Midway through 2022, the industry was rocked by an unanticipated Netflix subscriber slide that sent shockwaves through Wall Street. Since then, there have been a series of struggles for virtually all legacy studios and streamers, thousands and thousands of layoffs across the sector and dual labor strikes for the first time since a young Ronald Reagan was helming the actors’ union.
When it rains, it pours, as they say, but what did this all mean for the industry outside the States?
Deadline has spoken to around a dozen creatives, producers, sellers and analysts from around the world — some of whom preferred to remain anonymous — to piece together how a year to forget for the U.S. has impacted the international TV biz.
At the same time, a global economic downturn has deepened its grip. Major European players such as Viaplay and ProSiebenSat.1 have been forced to shed hundreds of staff members and cull hours and hours of shows in response to economic turmoil, which has run concurrently with the strikes, buttressing an across-the-board commissioning slowdown. >>>Ripple Effects That Feel Like Tidal Waves
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| Deadline Exclusives & Originals |
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Omaha! - Football is back, and broadcast networks are cheering. Viewership across broadcast television increased nearly 13% in September, according to Nielsen‘s The Gauge. Among the 18-49 and 25-54 demographics, there was an even higher increase, somewhere around 30%. This marks the second consecutive month that broadcast has experienced an uptick in usage, to 23%. >>>Broadcast Sports Up 360%
Killer Film - Vertical has snapped up U.S. rights to He Went That Way, a true-life serial killer tale that stars Jacob Elordi (Saltburn), Zachary Quinto (Star Trek) and Patrick J. Adams (Suits). Marking the first and final feature from Australian director and DP Jeffrey Darling, who passed away in March 2022, the thriller will release exclusively in theaters early next year. >>>Premiered At Tribeca |
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George Kay is a busy man. There's the Apple TV+ series Hijack starring Idris Elba, which he co-created. He is also the co-creator of Lupin, Netflix’s smash-hit French heist drama, which returned for its third season on October 5. ITV premiered Kay’s limited series The Long Shadow in September. It examines the fallout from the crimes of the so-called “Yorkshire Ripper,” Peter Sutcliffe. Kay fully supported the strikes but is a champion of the flourishing scene of writers in the UK and Europe, pointing out that The Long Shadow would not have been impacted by industrial action. “The WGA are wonderful, but that’s an American union, it’s not the whole world,” he says. In fact, it’s the reason why he was happy to sit down with Deadline. >>> Read The Interview |
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Exclusive Oscar Isaac, Jason Momoa and Gerard Butler are set to star in crime thriller In the Hand of Dante , with Oscar nominee Julian Schnabel directing and Martin Scorsese among the executive producers. The film is in production in Italy and recently landed an Interim Agreement from SAG-AFTRA allowing it to film during the actors strike. Exclusive Pierce Brosnan, Samuel L. Jackson and Brandon Lessard ( Murder at Yellowstone City) are in Montana shooting Unholy Trinity, a Western directed by Richard Gray ( Robert the Bruce), which has secured a SAG-AFTRA Interim Agreement. Exclusive Idris Elba is narrating and exec producing a Nat Geo series about people of color who fought during World War II. Produced by October Films and Elba’s Green Door Pictures, The Color of Victory: Heroes of WW2 [working title] will see the Luther star focus on three unsung heroes per episode who have previously not been given the spotlight via premium dramatization, character portraits and archive. Exclusive Former NFL star Vernon Davis ( The Serial Killer, Chariot) has joined the cast of Destry Allyn Spielberg‘s feature debut Please Don’t Feed the Children. He will join the likes of Michelle Dockery, Zoe Colletti ( Only Murders in the Building), Regan Aliyah ( Marvel’s Ironheart) and Andrew Liner ( Vampire Academy) in the feature, which was granted an Interim Agreement. Exclusive Jeremy Renner, Angela Bassett and Awkwafina have signed up to narrate three wildlife series for Nat Geo. Renner is narrating Incredible Animal Journeys. Bassett is narrating and exec producing Queens. And Awkwafina is narrating A Real Bug’s Life. |
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Renewals, Pickups & Cancelations |
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More News 🏌️ Netflix, long rumored to be looking to jump into live sports, has slated its first live event in the sports arena. The Netflix Cup on November 14 will feature drivers and golfers from Formula 1: Drive to Survive and Full Swing, respectively.
👀 Kevin Spacey was rewarded with a standing ovation after an appearance at a University of Oxford lecture about cancel culture.
✈️ Just over a week and a half after Hamas terrorists brutally attacked Israel, President Joe Biden is heading to the Jewish state in a show of support.
⚽ NBC Sports launched a new streaming outlet called SportsEngine Play to provide live and on-demand video of youth and amateur sporting events.
🦠 The Late Show with Stephen Colbert is pivoting to an at home-like show after the comedian contracted Covid. |
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Trending  Streaming series The Chosen, which follows the life of Jesus, will see all of its Season 4 episodes play first in theaters this coming February. Fathom Events is distributing.
🔻 Director Matthew Vaughn opened up about one of his reasons for quitting Fox's X-Men: The Last Stand. The director revealed during New York Comic Con he left the film after finding out about a scheme to get Halle Berry to sign on to reprise her role of Storm by tricking her with a fake script. |
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OBITUARIES
🕯 Lara Parker, who found the role of a lifetime at just 28 years old when she was cast by Dark Shadows producer Dan Curtis as the beautiful, vengeful and altogether evil witch Angelique Bouchard Collins, died October 12 in her sleep in Los Angeles following a battle with cancer. She was 84. 🕯 Joanna Merlin, whose acting career stretched from Broadway (Fiddler On The Roof) to film (Fame) and TV (Law & Order: SVU ) died Sunday in Los Angeles. She was 92. 🕯 Hollywood & Media Deaths In 2023: Photo Gallery & Obituaries |
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National Pride - Osage Nation member Lawren "Lulu" Goodfox and director Martin Scorsese at the Los Angeles premiere for Killers Of The Flower Moon. |
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