In partnership with
Last week I excerpted a bit of an interview I had with Chronicle CEO Aaron Sisto And Co-Founder Scott Greenberg.
I wanted to pass along this link to the full interview, which I think provides an enlightening look at how discovery and promotion works on YouTube.
Your Weekend Watch List
Here is a look at some of the new and/or recent shows and special worth watching this weekend:
Star City (Apple TV)
While it’s possible to enjoy this spin-off of For All Mankind without having seen that show, I don’t know that I would recommend it. This series is focused on the Russian side of the storyline, in a world where Russia was the first country to make it to the moon. That fact spawned a long and contentious space race that pushed both Russia and the U.S. into more aggressive moves to Mars and beyond and it’s a fascinating take on what might have been. Star City not only fills in some of the blanks from For All Mankind, but it provides a fascinating glimpse at what it would have been like to live in Russia in that alternative universe.
The Many Lives Of Benjamin Kyle (Investigation Discovery)
Honestly, many of the multi-hour Investigation Discovery true crime docs tend to have 40 minutes of facts that they’ve stretched over four hours. That’s not the case with this story, which is weird and unexpected.
Benjamin Kyle was found naked and dazed behind a Burger King and he claimed he had amnesia. According to him, he couldn’t remember who he was or anyone he had ever known. The story was huge at the time and he made a number of press appearances, even on daytime’s Dr. Phil TV show. His fingerprints came back as unknown and despite all of the publicity, no one seemed to recognize him.
Two documentary producers took on the task of trying to identify him, but the story turned into a twisted tale of fake 911 calls, possible murder and suspicions that Kyle might be a hit man. It is just a crazy story.
A Good Girls Guide To Murder (Netflix)
I am a sucker for murder mysteries that center around high schoolers, although many of them tend not to be that good. It's hard to write a 17-year-old as a 17-year-old who is smart enough to solve the murder without somehow feeling as if they are a 40-year-old veteran detective locked inside a teenager's body.
Based on the Holly Jackson's 2019 debut novel, season one of A Good Girl's Guide To Murder starred Emma Myers (Wednesday Addams' werewolf roommate) as Pippa Fitz-Amobi, a nerdy and naive girl who decides to investigate a suspected murder-suicide as part of her extended exam project. The case was closed after the boy confessed to police that he had murdered his girlfriend before killing then himself.
But Pip is troubled by inconsistencies in the case and as she investigates, she uncovers all the twists and turns you'd find in modern teenage life: betrayal, leaked nudes, lost friends and ultimately, a series of suspects.
Season two begins with Pip attempting to recover from the publicity surrounding the events of her investigation. And against her better judgement, her detective skills are requested when a local teen disappears.
Myers is charmingly fantastic as Pip and even better, the stories are believable and a bit hard to predict. If you are looking for a gentle yet murder-filled show, this is one worth checking out.
Clicking on this ad provides a little revenue boost to this newsletter
Sound familiar?
Over 4 million people have had the same lightbulb moment.
Morning Brew is a free daily newsletter that breaks down what's happening in business, finance, and tech — clearly, quickly, and with enough personality to make it the best email in your inbox.
No yelling. No filler. Just the news, finally making sense.
Department Of Corrections
In what should be good news for the fine people at the international streamer MHz Choice, a number of readers pointed that my mention in the last newsletter of the upcoming series Zorro was missing the links. So here is what it should have looked like:
The French-language remake of Zorro is premiering in the U.S. and Canada Tuesday, June 30th on MHz Choice. It previously premiered on France 2 and Paramount+ in select international territories. Here is a look at the trailer and here is a photo gallery of images from season one.
This is the official logline: "Set in 1821 against the backdrop of a rapidly changing Los Angeles, Don Diego de la Vega (Jean Dujardin) unexpectedly inherits the role of mayor following his father’s death, only to discover a city drowning in debt and under the grip of the powerful Don Emmanuel (Eric Elmosnino, Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life.) Determined to restore order and bring vital water access to the struggling community, Diego quickly realizes that politics alone cannot combat the corruption, exploitation, and growing unrest surrounding him. Diego secretly revives his long-abandoned alter ego for the first time in 20 years, becoming the masked vigilante Zorro as he fights for the people while publicly trying to govern the city as its conflicted mayor."
I am looking forward to seeing the show, it received solidly excellent reviews when it premiered in France.
And speaking of MHz Choice, if you enjoy international television, it includes programs from around 50 different countries. There are a lot of great dramas and comedies, but I recently stumbled across the three-part documentary Eiffel: Life Behind The Scenes, which provides a behind-the-scenes look at a day in the life of the Eiffel Tower. I had no idea that it essentially a little mini-city in the sky. Incredibly fascinating.
And even better, it looks as if they are running a special 30% off your first three months deal. I don’t get anything for mentioning this, I just think they have a lot of really cool stuff.
Suddenly, Being A YouTube Creator Doesn’t Mean You Can’t Also Produce A Hit Theatrical Film
One of the tenets of the entertainment industry is that conventional wisdom is true….until it’s not.
One of the recent bits of conventional wisdom is that while creatives on YouTube might have cultivated a big audience, that doesn’t mean that those followers will support a theatrical release by that same person.
But as this piece from NBC News notes, that industry conventional wisdom is in the middle of being shattered:
Curry Barker, a 26-year-old YouTuber-turned-filmmaker, made his horror film “Obsession” in just 20 days on a mere $750,000 budget.
Now, after its second weekend in theaters, the Focus Features-distributed movie is on track to earn more than 100 times that amount, with an expected $79.7 million haul at the global box office, according to Box Office Mojo, which tracks global theatrical totals. Of that projected total, $58.5 million came from North American theaters.
The movie is the latest project from a YouTuber to surpass industry expectations. “Iron Lung” — a self-financed indie video game adaptation from Mark Fischbach, better known online as Markiplier — became a major box office success following its February rollout, helping renew interest in indie projects from online creators. “Backrooms,” an A24 movie from 20-year-old YouTuber Kane Parsons, is also looking at a big opening weekend.
Curry Barker also told NBC News that YouTube used to be a place where you would post your film after every other avenue for distribution had been exhausted. But Barker, like some other filmmakers, skipped the movie festival circuit and promoted the idea on YouTube.
Odds & Sods
Netflix has canceled the adult animated series Strip Law after one season.
The New York Post laid off several full and part time staff at its streaming-focused site Decider earlier this week, including founder and editor-in-chief Mark Graham.
Trent Moore at Static On The TV writes about what might be in store for season four of The Mandalorian…assuming it still happens.
Tim Goodman takes a look at all of the ways that a sale of Letterboxd could ruin the site. But the bigger question is…why doesn’t someone launch a TV-oriented version of Letterboxd?
The movie In The Hand Of Dante premieres in select theaters Friday, June 12th and Wednesday, June 24th on Netflix. Here is the official logline for the film, which stars Oscar Isaac, Jason Momoa, Gerard Butler, Martin Scorsese, Al Pacino, Gal Gadot, John Malkovich, Sabrina Impacciatore, Louis Cancelmi, Franco Nero, Benjamin Clementine: "Time and space collide in parallel lives spanning 700 years when author Nick Tosches (Isaac) is drawn into a violent quest to confirm the origins of a manuscript believed to be Dante's The Divine Comedy, written in the poet's own hand.”
Acorn TV has ordered a second season of You’re Killing Me, which stars Brooke Shields, Amalia Williamson and Tom Cavanaugh.
The Pixar film Hoppers gets its streaming premiere on Wednesday, June 3rd.
Wild Cherry, the six-part BBC thriller from the U.K., will stream exclusively on Paramount+ on June 24 in the U.S., Canada, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, France and Latin America. Here is the official logline: "Wild Cherry follows self-made businesswoman, Lorna, and her best friend, Juliet, who was born into a world of wealth and good fortune. Together, they live in an exclusive enclave with their daughters who are also best friends. Life is perfect in this luxurious haven until their daughters are implicated in a shocking scandal. As toxic secrets ripple through the idyllic town while Lorna and Juliet are forced to take sides, cracks form in the community, shattering its perfect image."
How Hacks Redefined Greatness
Last night was the series finale of Hacks, a show which has won countless awards over its five seasons and deserved every single one. I was going to write about the show, but I don’t think I can top this piece from The Atlantic’s Sophie Gilbert, who does a fantastic job of distilling just what has made Hacks so special:
This kind of altruistic vision is daring for a comedy about comedy, particularly in a moment when entertainment companies are consolidating, technology is ruthlessly eliminating jobs, and AI is redefining the creative process. The show is arguing that the work itself is not that important, and perhaps even fundamentally meaningless, without all the people who go into making it. Maybe a robot can manage to write a good joke, but to what end?
"All I’m trying to do is make your life easier," the smarmy boss behind an AI company called Quikscribbl tells Deborah midway through Season 5, when he tries to license her work. "But it shouldn’t be," she replies, adding, "Art is only art because of the humanity behind it."
Tweet Of The Day
This May Or May Not Be Good News For You
But in what I am sure is a bit of nightmare for two women who are several weeks shy of being 40 years old, Pluto TV is adding five Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen movies to the service on June 1st, as part of what it is describing as a “Sleepover Party.”
FWIW, here are the five titles included in the promotion:
✦ It Takes Two (1995)
✦ Passport to Paris (1999)
✦ Billboard Dad (1998)
✦ Switching Goals (1999)
✦ New York Minute (2004)
What’s Coming Tonight And This Weekend
FRIDAY, MAY 29TH:
Ancient Autopsy: Mysteries Of The Dead Series Premiere (NatGeo)
Brazil '70: The Third Star (Netflix)
Calabasas Confidential Series Premiere (Netflix)
Love After Lockup (WE tv)
For All Mankind Season Five Finale (Apple TV)
Miss You, Love You (HBO)
Propeller: One-Way Night Coach (Apple TV)
Rafa (Netflix)
Smothered (Shudder)
Star City Series Premiere (Apple TV)
This Is Poly Series Premiere (WE tv)
SATURDAY, MAY 30TH:
Craig Ferguson: American On Purpose Series Premiere (CNN)
Haunted Harmony Mysteries: Key To The Castle (Hallmark)
Heart & Hustle: Houston Season Premiere (WE tv)
Instadocs: Alex Murdaugh: Unconvicted (Netflix)
Storage Wars Season Premiere (A&E)
Where The Heart Lands (Lifetime)
SUNDAY, MAY 31ST:
Checkmate (Lifetime)
The 51st AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute To Eddie Murphy (Netflix)