Netflix, Disney+ Plan to Sell Ads, But Fox Nation Already Has Some

The Stranger Things effect looks set to create another success story, as Metallica's Master of Puppets sees a huge uplift following its feature on the Netflix series.

Bill Pullman’s iconic Independence Day speech will be watched by many on Monday, July 4, but the chances of him tuning in is slim to none.

Lewis Pullman isn’t stopping any time soon. The actor — who can currently be seen in the blockbuster smash Top Gun: Maverick as Lt. Robert “Bob” Floyd and Amazon Prime Video’s Outer Range — stars in the new time traveling romance Press Play.

Feeling the need — for taking notes. Lewis Pullman and his costars underwent grueling training in order to pull off their Top Gun: Maverick fighter pilot duties — and it couldn’t be done without Tom Cruise.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorFans of the Netflix series “Inventing Anna,” which chronicles the rise of con artist Anna Sorokin, may have noticed an intriguing guest star: Cisco phones are used prominently in at least one episode. If advertising giant Interpublic Group has its way, more advertisers are likely to get those sorts of cameos.Two companies under Interpublic’s umbrella — the Rogers & Cowan PMK entertainment-marketing operations and the large Mediabrands media-buying unit — are teaming up to launch a new analysis-and-database product that helps advertisers determine what movies, TV programs and streaming series will serve as a good fit for in-show product placement.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe Netflix action-comedy series “Obliterated” from the creators of “Cobra Kai” has found its first two cast members, Variety has learned.Nick Zano and Shelley Henig are set to star in the series, which was picked up at Netflix in May after having originally been ordered to series at TBS.The show tells the story of an elite special forces team who thwarts a deadly threat to Las Vegas. After their celebratory party, filled with booze, drugs and sex, the team discovers that a bomb they deactivated was a fake.

Nick Zano (DC’s Legends of Tomorrow) and Shelley Hennig (Teen Wolf) are set as the leads of Obliterated, Netflix’s hourlong action comedy series from Cobra Kai creators Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg and Josh Heald as well as Sony Pictures Television.

EXCLUSIVE: Alice Eve (Belgravia), Shelley Hennig (Unfriended) and Antonio Banderas (Pain and Glory) have signed on to star in Jon Keeyes’ thriller The Last Girl for Yale Entertainment, which will head into production in Ireland this summer.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorNetflix has made no secret that it would rely on third-party partners to roll into the ad-supported VOD space. Now word has emerged that Google and NBCUniversal are the top contenders to potentially land a coveted deal with the streamer to sell and serve ads for Netflix’s lower-cost plan with ads.Google and Comcast’s NBCU are both pursuing an exclusive pact with Netflix for the forthcoming ad-supported streaming package, the Wall Street Journal reported this week, citing anonymous sources.

Few K-pop girl groups are conquering the globe quite like TWICE.

The Kyle Richards family empire is expanding across reality TV!

Netflix has laid off an additional 300 employees.

If there is any blossoming romance between Netflix and NBCUniversal amid speculation the former is looking for an ad sales partner, the latter’s CEO Jeff Shell wasn’t spilling the beans Wednesday when he sat down for a discussion at the Cannes Lions event.

EXCLUSIVE: Industry tech provider Deluxe has appointed former Netflix Korea exec Samantha Kim to the role of Managing Director, Business Development, APAC.

July 15 on Netflix. Netflix announced the streaming release date with a tweet: “Nathan Drake will be swinging your way on July 15 when the action-packed film starring @TomHolland1996@markwahlberg and @TatsBGats drops on Netflix.”Nathan Drake will be swinging your way on July 15 when the action-packed film starring @TomHolland1996 @markwahlberg and @TatsBGats drops on Netflix.

EXCLUSIVE: Departing Netflix Director Of UK Scripted Chris Sussman is in talks to exec produce the fourth season of Apple TV+ comedy Trying, Deadline can reveal.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefNetflix has given a green light to “Believer 2,” a sequel to the 2018 hit crime action film “Believer.” While the first film clocked up 5.06 million spectators and amassed a gross box office of $33.6 million in its theatrical career, the sequel will play only online. The company said that the film will be directed by Baek Jong-yeol, who previously directed “The Beauty Inside,” a 2015 hit fantasy romance in which a person takes on a different physical appearance every day.