How AI search is nailing the TV recommendation
I love Tubi. What other video streaming platform is likely to have the Rescue From Gilligan’s Island TV movie as a featured title on the home screen?
Like most streaming services, the best version of the library is the US version, where it seems like more money is spent to licence higher quality titles and deeper interesting library deep dives (I was thrilled a few weeks ago to discover US Tubi has added a few beloved cartoons from my 80s childhood - Shirt Tales, The Centurians, Mr T, and The Monchichis).
Tubi has just launched an app on ChatGPT. It is the depth and breadth of the Tubi library that makes it one of the few platforms where an app on an AI platform actually makes some sense.
But… does an AI platform actually need dedicated apps for streamers?
As per TechCrunch:
To access the integration, users can install the Tubi app from the ChatGPT app store and begin by typing “@Tubi” in a prompt. From there, they can make natural-language requests like “a thriller for girls’ night” or “something funny,” and instantly receive curated recommendations tailored to their preferences, all linked back to titles available on Tubi.
Generic prompts like that already work in the search functionality of the Tubi website.
But, don’t dismiss the value of integrations like this into chatbot AI search. Already these platforms are learning a lot about us. I have been startled at just how much Anthropic’s Claude has learned about me in just the few months I have been using it. As platforms refine taste profiles around our interests, recommendations can be provided that are built off our entire set of interests, perspectives, and taste that extend beyond the programs you have opted to watch on a single platform.
I just asked Claude for a comedy movie recommendation. The response:
That’s actually a pretty good recommendation for me. It did even better with my next query:
Claude has really nailed it. Those three are outstanding recommendations for me (Bad Monkey wasn’t great… but I can absolutely see why it would be recommended to me. I am a HUGE fan of Rev).
Where the Tubi integration on ChatGPT delivers a slightly better experience for users is the use of cards, delivering users with cover art and a direct link to the platform so that it can be watched. It’d be even better if you could, from the ChatGPT interface, just add them to your watchlist.
Of course, that is restricted only to Tubi results. It isn’t clear to me yet what happens with these results once, say, Prime Video also launches a ChatGPT app. Would a query show results from multiple installed apps in the one response?
For the moment, I’m actually pretty impressed with the results that Claude gave me this morning. Cross-platform recommendations and deep user insights only possible through these chatbots are going to seriously upend the value that standalone platform algorithm recommendations offer users.
News Desk
Kevin Bacon will star in a Hulu TV adaptation of Southern Bastards, based on the indie comic by Jason Aaron and Jason LaTour. Read: THR
HBO has renewed Roosters for a second season. Read: thefutoncritic
If you watched The Testaments either without having seen The Handmaid’s Tale, or THT is a bit hazy in memory, this Polygon explainer is actually pretty helpful.
Meanwhile Polygon also explores what the third-episode guest star means for The Testaments going forward. “What, beyond even further strangling this series from being its own thing?” Dan Barrett asks… Read: Polygon
Michael J Fox was surprised to discover CNN were running remembrance videos for him. He’s pretty certain he’s still alive. Read: THR
Sorry this is a spoiler, but it is out in the world as part of the promotion for the new/final season of Hacks. In episode 5, the characters of Deborah and DJ are seen competing in The Amazing Race. I would genuinely watch a show that is just about characters competing on a show like that. Read: Variety
Joe Alwyn, Richard Gadd, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Joel Kinnaman, Daniel Ings, Bob Morley, and Fehinti Balogun will all play the spouses of lead star Juno Temple in Apple TV’s The Husbands. A novel move for any TV show to cast Joel Kinnaman… Read: Deadline
Could GTA6 produce millionaires with the inclusion of user-generated content? Maybe. Watch: X (formerly good as Twitter)
Speaking of UGC, YouTube Shorts will soon allow users to publish content using AI-created avatars that will look and sound like the users. Read: 9To5Google
American Blue, which is HBO Max’s upcoming cop drama that is built off The Pitt’s production model, has just announced a bunch of additional supporting cast to series lead Milo Ventimiglia. Among them is Rich Sommer, an actor who has never quite found a consistent role since Mad Men – instead bouncing from show to show in recurring and guest roles. He’s also a regular presence in LA comedy shows like The George Lucas Talk Show, but one imagines that doesn’t pay the bills. Read: Deadline
Trailer Park
The Punisher: One Last Kill debuts May 12 on Disney+.
Frank searches for meaning beyond revenge, when an unexpected force pulls him back into the fight.
My Brother The Minotaur debuts on Apple TV April 24.
"My Brother the Minotaur" is a thrilling mix of folklore, mystery and adventure about a young minotaur - half boy, half bull - found and raised in the human world. With the help of his fiercely loyal human brother, he recruits a bold group of friends to uncover the mystery of his minotaur past and fulfill his destiny, all while battling dark forces determined to see him fail.
If Wishes Could Kill debuts on Netflix April 24.
A mysterious app promises wishes - then starts a countdown to death. As a group of teens becomes entangled, they must break the deadly chain to survive.
The Chestnut Man: Hide & Seek debuts on Netflix May 7.
After a woman goes missing, the Copenhagen police hunt a stalker who taunts victims with a chilling children's rhyme. Based on the novel "Hide and Seek."
Legends debuts on Netflix May 7.
To win the war on drugs, a group of everyday customs officers, untrained in espionage, were sent undercover into some of Britain's most dangerous gangs. Inspired by an incredible true story.
That’s the newsletter for the today.
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