Get back for more Beatles: Get Back

You thought you had seen all of the Disney+ Beatles docu-series Get Back? There's still one final chapter to go: The Beatles: Get Back–The Rooftop Concert.

The 60 minute filmed concert is set to screen in IMAX cinemas on Jan 30 in the US. The event will feature a live Q&A with director Peter Jackson. Great news if you are in the US, I suppose....

But wait...

Good news international fans, the concert will get a global engagement in cinemas from February 11-13. I'm not sure if that includes the recorded Peter Jackson Q&A.

There's no word on if the concert will be streamed in its entirety on Disney+ (I would guess that it is pretty likely once it has its cinema run).

HBO Max viewership on the rise

In self-reported figures, HBO Max has said that December marked its most-watched month since launch. And Just Like That viewership jumped 20%, Succession viewership rose 47%, and new comedy The Sex Lives of College Girls grew in viewership week-on-week with a whopping 76% increase for its final episodes over the first week.

Of course, these percentages are meaningless without any real indication on how many people are watching. But... and this is why I'm not really all that impressed by rival Netflix's transparency on how many people are watching its programming... these platforms have such sophisticated algorithms that measure viewership and each show/movies value to the service that viewership is only one data point. It's interesting to note, but doesn't really paint much of a picture.

But a number that really does matter is subscriber growth. And HBO Max certainly had that. Q4 global subs saw an increase to 73.8 million, up from 69.4 million in Q3.

TeeVee Snacks

Howie Mandel will host Bullsh*t The Game Show for Netflix. It filmed episodes in New Mexico. Read: Deadline
Disney Junior will launch new computer animated show Alice’s Wonderland Bakery. Voices will include Craig Ferguson and Donald Faison. Read: LA Times
Paramount+ will debut a 6-part docu-series about the storming of the US Capitol building. Mandy Patinkin will narrate. Read: C21
Rita Wilson will appear on Yellowstone: 1883. Her husband, Tom Hanks, appeared on the show in episode 2. Read: Variety
Disney has canned linear cable networks Fox Life and Viajar in Spain, moving all of its shows over to Disney+. Read: C21
When talking to potential new talent, Netflix recruiters are advised to move on from any conversations about Dave Chappelle. Read: The Verge
The Sony Playstation PSVR headsets have a new version set for launch. They have been branded, wait for it: VR2. Whoa. Read: Polygon
Yellowstone finished its fourth season with over 10 million people watching. Those are Walking Dead numbers. ie. HUGE. Read: thefutoncritic
Bloomberg Media CEO Justin Smith is teaming with ex-BuzzFeed editor Ben Smith on a new global news media venture. Expect it to be a BIG DEAL. And expect it to involve video, but probably not podcasts (Justin Smith isn't a fan). Read: THR
Tobias Menzies will star in Manhunt, an Apple TV+ drama about the hunt for John Wilkes Booth. Read: Deadline

Sorry investors...

After yesterday's news that Richard Karn would be selling Home Improvement NFTs I assume y'all got on the phone to your investment bankers to free up some of your money to invest. Bad news...

I’ve thought long and hard about NFT’s and I’ve decided it’s not something I need to do🙏💕 pic.twitter.com/4522gEoCPG
— Richard Karn (@TheRichardKarn) January 4, 2022

Coronavirus round-up

So much news about the stupid virus today.

Colbert staying put

With every other US late night chat show on hiatus due to COVID, Colbert commented that he isn't going anywhere. He certainly won't be returning to his previous COVID safe setup of a small studio, even if it means doing the show with no crew:

I’m not leaving the Ed Sullivan. I will do the show with no makeup in a sweatsuit on a GoPro, but I’m never fucking going back into that room on the eighth floor again.

NCIS pauses

Production on NCIS has paused, as has a production resumption on NCIS: LA due to Omicron concerns.

Sundance Film Festival cancels in-person screenings

Sundance this year will be online only. The festival will kick off Jan 20.

The 2022 Grammys has been canned

No new date has been announced for the Grammy Awards, which today cancelled its awards show planned for the end of the month.

Something to keep in mind about The Roald Dahl Company

When Netflix bought The Roald Dahl Company last year all of the attention was on Netflix's ability to make use of all that well-known IP. Imagine all the movies and TV shows we are now going to see...

But forgotten in that conversation was that The Roald Dahl Company is still a profitable company in its own rights, generating a very healthy revenue from book sales and merchandise. A new report filed shows the company had a turnover of US$36 million in the year ending Dec 31 2020.

And that revenue will only increase once there is greater attention on the Roald Dahl characters when the Netflix movies and TV shows start streaming.

A problem for the Oscars

The Academy Awards is facing a unique problem this year. The awards show would like to have nominated a bunch of big crowd pleasers, popular films that can drive viewership (the show TANKED last year). But there's a big problem: it is hard to nominate popular movies when nobody went to see the most likely nominees.

King Richard (which is great, btw) didn't gain any traction. The Last Duel bombed at the box office at such a level that is only rivalled by how badly the Oscars telecast did in 2021. West Side Story was a tree falling in a forrest.

If the Academy want to nominate a movie people actually saw, say hello to the only film people actually watched this year:

First look at an older Beavis

Beavis & Butt-Head are returning in a new Paramount+ movie that will have the teens aged-up.

Beavis and Butt-Head will be returning this year with a brand new movie and more on Paramount+. No exact date yet, but soon. They need some time to get back in shape. pic.twitter.com/tN5rePP9Kn
— Mike Judge (@MikeJudge) January 5, 2022