Cordkillers 606: Apples to HBOs
Apple TV may be chasing the prestige-TV crown that HBO once owned, but the big question is whether that model can work in streaming when even HBO muddied the waters. Meanwhile, Amazon MGM may be looking for a new home for its Sam Altman biopic, Instagram wants more time on your TV, and Netflix’s K-pop Demon Hunters keeps dominating globally.
This week on The FULL Experience: V (Part I)
Next week: V (Part II)
YouTube: https://youtu.be/7EXpR53RzFM
Supply Run
Apple TV is making a case for itself as the new HBO, with prestige hits like Severance, Pachinko, Silo, and Ted Lasso, but its overall viewership still does not register in the top 10 on Nielsen’s The Gauge. Janko Roettgers argues that Apple TV’s strength may be its focused lineup of scripted hits, even as Apple continues to make most of its money from devices, services, and aggregation rather than advertising-supported streaming.
Link: theverge.com
Search Party
Amazon MGM Studios has reportedly dropped Artificial, the Sam Altman biopic starring Andrew Garfield, Monica Barbaro, and Yura Borisov, even though the film is nearly finished. The studio says the movie may be better served by another distributor, following Amazon’s deepening partnership with OpenAI.
Link: engadget.com
Peacock has ordered a TV adaptation of Matt Dinniman’s Dungeon Crawler Carl, with Seth MacFarlane’s Fuzzy Door producing. Chris Yost is attached as writer and executive producer, while Dinniman will serve as a non-writing co-executive producer.
Link: variety.com
A Shrek 5 teaser says the movie is coming “in one year.”
Apple TV will stream the Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix for free, with no subscription required for the full race weekend starting June 26.
Link: engadget.com
A new trailer is out for Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which is coming July 31.
Link: youtube.com
Buried Treasure
Brian recommends 99-year-old man.
Tom recommends The Village Barber.
Got something we should be on the lookout for? Email cordkillers@gmail.com.
Scanning the Horizon
Instagram is experimenting with longer-form episodic content and live creator streams for its TV apps. The app is available on Amazon Fire and Google TV platforms, is rolling out on Samsung TVs, and is adding channel features plus the ability to cast Reels from your phone to your TV.
Link: techcrunch.com
Netflix says K-pop Demon Hunters has spent every week since its June 18, 2025 release on its top 10 most-watched list. The film has reached 600 million views and hit the top 10 in all 93 countries where Netflix publishes top 10 lists.
Link: deadline.com
Fox Creator Studios is expanding its roster beyond established names like Gordon Ramsay and Tom Segura by adding Josh Richards, Emelia Hartford, Speeed Co, Sorted Food, MyHealthyDish, Mad Realities, and Christina Richardson. The new additions collectively bring more than 65 million followers across platforms.
Link: deadline.com
Google will reportedly invest about $75 million into A24 as part of a partnership exploring how Google’s foundational models could be used to create new filmmaking tools.
Link: wsj.com
Chatter
BigJim sent clips of the Magnum P.I. homages from the Las Vegas TV show.
Link: vimeo.com
Joe wrote in about Fox’s acquisition of Roku, wondering whether it could raise monopoly concerns around subscription revenue cuts and ad revenue distribution on the platform.
MattBatt sent a supercut of people reacting to major movie moments for the first time, inspired by watching The Sixth Sense with his 11-year-old son and seeing the twist land fresh.
Link: youtube.com
Stealth Dave followed up on Brian’s off-color After Talk joke with a Mystery Men reference involving Janeane Garofalo’s character’s father’s skull and a bowling ball.
Ryan Waggoner suggested a new variation on the FULL Experience: have only the host who has never seen most of a show watch the entire series, while the other host relies on prior familiarity, to test how well the premise holds up in the Cocktail Party scenario.