Great news! Binge watching TV is good for us(-ish)
I’m always looking to take a win where I can find one.
Now you all know how I feel about science, but every so often I’m willing to look the other way and listen to what those science guys have to say.
As per StudyFinds:
A study published in Acta Psychologica shows that people who binge-watch television shows or read books for extended periods are more likely to engage in what researchers call retrospective imaginative involvement (RII). This means continuing to think about and mentally play with stories long after finishing them.
The idea is basically that this sort of mental activity is good for stress management. The amount viewers engage in RII varies depending on how much leisure time they have and other factors.
There’s one key caveat that I think should be considered, which is the research sample group. The study came by way of researchers from the University of Georgia, Michigan State University, and other institutions across two studies involving 540 undergraduate students.
With the survey only speaking to undergrad students, the results will heavily bias younger people who have different relationships to screen culture (they generally have more time to consume it, do so with different competing media and platforms, likely have different external stimuli, etc).
Regardless, I’ll be citing this research on Saturday when I’m 9 episodes deep into yet another Mad Men rewatch.
[Thanks to my pal
for pointing the study out to me]News Desk
Judy Reyes will join her old Scrubs castmates in the revival series, but only on a recurring basis. Read: Deadline
Disney has agreed to pay $10m to settle a lawsuit from the US Federal Trade Commission for illegally collecting personal data from kids on YouTube. Read: THR
The final season of The Late Show starts today, with the Stephen Colbert-hosted chat show winding down after a 32 year run (started by Dave Letterman back in 1993). Read: NYT
LG Ads is making a push into the Australian market, solidifying relationships with ad buyers by launching a local team. I spoke with LG’s Alex Blundell Jones over at Mediaweek.
There’s now a Greek adaptation of Your Honor in the works. It’s the fourth international remake announced this year, with owner Yes Studios striking deals in the Ukraine, Hong Kong, and Poland. Other announced adaptations have been announced for: France, Germany, Spain, Italy, South Korea, Turkey, Russia, and India. Read: Deadline
The BBC has named BBC Studios exec Nick Lee as its head of acquisitions. Read: C21
Graham Linehan (Father Ted, The IT Crowd) seems to have been arrested in the UK over some tweets he published to X (the social media site formerly good as Twitter). Read: Deadline
Megalopolis Fan Corner
The best film of 2024 (don’t @ me), Megalopolis is the subject of a new feature doc from Mike Figgis. A new trailer for Megadoc debuted today:
And interestingly, Megalopolis, a film that I thought Francis Ford Coppola wasn’t keen to release to streaming, debuts on MUBI (in Australia, at least) on September 5. Thanks to ABW reader
for tipping me off to that.And speaking of September 5…
Talk about a missed opportunity.
As seen in the Paramount+ Sept promo email, here’s the very good film September 5 debuting on the streamer on September 4. Come on guys…
Trailer Park
This week’s South Park: “Butters experiences the reality of tariffs when he has to buy a Labubu doll for his girlfriend’s birthday.”
Tulsa King returns for season 3 Sept 21 on Paramount+. Samuel L. Jackson will be part of the cast prior to moving onto his own spin-off show.
Marvel Zombies debuts on Disney+ Sept 24. Based on the comic alternate-universe series, it asks the question: What if your favourite Marvel heroes were zombies? A compelling question. I’d be more excited if it were Marvel Squirrels, but that’s just me.
Billionaires Bunker debuts Sept 19 on Netflix.
When a group of billionaires takes shelter in a luxury bunker, an old feud between two families resurfaces amid an unprecedented global conflict.
That’s the newsletter for today.
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