Netflix unveils its 2023 movie calendar

The criticisms of Netflix and other streamers about their movies are generally two-fold:

They're not very good; and
They don't promote the movies well - often they just appear on a streamer with little to no buzz

Both criticisms are fair to an extent. Netflix's movie chief Scott Stuber has spoken about the desire to shrink the volume of Netflix's film output, while upping their quality. While we are yet to see if that will change things much, it is interesting to see Netflix's sizzle reel released today.

The promo highlights films starring big-name actors with release dates for the films. Some of these dates are already known, but the overall theme for the video is for fans to put the dates in their calendars with at least one big title each month. Lets see how the streamer backs up this promo throughout 2023.

You People - January 27
Your Place Or Mine - Feb 10
Luther: the Fallen Sun - March 10
Murder Mystery 2 - March 31
The Mother - May 12
Extraction 2 - June 16
They Cloned Tyrone - July 21
Heart of Stone - August 11
Lift - August 25
Damsel - October 13
Pain Hustlers - Oct 27
The Killer - Nov 10
A Family Affair - Nov 17
Leo - November 22
Leave The World Behind - December 8
Rebel Moon - December 22

In regards to buzz, I'm surprised Netflix hasn't done much to recontextualise the EPK in a way that makes sense for its platform. An EPK are those dopey, over-produced short promo videos that have the cast and key creatives talking about what a joy it was to work on the film, pulling out elements of the film to sell it.

Disney+ does a solid job of this with their behind the scenes TV shows that are released at the conclusion of their seasons (a show chronicalling the making of Willow is set for release this week). Those shows are about amplifying fan engagement (and conversion of enthusiastic viewers into fans) and work because the Disney+ shows are based on IP with pre-existing awareness - Netflix really needs to be on the front foot and find a way to cultivate viewer enthusiasm ahead of the release.

Night Court revival - surprisingly huge

A revival series of classic 80s sitcom Night Court debuted on NBC to a surprisingly huge audience. With 7.4 million viewers, it was the best debut NBC has had for a 'new' series in some time. In the past 5 years, the only show to debut to a larger audience was Roseanne spin-off The Conners.

Having seen the first two episodes myself, the revival is a bit disappointing - so many of the jokes and supporting actor characterization (with style of performance) feels lifted from 00s Disney kid sitcoms. A shame considering the premise of the show lends itself well to darker comedy - after all, the people appearing in court are supposed to be the weirdos out and about through the night.

Critics who have seen more episodes do report that the show gets better as it goes along.

SEAL Team will return to Paramount+ for a 7th season. Read: THR
Nikki M. James, who I love, will join the cast of the Daredevil: Born Again show on Disney+. Read: TV Line
The cast of Only Murders In The Building continues to get larger - now Meryl Streep has joined the show.

Shrinking debuts Jan 27 on Apple TV+. It stars Jason Segal, Harrison Ford, and Jessica Williams.

Hello Tommorrow stars Billy Crudup and debuts on Apple TV+ Feb 17.

Power Rangers: Once and Always is a 30 year reunion show that will debut on Netflix. It isn't a talking heads show - it is a narrative reunion. But no, Amy Jo Johnson won't be back as the Pink Ranger - they couldn't strike a deal.