Who you gonna call? Netflix’s Ghostbusters!

Following the release of the aenimic Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Netflix is working with co-writers of the film with Jason Reitman (who also directed the film) and Gil Kenan on a new animated TV series.

There are no further details available, such as who will be writing the new series, plot, or even which Ghostbusters will be the focus of the new show. If I were to hazard a guess, it will be the original team of Spengler, Stanz, Venkman, and Veddemore. One assumes the new cartoon won't have to change its title to differentiate itself from the 80s cartoon Ghostbusters based on the live-action 70s TV show of the same name.

RIP Demimonde

Producer JJ Abrams production company Bad Robot has a huge deal with Warner Bros, which has so far yielded very little. On the production slate was a $200 million TV series called Demimonde. It was to be the first show JJ created since Fringe.

But yesterday it was confirmed that Warner Bros Discovery had killed the show. JJ wanted $200 million to make it. The new management at Warners, currently trying to wipe $3 trillion worth of debt from the books, thought $200 was a bit much. And it's difficult to disagree with them not wanting to spend that sort of money on an unproven TV show. After all, even the upcoming Game of Thrones prequel series won't cost that much money.

This opens the door to Bad Robot being able to shop the show elsewhere. Don't be surprised to see this land somewhere like Apple TV+.

Disney hasn't got the appetite for your la merde, France

The French are very protective over their films and the cinema exhibition business. New regulations in place prevent a streaming service from being able to stream a movie for 17 months after a theatrical release.

That doesn't work for Disney, one of the more proactive distributors seeking to reduce exclusivity windows in the US. The company has argued that lengthy theatrical exclusivity windows are overly costly in regards to marketing and opens their product up to greater levels of piracy. And that's just in the US where cinemas wanted just a few months exclusivity, let alone almost a year and a half.

Disney animated film Strange World was expected to launch in cinemas in France on Nov 23. The company has pulled the film and signalled other films will follow. With Wall Street backing strength in subscriber numbers over other metrics that traditionally spoke to the success of a studio (such as box office), it is not in Disney's best interests to bow down to this 17 month delay.

The concern in France right now is that other big studios will follow suit.

Eric Marti at Comscore France says the impact of having streamers skip French theaters on select movies could lead “big losses.” The losses could snowball if the move inspires other companies such as Paramount Global or Warner Bros. Discovery to follow suit. To that end, Paramount + is going to be available in the country later this year and HBO Max is scheduled to launch in France in 2023, which will alter the incentive structure for these companies.

Pluto TV will launch in Canada w/ 100+ channels. Read: Variety
Chrisley Knows Best stars Todd and Julie Chrisley have been found guilty in a $30 million fraud case. Read: Variety
Disney+ Launches in 16 Countries, Territories Across Middle East, North Africa. Read: The Streamable
Controversial live police reality show Live: PD is coming back to TV on a new network with a new name. Read: Indiewire
Roku shares surged following a report Netflix might buy it. Read: The Street
FX is developing a series about Benihana restaurant founder Hiroaki “Rocky” Aoki. Read: Variety

Mike is an unauthorized bio-series about Mike Tyson coming to Hulu August 25.

Rob Zombie has written and directed a feature film based on The Munsters. It is out this year but there is still no understanding if this is intended for cinemas or for streaming via Peacock. Here's a promotional trailer of sorts: