Cordkillers 262 - Brian's Official British Response (w/ Merrill Barr)
Hollywood's agent problem explained, a new The Walking Dead series coming next year, and TiVo can skip commercials without pressing a button. With special guest Merrill Barr.
Next week on Spoilerin' Time: more Barry S1 and Game of Thrones is back!
CordKillers: Ep. 262 - Brian's Official British Response
Recorded: April 8 2019
Guest: Merrill Barr
Intro Video
Homecoming: A Film By Beyonce
Primary Target
Josh Friedman Tweet Storm
Inside the WGA-ATA Meeting That Led to a Reprieve in Agency Battle
Writers Agree to One-Week Delay for Tightened Agency Rules
WGA & ATA Reach Last-Minute Extension Hours Before Franchise Agreement Was Set To Expire
How to Watch
Netflix confirms it killed AirPlay support, won’t let you beam shows to Apple TVs anymore
-Netflix also removed the ability for its iOS app to airplay, just as Apple is expanding the number of devices out there, like smart TVs that incorporate airplay 2.
-Netflix says AirPlay 2 doesn't have digital identifiers that let it tell devices apart. Netflix told The Verge “With AirPlay support rolling out to third-party devices, there isn’t a way for us to distinguish between devices (what is an Apple TV vs. what isn’t) or certify these experiences. Therefore, we have decided to discontinue Netflix AirPlay support to ensure our standard of quality for viewing is being met. Members can continue to access Netflix on the built-in app across Apple TV and other devices."
Netflix's US price increases will hit users in May
-The price increases Netflix announced in January for the US and Latin America will start affecting existing subscribers in May. To refresh your memory the basic plan goes from $8 to $9. The standard HD package goes from $11 to $13 and the 4K plan with 4 simultaneous streams foes from $14 to $16. Users should get an email letting them know the date for their price rise
Millions of Netflix users are using someone else’s password, but that’s not bad for Netflix
-MoffettNathanson estimates 14% of US Netflix users admit they're using an account paid for by someone they don't live with to watch Netflix. That represents about 8 million people. The top two reasons people gave for having a Netflix subscription was not being interrupted by ads and choosing what to watch.
What to Watch
‘Preacher’ To End After Season 4 On AMC
- AMC announced Preacher will end after season 4. Seth Rogen wrote “The fourth and final season of Preacher is coming." with a video that said the new season will premiere August 4. Rogen and Evan Goldberg recently left Sony TV for a deal at Lionsgate.
‘Walking Dead’ Spinoff Greenlighted By AMC For 2020 Premiere, Details Revealed
-The season 9 finale of The Walking Dead was the lowest-rated finale yet for the show. It was still up 20% over the previous week. But hey it's still the highest-rated show on cable. Which is likely why AMC released some more details and announced a formal series order for its third Walking Dead series set to premiere on AMC in 2020. Matt Negrete will move over from the Walking Dead to showrun the as yet unnamed spinoff. It will focus on two women who are from the first generation to come of age in the post-apocalypse.
‘Walking Dead’ Season 9 Finale Is Lowest-Rated in Series History
‘Cowboy Bebop’: John Cho, Mustafa Shakir Among Four Cast in Netflix Live-Action Series
- Variety reports that Netflix's live-action Cowboy Bebop has cast John Cho as Spike Spiegel, Mustafa Shakir as Jet Black, Daniella Pineda as Faye Valentine, and Alex Hassell as Vicious.
Idris Elba Is In ‘Suicide Squad 2’, Just Not As Deadshot
- Deadline reports Idris Elba will be in Suicide Squad 2 but not as Deadshot, which had previously been played by Will Smith. Elba will play a new character. Only Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn is for sure back. The movie is scheduled for August 6, 2021.
‘Interrogation’: Vincent D’Onofrio To Recur In CBS All Access Series
- Vincent D’Onofrio has been added to the CBS All Access's true-crime drama "Interrogation." This is the one where each episode is centered around an interrogation and the episodes can be watched in any order. D’Onofrio plays an Internal Affairs officer who will become Kyle Gallner’s character’s biggest ally.
Netflix has renewed Umbrella Academy for a 10-episode second season. And Ricky Gervais After Life will come back for a six-episode season 2 in 2020 as well.
Netflix Renews Ricky Gervais Show ‘After Life’ for Season 2
And Netflix has ordered ten episodes of Q-Force about a handsome secret agent and his team of LGBTQ superspies.
CBS All Access bids for 'One Day at a Time' after Netflix cancellation
- Vulture's sources say CBS All Access is showing serious interest in taking over One Day At a Time which Netflix recently canceled, for at least one more season. Although apparently Netflix has to approve any move to. another streaming service for at least two years. But Norman Lear has supposedly asked Reed Hastings to waive that provision. Netflix will no longer have exclusive rights to the back catalog after June.
The Avengers Assemble for Round 2 in a New Endgame Trailer
- Avengers: Endgame got a new trailer last week for the movie which comes out April 26. Advanced ticket sales started April 2, taking down many ticketing platforms. Fandango reported Avengers: Endgame passed the Force Awakens for best first-day US ticket sales. Atom Tickets said it was a record for them as well.
‘Avengers: Endgame’ Sets First-Day Presales Record For Fandango & Atom; Marvel High For Regal: CinemaCon
‘Downton Abbey’ Movie’s First Trailer Reveals A Royal Visit
- A trailer for the Downton Abbey movie was shown at CinemaCon, revealing the King and Queen would be visiting Lord Grantham. The movie arrives internationally September 12 with a September 20 release in North America.
Joaquin Phoenix goes full Rupert Pupkin in new ‘Joker’ trailer
- A trailer for The Joker, starring Joaquin Phoenix, focused on the origin story. Joker comes to theaters October 4.
Netflix shows off Drake's 'Top Boy' revival
- Netflix released a trailer for the third season of Top Boy coming this Autumn. The show's first two seasons were on Channel 4 in the UK. The show features several rappers and follows the lives of people living in a fictional council estate that has succumbed to drugs and violence. It's been six years since season 2.
YouTube Expands Coachella Partnership, Will Exclusively Live-Stream Both Weekends of Music Fest
- Coachella begins this coming weekend. The first weekend will be streamed as usual to a group of YouTube channels live and time-shifted. Coachella have also announced “Coachella Curated,” which will have both live sets (likely from weekend 1) as well as behind the scenes content and interviews. Coachella weekend 1 is April 12-14
Eyes On
Brian: Shazam, The Office, Barry
Tom: It Happened One Night
Merrill: Whiskey Cavalier, What We Do In The Shadows Cobra Kai Season 2
On the Lookout: Osmosis
Front Lines
NATO Chief Says Streaming Services Benefit From Theatrical Releases
- At CinemaCon last week, Motion Picture Association of America CEO Charles Rivkin welcomed Netflix into the fold while pointing out the global and domestic theater box office revenue grew last year. Meanwhile John Fithian, the CEO of the National Association of Theatre Owners said that a study with Ernst & Young found that "average streaming hours per week was higher for respondents who visited a movie theater nine times per year or more compared to those who visited a theater only once or twice."
MPAA Chief Welcomes Netflix to the Family, Tells CinemaCon Exhibitors ‘Change Is Not Always Easy’
Android TV update puts home-screen ads on multi-thousand-dollar Sony Smart TVs
- A pilot program from Google puts a row of advertisements on Android TV device home screens. A Sony support page says "The purpose is to help you discover new apps and contents for your TV." Sony says it is managed by Google and cannot be customized. XDA Developers reports seeing the strip in Sony smart TVs, Mi Box 3 and NVIDIA Shield TV.
Justice Department Warns Academy Over Potential Oscar Rule Changes Threatening Netflix
- The US Department of Justice has warned the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences that changing its rules to limit the eligibility of Netflix for Oscar awards could diminish sales for the excluded films and potentially violate Section 1 of the Sherman Act that “prohibits anticompetitive agreements among competitors.” Steven Spielberg has been advocating to eliminate movies that premiere on streaming too close to their theatrical premieres. Currently a movie just has to have a theatrical run to qualify.
T-Mobile’s mobile TV service to include Viacom channels like MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central & more
- T-Mobile announced it has reached an agreement to include Viacom channels in T-Mobile's forthcoming streaming TV service. That includes MTV, Nickelodeon, BET, Comedy Central and more. Viacom has been pulling its channels from services like PSVue and recent reached an agreement to keep its channels on AT&T's DirecTV and DirecTV Now services. T-Mobile bought Layer3 last year in order to power a streaming TV service that it says it plans to launch by the end of the year.
Soon your TiVo will be able to skip commercials automatically
-An update to TiVo's skip mode will soon bypass commercials automatically without you needing to press a button. A Facebook post by a TiVo employee confirmed with a source by Zatz Not Funny says the feature will arrive on boxes that get the new Hydra interface coming later this spring.
Roku is now selling premium subscriptions for HBO
- Roku has added HBO to it's add-on subscription service sold through the Roku app for $14.99 a month. Roku also sells subscriptions to Showtime, Starz, Epix and other networks.
Dispatches from the Front
I’m sure this is probably one of dozens/hundreds of messages you’ve received about this, but this [bleep] is exactly why I [bleep]ing hate the [bleep]ing streaming services. Tonight I go to watch the next episode of The Office (UK) with my fellow Spoilerin’ Time video club members, and wouldn’t you [bleep]ing know it, but it’s [bleep]ing GONE from Netflix. [BLEEP]ING GONE! I searched, I Googled, I even [bleep]ing used BING, but I couldn’t find out what happened.
Finally, I decided to try Tom’s oft-recommended service Just Watch, and sure enough...The Office (UK) is now on Hulu. What. The. [Bleep]? If I weren’t home, nobody else in my household would have known where to dig to find out what happened. Instead, I’d be getting a call asking, “what the [bleep] happened to The Office? It’s [bleep]ing gone!”
Seriously...WT[B]? This is why I still use my [bleep]ing TiVo. I hate this [bleep]ing [bleep].
- Richard
Howdy Killas!
Just wanted to comment on the topic of sub and dubs from episode 261.
Being dyslexic the act of reading is painful for me. ... As such subtitles are impossible for me. It requires me to pause the show and hope the text will be clear enough or show outside the video player timeline UI. Otherwise I will miss dialog because I cannot read a conversation in real time. This can easily more than double the time it takes to watch the show.
For these reasons I avoid subtitled shows, and would even accept the worse possible voice acting possible. ...Netflix, thankfully, has been a game changer because it has brought dubbing to a lot of its original shows: even many foreign ones. I hope they keep it up.
I appreciate the passion for subs or even hearing a foreign language mixed into a show for artistic or realistic means, but dubbing for accessibility rarely seems to come up in conversations the way subtitles and description audio for the deaf might.
Love all the stuff you do!
Thanks,
- Umbrae
Besides "Comedian in Cars Getting Coffee", the brief-but-terrible "Powers" "show", my primary interest in Crackle that I really installed it for and used was The Three Stooges. For ages, the only streaming service where you could watch old Three Stooges shorts, besides the same 4 public domain episodes, was Crackle. They also dropped in three 30-second commercials at 7 minutes in along with a pre-roll and post-roll commercial, no matter what, which was pretty annoying for a 13-minute short film and there was no auto-play to the next short.
Also, Die Hard wasn't on Crackle during Christmas. Die Hard 2 and 3 were, which were also on FX at the time (I remember looking for it). Probably because they know people want to watch it at Christmas so they can make some catalog dough during the holidays.
- Alex
Links