The Stranger Things cartoon show looks great!
It's a big day for trailers and the news desk
It’s a busy day at ABW HQ for reasons that have nothing to do with ABW. And so… lets just get straight to the news of the day. But, be sure to check out the trailers at the end of the newsletter… there’s some big titles in there.
News Desk
Hugo Weaving will star opposite The Pitt star Shabana Azeez in new eight-part SBS drama The Airport Chaplain, now in production in Melbourne. I’m really interested in this one. Read: C21
RiffTrax and Shout! Studios have teamed to produce four new episodes of Mystery Science Theater 3000. Read: Variety
Happy’s Place and St Denis Medical have been renewed for third seasons at NBC. Read: Variety
Industry and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms will both debut episodes early (this Friday) because of the Super Bowl. Read: thefutoncritic
German network ZDF Neo has commissioned a local adaptation of Paramount’s comedy panel gameshow After Midnight. It’ll be rebranded as Neo Social Club. I’m genuinely surprised Australia’s Paramount-owned Network 10 hasn’t done an adaptation. Read: C21
UK vertical video production company Onset Octopus has formed a partnership with UK microdrama app Tattle TV to create a slate of content. Read: Deadline
Fans of the Alamo Drafthouse cinema chain in the US are upset it has pushed aside its no phones rule to introduce a mobile phone food ordering system. Read: THR
Prime Video has overtaken DAZN as streaming’s largest spender on sports rights. They control 27% and 22% of sports rights spending in 2026, respectively. Read: Deadline
Crunchyroll is raising its prices in the US. Read: Crunchyroll
The Jon Hamm Apple TV show Your Friends & Neighbors has been picked up for a third season ahead of the launch of season 2. The trailer for which is below in today’s newsletter. Read: THR
The Kelly Clarkson Show will end after the current 7th season. Read: Deadline
Bowl Cuts
The new Xfinity 2026 Super Bowl ad posits: What if, thanks to Xfinity, the original Jurassic Park never had any technical problems and everything was a success? Sam Neil, Laura Dern, and Jeff Goldblum all return for the ad, directed by Taika Waititi.
Trailer Park
Stranger Things: Tales From ‘85 debuts on Netflix April 23. It looks like it’s going to be pretty good.
In the winter of 1985, snow blankets the town and the horrors of the Upside Down are finally fading. Our heroes Eleven, Mike, Will, Dustin, Lucas and Max have settled back into a normal life of D&D, snowball fights and quiet days. But beneath the ice, something terrifying has awakened. Could it be from the Upside Down? From the depths of Hawkins Lab? Or from somewhere else entirely? Our heroes must race to solve this mystery and save Hawkins in this untold story set in the Stranger Things universe.
Season 2 of Your Friends & Neighbors debuts April 3.
Love Story: John F Kennedy Jr & Carolyn Bessette debuts on Feb 12 on Hulu.
He was the closest thing to American royalty. The country watched him grow from a boy to a beloved bachelor and media sensation. She was a star in her own right. Fiercely independent and with a singular style, she rose from being a sales assistant to an executive at Calvin Klein, and became a trusted confidante of its eponymous founder. As their love story unfolded on a national stage, the intense fame and media attention that came along with it threatened to rip them apart.
Dark Winds returns to AMC Feb 15 for season 4.
This is a cool-looking doco series. Soul Power: The Legend of the American Basketball Association debuts Feb 12 on Prime Video.
Soul Power showcases how a bold, short-lived league permanently reshaped professional basketball, player empowerment, and American sports culture. Told through the voices of legends, cultural leaders, and historians, the series contends that modern basketball looks the way it does because the ABA existed.
That’s the newsletter for the today.
Consider becoming a paid supporter of Always Be Watching.
Connect with Dan on Bluesky. Connect with Dan on Letterboxd. Connect with Dan on Linkedin. Email Dan @ alwaysbewatching.com or just reply to this email.
