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| Monday, September 28, 2026 |
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Good morning, readers! Here’s what you need to know going into this week:
- Block The Merger Officially Opposes The Paramount Settlement
- Jeffrey Katzenberg Is Launching An AI Animation Studio
- “American Idol” Locks In Its Season 25 Judges
While we have you: A quick reminder that our Tuesday and Thursday Streamlined newsletters should appear in your inbox under a different name and sender. Make sure you check that you’re getting mail from Streamlined (eletters@om.adexchanger.com) so you don’t miss any important TV business and tech news!
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| In The News |
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Not surprisingly, the Block The Merger coalition – more specifically, Free Press, the Committee for the First Amendment, the Freedom of the Press Foundation, the Future Film Coalition and the International Documentary Association – officially filed an amicus brief to oppose the settlement Paramount Skydance made with 12 state attorneys general earlier this week.
- “The Attorney General for the lead Plaintiff State, California, publicly criticized the very behavioral remedies that the parties now ask the Court to approve,” the brief reads, referring to comments made by AG Rob Bonta. “But whatever the reasons for the States’ about-face, neither time nor circumstance changes the fact that this merger lessens competition.”
- Block The Merger is not the only organization to file an amicus. The League of United Latin American Citizens also filed its own brief, along with Rev. Dr. Boise Kimber and Rev. Dr. Xavier L. Thompson.
In other news, water is wet. Famed film executive Jeffrey Katzenberg has announced plans to start an AI film and TV animation studio, just days after posting a lengthy essay on X about how the industry needs to embrace new AI technology rather than resist it.
- Speaking to Sharon Waxman at The Wrap, Katzenberg admitted that his own opinion of generative AI animation technology has changed in recent months. “Up until recently it was slop,“ he said.
- Katzenberg is best known for his roles as the chairman of Walt Disney Studios from 1984 to 1994 and the co-founder and CEO of DreamWorks Animation from 1994 to 2016. However, he also has a long history of championing emerging technologies and formats in the entertainment industry, with mixed success – he once called 3D filmmaking the “greatest innovation to occur in the last 50 years,” and his short-form video venture, Quibi, became a bit of a punchline when it launched and quickly faded in 2020.
- The Takeaway: Generative AI is still a contentious topic in the entertainment industry, with executives and creatives often ending up on opposing sides. However, it’s clear that executives like Katzenberg are still committed to making the technology work for them – and who knows? Maybe it will.
In more heartwarming TV-adjacent news, it’s entirely possible that Season 2 of HBO’s “The Rehearsal,” which focused on issues related to airline safety, may have helped get some real-world legislation over the finish line. On Friday, the Senate passed the John A. Hauser Mental Health in Aviation Act and the Aviation Medication Transparency Act, both of which will eliminate barriers to mental health care for aviation workers.
The New York Times finished releasing its list of the 100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century (which still has 74 more years left in it, by the way) last week. “Breaking Bad” dominated the list at No. 1, followed by “The Wire,” “Mad Men,” “Succession” and “Fleabag.” Notably absent: “The Sopranos,” which debuted before Jan. 1, 2000.
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| Partner content |
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| New & Returning Series |
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For sneak peeks, check out Cynopsis Trailer Park.
Netflix’s documentary series “Beyond Society” had its world premiere at the San Sebastián International Film Festival last week. The docuseries, created by Juan Antonio Bayona and Carlos Torres, sequentially follows the storyline of Bayona’s 2023 film “Society of the Snow,” exploring the aftermath of the 1972 Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 crash in the Andes Mountains. The series will be available to stream on Netflix in December.
AMC+ dropped an official trailer for its upcoming mystery thriller series “Yaga.” The drama, based on the play by Kat Sandler (who serves as showrunner and executive producer), is slated for a two-episode US premiere Oct. 23.
Channel 4 and A24 released first-look images from “It Gets Worse,” the upcoming comedy series written, created by and starring Leo Reich. The series also guest stars Lena Dunham (“Girls”) and Amelia Dimoldenberg (“Chicken Shop Date”), and is set to premiere at the BFI London Film Festival next month.
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| Partner content |
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| Today’s Premieres |
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Bravo: “Still Flipping Out” at 9 p.m.
Netflix: “Outside”
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| Partner content |
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| Production |
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Luke Bryan (“Luke Bryan: My Dirt Road Diary”) announced he is returning to “American Idol” as a judge for Season 25 alongside Lionel Richie (“American Housewife”) and singer Carrie Underwood (“Blue Bloods”), marking the third consecutive year of the trio judging the show’s contestants together. The season will premiere sometime in 2027.
There is a live action Mary Poppins TV series in the works – but not a Disney-backed one. This series is instead inspired by the original novels by P.L. Travers, and is being developed by producer Tom Winchester (“Shogun”) for Pure Fiction Television.
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| Distribution |
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Classic television network MeTV will celebrate 75 years since the 1951 premiere of “I Love Lucy” with a five-hour marathon on Oct. 4.
Cineflix Rights has brokered several international distribution deals for USA Network’s procedural crime drama series “Anna Pigeon,” an adaptation of the detective novels by Nevada Barr. The series will air on UKTV’s U&Drama in the UK, Disney+ in Portugal, Canal+ in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, and several other European countries.
India-based media company One Life Studios announced new distribution and licensing deals for several drama series: “Suryaputra Karn,” “Devi Adi Parashakti” and “Chandragupta Maurya.”
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| Ratings |
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People love a traitor. “The Traitors: New Blood” became NBC’s biggest new unscripted premiere in six years, with an average of 6 million viewers across the first two episodes. Most of that viewership, however, came from Peacock in the three days after the show’s Sept. 17 premiere, rather than the initial broadcast audience.
The Season 29 premiere of “South Park” gained 33% more viewers compared with the Season 28 premiere, possibly due to its recent publicity stunt – the Comedy Central series changed its name to “South America” in a jab at President Trump’s recent decision to rename Lake Ontario to “Lake America.” Regardless of the title, the show’s premiere reached 4.3 million viewers in three days.
Prime Video’s “Reacher” topped Nielsen’s Top 10 streaming list for both overall titles and originals during the week of Sept. 7, marking the show’s fifth consecutive week surpassing 1 billion viewing minutes. “The Gentlemen” on Netflix and “Lioness” on Paramount+ round out the top 3 on originals, each with more than 800 million viewing minutes.
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| Executive Moves |
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BBC Studios is hiring Sally Habbershaw as president of global distribution and Lisa Ryan as head of strategic audience development. Habbershaw hails from Mediawan, where she was chief distribution officer, while Ryan comes from Business Insider, where she led audience development and strategy.
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What is the title of the comedy news series that Ava Daniels works at in the Season 3 premiere of “Hacks” (2021-2026)?
Email answers to Trivia@Cynopsis.com and include your name, company and city/state (don’t forget!). Only the first four correct responses from each time zone will be included.
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YESTERDAY’S TRIVIA ANSWER
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In the Netflix comedy series “Gentefied” (2020-2021), a Mexican-American family operates a taco shop in which Los Angeles neighborhood? Boyle Heights, LA.
Congrats to: Gerry Bixenspan-TV Marketing Inc/NYC; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA; Michael Coscia/Los Angeles, CA; Susan Nessanbaum- Goldberg-M and S Entertainment/LA; Sandra Muller-KTLA/LA;
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