Netflix Adapts Ellen DeGeneres’ Popular ‘Heads Up!’ Game to Add Shows Like ‘Stranger Things,’ ‘Squid Game,’ ‘Bridgerton’

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Netflix and Ubisoft have partnered on a new “Assassin’s Creed” mobile game and two other mobile titles that will be available exclusively on mobile to Netflix members globally with no ads or in-house purchases. The other two titles are a new “Valiant Hearts” game, which is a sequel to Ubisoft’s award-winning game “Valiant Hearts: The Great War,” directed by its original core team but featuring a new story, and a sequel to Ubisoft’s “The Mighty Quest for Epic Loot” mobile game, which was shut down in 2016. All three mobile games will be available to Netflix members in 2023.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor The dojos have mojo: “Cobra Kai” Season 5, the latest installment in the popular “Karate Kid” sequel TV series on Netflix, currently has a perfect 100% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes. All 10 episodes of the fifth season, which stars Ralph Macchio and William Zabka (reprising their roles from the original “Karate Kid” movies), were binge-released Sept. 9 on Netflix. As of Friday, “Cobra Kai” Season 5 registered a 100% Tomatometer score, based on Rotten Tomatoes’ aggregation of 37 reviews. Season 1 of “Cobra Kai” also has a 100% critics score on the site, while seasons 2 and 3 have a 90% critics score and S4 clocks in at 95%. By comparison, many other recent TV premieres have Tomatometer scores in the 80s. Those include Disney+’s “She-Hulk: Attorney at Law” (88%); Netflix’s “The Sandman” (87%); FX/Hulu’s “The Patient” (86%); HBO’s “House of the Dragon” (85%); and Prime Video’s “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” (84%).

It was no laughing matter.“Stranger Things” star Jamie Campbell Bower, who plays lord of the “upside-down” Vecna in the Netflix series, has come a long way since he bombed his audition for the hero of the “Harry Potter” franchise — if only his penchant for naughty jokes hadn’t gotten the best of him.The 33-year-old actor revealed the blunder while appearing on Josh Horowitz’s “Happy Sad Confused” podcast.As Bower tells it, the young actor had a meeting with the film’s first director, Chris Columbus, for which he was asked to prepare a joke.“I had just heard this joke about a fairy,” recalled Bower. “Like, the reason why the fairy sits on top of the Christmas tree.

BreAnna Bell “Stranger Things” has been dethroned from Nielsen’s No. 1 spot. During the Aug. 8-Aug. 14 viewing window, Netflix’s “The Sandman” was the show to finally overthrow “Stranger Things,” racking up 1.4 billion minutes watched. And after “Uncharted” took fifth place in three days of availability on Netflix last week, the Tom Holland-led film was viewed for 1.2 billion minutes in its first full week. “Stranger Things” was bumped to No. 3 on the chart with 1.1 billion minutes watched, ending a nearly three month run at No. 1 (with a brief intermission at No. 2 after the debut of “The Umbrella Academy Season 3).

Netflix Korean series Squid Game are set to attend this year’s Emmy Awards in Los Angeles this weekend.South Korean news outlet Yonhap News Agency reported on September 7 that actors Lee Jung-jae (who starred as Seong Gi-hun), Park Hae-soo (Cho Sang-woo) and O Yeong-su (Oh Il-nam, Player 1) will be departing from Seoul to head to Los Angeles for the awards ceremony on September 8, 9 and 10 respectively.Meanwhile, actress Jung Ho-yeon (Kang Sae-byeok) will be flying to Los Angeles directly from an unspecified country where she’s currently residing for work, per her management.The nine-episode hit Netflix series was nominated for awards across six categories at the 74th Emmy Awards, set to be held at the Microsoft Theater in downtown Los Angeles: Best Drama Series, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actor (for Lee Jung-jae), Best Supporting Actor (for O Yeong-su and Park Hae-soo) as well as Best Supporting Actress (for Jung Ho-yeon).Notably, the 77-year-old O’s attendance at the upcoming Emmys will mark his first time attending an awards ceremony overseas in his 58-year career. The South Korean actor previously bagged the award for Best TV Supporting Actor for his role in Squid Game at the Golden Globes in January, however did not attend the ceremony in person.Speaking to Yonhap News Agency on the nomination, O said: “I feel it meaningful that we have won nominations for the prestigious global awards.

Squid Game Day, in recognition of the South Korean Netflix series’ achievements.Korean-American congressman John Lee announced on September 7 that the city council had passed the resolution appointing September 17 as Squid Game Day, per The Korea Times. The Californian city will thus commemorate the Korean drama series every year on September 17, which was the date Squid Game first premiered on Netflix last year.Lee told press that this may be the first time in the United States that a commemoration day is designated for a television series, per The Korea Times. The resolution noted that Squid Game retains its place as the most-watched Netflix original to date, and that “it was the first ever Korean series on Netflix to reach number one in the US, breaking the barrier that many foreign language shows face with Western audiences simply because of subtitles”.It also noted that Squid Game successfully introduced diverse facets of Korean culture not just to audiences in the US but across the globe; it has also done so by receiving nominations and awards at numerous American and international ceremonies alike, largely as the first Korean and first foreign-language series to achieve such feats.“Squid Game marks another victory in the fight to grow representation of the AAPI [Asian American and Pacific Islander] community in film and entertainment, exposing audiences to Korean culture and traditions while paving the way for other AAPI communities to also have their stories told,” the resolution read.According to The Korea Times, a ceremony to celebrate the designation will be held in front of the LA City Hall tomorrow (September 9), and will be attended by LA Mayor Eric Garcetti, Squid Game creator Hwang Dong-hyuk, CEO of the

Outstanding Casting for a Comedy Series: “Abbott Elementary”Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series: “Succession”Outstanding Casting for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie: “The White Lotus”Outstanding Period Costumes: “The Great”Outstanding Contemporary Costumes: “Hacks”Outstanding Fantasy/Sci-Fi Costumes: “What We Do in the Shadows”Outstanding Period and or Character Hairstyling: “Bridgerton”Outstanding Multi-Camera Picture Editing for a Comedy Series: “How I Met Your Father”Outstanding Choreography for Scripted Programming: “Euphoria”Outstanding Sound Mixing for A Limited or Anthology Series or Movie: “The White Lotus”Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series: “Stranger Things”Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (Half Hour) and Animation: “Only Murders in the Building”Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy: Laurie Metcalf, “Hacks”Outstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series (Half Hour): Christian Sprenger, “Atlanta”Outstanding Cinematography for Single-Camera Series (One Hour): Marcell Rév, “Euphoria”Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series: Lee You-mi as Ji-yeong, “Squid Game”“I’m so happy, thank you,” she said when accepting her award.Outstanding Special Video Effects in a Season or a Movie: “The Book of Boba Fett”Outstanding Special Visual Effects in a Single Episode: “Squid Game”Outstanding Stunt Coordination for a Comedy Series or Variety Program: Wade Allen, “Barry”Outstanding Stunt Coordination for a Drama Series, Limited Anthology Series or Movie: “Stranger Things”Outstanding Stunt Performance: “Squid Game”Outstanding Period and/or Character Makeup (Non-Prosthetic): “Pam and Tommy”Outstanding Contemporary Makeup (Non-Prosthetic): “Euphoria”Outstanding Prosthetic

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Netflix is moving up the timeline for the debut of its cheaper, ad-supported plan to November — in order to get out before the Dec. 8 launch of the Disney+ tier with advertising. In July, Netflix told investors that it was targeting the launch of the ad-supported plan “around the early part of 2023.” But now, Netflix’s ad-supported is set to go live Nov. 1 in multiple countries, including the U.S., Canada, U.K., France and Germany, according to industry sources who have been briefed on the streamer’s plans. That would be a little over a month before Disney+ Basic, priced at $7.99/month, hits the market in the U.S. Netflix declined to comment. “We are still in the early days of deciding how to launch a lower-priced, ad-supported tier and no decisions have been made,” a company rep said.

With five titles surpassing 1 billion minutes of streaming, the week of August 1 to 7 found a familiar champion on the Nielsen streaming chart: Stranger Things.

K.J. Yossman Ann-Helén Laestadius’ novel “Stolen” is getting a Netflix adaptation. Elle Márjá Eira (“The Sámi Have Rights”) is set to direct the feature based on a screenplay by Peter Birro (“Monica Z”). Laestadius will exec produce. “Stolen” will be Eira’s feature film debut. The film, about a young indigenous woman’s struggle in the face of xenophobia, climate change and the patriarchy, will go into production in Sápmi next year and is set to premiere in 2024. “I am over the moon!” said Laestadius. “For me as an author it is of course a dream to see my book adapted into a film and reach a whole new audience across the world. And I’m incredibly happy that Netflix – with their reach – chooses to highlight a Sami story in a big way.”

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Robert Kyncl will exit YouTube in early 2023 after more than 12 years as a senior exec at video giant. He most recently served at YouTube’s chief business officer, helping to grow it into a multibillion-dollar powerhouse. Kyncl’s departure was announced in a memo Monday to YouTube staff by CEO Susan Wojcicki, a copy of which was obtained by Variety. Kyncl is leaving “to start the next chapter in his career,” Wojcicki wrote. “Under his leadership, YouTube forged new relationships and partnerships in music, traditional media and tech, and our creator ecosystem – without him, the term ‘YouTuber’ wouldn’t be a mainstream term.”

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor T-Mobile had offered Apple TV+ free for one year to unlimited wireless subscribers. Now it’s reupped the deal with Apple to offer all new and existing T-Mobile Magenta Max customers access to Apple TV+ for no additional cost — for as long at they hold the accounts. The added Apple TV+ perk for customers on the Magenta Max plan, T-Mobile’s most expensive tier, will go into effect starting Wed. Aug. 31. Meanwhile, users on T-Mobile’s Magenta unlimited plan can also receive six months of free Apple TV+. The additional streaming perk is on top of T-Mobile’s bundling of Netflix (either the Basic or Standard tier, depending on a customer’s mobile plan) and TelevisaUnivision’s ViX+ for unlimited wireless customers and its offer of on free year of Paramount+ in addition to discounts on YouTube TV and Philo.

Jamie Campbell Bower has teased Vecna’s return in the final season of Stranger Things.The actor, who portrays season four’s key villain, Vecna, said in a new interview with NME that he expects the character to wreak more havoc when the Netflix sci-fi drama returns for its fifth season in 2024.At the end of season four, which aired earlier this summer, Vecna is defeated by Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown).“He’s pissed, he’s properly vexed,” Bower said of Vecna’s demise. “I don’t think he’s slunk off licking his wounds in misery.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Netflix is looking at a price point as low as $7 per month for its forthcoming ad-supported streaming plan, set to bow in early 2023, according to a new report — less than half its standard two-stream HD package without advertising, which costs $15.49/month in the U.S. The streamer is considering pricing the ad plan at $7-$9 per month, with an advertising load of four minutes per hour, Bloomberg reported, citing anonymous sources. An ad-supported version of Disney+ is set to debut in December at $7.99/month, also with four minutes of ads per hour. Asked to comment, Netflix said the Bloomberg report is “speculation at this point” and that the company hasn’t finalized decisions about pricing or other details for the advertising plan. “We are still in the early days of deciding how to launch a lower priced, ad-supported tier and no decisions have been made,” a spokesperson said.

Virgin River logged a second week as the most-streamed title in the U.S., according to Nielsen, and Stranger Things and The Gray Man also repeated in second and third place, respectively.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Hideo Kojima, the renowned Japanese game creator behind hit titles “Death Stranding” and “Metal Gear,” will launch a weekly podcast exclusively on Spotify next month — covering a wide range of his favorite topics. “Hideo Kojima Presents Brain Structure,” premiering Sept. 8 on Spotify, will be released in both Japanese and English. According to Spotify, the new show “unravels the genius behind Kojima’s ideas and creative thinking.” The podcast will feature talk-show-style discussions on topics like games, movies, books, art, philosophy and the social landscape. Guests who will periodically join Kojima on the show will include both local and global leaders as well as top creators from business, technology and entertainment.

Stranger Things season four footwear and apparel.The new drop, which will launch for Vans Family Members on August 23 before the general sale opens on August 26 – is a “head-to-toe” collection that follows Metallica’s recent ‘Hellfire Club’ collaboration with the Netflix series.Among the collection are: trainers that feature artwork of the Upside Down; the Hellfire Club, and Surfer Boy Pizza. Elsewhere, there’s a Hellfire Club denim jacket and some crossover t-shirts.“Friends don’t lie,” Vans said in a statement.