Netflix's latest bid to stop YOU from password sharing

Netflix password sharing is a common practice. You do it. I do it.

But Netflix would rather you not be doing it. The company has been seeking a solution to the problem for years. If it gets too tough on subscribers, they may cancel. But the company views this as lost revenue.

Netflix's new plan is to softly encourage folks password sharing to start paying for people outside of their household to share an account. The idea is that you set up a profile for one of these out-of-household users as an external user. Prices for the trial underway: 2,380 CLP in Chile, 2.99 USD in Costa Rica, and 7.9 PEN in Peru.

Right now, this appears to be a trial in a few select markets, but if successful could be adopted overseas.

To be completely frank, my own account is shared outside of my household with my parents who would not be Netflix subscribers either way. They are fairly light users. But I do know that if it cost me extra to add them, or if they were locked off from my account, I'd be reconsidering my Netflix subscription entirely. Being able to share with them is an integral part of the value I get from my monthly subscription. I'm curious about how you all feel...

We have... a new... Captain Kirk...

New Star Trek series Strange New Worlds doesn't debut for over a month still, but this Star Trek prequel series (set before Captain Kirk took control of the Enterprise) is already making cast announcements for its second season. And with that is news that The Vampire Diaries star Paul Wesley will appear as Captain James Tiberius Kirk.

Not known is how many episodes we can expect to see Wesley in, but the casting of Kirk gives the show a fairly strong suggestion we'll see a sequel series to Strange New Worlds...

The Goldberg's star speaks out

Yesterday's tweet by critic Noel Murray about the very odd Jeff Garlin absence workarounds found some traction yesterday. One person who replied on Twitter was Garlin's co-star Wendi McLendon-Covey, admirably defending the show as the ship goes down. The Goldbergs is in its 9th season - yet to be renewed for a 10th season.

Thanks for the great suggestion Noel! This season threw us for a loop because a.) it's hard to incorporate someone who doesn't want to be there and wants to leave mid-scene, and b.) we werent about to re-write the 2nd half of the season. We're doing our best.
— Wendi McLendon-Covey (@wendimclendonco) March 15, 2022

Holey Moley reminds us it's not easy being (on the) green(s)

When competition mini-golf show Holey Moley returns for its fourth season on May 3, there are additions to the commentary team with the welcome addition of The Muppets. The great thing about Holey Moley as a show is that there is no concern that the integrity of the format may be undermined.

There's no word yet on which Muppets we will see. Fozzie Bear seems almost a certainty. And I'd be surprised if Gonzo isn't seen out on the green with his harem of chicken companions. Also, if Statler and Waldorf aren't given their own commentary box, it would be Muppets malpractice.

We won't see The Count out on the course, but this picture tickles me greatly.

The end of The Ellen DeGeneres Show - ending with a bang, and a whimper

How you see the end of The Ellen DeGeneres Show will depend on where you live. The show will end on May 26 after a few weeks of big star-driven appearances by Michelle Obama, Jennifer Garner, Channing Tatum, Serena Williams, Zac Efron, Adam Levine, Behati Prinsloo, Gwen Stefani, David Letterman, Diane Keaton, Kim Kardashian, and DeGeneres’ wife, Portia de Rossi.

But, here's the thing - once Ellen dances her way out of the studio for the final time, the show isn't over. It will continue to play out across the Summer with guest hosts, compilation shows, and repeats. With the crew of the show let go by the time of that May 26 finale, one presumes that episodes with these guest hosts will be pre-filmed by then.

The crew are all being paid bonuses as they lose their jobs. The bonuses are two-weeks of pay for 1-4 years on the show, three-weeks of pay for 4-8 years, and six weeks of pay for the longest-serving employees.

TeeVee Snacks

Pluto TV will launch in Sweden, Denmark and Norway on 18 May with 210 linear channels. Read: TBI Vision
Nirvana track Something in the Way has become a monster hit on Spotify, thanks to The Batman. Read: Variety
Alexandra Daddario will star in AMC's adaptation of Anne Rice's The Lives of the Mayfair Witches. Read: Variety
Hulu and YouTube will live stream Plane Swap - a 3-hour Red Bull special event featuring planes doing a maneuver not previously done before. Read: Deadline
Rachel Maddow killed a deal that would have seen Keith Olbermann return to replace her on MSNBC. Read: The Daily Beast
Chris Cuomo is demanding $125 million in damages after being fired at CNN. Read: Deadline
Two jurors in the trial of Sunny Balwani were released once it was discovered they had been watching Hulu series The Dropout. Read: The Verge
Ukraine will not send an act for Eurovision this year, but will pre-tape a performance. Read: TV Tonight
Telstra Broadcast Services in Australia have partnered with Grass Valley's Agile Media Processing Platform to support Stan Sport streaming. GV AMPP provides cloud-native streaming for Stan which offers (at times) 32 simultaneous live channels to stream every Europa League game to Australian viewers. With this deal, key Champions League matches are now also streaming live in UHD. Read: Streaming Media Global
We can stop calling them "The Marvel Netflix Shows". With those shows now streaming on Disney+, they have been re-branded "The Defenders Saga". That won't take.
A number of journalists and presenters are exiting Russia's state-run TV networks. Read: BBC

Trailer Park

Barry returns to HBO for season 3 on April 24.

David Simon's new show We Own This City debuts April 24 on HBO.

I Love That For You debuts May 1 on Showtime.

Gaslit debuts April 24 on Starz. It stars Sean Penn and Julia Roberts.

One Perfect Shot debuts on HBO Max March 24. It is based on the Twitter account of the same name.

Mike Myers' Netflix show The Pentaverate debuts May 5

Heartstopper debuts on Netflix April 22.

Teens Charlie and Nick discover their unlikely friendship might be something more as they navigate school and young love in this coming-of-age series.

Woke season 2 debuts on Hulu April 8.