Is this the future of football?
Is this the future of football?
A live NFL match is about to be Toy Story-ified with live animation on Disney+.
So, look, this is really just a bit of fun. But also… it may save televised sports as we know it. Hear me out.
One of the concerns surrounding the idea of sports moving towards streaming platforms is that, like much of the consumption we make online, it will take the sports from the mainstream to niche viewing. “Why won’t somebody think of the children” is a constant call, with the idea that young people (who haven’t been watching regular TV for years, mind you) won’t develop a love for watching hours upon hours of live sports every weekend on TV.
I’m not entirely sold on the concern that a kid won’t discover football - they might just be doing it less in a live way and more en masse catching up with individual match moments on video platforms like Tiktok. It isn’t necessarily better or worse - just different.
But maybe this partnership between Disney and the NFL shows that there is a way to engage the youngest of fans… and stunted adult people like me who would otherwise not be interested.
An Oct 1 game between the Atlanta Flacons and the Jacksonville Jaguars will be streamed on both ESPN+ and Disney+. The Disney version will be on a slight time delay, but will feature a fully animated recreation of the game… set in the Toy Story universe! And by that, expect animated footballers running around on a court with the backdrop of everyday big items like laundry baskets and the occasional dog running past.
The animated event is powered by tracking technology, meaning everything on the field will be recreated. There will also be scenes with Toy Story characters watching from the sidelines, which I assume will just be pre-animated interstitials. The halftime show will include a stunt from Duke Caboom, who apparently was a motorcycle guy voiced by Keanu Reeves in Toy Story 4.
Good news about that Brady Bunch house
Following yesterday’s news about the sale of the refurbished Brady Bunch house, we have an update with comments from the lady who bought it. The good news is that the house is going to be open to the public - she plans to use it for fundraising and charitable events, and as a luxury rental.
Brady Bunch fan Tina Trahan told the Wall Street Journal that the property was “the worst investment ever”. Apparently none of the appliances work because of the refurbishment to make the house look as much like the show as possible.
“No one is going in there to make pork chops and applesauce in that kitchen,” said Trahan. “Anything you might do to make the house liveable would take away from what I consider artwork.”
The last episode of late show host podcast Strike Force Five was pre-recorded, as is the next episode. After that the show will have to grapple with how it will handle the Jimmy Fallon fallout. Sounds hilarious. Read: THR
Raif Little would like to star in a Death in Paradise spin-off when his time on the UK murder-of-the-week show is up. Read: Radio Times
ITV will now be the home of the Academy Awards broadcast in the UK. Read: World Screen
As Netflix winds down its DVD-by-mail service for good, a video store that boasts 145,000 movie and TV show titles in its library (vs 14,000 in the Netflix library) is launching a DVD-by-mail service. Read: The Verge
Ahead of an expected announcement that Deal or No Deal is returning to Australian TV by way of Channel 10, there’s a casting call. Nice to see an Australian game show actually being filmed in Australia… Read: TV Tonight
Channel 10 has also confirmed a revival of Gladiators (which is also returning in the UK) to debut next year. Read: iF
Fox News has extended Brett Baier’s contract. Read: THR
This is pretty fun - US nostalgia network METV has a sponsored crossword at TV Insider.
The WGA canceled a meeting with showrunners including Kenya Barris and Noah Hawley. The showrunners are seeking answers on how motivated the WGA is on finding a resolution to the strike. Read: The Wrap
The US Celebrity Wheel of Fortune debuts Sept 27 with a lineup that is actually pretty fun-sounding. Contestants include Coach Beard himself Brendan Hunt, along with Luis Guaman, Dannielle Pinnock, Debbie Gibson, Joe Buck, Kel Mitchell, Kim Fields, Penn Jillette, Noah Mills, Melissa Villaseñor, Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias, Tim Gunn, Natasha Leggero, Kyle Brandt, Roy Wood Jr., and former NFL stars Marcellus Wiley, Rashad Jennings, and Jared Allen.
Mike Flanagan, who is already signed at Amazon for his next project, has his final (for the moment) Netflix series Fall of The House of Usher. It is a remix of the works of Edgar Allen Poe.
Young Love debuts Sept 21 on Max. It stars Issa Rae and Kid Cudi - it is a spin-off from the Academy Award winning Hair Love animated short.
David Duchovny is part of the cast of Pet Sematary: Bloodlines on Paramount+ (U.S., Canada, Latin America and Brazil).
The Kardashians return for season 4 on Hulu Sept 28.
The fourth and final season of Sex Education debuts on Netflix Sept 21.
Encounters debuts on Netflix Sept 27.
The landmark four-part series travels the globe to explore four extraordinary true stories of encounters with otherworldly phenomena.
Totally Killer debuts Oct 6 on Prime Video. The Blumhouse horror film stars Kiernan Shipka, Olivia Holt, Julie Bowen, Charlie Gillespie, Liana Liberato, Lochlyn Munro, and Randall Park.
That’s the newsletter for today. Back tomorrow.
