I didn’t care about WWDC and it’s lame Apple TV announcement until…
When Steve Jobs took to the stage in that iconic Macworld iPhone announcement where he revealed that humanity finally had a reason to use fingers, he forever changed our relationship with Apple marketing. Suddenly WWDC became an actual thing in our lives and every year for the next decade or so, coverage of the event and what it meant for our Apple hardware became a concern for everyday people.
Because of the time difference between California and Sydney, Australia, the tradition has involved waking up on a Tuesday morning and seeing what was announced during our early hours. Of course, the more dedicated among us would wake up to watch the streamed keynote live from around 3:30am.
In recent years, WWDC has become far less interesting to the point that when I rolled out of bed and grabbed my phone, I was surprised to note that WWDC had taken place.
There had been a reason I was interested in WWDC this year, but obviously not so interested that I actually thought to pop it into my calendar: Apple TV.
It has been nearly four years since the last iteration of the hardware was released in Nov 2022. Rumors have persisted for the past year or more about an impending hardware update. The belief being that Apple was holding back for its major Siri upgrade before rolling out the new box.
This is a personal concern for me as my 2015 Apple TV HD is well in need of a replacement. But, I’ve been holding out waiting for the next one.
WWDC this morning delivered… no news of note about a new hardware update. But, it did reveal the launch of operating system update TVOS27, due later this year. MacRumors suggests a possible September release.
Included in the release will be:
A redesigned Podcasts app
Smoother app launches and animations
Faster AirPlay connectivity with other Apple devices
Smart downloads
A new Larger Text accessibility option in the Settings app, which increases the size of text across the tvOS interface
AppleCare coverage details in the Settings app
YAWN.
The big news related to TVOS27 is that the release will impact Apple TV HD warriors like myself with the 2015 hardware releases no longer supported.
I feel like my Apple TV has just been kicked in the guts, had a bag placed over its head, and been rolled out of a van near whatever motorway leads out of Cupertino.
RIP my deprecated Apple TV.
Who is this even for?
Because Amazon MGM didn’t learn anything from its low box-office takings for Masters of The Universe where the audience were largely over the age of 45, it has announced a live-action revival of barely remembered kids cartoon Jem and the Holograms.
You can read more about this abuse of greenlighting at Variety
A 2015 live-action, low-budget remake from Blumhouse failed to win back its $5m budget at the box office, so it isn’t without precedence that the world has proven it doesn’t care about this.
Really, who is the audience for this film? And haven’t we already largely moved past 80s nostalgia? Is there something so compelling about the Jem & The Holograms IP that we need to go back to it?
Ad if we are really spending money on niche revivals of 80s properties, isn’t it time to revive The Littles?
We have our new Scooby-Doo
The smoke has started spurting from the chimneys. We have our new Scooby-Doo.
A few weeks back Netflix revealed the cast photo for the new live-action Scooby-Doo TV show. Missing was any image of what the new Scooby-Doo would look like. The assumption was that because the cast photo was revealed as the show was entering production, Scoob was yet to be CG animated.
But, zoinks! It seems like that wasn’t the case at all. Instead, the new show is doing the wildest thing it could…
It cast a real, live-action dog to solve mysteries along with the Scooby gang. It is the first time a real dog has been cast as Scooby-Doo.
And what a handsome, good boy he is:
There’s no way I wouldn’t let that little guy eat all the hotdogs he wants with his best friend.
Read more: thefutoncritic
It’s called a format, Janet
Here’s UK writer Janet Murray going a bit viral over the weekend after pointing out the obvious:
Now here’s House star Hugh Laurie Getting even viral-er with his snarky response.
News Desk
The BBC are launching a new Poirot series, with a six-episode series for Britbox and the BBC to be titled Hercule. And they’re going young with their new star. 33 year-old Edward Bluemel (Killing Eve, A Discovery of Witches) will lead the show. Read: THR
For All Mankind is a weird Apple show in that none of the characters use an iPhone. In the alternate history version of the world seen in the show, all of the characters are using Apple Newton devices. Read: Variety
The Romy & Michelle’s High School Reunion sequel entered production this week. It will stream as a Hulu original. Read: THR
Nintendo was fined $46 million (US) in Europe over faulty Joy-Con controllers. Read: Polygon
Comics writer Mike Grell is writing a series of official Robin of Sherwood novels set decades after the end of the iconic UK TV series. Read: Bleeding Cool
Trailer Park
The Bear is back June 25 for it’s fifth and final season on Hulu.
Ride or Die debuts on Prime Video July 15.
Ride or Die follows best friends Debbie Claybourne (Spencer) and Judith Burton (Waddingham) who thought they knew everything about each other, except Judith turns out to be an international assassin. When a mysterious figure emerges from Judith's past and a hit goes horribly wrong, both of their worlds are turned upside down as they're forced to go on the run together. It's a race against time and a road trip across Europe, with law enforcement, highly trained assassins, and some very dangerous criminals at their heels.
Descendants: Wicked Wonderland debuts July 16 on Disney Channel and the next day on Disney+.
They Fight debuts on Hulu July 17.
The film follows a reformed ex-con who finds purpose mentoring young boxers at a Washington, D.C. youth gym as they pursue their dreams in and out of the ring.
Rivals returns for season 2 on Hulu in November.
That’s the newsletter for the today.
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