Netflix 2023 Upfront Takeaways: Streamer Hits Scripted Drama Hard When TV Cannot

It’s a new month, and Hulu subscribers are getting a slew of new movies and TV shows to enjoy. June 1 is jam-packed with more than 30 titles that have landed on the streamer, including the seventh and final season of Ava DuVernay’s “Queen Sugar,” the Jack Nicholson-led film “Hoffa,” Sacha Baron Cohen’s “Borat” and the entire “Twilight” franchise. Mixing in a little of the old with new come goodies from 2023, like “Flamin’ Hot,” which tells the story of Mexican migrant Richard Montanez who came up with the idea for Flamin’ Hot Cheetos while working as a janitor at Frito Lay.

I Think You Should Leave With Tim Robinson is back for a new season on Netflix, treating fans to more absurd and cringeworthy social scenarios.From creators Tim Robinson and Zach Kanin, the sketch show has returned for a third season with six new episodes. You can check out the chaotic trailer for the comedy series’ latest offering below.Alongside Robinson, the new season features guest appearances from Jason Schwartzman, Tim Meadows, Fred Armisen, Sam Richardson, Will Forte, Patti Harrison, Ayo Edebiri, Mitra Jouhari, Tim Heidecker, Beck Bennett, Biff Wiff, Conner O’Malley, and Carmen Christopher.All six episodes of the new season are now available to stream on the service, having been released on May 30.I Think You Should Leave With Tim Robinson has received multiple WGA Awards, as well as an Emmy for Robinson for outstanding actor in a short form comedy or drama series.

A Netflix series with an almost-perfect Rotten Tomatoes score has returned to the streaming service's top 10 most-watched list two years after it was released. Mini-series Maid secured climbed to the eighth spot on the English language series list last week, thanks to clips of the show trending on TikTok.

Angelique Jackson Grammy winner Erykah Badu has joined the all-star ensemble for Netflix’s feature adaptation of August Wilson’s “The Piano Lesson.” The singer-songwriter (“What Men Want”) will make a cameo, delivering “her soulful sound and eclectic style” with musical performances in the film,” starring Oscar winner Samuel L. Jackson and John David Washington. Jackson and Washington reprise their roles from the highly successful Broadway revival of Wilson’s play, which recently received two Tony Award nominations (best revival of a play and best performance by an actor in a featured role in a play for Jackson).

ans watched the midseason finale on January 1, 2023, but we'll have to hold our horses a little longer until the new episodes of season 5 air later this year. While the Duttons are taking a break, you can catch up on all the drama from the season's first eight episodes along with old seasons of the most-watched show on cable. Keeping up with has always been a bit tricky — the Paramount Network series, unlike prequels  and, is not available on Paramount+ — but we’ve got all the tips and tricks to make sure you can watch new episodes of in real-time.

An untitled “The Walking Dead” spinoff centering on Andrew Lincoln’s Rick and Danai Gurira’s Michonne was also announced during the Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour in January, which at the time was expected to air in 2024. The eighth and final season of “Fear the Walking Dead” premiered on May 14.

Naman Ramachandran Netflix has unveiled “King of Clones,” a sensational documentary film featuring unprecedented access to South Korean scientist Hwang Woo-suk, and set a June streaming date. From human cloning research to a scandalous downfall, the documentary tells the story of Korea’s most notorious scientist Hwang Woo-suk. Armed with a degree in veterinary science and a masters and doctorate in theriogenology, the study of animal reproduction, Hwang’s rise to prominence started with his successful cloning of cows and pigs. In 2002, Hwang embarked upon human cloning research and partnered with Moon Shin-yong, an obstetrician with expertise in in-vitro fertilization. Their collaboration led to a major announcement in 2004, claiming the successful cloning of human embryos, with the potential to cure some diseases. The announcement fueled a heated debate on bioethics, despite Hwang and Moon emphasizing that their work focused solely on therapeutic purposes and strongly opposing reproductive cloning.

Lionsgate has taken worldwide distribution rights to The Chosen, the hit Jesus of Nazareth drama widely regarded as the most successful crowdfunded TV series of all time.

The CW held its first upfront week meeting with the press since the Nexstar acquisition closed last year, presenting a schedule heavy on foreign acquisitions and unscripted fare. Brad Schwartz, president of entertainment for The CW, took questions after the presentation alongside network president Dennis Miller. They laid out their plans for the network going into its new era, how the acquisitions play into their overall strategy, and the future of scripted development at the network. Read on for Variety‘s takeaways from the event. Superheroes Flying Off into the Sunset?

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor YouTube’s biggest ad innovation for 2023? It might be borrowing a well-worn page from old-fashioned linear TV. At the YouTube Brandcast upfront event Wednesday in New York, execs announced the introduction of 30-second unskippable ads in top-performing YouTube content on TVs — you know, just like the commercials that have run on broadcast and cable networks for decades. YouTube also will start testing new “Pause Experiences” for YouTube on TV screens, showing an ad when viewers pause a video akin to the pause ads Hulu first bowed four years ago. In their pitch to Madison Avenue types, YouTube execs also boasted of the streaming service’s massive reach: More than 150 million unique viewers in the U.S. watched YouTube and YouTube TV on televisions for the month of December 2022, according to Nielsen estimates. YouTube remains the No. 1 most-watched service on TV screens in America (across both streaming platforms and traditional TV networks), and in April was one of the only streamers to see month-to-month growth, per Nielsen.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Warner Bros. Discovery kicked off its 2023 upfront presentation in a no-frills way, with an overall brand sizzle and ad chief Jon Steinlauf giving a few remarks on stage at the Theater at Madison Square Garden Wednesday. While the presentation covering HBO, Max, CNN, Food Network, HGTV, Discovery and more Warner Bros. Discovery brands was shorter than last year’s show (which was the company’s first since the merger that created it last April) the tight 90-minute presentation still covered each of its key divisions. Albeit, with much less sizzle, with no stars in attendance amid the writers strike. “Let me just start by saying I am hopeful that a fair resolution is found soon with the writers,” HBO and Max chief Casey Bloys said, adding that he hopes for a return of talent to the stage, “making this a far more entertaining show” compared to “me and my clips.”

The Cannes Film Festival kicked off this year with opening-night movie Jeanne du Barry, with Deadline’s on the ground to watch all the key films. Here is a compilation of our reviews from the fest, which last year saw Ruben Östland’s Triangle of Sadness win the coveted Palme d’Or on its way to an Oscar Best Picture nomination.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director The 2023 Cannes Film Festival is jam-packed with buzzy world premieres, from Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon” to Wes Anderson’s “Asteroid City.” Todd Haynes is also back to unveil “May December,” featuring the A-list pairing of Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore, while Disney is bringing Harrison Ford to the Croisette for “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.” New films from Pedro Almodovar, Jessica Hautner, Jonathan Glazer, Catherine Corsini, Hirokazu Kore-eda and more are also set to make their debuts at Cannes this year. Cannes is often seen as a launching pad for Oscar season. Warner Bros. in 2022 kicked off its lengthy awards run for Baz Luhrmann’s “Elvis” on the French Riviera, with the film going on to land eight Academy Award nominations, including best picture. Palme d’Or winner “Triangle of Sadness” also picked up Oscar nods for best picture, director and original screenplay. Two international film nominees, “Close” and “EO,” launched at last year’s festival, while “Aftersun” best actor nominee Paul Mescal got his awards start in the Directors Fortnight sidebar. All of this is to say the industry will be closely watching the buzz on all of this year’s world premieres.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Disney’s annual upfront presentation leaned heavily on the company’s non-scripted programming, opening with nearly an hour of focus on ESPN and its sports offerings. The emphasis on live events, of course, comes as the writers strike continues and is expected to impact the fall TV season. In fact, around 100 Writers Guild members and other union supporters marched outside the Javits Center on Tuesday to remind Disney they are still looking for a deal with the company and the other studios. Among those seen on the picket line: Zach Cherry and Michael Emerson. Inside the Javits, sports and news stars from within Disney were out in force, while reality personalities like Kim and Khloe Kardashian, Jesse Palmer and Ryan Seacrest made appearances as well. Even WABC-TV New York anchors Sade Baderinwa and Bill Ritter got some time onstage.

EXCLUSIVE: After matching wits with Doctor Strange, Chiwetel Ejiofor has found a new superhero to face off against as sources tell Deadline Ejiofor has closed a deal to co-star opposite Tom Hardy in Sony and Marvel’s Venom 3. 

Johnny Depp poses for photos at the premiere screening of his movie, Jeanne du Barry, at the opening ceremony of the 2023 Cannes Film Festival on Tuesday (May 16) in Cannes, France.

BreAnna Bell ABC is shifting its fall strategy in light of the writers strike. Knowing that its marquee scripted series including “The Rookie” “Grey’s Anatomy,” and “The Conners” will likely be in production in time for Septmber, the network announced a fall 2023 primetime schedule on Tuesday heavy on unscrpited fare. With all of its scripted offerings left off the fall slate — except for repeats of “Abbott Elementary” — the network focuses on reality programming, including the previously announced return of “Dancing With the Stars” to the network. New to this fall is the long-expected addition of “The Golden Bachelor” — a new older-skewing iteration in “The Bachelor” franchise.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Fox made its annual upfront pitch to advertisers at the Manhattan Center on Monday afternoon, pushing the messages of Fox Entertainment, Tubi, Fox News, and Fox Sports, all while promising the audience that don’t worry, we’ll get you hammered soon. Coming off of presentations hampered by the pandemic in recent years, Fox was back in nearly full force, with the writers’ strike limiting the number of network stars in attendance. The event also featured some football antics courtesy of Rob Gronkowski and some well-placed cursing by Gordon Ramsay. Read on below for Variety’s five biggest takeaways from the Fox upfront.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter For the second year in a row, Fox is not releasing a fall schedule ahead of its upfront presentation. Fox did the same thing in 2022, opting instead to announce their content slate for the upcoming broadcast season but holding off on announcing a formal schedule until a later date. Last year, the move came as the network was still waiting on decisions on the dramas “9-1-1” and “The Resident.” But with the latter show canceled and the former moving to ABC, this year’s move comes as the writers’ strike enters its third week. Networks like CBS and NBC have already announced their fall lineups, but whether or not any primetime scripted shows across all the networks debut as scheduled remains to be seen as the strike drags on.

Naman Ramachandran Netflix has unveiled the first trailer for hard hitting crime drama series “Scoop” from acclaimed filmmaker Hansal Mehta (“Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story”). Based on journalist Jigna Vora’s 2019 memoir “Behind Bars in Byculla: My Days in Prison,” the series is created by Mehta and Mrunmayee Lagoo Waikul (“Thappad”). The book recounts how renowned journalist Jyotirmoy Dey was murdered by members of the Chhota Rajan gang in 2011. A few months later, fellow journalist and crime reporter Vora was arrested in connection with the murder.  “Scoop” marks Mehta and Netflix’s maiden partnership and the series is set up as the first season of a franchise. Mehta has directed all six episodes of the first season.