If the volume of people on my social media timelines watching and re-watching The Beatles: Get Back on Disney+ is representative of the community at large, Disney has a monster hit on its hands. The Peter Jackson doco runs for almost 8 hours and is a candid look at the attempted production of Let It Be - then planned to be a TV special and live album.

But was it too candid for Disney's tastes? The house of mouse reportedly wanted all of the swearing removed from the series, but McCartney, Starr, and Olivia Harrison (former wife of the late George) said no.

Here's Peter Jackson talking to NME:

“Paul describes it as being very raw,” Jackson added. “He said to me: ‘That is a very accurate portrayal of how we were then.’ Ringo said: ‘It’s truthful.’ The truthfulness of it is important to them. They don’t want a whitewash. They don’t want it to be sanitised.

“Disney wanted to remove all the swearing and Ringo, Paul and Olivia said: ‘That’s how we spoke. That’s how we talked. That’s how we want the world to see us.’”
Disney wanted to remove swearing from ‘The Beatles: Get Back’ but the band refused
Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr praised the film’s “truthfulness”.
NMEAdam Starkey

Disney successfully censors The Simpsons

Back in 2005 in an episode of The Simpsons, the titular family went to visit Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. When Disney+ launched in Hong Kong recently, can you guess which episode wasn't included in the library?

It isn't known whether Disney+ pulled the episode themselves, or whether it was a government order.

‘The Simpsons’ Episode Censored in Hong Kong on Disney Plus
The Disney Plus streaming service appears to have censored an episode of “The Simpsons” in Hong Kong, where the platform launched earlier this month. The episode concerns a visit by the fictional c…
VarietyPatrick Frater

TeeVee Snacks

  • Aussie screen icon David Gulpilil has died aged 68. Best known for his film work, he also has a number of credits to his name including an episode of US drama The Leftovers. Read: TV Tonight
  • Magic Mike's Last Dance is a new film for HBO Max that will bring back Channing Tatum and Steven Soderbergh. Read: Variety
  • A Gorillaz feature film is in the works at Netflix. Read: /Film
  • A TV series based on the behind the scenes production of the movie Last Tango In Paris is being shopped around. An entire series based on viewers waiting for that one scene... Read: The Guardian
  • Pluto TV is now launching in the Nordics. Read: The Streamable
  • Ahead of its debut, the upcoming David Tennant series Around The World in 80 Days has been greenlit for a second season. A companion series based on Jules Verne's Journey To The Centre of The Earth is also in the works. Bring on the JVU! Read: Variety
  • Former Sons of Anarchy showrunner Kurt Sutter has a new western set up at Netflix titled The Abandons. Read: Deadline
  • Pulp detective Ellery Queen is being revived as a TV series with the lead character gender-flipped. Not sure they'll get away with that considering his very masculine name. Read: TV Insider

From the ABW mailbox

In yesterday's Always Be Watching newsletter I asked aloud whether Paramount+ in Australia supports 4K streaming (and thus, any other country outside the US which has Paramount+ as they're all built on a different version of the platform). A representative from the 10 network in Australia reached out to say that it doesn't - but they are working on it.

So, watch this space (in HD only, for the moment).

Maybe a more interesting ad format

Yesterday I marveled at an ad format used by Hulu which allows viewers to click a button on screen to receive information about a product sent direct to their phone or email account. Today there's this piece from Colin Dixon at nScreenMedia talking about the strengths of the Amazon-owned IMDb TV.

It has been a while since I have been able to access the service from abroad, so I didn't realize that watching via the Fire TV platform enables IMDb TV to live up to the promise of being run by a large department store. Below you can see the ability to purchase a product directly from an ad.

IMDb TV experience is far from perfect but positioned to dominate
The IMDb TV experience leaves a lot to be desired, but with local ads, ad attribution, and close Fire TV integration it is set for success.
nScreenMediaColin Dixon

Dixon's article was inspired by a post by Mike Shields on his Substack in which he deep dives into the terrible experience of ad-serving on connected TV devices. He details that experience while watching an episode of, appropriately enough, Mad Men.

Amazon’s IMDB TV may have the worst ad experience in all of streaming
Connected TV’s laughable ad tech mess shows no signs of improvement
I have some questionsMike Shields

Trailer Park

Nicole Byer: BBW (Big Beautiful Weirdo) debuts Dec 7 on Netflix.

Saturday Morning All Star Hits debuts Dec 10 on Netflix.

Saturday Morning All Star Hits! is an adult animated and live action hybrid series celebrating all that is 80s and 90s television. Wildly irreverent and slightly disturbing, twin hosts Skip and Treybor (Kyle Mooney) take us on a trip through the Saturday Morning cartoon experience.

Single's Inferno debuts Dec 18 on Netflix.

Stranded and ready to mingle, flirty singles search for love on a deserted island they can only escape as couples for romantic date nights in paradise.

For Auld Lang Syne debuts on Apple TV+ Dec 10.

After Lucy experiences a disappointing Christmas because her Grandma couldn't visit, she resolves to throw the best New Year's Eve party ever for the entire Peanuts gang, while Charlie Brown struggles to accomplish just one of his resolutions before the clock strikes twelve.

Season 2 of Black Market with Michael K Williams debuts on VICE TV Jan 10.

Coming Out Colton debuts on Netflix this Friday.

Dead Asleep debuts on Hulu Dec 16.

"Dead Asleep" explores the case of a young man convicted of murdering his roommate... while sleepwalking.

The Ferragnez (they're an Italian family - it has nothing to do with those guys from Star Trek) debuts on Amazon Prime Video Dec 9.

What's next? Tomorrow.