We’ve got sizzling Thanksgiving episode stuffed full of news, gossip, and… America’s favorite game show?!

• First: Will lackluster AI protections sink the SAG-AFTRA deal?
• Then we raise a glass to the latest victim of the streaming wars: Showtime Anytime.
• Speaking of Paramount-related news: IT’S DAILY SHOW HOST WATCH! (Second timers edition!)
• But wait, there’s more! Because after that we feast on an irresistible helping of David Zaslav news.
• And finally: We head the big (enough) screen and stream the new Netflix movie The Killer featuring Michael Fassbender as the titular assassin, framed by David Fincher’s direction.

All that, plus: Can you out-score Dianne on a post-strike edition of Renewed or Canceled?! We’ve got 12 shows across TV and streaming that have been hanging in the balance for months now. (Spoilers in the links below!)

———

📺 Review: The Killer (Movie)

🚨 Light spoilers only! (starting at 51:10) 🚨

• Where to Watch: Netflix

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🔗 Links:

• SAG-AFTRA’s new contract hinges on studios acting responsibly with AI – Charles Pulliam-Moore, The Verge
• Actors’ AI Protections Are a Step Forward, But There’s Reason to Worry – Winston Cho, The Hollywood Reporter
• How David Zaslav Blew Up Hollywood – Jonathan Mahler, James B. Stewart, Benjamin Mullin, The New York Times
• Behind CNN Turmoil, a Series of Shattered Friendships – James B. Stewart, Benjamin Mullin, The New York Times
• Congressman Slams Warner Bros. for Canceling ‘Coyote vs. Acme,’ Calls for Federal Investigation – James Hibberd, The Hollywood Reporter
• Warner Bros. Changes 'Coyote vs Acme' Decision After Filmmakers Rebel – Aaron Couch, The Hollywood Reporter
• What's Warner Bros. Discovery's next move? David Zaslav and John Malone offer clues – Alex Sherman, CNBC
• The Killer review: David Fincher shoots to thrill – Brent Simon, A.V. Club
• ‘The Bear’ Renewed for Season 3 – Lesley Goldberg, The Hollywood Reporter
• Elle Fanning Speaks Out Following ‘The Great’ Cancellation: “I Discovered Parts of Myself I Didn’t Know” – Christy Piña, The Hollywood Reporter
• ‘Young Sheldon’ to End With Season 7 on CBS – Lesley Goldberg, The Hollywood Reporter
• Kaley Cuoco's 'Based on a True Story' Renewed for Season 2 on Peacock – Rick Porter, The Hollywood Reporter
• ‘The Boys’ Spinoff ‘Gen V’ Renewed at Amazon – Rick Porter, The Hollywood Reporter
• Freeform’s Animated Comedy ‘Praise Petey’ Canceled – Lesley Goldberg, The Hollywood Reporter
• ‘Welcome to Flatch’ Canceled at Fox – Rick Porter, The Hollywood Reporter
• ‘The Rookie: Feds’ Canceled at ABC – Lesley Goldberg, The Hollywood Reporter
• ‘Futurama’ Lands Two-Season Renewal at Hulu – Rick Porter, The Hollywood Reporter
• Futurama got renewed, so you can expect 30 more episodes on Hulu – Emma Roth, The Verge
• 'iCarly' Sequel Canceled at Paramount+ – Rick Porter, The Hollywood Reporter
• ‘Fatal Attraction,’ ‘Rabbit Hole’ Canceled at Paramount+ – Lesley Goldberg, The Hollywood Reporter

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Our long national nightmare is finally over!

(Are we referring to the end of the SAG-AFTRA strike or the Loki finale? You’ll have to listen to find out!)

———

📺 Review: Loki Finale

🚨 Spoiler Alert: All Episodes of Loki, also the last Ant Man movie, also probably some other Marvel stuff (starting at 20:49) 🚨

• Number of Seasons Overall: 2 (All Episodes Available)
• Where to Watch: Disney+
• Spinoffs: If a Spinoff is a Spinoff of a Spinoff is it actually called a Spinsoff?

———

🔗 Links:

• The Screen Actors Guild’s strike-ending deal has entered its final step – Wes Davis, The Verge
• So, what the heck did SAG-AFTRA actually get from all that striking? – William Hughes, A.V. Club
• Disney will start testing a combined Disney Plus and Hulu app next month – Emma Roth, The Verge
• Previously: Disney will bring Hulu content into Disney Plus and raise its ad-free prices – Emma Roth, The Verge
• Marvel's The Marvels opens at the top of the weekend box office, and let’s leave it at that – Sam Barsanti, A.V. Club
• Reports of The Marvels being good have not been greatly exaggerated – Charles Pulliam-Moore, The Verge
• MacGuffin – Wikipedia
• Yeah, that's probably it for Loki – William Hughes, A.V. Club
• Loki’s season 2 finale dug deep to find a meaning in all of Marvel’s madness – Charles Pulliam-Moore, The Verge
• Loki Season-Finale Recap: This Is the Bad Place – Siddhant Adlakha, Vulture
• Loki season 2 finale: Loki ends, surprisingly perfectly – William Hughes, A.V. Club
• Previously: ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’ End-Credits Scenes Tease Future MCU Villains – Sydney Odman, The Hollywood Reporter

———

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It’s a big week for the Marvel Cinematic Universe (but please don’t make us call it that), and we’re celebrating with a deep dive into Loki ahead of this Thursday’s finale that seems destined to set up the next phase of Avengers mayhem (whether we like it or not).

We’ll be back in your feeds next week with our thoughts on the season finale, but that’s not the only Marvel-ing in the news: After months of reshoots and delays The Marvels hits theaters this weekend and promises to reunite us with some of our favorite characters from the Disney+ series WandaVision and Ms. Marvel (if only we can remember those long-ago shows).

We’ll dive deep into the interconnected Marvel mess and discuss whether the company’s new “Spotlight” branding for more standalone series will chart a new path forward.

But first! We’re asking the hard questions that the streaming universe refuses to answer:

• Just how much is a Hulu worth these days? (Disney is about to find out!)
• What’s going on with the forbidden episode of Bluey?
• Who has the better strategy to jam ads in our eyes: Netflix or Amazon?
• Why is YouTube willing to lose over a billion dollars a year just to carry NFL Sunday ticket?
• And should Marvel arch-villain Kang be replaced?? (Spoiler alert: Yes!)

———

📺 Review: Loki (Season 2)

🚨 Spoiler Alert: All Episodes through Season 2, Episode 5 (starting at 46:45) 🚨

• Number of Seasons Overall: 2 (Season In Progress)
• Renewal Status: Doomed to set up another movie
• Where to Watch: Disney+
• Season Finale Premiers: Thursday, November 9
• Spinoffs: It’s more like an ouroboros at this point (get it?)

———

🔗 Links:

• Disney to acquire remaining stake in Hulu for expected $8.6 billion – Oliver Darcy, CNN
• In a first, Marvel’s Echo is coming to both Disney Plus and Hulu at the same time – Alex Cranz, The Verge
• I watched the forbidden episode of Bluey that Disney refuses to stream – Oli Welsh, Polygon
• Netflix’s ad-supported plan will reward binge watchers with ad-free episodes – Emma Roth, The Verge
• Fire TV banner ads are about to get worse – Jared Newman, Tech Hive
• YouTube's NFL Sunday Ticket Faces $1.27 Billion in Annual Losses – Anthony Crupi, Sportico
• Numlock News: November 6, 2023 • Sunken Treasure, Leap Seconds, Blizzard – Walter Hickey, Numlock News
• NFL TV Partners in Bind Despite Massive Ratings, Record Ad Rates – Anthony Crupi, Sportico
• Marvel’s new Spotlight branding will help you cut through the MCU’s noise – Charles Pulliam-Moore, The Verge
• Inside Marvel's Jonathan Majors Problem: 'The Marvels' Reshoots, More – Tatiana Siegel, Variety
• In Marvel we no longer trust – Alex Cranz, The Verge
• Echo to launch new Marvel Studios label with less emphasis on "larger MCU continuity" – Sam Barsanti, A.V. Club
• Disney hires Loki's Benson and Morehead to try to fix its busted Daredevil show – William Hughes, A.V. Club

———

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1990s Pacific Northwest radio icon Dr. Frasier Crane is back, but is the new Boston-set reboot of Frasier really listening to what viewers want? We’ll share some of our favorite classic Frasiers and compare them to the new Paramount+ reboot (which, like the sherry at a Bean Town bar, we found… questionable).

But first!

• Chris shares his love of CNN Max (he’s aware this makes him a middle aged man now, thanks for asking!)
• The Daily Show announces more guest hosts (including some returning favorites!)
• Dianne learns the difference between Space Whales and Earth Whales (it’s a sci-fi thing!)
• Price hikes at both Netflix and Disney+ leave Chris and Dianne wondering how much spaceships and comic books are really worth these days…
• …and it turns out Marvel is asking itself the same thing?? We’ll explain!

———

🥗 Review: Frasier (2023)

🚨 Spoiler Alert: First 3 Episodes 🚨

• Where to Watch: Paramount+
• New Episodes Release: Weekly, on Thursdays
• Spinoffs: Yes, it is.

———

🍳 Bonus Review: Frasier (1993)

🚨 Spoiler Alert for… oh come on, it’s Frasier! 🚨

• Number of Seasons Overall: 11
• Where to Watch: Paramount+, Amazon Prime Video, and Hulu!
• Spinoffs: Yes, it is.

———

🔗 Links:

• CNN's New Streaming Counterpart Features A Big Chunk of Linear Schedule – Brian Steinberg, Variety
• Here are your Daily Show guest hosts for the fall – Matt Schimkowitz, A.V. Club
• Hasan Minhaj reportedly out of contention for the Daily Show gig – William Hughes, A.V. Club
• Here comes another Netflix price hike – Emma Roth, The Verge
• Netflix subscribers surge as company announces price hikes in some regions – Alexandra Canal, Yahoo! Finance
• Netflix is planning to launch retail destinations in 2025 – Andrew Webster, The Verge
• ‘Daredevil’ Hits Reset Button as Marvel Overhauls Its TV Business – Borys Kit, The Hollywood Reporter
• Marvel’s TV experiment wasn’t a failure—until Marvel decided it was – Sam Barsanti, A.V. Club
• Disney reveals size of ESPN's biz for the first time – Sara Fischer, Axios
• 'Frasier' Best Episodes Ranked – LaToya Ferguson, Variety
• 21 Frasier Episodes That Defined Its Beloved Original Run – Bethy Squires, Vulture
• Frasier and Niles Were Supposed to Open a Theater Together – Devon Ivie, Vulture
• Why Frasier Needs Longer Seasons (and a Network Home) – Josef Adalian, Vulture
• Oops we forgot this one last time: Why Did The Golden Bachelor Have to Be Like This? – Kathryn VanArendonk, Vulture

———

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We’re celebrating the end of the WGA strike with a tribute to some of the most emotionally manipulative creative fiction on TV: The Golden Bachelor.

But first we’re wrapping up the big strike settlement, catching up on the return of late night TV, and sharing our streaming advice for YOU in an autumn edition of Add? Keep? Cancel?!

Join us as we bravely enter the Bachelor-verse, even though we’re generally Bachelor-averse!

———

📺 Review: The Golden Bachelor

🚨 Spoiler Alert: First 2 Episodes 🚨

• Where to Watch Live: ABC (Thursdays at 8 PM Eastern)
• Where to Stream: Next Day on Hulu

———

🔗 Links:

• How the Writers Deal Got Done: Inside the Room – Kim Masters, The Hollywood Reporter
• Netflix is planning to raise prices... again – Emma Roth, The Verge
• Amazon is sticking ads in Prime Video shows and movies unless you pay more – Jess Weatherbed, The Verge
• Paramount turned Mean Girls into a Quibi to celebrate October 3, reportedly skirt residuals – Matt Schimkowitz, A.V. Club
• Jimmy, Jimmy, and Stephen also returned, more or less as normal – Mary Kate Carr, A.V. Club
• Roy Wood Jr. says he's leaving 'The Daily Show' but he doesn't hold a grudge – Eric Deggans, NPR
• Roy Wood Jr. Exits Daily Show Amid Host Search – Brian Steinberg, Variety
• Roy Wood Jr. is leaving The Daily Show – Mary Kate Carr, A.V. Club
• 'Suits' Breaks Nielsen's All-Time Overall Streaming Record – Denise Petski, Deadline
• Frasier director James Burrows doesn't know if sitcoms have a future – Emma Keates, A.V. Club
• Well, here are the candidates for The Golden Bachelor – Matt Schimkowitz, A.V. Club

———

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The rumors are true… Fall is here! And we’re celebrating with an Oktoberfest-themed German show swap: Babylon Berlin and Deutschland 83.

Plus: Is this the future of cable?!

———

📺 Review: Babylon Berlin

🚨 Spoiler Alert: First 2 Episodes 🚨

• Number of Seasons Overall: 4
• Renewal Status: Renewed
• Where to Watch: Netflix

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📺 Review: Deutschland 83

🚨 Spoiler Alert: First 2 Episodes 🚨

• Where to Watch: Hulu
• Sequels: Deutschland 86 & Deutschland 89

———

🔗 Links:

• Old Yellowstone still tastes pretty good to 6.6 million viewers – Matt Schimkowitz, A.V. Club
• Max to Add Sports Tier for $10 Per Month After Promo Period, Launching in Time for MLB Playoffs – Alex Weprin, The Hollywood Reporter
• Cable’s Biggest Hit? A Paramount+ Show From 2021 – Josef Adalian, Vulture
• The cable bundle of the future is officially here – Alex Cranz, The Verge
• Loki’s second season will debut a day early – Jay Peters, The Verge

———

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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

———

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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

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🔗 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

———

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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

———

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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

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👽 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

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