• Bob Iger and Bob Chapek’s CEO battle made Disney the pettiest place on Earth – Emma Roth, The Verge

———

Subscribe and share at streamageddon.com

We’re back from our hot streaming summer vacation and ready for a sweaty (and depressing) streaming fall! We’ll summon some laughs with our review of FX stalwart What We Do in the Shadows (wrapping its fifth season this week!) and try our best to conjure some good news after a bleak August.

But first! Get excited for a surprise round of Renewed or Canceled?! (Discouraging Vibes ONLY Edition) and a deep dive into the existential questions plaguing the streaming universe:

• What exactly will be airing on network TV this fall? And just how many of those things are Bachelor-themed?
• What’s the deal with the price hikes at Disney+ and Hulu? Listen in as we struggle to understand our options in real time!
• And speaking of Disney: What are they going to do with ESPN?!

———

📺 Review: What We Do in the Shadows (Season 5)

🚨 Light Spoilers for this Vampire Comedy (starting at 26:15) 🚨

• Number of Seasons Overall: 5 (Season Finale This Week)
• Where to Watch: FX (Next Day on Hulu)
• Where to Stream Past Seasons: Hulu

———

🔗 Links:

• Fall TV Season Is Looking Mel Gibson-Bleak, and It’ll Only Get Worse – Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone
• Dune: Part 2 delayed into 2024 as studios really start to panic – Sam Barsanti, A.V. Club
• The Golden Bachelor takes over Grey's Anatomy's ancestral timeslot – Emma Keates, A.V. Club
• Disney Plus and Hulu are about to get even more expensive – Chris Welch, The Verge
• How ESPN Went From Disney’s Financial Engine to Its Problem – Kevin Draper, Brooks Barnes, The New York Times
• Walt Disney Pictures VFX Workers Move to Unionize – Jazz Tangcay, Variety
• 'The Idol' Canceled: The Weeknd/Sam Levinson Series Won't Get Season 2 – Selome Hailu, Variety
• 'A League Of Their Own' Canceled: No Second & Final Season On Amazon – Nellie Andreeva, Deadline
• A League Of Their Own and The Peripheral both just got their second seasons yanked away by Amazon – William Hughes, A.V. Club
• 'Nautilus' UK Series Not Going Forward At Disney+ – Nellie Andreeva, Deadline

———

Subscribe and share at streamageddon.com

We’re sharing life lessons this week with our favorite episodes of HBO’s How To With John Wilson (now in its third and final season) plus the inaugural edition of our new segment that helps you make the most of your streaming budget: Add / Keep / Cancel (like F@%& / Marry / Kill, but for streaming!).

But wait, there’s more! Because we’re digging into the Animayhem at Hulu, and playing America’s favorite game— with a twist! Yes, it’s a special all-animation edition of Renewed or Canceled!

———

📺 Review: How To With John Wilson

🚨 Light Spoiler Alerts for… 🚨

• How To Find a Public Restroom (S3 E1)
• How To Make the Perfect Risotto (S1 E6)

• How To Throw Out Your Batteries (S2 E4)

• Number of Seasons Overall: 3 (Season In Progress)

• Renewal Status: Ending
• Where to Watch: HBO (a.k.a. “The Max App”)

———

🔗 Links:

• BREAKING: WGA Negotiations to Resume on Friday with Studio Response – Gene Maddaus, Variety
• RECENTLY: WGA & AMPTP Can’t Agree To Resume Negotiations; Strike To Go On Indefinitely – Peter White, Deadline
• WGA Introduces New Health Care Demands That Could Prolong Strike – David Robb, Deadline
• General Hospital is using scab writers, and it’s complicated – Ash Parrish, The Verge
• WandaVision background actors say Disney scanned them, didn't say why – William Hughes, A.V. Club
• With two strikes pummeling Hollywood, CBS pivots to Yellowstone for fall schedule – Matt Schimkowitz, A.V. Club

———

Subscribe and share at streamageddon.com

We’re swapping shows and spending a night streaming in each other’s shoes:

• Will Chris jive with sad jazz law procedural The Lincoln Lawyer on Netflix?
• And will Dianne boldly go where no Dianne has gone before watching a sci-fi rom com episode of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds on Paramount+?

But first! In the predictably apocalyptic news:

• Comcast doesn’t want ESPN (we called it!) but maybe the sports leagues do?
• Marvel’s Secret Invasion was a bust, but Barbenheimer is a hit! What does that say about IP?
• Netflix is hiring a Quamputer expert in the midst of a double strike…
• … and speaking of the strike: Is Netflix really poised to outlast the competition? Or is their international strategy falling flat?
• Oh, and guess what? DVDs are back, baby! And we love to see it.

———

🚙 Summer Show Swap: The Lincoln Lawyer

🚨 Extremely Light Spoilers for Season 1, Episode 1 🚨

• Number of Seasons Overall: 2 (Season In Progress)
• Where to Watch: Netflix

———

👽 Summer Show Swap: Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

🚨 Extremely Light Spoilers for Season 2, Episode 5 🚨

• Number of Seasons Overall: 2 (Season in Progress)
• Where to Watch: Paramount+

———

🔗 Links:

• Comcast Exec Shoots Down Possibility of ESPN Deal With Disney – Todd Spangler, Variety
• Disney’s new vision for ESPN might include part ownership by the NBA, NFL – Emma Roth, The Verge
• Paramount Plus is (kind of) saving Grease: Rise Of The Pink Ladies with a DVD and digital release – Emma Keates, A.V. Club
• Netflix lists $900,000 AI job as actors and writers continue to strike – Lawrence Bonk, Engadget
• Netflix Global Content Strategy May Not Pay Off as Hoped – Tyler Aquilina, VIP+
• Netflix just axed its basic ad-free plan in the US and UK – Emma Roth, The Verge
• A theory on Netflix the killing ad-free Basic plan: The password sharing crackdown prompted mass downgrades and they panicked. US/Canada revenue is down from last quarter despite 1M+ new subscribers. – Jared Newman, Mastodon
• 'Star Trek': Jonathan Frakes on Directing Next Generation, Lower Decks – Adam B. Vary, Variety

———

Subscribe and share at streamageddon.com

We’re gathered in the Streamageddon war room with a clear-eyed (panicked), sober (not), and thoroughly researched (hastily googled) analysis of the shocking double strike that seems destined to paralyze TV and streaming productions for months to come. In less than 40 minutes we promise to (maybe) explain:

• Why Netflix might be willing to throw their “peers” in the AMPTP under the bus
• Which shows are still in production (and why!)
• Who stands to lose the most with the shift away from residuals
• And why that Black Mirror episode about AI CGI Annie Murphys was probably more accurate than we were willing to admit…

You’ll even learn why Ronald Reagan’s name was in the news again last week!

But that’s not even the only emergency-pod-worthy news we have for you!

• The Emmy nominations are here, they’re weird, and apparently we have to get used to calling The Bear a comedy now.
• Speaking of TV comedies: Wait, where did all the TV comedies go? And why aren’t any of them on NBC?
• At least ABC has Abbott Elementary… at least until Disney’s Bob Iger says something ominous that gets us asking our favorite question-slash-segment: “What’s That, Bob?”

Also, we have an extremely legitimate pitch for John Oliver to buy The Disney Channel. (Just hear us out, Bob!)

Finally, we’ll lighten the mood with two spoiler-free streaming recommendations!

———

🔗 Links:

• Actors say Hollywood studios want their AI replicas — for free, forever – Andrew Webster, The Verge
• Hollywood Studios Anticipate Writers Strike Lasting Until October – Dominic Patten, Deadline
• The Dune prequel series is still zigzagging forward during the strike – Emma Keates, A.V. Club
• 'House of the Dragon' Can Continue Filming Due to U.K. Union Rules – Manori Ravindran, Variety
• The CW’s Jesus show resurrected amid actors strike – Mary Kate Carr, A.V. Club
• Emmy voters desperately need to watch more television – Saloni Gajjar, A.V. Club
• Are TV Comedies Disappearing? 2023 Emmy Nominations, Commentary – Dave Nemetz, TV Line
• Under Susan Rovner, NBC Universal Lost Its Voice – Daniel D'Addario, Variety

———

Subscribe and share at streamageddon.com

Hollywood is in turmoil but what does that mean for your fall streaming?! We’re digging into the upheaval with a super-sized round of Renewed or Canceled?! that will leave you screaming… and then apologizing to the people around you for screaming (tell them to subscribe!).

Then we’re digging into the show of the summer: The Bear.

Join us for some hospitality, won’t you?

———

📺 Review: The Bear (Season 2)

🚨 Spoiler Alert: All Episodes through Season 2, Episode 10 (starting at 34:46) 🚨

• Number of Seasons Overall: 2 (All Episodes Available)
• Where to Watch: Hulu

———

🔗 Links:

• ‘The Other Two’ Ending at Max Amid HR Complaints – Lesley Goldberg, The Hollywood Reporter
• The Other Two is the funniest, timeliest show on TV right now – Saloni Gajjar, A.V. Club
• HBO's 'A Black Lady Sketch Show' Will Not Return for Season 5 – Angelique Jackson, Variety
• 'Single Drunk Female' Cancellation Proves Millennials Are Left Behind – Samantha Bergeson, indiewire.com
• 'Single Drunk Female,' 'The Watchful Eye' Canceled at Freeform – BreAnna Bell, Variety
• Hulu to Remove ‘Alaska Daily,’ ‘The Company You Keep’ as Content Purge Continues – Lucas Manfredi, thewrap.com
• The Super Mario Bros. Movie will start streaming on Peacock in August – Jay Peters, The Verge
• GQ Editor Who Pulled David Zaslav Story Producing Movie for WB – Tatiana Siegel, Variety
• GQ pulls article slamming Warner Bros. Discovery CEO Zaslav after complaint – Will Sommer, The Washington Post
• Max begins fixing its ‘disrespectful’ creator credits – Jess Weatherbed, The Verge
• One of Disney's latest streaming movies had a shelf life of about 7 weeks – Mary Kate Carr, A.V. Club
• Pretty Much Everyone Was Dying to Guest-Star on The Bear – Jen Chaney, Vulture
• The Bear season 2 should have been a weekly release – Saloni Gajjar, A.V. Club

———

Subscribe and share at streamageddon.com

Black Mirror is back, but in a truly shocking twist: One of us has never watched it! We’ll rewind time to 2011 and compare the original season 1 premier (“The National Anthem”) with the star-studded season 6 kickoff (“Joan is Awful”). Plus: Chris shares some of his favorite episodes from past seasons (no spoilers!) to help you find the perfect Black Mirror entry point for everyone in your streaming life.

But first! A dizzying trip through the headlines:

• Paramount+ pulls a “Max” and purges everything from Amy Schumer to Star Trek…
• … and purges their cheapest ad-free plan along the way (But hey, at least you get whatever’s left of Showtime included now!)
• Netflix tells new Canadian customers “No cheap ad-free tier for you, either!”
• Warner Brothers Discovery casually threatens to murder classic films
• And Wheel! Of! Fortune!

☀️ All that and more on a particularly summery Streamageddon. ☀️

———

📺 Review: Black Mirror

🚨 Spoiler Alert: All Episodes through Season 6, Episode 1 (But it’s an anthology, so don’t panic!) (starting at 25:06) 🚨

• Number of Seasons Overall: 6 (All Episodes Available)
• Where to Watch: Netflix

———

🔗 Links:

• Fran Drescher Talks SAG-AFTRA Strike On ‘GMA’: Making Headway “In Some Areas”, But “In Some Areas We’re Not” – David Robb, Deadline
• Wheel Of Fortune keeps on turning, gets new U.S. and U.K. hosts – Mary Kate Carr, A.V. Club
• Graham Norton to Host 'Wheel of Fortune' U.K. Reboot on ITV, ITVX – Naman Ramachandran, Variety
• Netflix drops its cheapest ad-free plan in Canada – Emma Roth, The Verge
• Paramount Plus just increased the price of its cheapest plan – Emma Roth, The Verge
• TCM Fans Are Right to Worry – Josef Adalian, Vulture
• Scorsese, Spielberg, P.T. Anderson on Turner Classic Movies – Zoe Guy, Vulture
• Warner Bros. Signs Deal for AI-Driven Film Management System (Exclusive) – Tatiana Siegel, The Hollywood Reporter
• Warner Bros. Discovery reportedly looks to unload half of its music catalog – Matt Schimkowitz, A.V. Club
• Star Trek: Prodigy, Rise Of The Pink Ladies, and more series canceled, to be removed from Paramount Plus – Saloni Gajjar, A.V. Club
• Star Trek: Prodigy Has Been Cancelled—and Will Be Removed From Paramount+ – Cheryl Eddy, Gizmodo
• Inside Amy Schumer among second round of series gutted by Paramount Plus – Mary Kate Carr, A.V. Club
• Showtime gets its HBO on, removes exclusive shows from its streaming platforms – Matt Schimkowitz, A.V. Club

———

Subscribe and share at streamageddon.com

BREAKING NEWS: Less than 12 hours after we said “yeah but they probably won’t fire him this week…” CNN CEO Chris Licht was driven to a beautiful farm upstate by WaBro Disco CEO David Zaslav. The Hollywood Reporter has a full obituary of the Chris Licht era.

We also apparently summoned the cancellation of I Love That For You on Showtime, so rest assured: We’re back from vacation and more cursed than ever before!

Join us for a trip through the latest strike news, the existential cringe at CNN, and some shows on MAX that you’ll actually enjoy watching (if you can ever find them in that garbage interface). And as a bonus: We score our TV Tarot predictions after the Succession finale! (Spoiler alert: We’re more Kendall than Tom, if you know what we mean.)

———

📺 Review: Clone High

🚨 Spoiler Alert: All Episodes through Season 2, Episode 3 (starting at 34:02) 🚨

• Number of Seasons Overall: 2 seasons, 20 years apart (and confusingly separate entries with identical names in the MAX app)
• Where to Watch: MAX (or is it “max” all lower case? WHO KNOWS!)

———

📺 Review: The Other Two

🚨 Spoiler Alert for All Episodes through Season 3, Episode 6 (starting at 47:08) 🚨

• Number of Seasons Overall: 3 Seasons
• Where to Watch: MAX (or “max”, your choice!)

———

📺 BONUS: Succession (Final Thoughts!)

🚨 Spoiler Alert for All Episodes (starting at 1:11:04) 🚨

• Number of Seasons Overall: 4 Seasons
• Where to Watch: StarGo

———

🔗 Links:

• 'I Love That For You' Canceled at Showtime – J. Kim Murphy, Variety
• Directors Guild Reaches Tentative Deal With Studios and Streamers – Katie Kilkenny, The Hollywood Reporter
• Deadpool 3 has started filming—and Ryan Reynolds isn't allowed to improvise – William Hughes, A.V. Club
• Thunderbolts becomes latest Marvel movie to be hit by writers’ strike – Jon Porter, The Verge
• This Max credits thing is apparently gonna be a big, stupid mess to fix – William Hughes, A.V. Club
• Inside the Meltdown at CNN – Tim Alberta, The Atlantic
• Devastating profile dogs CNN boss Chris Licht – Mike Allen, Axios
• Chaos looms over CNN – Sara Fischer, Axios
• CNN drama, Act 2: Zucker's revenge – Mike Allen, Axios

———

Subscribe and share at streamageddon.com

The fall TV lineup is taking shape and it’s looking bleak if you’re a fan of… scripts. We’ll have the latest on the WGA strike, plus some big reveals from the biggest streamers:

• Disney loves Hulu (and ads)
• ~~HBO~~ Max loves bundles (and ads)
• And Netflix just loves ads!

Speaking of ads, we’re diving into the FAST-paced world of Free Ad-Supported Streaming TV with Amazon Freevee and the charmingly odd original series Jury Duty.

———

📺 Review: Jury Duty

🚨 Spoiler Alert: First 2 Episodes (starting at 33:00) 🚨

• Renewal Status: Renewed for Season 2
• Where to Watch: Amazon Freevee (all episodes streaming)

———

🔗 Links:

• ABC Unveils Strike-Proof Fall 2023 Schedule – Rick Porter, The Hollywood Reporter
• ABC debuts a fall lineup almost completely devoid of writers – Mary Kate Carr, A.V. Club
• The CW Sets Acquisition-Heavy 2023-24 Schedule – Rick Porter, The Hollywood Reporter
• Jimmy Fallon's Staff Being Put On 'Unpaid Leave Of Absence' During Writers Strike – Marina Fang, HuffPost
• Disney's planning an (optional) app that will smoosh Disney+ and Hulu together – William Hughes, A.V. Club
• Hulu and Disney+ Content to Be Combined In One App, Services Stay Apart – Caitlin Huston, The Hollywood Reporter
• 'Only Murders In The Building' Gets Premiere Date On Hulu – Denise Petski, Deadline
• 'Loki' Season 2, 'Echo' Set Premiere Dates for Disney+ – Adam B. Vary, Variety
• Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav: It’s Time to Bundle More Streaming Services Together – Caitlin Huston, The Hollywood Reporter
• Warner Bros Discovery Posts Wider Loss In Q1, But Notes "Meaningful Turn" Toward Streaming Profitability A Year Ahead Of Schedule – Dade Hayes, Deadline
• Almost 5 million people are using Netflix’s ad tier – Jess Weatherbed, The Verge
• The future of streaming is ads – David Pierce, The Verge
• These are the FAST services you need to know about – Emma Roth, The Verge
• Tears of the Kingdom sold 10 million copies in just three days – Ash Parrish, The Verge

———

Subscribe and share at streamageddon.com

The Writers Guild of America is on strike demanding a more equitable deal for streaming rights and we’re here with the entirely biased news and analysis you deserve as a true connoisseur of streaming. Coincidentally (really!) we’re reviewing the $300 million Russo Brothers spy series Citadel that just premiered on Amazon Prime Video. (Spoiler alert: We think there are better ways to spend $300 million.)

Plus:

• We’ll take a look at which shows are immediately impacted by the strike.
• Roy Wood Jr. hosts the White House Correspondents Dinner.
• The Super Mario streaming story gets Super Confusing… again.
• And, oh yeah, the head of NBC got fired in a scandal that tangentially involves Vladimir Putin and somehow that’s not the biggest story of the week.

———

📺 Review: Citadel

🚨 Spoiler Alert: First 2 Episodes (starting at 40:53) 🚨

• Renewal Status: Renewed for Season 2
• Where to Watch: Amazon Prime Video (Streaming Weekly)
• Spinoffs: Several reportedly in the works

———

📼 Rewind Review: The Night Agent

🚨 Spoiler Alert for ALL EPISODES (starting at 1:00:38) 🚨

• Number of Seasons Overall: 1
• Renewal Status: Renewed for Season 2
• Where to Watch: Netflix

———

🔗 Links:

• Roy Wood, Jr. COMPLETE REMARKS at 2023 White House Correspondents' Dinner (C-SPAN) – YouTube
• Writers Strike Picket Lines Day 2: Bowen Yang, Krista Vernoff, Michael Schur, Cynthia Nixon – Sean Piccoli, Deadline
• Hollywood execs scrambling for response to writers strike literally everyone saw coming – William Hughes, A.V. Club
• Writers Strike: TV Shows Affected Include Night Court, Cobra Kai – Denise Petski, Deadline
• Writers Strike Shuts Down Late-Night Shows After WGA Talks With Studios Fail – Peter White, Deadline
• Hollywood writers are striking over low wages caused by streaming boom – Jess Weatherbed, The Verge
• Directors Guild Set To Fight For More Global Streaming Residuals In Contract Talks – David Robb, Deadline
• The Super Mario Bros. Movie has made a cool $1 billion – Charles Pulliam-Moore, The Verge
• The Mario Movie's Digital Launch Has Been Indefinitely Delayed – Josh Coulson, thegamer.com
• NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell Firing Involved an Affair, Egos and Putin – Tatiana Siegel, Variety

———

Subscribe and share at streamageddon.com