Right as I was putting together yesterday's Always Be Watching newsletter, former Two Guys, a Girl, and a Pizza Place star Ryan Reynolds pushed out a video via his social media featuring actor Chris Noth and a romantic partner getting excited about jumping back on their Peloton bikes.

The video was a response to the death of Noth's Mr Big character in the debut episode of Sex & The City sequel series And Just Like That. Big had a fatal heart attack after a session on a Peloton.

You may have a few questions. Such as:

  1. How was the commercial filmed so quickly?
  2. Why is Ryan Reynolds involved with this?

The answers are: It just was. And Ryan Reynolds owns a marketing company Maximum Effort that had just signed Peloton as a client.

Here's Reynolds:

“By pure luck, we’d been talking to Peloton about our Creative-as-a-Subscription [launched with MNTN] product in the week before this all happened,” Reynolds tells THR. “I literally met Dara [Treseder, CMO of Peloton] for the first time on Dec. 1. She emailed us right after the episode aired and we all knew just what to do. We try to do these things in a way where everyone wins — Peloton, Chris and the show itself.”

The time from conception to cameras rolling was 24 hours, Reynolds notes, adding, “Chris was in right away, but it was a whirlwind. For all of us. I certainly helped secure Chris, but Maximum Effort has built itself on challenges like these so, while never ever easy, the secret is practice and not losing heart when challenges inevitably occur.”
How Ryan Reynolds and Chris Noth Quickly Pedaled Out That “Whirlwind” Peloton ‘And Just Like That’ Ad
The wheels were set in motion after the show aired, but Reynolds’ Maximum Effort marketing firm was already at work with Peloton: “Right after the episode aired ... we all knew just what to do.”
The Hollywood ReporterRyan Parker

Meanwhile Vulture asks: Could Carrie have saved Mr Big from dying by calling a paramedic? Fair question.

Should Carrie Have Called 911? We Asked a Cardiologist.
“This is a goddamn travesty.”
VultureRachel Handler

Golden Globes 2022

The HFPA today announced the Golden Globes nominees. For too many years the organization served as a grift to pamper its members and give them an opportunity to starf*ck.

There's no reason to play the game of the HFPA and report on who was nominated. Especially since these awards are no longer being broadcast on TV. They might as well not exist.

TeeVee Snacks

  • Disney+ show Diary of a Future President has been cancelled after two seasons. Read: Deadline
  • The Dr Oz Show officially concludes in January due to Oz's political ambition. A show hosted by his daughter will replace it. Read: Deadline
  • Acorn TV and TVNZ have greenlit season 2 of romantic comedy Under The Vines. Read: TBI Vision
  • A live-action Mega-Man movie is in the works at Netflix. Read: IGN
  • The Bourne Supremacy’s Oksana Akinshina will star in Container - Apple TV+'s first Russian language series. Read: Variety

Movies hit the streams

The release of West Side Story in US cinemas this past weekend was a massive disaster. Believed to require at least $300 million to break even, the film brought in just $10.5 million. Reviews were good - why didn't audiences turn up? It's pretty simple: the film is geared towards older audiences, but older audiences are understandably freaked out about returning to cinemas during a pandemic.

Why Steven Spielberg’s ‘West Side Story’ Hit the Wrong Box Office Notes
Steven Spielberg managed to get critics on board for his ambitious “West Side Story” remake. The moviegoing masses? Not so much. Over the weekend, Disney and 20th Century Studio’s…
VarietyRebecca Rubin

This week's release of Spider-Man: No Way Home is expected to be a huge success, driving audiences back to the cinema. But broadly, audiences seem happy enough to just wait for movies to be released onto streaming. With adult-oriented releases failing to ignite at the cinema, there are moves underway to salvage what they can during this difficult climate:

  • The Jennifer Lopez / Owen Wilson musical romcom Marry Me will debut in both cinemas and on streamer Peacock on Feb 11. Read: Variety
  • The Ben Affleck / Ana de Armas erotic thriller Deep Water will no longer get a cinema release. It will instead stream on Hulu in the US and Amazon Prime Video internationally. A release date is still TBA. Read: Deadline

A declining box office isn't just a US concern - South Korean cinemas are feeling the squeeze. An added complication in that market in a government-mandated local content quota. It wasn't an issue pre-COVID, but a production slowdown thanks to the stupid virus means that there isn't the volume of supply needed.

Korea Box Office: Low Attendance Adding Quota Issues to Cinemas’ Mounting Woes
South Korea’s nationwide box office dropped to a miserable $3.44 million over the weekend, despite the presence of a local film in top spot. The country ’s cinemas earned 32% less than the previous…
VarietyPatrick Frater

Trailer Park

The Gilded Age debuts Jan 24 on HBO. It is the new series from Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes.

The Gilded Age begins in 1882 with young Marian Brook (Louisa Jacobson) moving from rural Pennsylvania to New York City after the death of her father to live with her thoroughly old money aunts Agnes van Rhijn (Christine Baranski) and Ada Brook (Cynthia Nixon). Exposed to a world on the brink of the modern age, will Marian follow the established rules of society, or forge her own path?

Firebite debuts Dec 16 on AMC+. It's really good.

The eight-episode series follows two Indigenous hunters, Tyson (Rob Collins) and Shanika (Shantae Barnes-Cowan), on their quest to battle the last colony of vampires in the middle of the South Australian desert.

Love Me is the first original series from Aussie streamer BINGE. It debuts Dec 26.

Servant season 3 debuts Jan 21 on Apple TV+.

DC Comics show Naomi debuts Jan 11 on The CW.

A Very British Scandal debuts Dec 26. Claire Foy stars.

What's next? Tomorrow.