FIRST LOOK
http://www.eonline.com/news
ON TELEVISION (THURSDAY 10/15/26)
ABC: 9-1-1, Season 10 (Premiere) at 8pm
ABC: 9-1-1: Nashville, Season 2 (Premiere) at 9pm
ABC: Grey’s Anatomy, Season 23 (Premiere) at 10pm
NETFLIX: The Diplomat, Season 4 (Premiere)
NETFLIX: Hollywood Arts (Premiere)
NETFLIX: The Storm (Premiere)
PEACOCK: Crystal Lake (Premiere)
Netflix laid off about 1,000 employees on Wednesday, representing 6% of its workforce. As first reported by the Wall Street Journal, the cuts mostly affected workers in product, tech, legal and HR.
-Although Netflix isn’t the only company making cuts like this, it can point to a more obvious impetus than most: namely, stalled engagement growth and declining share prices over the last 12 months.
-In a memo to staff, co-CEOs Greg Peters and Ted Sarandos wrote that Netflix will “continue to invest aggressively in high-impact areas.” The two will likely have more to say about the decision next Tuesday, when Netflix releases its quarterly report.
-Included in the layoffs are Vice President of Film Doug Belgrad, despite his success in the role over the past two years, and Director of Independent Films Sheroum Kim, who joined the company in 2019.
-On the TV side, Netflix also lost Lisa Lang McMullen, director of overall deals for series; James Oh, director of drama series; Carolina Garcia, director of original series; and Andrew McQuinn, also director of original series, as well as several managers.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Speaking of declining share prices: Skydance shares fell 28.5% on Wednesday after the company issued almost 471 million warrants to B shareholders, allowing them to buy one share in the newly merged corporation within the next 10 years. According to The Motley Fool, however, this isn’t bad news for the company or its current shareholders: “Nobody lost much money. The pie just got sliced differently.”
(Source: Cynopsis)
Meanwhile, Fox’s shareholders have approved the company’s plan to acquire CTV manufacturer and platform Roku for $22 billion. The deal would make Fox the third-largest media distributor in the US behind YouTube and Skydance.
(Source: Cynopsis)
YouTube might not be interested in producing content, but TikTok is. The social media platform announced its second partnership to develop a slate of vertical series for both TikTok and its sister app PineDrama, this time with creator management agency Made By Us. The first two of these series will star digital creators Hannah Stocking and Adam Rose.
-The first microdrama collaboration TikTok did was back in April with Hoorae Media, a production company founded by YouTuber-turned-television-star Issa Rae. That series, “Screen Time,” has garnered nearly 580 million views and is now the top-performing show on TikTok and PineDrama.
–The Takeaway: While some online video spaces are happy to position themselves as distributors and monetization partners (notably after some failed experiments with content production, in YouTube’s case), TikTok seems more interested in challenging legacy content owners for user attention. And understandably so – the more time someone spends on an app, the more revenue that app can generate.
(Source: Cynopsis)
“The Greatest,” a drama series about the life of legendary boxer Muhammad Ali, dropped its first official trailer on Wednesday. The Michael B. Jordan-produced show stars Jaalen Best as Ali and premieres on Prime Video Nov. 4.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Paramount+ unveiled another look at the fourth and final season of Showtime’s “Yellowjackets,” which debuts Nov. 20.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Hulu released an original trailer for “The Mob,” a new reality competition series from the executive producers of “The Traitors.” Hosted by Parker Posey (“The White Lotus”), the show features a cast of reality stars and celebrities competing against one another in mob-themed challenges at an Italian villa. Episode 1 premieres Oct. 26.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Fox announced the list of contestants for the second season of its five-week baking competition series “Next Level Baker,” featuring celebrity chefs Gordon Ramsay, Carla Hall and Waylynn Lucas as mentors. The first episode premieres Nov. 19.
(Source: Cynopsis)
HGTV will launch a new competition series, “Big Bargain Holiday Showdown,” beginning on Nov. 10. Each of the season’s six episodes, all hosted by Tara Lipinski, will follow two teams competing to transform a room in their home into a winter wonderland in 48 hours with only $500.
(Source: Cynopsis)
NBC’s iconic “Dateline” series is getting its first international spinoff in Canada, hosted by legendary CBC News correspondent Diana Swain. The first two-hour special of “Dateline Canada” premieres on CityTV Nov. 26.
(Source: Cynopsis)
“Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed” was renewed for a second season at Apple TV. The series, starring Tatiana Maslany (“Orphan Black”), will likely start production in the first half of 2027.
(Source: Cynopsis)
HBO is developing a new drama series with “The Studio” co-creator Alex Gregory after winning the series in a competitive bidding situation. Called “Further Lane,” the show is set in the Hamptons and inspired by reporting from Emily Witt for The New Yorker.
(Source: Cynopsis)
