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Streaming

Established streaming industry leaders like Netflix and Amazon are facing more competition than ever. Now legacy entertainment giants are in the game with their own subscription services, like Peacock, HBO Max, Paramount Plus, and the Disney Plus / Hulu / ESPN Plus bundle, while Apple TV Plus attacks around the edges. Meanwhile, the rise of ad-supported free platforms like Roku Channel and Pluto TV has attracted enough attention that Plex, YouTube, and Amazon’s Freevee are trying to get a chunk of the action too.

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The game never ends.

If Seong Gi-hun / Player 456 (Lee Jung-jae) had just walked away with his winnings, his life might be peaceful, but in this teaser from Squid Game’s upcoming second season, there’s an entire army of Masked Men that seem hellbent on killing him.


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Let the Chopper sing, Netflix.

While Netflix has yet to officially announce who will be voicing / portraying Tony Tony Chopper in the second season of its live-action One Piece adaptation, the (CGI) anthropomorphic reindeer makes a brief appearance in this new behind-the-scenes video.


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Monument Valley gets animated.

We already knew the third entry in the series would be a Netflix exclusive, but this new clip also teases an animated short set in the Monument Valley universe.


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Netflix’s Magic: the Gathering series is very much alive and still in production.

Despite reports that Netflix’s animated Magic: The Gathering series might have been on the chopping block, the streamer announced during this year’s Geeked Week that the project is still in production with showrunner Terry Matalas at the helm.


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What if Squid Game was goofy fun?

That seems to be the premise behind the mobile game spinoff Squid Game: Unleashed, which is “a 32-player party royale showdown featuring challenges fans will recognize from the hit series.” It’ll be available for subscribers later this year.


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More Cyberpunk is coming to Netflix.

We have no idea what it is or what it will look like, but the streamer has confirmed that it’s working with CD Projekt Red on some kind of follow up to the excellent anime Cyberpunk: Edgerunners. “More info coming soon,” Netflix says.


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That’s no (rebel) moon.

It’s a video game! Netflix is expanding Zack Snyder’s sci-fi opus with a mobile title called Blood Line. It’s described as an “online co-operative action game takes on the role of a rebel, picking between a variety of classes to join a covert rebellion that’s fighting to take back their planet from the tyrannical Motherworld.” It’s launching in 2025.


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Behind the scenes with Stranger Things.

It’s not the trailer fans were probably hoping for, but Netflix did at least release (another) behind the scenes clip for the upcoming fifth and final season of Stranger Things. The long wait continues.


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Get ready for some trailers.

Netflix’s Geeked Week has been pretty quiet so far, but that’s likely to change during a live event tonight. The main show starts at 8PM ET (there’s a pre-show happening at 7:30PM ET), and you can follow along with the biggest announcements right here. Expect the big names like Squid Game and Arcane to make appearances.


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Monument Valley is out now on Netflix.

As promised, the first entry in the gorgeous puzzle game series is available for subscribers today on both iOS and Android. And there’s more coming: Monument Valley 2 hits the service on October 29th, while the recently announced third game will be a Netflix exclusive when it launches on December 10th.


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Netflix’s NBA docuseries premieres in October.

Starting 5, which focuses on Jimmy Butler, Anthony Edwards, LeBron James, Domantas Sabonis, and Jayson Tatum, hits Netflix on October 9th.


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Anna Kendrick’s Woman of the Hour is coming to Netflix in October.

Woman of the Hour — Anna Kendrick’s directorial debut inspired by serial killer Rodney Alcala’s 1978 appearance on The Dating Game — was one of the most intriguing films to premiere at TIFF in 2023. And it’s finally making its way to Netflix on October 18th.


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Netflix is getting a beautiful documentary next month.

The Remarkable Life of Ibelin was one of my favorite movies at Sundance this year. It’s a doc that tells the story of a tragically short life, and the film largely takes place inside World of Warcraft. You can watch it for yourself on Netflix on October 25th.


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Is Google rebranding its FAST service as “Google TV Freeplay” now?

The company appears to have started rolling out the change to its ad-supported free TV channels for Google TV devices, including TCL, Hisense, and Chromecasts, according to 9to5Google.

The updated, surprisingly sensible branding will be visible under Google TV’s Live tab if you have it, the outlet writes.


A screenshot showing the new Freeplay option in the sidebar of Google TV.
Google TV Freeplay.
Image: 9to5Google
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MaXXXine will get the Max streaming premiere it deserves this October.

If you didn’t catch Ti West’s MaXXXine during its theatrical run, the film’s finally making its way to Max on October 18th and will start airing on HBO beginning the next day.


A blonde woman holding a gun.
A24 / HBO
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Charter’s Spectrum cable package now includes Max.

Charter’s Spectrum TV Select package already bundles ad-supported plans for Disney Plus and Paramount Plus, but now subscribers will get access to Max, too. The services are available to customers at no added cost.


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Amazon has halted production on Good Omens’ final season.

Though production on the third and final season of Good Omens was well into production in Scotland, Deadline reports that Amazon has put the project on hold seemingly in response to sexual assault allegations surrounding author Neil Gaiman.

The pause comes just a few days after Disney suddenly pumped the brakes on its adaptation of Gaiman’s novel The Graveyard Book.


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Google makes way for the TV Streamer.

The Chromecast now appears less prominently on Google’s store, with the “Streaming” shortcut now linking directly to the new TV Streamer instead of the discontinued dongle, as spotted by 9to5Google.

You can still buy the Chromecast from Google’s site, but it’s only available while supplies last.


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The extraordinary Prince documentary we might never see.

Ezra Edelman, who directed the Oscar-winning masterpiece O.J.: Made in America, has been working on an expansive nine-hour film about Prince. But as the New York Times Magazine reports, the artist’s estate is attempting to block its release, which they worry will tarnish the reputation of Paisley Park.

We might not have a doc to watch, but in the meantime, Sasha Weiss’s story has many details from the film and incredible material about Edelman’s editing process.


The Prince We Never Knew

[The New York Times Magazine]

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The battle of the Bobs.

The New York Times meticulously pieced together the bitter power struggle inside Disney between CEO Bob Iger and his successor, Bob Chapek, who was fired in 2022. The piece, which follows up a 2023 report from CNBC, chronicles Chapek’s rise and fall, and Iger’s quest to return to power.


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DirecTV takes its Disney dispute to the FCC.

DirecTV alleged in a complaint to the FCC Saturday that Disney, which pulled its channels from DirecTV last week in its latest carriage dispute, is being anticompetitive, as quoted in Variety:

“The negotiations have stalled because Disney insists on bundling and penetration requirements that a federal district court judge in New York recently found ... to be unlawful, anticompetitive, and ‘bad for consumers.’”

From Disney’s statement to the outlet:

“We urge DirecTV to stop creating diversions and instead prioritize their customers by finalizing a deal that would allow their subscribers to watch our strong upcoming lineup of sports, news and entertainment programming, starting with the return of ‘Monday Night Football.’”


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Happy “Star Trek Day” to all who celebrate.

In honor of the September 8th anniversary of the original Star Trek series premiere, Paramount Plus has assembled a free-to-watch YouTube playlist of the first episodes (including two-parters like “Encounter at Farpoint”) of most of the franchise’s series, along with a handful of shorts. They’re free from September 7th – 13th.

That doesn’t include Star Trek: Prodigy, which is over on Netflix, and not free.


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Max and Hayao and the Boy and the Heron.

A 2-hour-long documentary about The Boy and the Heron called Hayao Miyazaki and the Heron was spotted on Max by French animation outlet Catsuka.

According to Max’s description, it was “filmed with exclusive access to Studio Ghibli across an astonishing seven years” of Miyazaki’s work making his latest post-retirement movie (which, by the way, is also now available to stream).