Which Video Games Should Streamers Adapt? New Study Proposes Netflix ‘Fortnite’ Series, ‘God of War’ at Apple Over Amazon and More (EXCLUSIVE)

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Aidy Bryant is set to star in “Lonely Hearts Club,” a dramedy series based on an episode of the Crime Junkies podcast, currently in the works at Peacock. “Beau Is Afraid” filmmaker Ari Aster is executive producing the project. Set in the late 1940s, “Lonely Hearts Club” is described as a darkly comedic true crime thriller about a lonely woman who falls in love with a dim but handsome con man. Together they form an unlikely “Loser-Bonnie-and-Clyde”-style partnership that ends in lies, murder and the electric chair. The show is based on an episode of Ashley Flowers’ Crime Junkie podcast entitled “Infamous: The ‘Lonely Hearts’ Killers.”

EXCLUSIVE: The viral gaming sensation Vampire Survivors is in the works for television. Story Kitchen is partnering with the game’s developer, poncle founder Luca Galante, to adapt the comedic gothic horror video game into a premium, animated television series.

“Twisted Metal” TV series based on the beloved PlayStation video game franchise, and while it’s merely a teaser, the vibes are definitely on point.Anthony Mackie stars in the live-action half-hour TV series adaptation, which follows a motor-mouthed outsider who’s offered a chance at a better life, but only if he can successfully deliver a mysterious package across a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Per the synopsis, “With the help of a badass axe-wielding car thief, he’ll face savage marauders driving vehicles of destruction and other dangers of the open road, including a deranged clown who drives an all too familiar ice cream truck.”Indeed that ice cream truck makes an appearance at the end of the teaser, offering a preview of the character Sweet Tooth played by Samoa Joe (and voiced by Will Arnett).The show is based on an original take by “Deadpool” writers Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick and is written by Michael Jonathan Smith (“Cobra Kai”).

McKinley Franklin editor Start your engines, because it’s time for yet another TV adaptation of a popular video game. Peacock has released the first teaser for its new action-comedy series “Twisted Metal,” which will premiere on the streamer on July 27 with all 10 episodes. “Twisted Metal” is based on PlayStation’s car combat video game series of the same name. In the games, players control deadly demolition derby vehicles and destroy each other in a hellish Twisted Metal tournament. The games include a cast of crazed characters, the most famous of which is a serial killer clown known as Sweet Tooth who drives an ice cream truck. In the trailer, he appears briefly at the very end. The first look gives fans a glimpse into the reimagined “Twisted Metal” landscape plagued set to Len’s “Steal My Sunshine.”

Before violent games like “Mortal Kombat” created panic among parents there was “Street Fighter II.” The second installment of that storied franchise became a global success thanks to its arcade incarnation before a home release helped launch the 2D fighting genre in the 1990s. And then there’s the 1994 “Street Fighter” film, but let’s not talk about hat.

Josh Broadwell Five years after the end of “Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order,” Cal Kestis’ friends are scattered across the galaxy dealing with their own demons, while the young Jedi Knight runs guerrilla strikes against key Imperial targets. Reality tore his dreams of resistance into tatters of resentment, and he’s left trying to find a purpose for his life in “Star Wars Jedi: Survivor” — a journey of surprises that improves on the original in every way. However, like Cal himself, it still falls short of its full potential. Cal’s story takes some unpredictable turns that end in intriguing possibilities for a third game. Much like the hero, developer Respawn Entertainment recognizes that it has little recourse against the Empire and its entrenched position in the galaxy and “Star Wars” canon, so both turn inward instead. Cal still fights the Imperials when he can, but “Survivor” is less about making a difference against an oppressive Empire and more about finding a place to call home.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer In a months-long goal to reach 7,000 job cuts total, Disney will begin its second round of layoffs of the year today. The notifications will be handed out to staff through Thursday, concluding with approximately 4,000 job eliminations completed overall by week’s end, according to company officials. While the Disney workforce will be reduced by thousands across divisions Disney Entertainment, ESPN, and Disney Parks, Experiences and Products (hourly frontline operations roles at Parks and Resorts will not be affected), and locations from Burbank to New York and Connecticut, there are still more layoffs to come. According to Disney, a third and final wave of cuts is expected to begin ahead of the summer, which will bring the Mouse House to its 7,000 layoffs target. (The figure represents 3.2% of Disney’s total headcount of about 220,000 worldwide as of Oct. 1, 2022.)

EXCLUSIVE: Content creator and entrepreneur Markiplier has entered production in Austin, TX, on Iron Lung, a new horror film that he’s starring in and directing from his own script.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer PlayStation has struck a deal to acquire game developer Firewalk Studios from ProbablyMonsters Inc, Sony Interactive Entertainment announced Thursday. Firewalk, which is currently developing an untitled AAA multiplayer game for Playstation 5 and PC, will collaborate alongside PlayStation brands including Bungie and Haven Interactive Studios to create constantly updated “live service” games for PlayStation consumers. Firewalk marks the 20th studio to join PlayStation Studios. The Bellevue, Washington-based company’s day-to-day operations for its 150-person team will continue to be run by Firewalk’s management, in collaboration with PlayStation Studios External Development team.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer “The Good Doctor” has been renewed for a seventh season at ABC ahead of its Season 6 finale. The medical drama, which debuted in 2017, stars Freddie Highmore as Dr. Shaun Murphy, a young autistic surgeon who has savant syndrome and works in the surgical unit at the prestigious San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital. Alongside Highmore, the “Good Doctor” cast includes Hill Harper as Dr. Marcus Andrews, Richard Schiff as Dr. Aaron Glassman, Fiona Gubelmann as Dr. Morgan Reznick, Will Yun Lee as Dr. Alex Park, Christina Chang as Dr. Audrey Lim, Paige Spara as Lea Dilallo, Bria Samoné Henderson as Dr. Jordan Allen and Noah Galvin as Dr. Asher Wolke.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Netflix co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters revealed what exactly went wrong with the live “Love Is Blind” Season 4 reunion special on Sunday — and how they plan to fix the problem with other live broadcasts moving forward. “We’re really sorry to disappoint so many people,” Peters said during a prerecorded Q1 earnings interview Tuesday. “We didn’t meet the standard that we expect ourselves: to serve our members and just be clear from a technical perspective. We’ve got the infrastructure. We had just a bug that we introduced, actually, when we implemented some changes to try to improve live-streaming performance after the last live broadcast, Chris Rock[‘s ‘Selective Outrage’] in March. We just didn’t see this bug in internal testing because it only became apparent once we put multiple systems interacting with each other under the load of millions of people trying to watch ‘Love Is Blind.'”

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Netflix reported its first-quarter 2023 earnings Tuesday. The streamer added 1.75 million net new subscribers in Q1, compared with gaining 7.66 million for the final quarter of 2022, the period during which its low-cost, ad-supported tier launched.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer “Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields” is the most-watched program out of all ABC News launches to ever debut on Hulu, Variety has learned exclusively. According to ABC News, “Pretty Baby” ranks No. 1 in total hours streamed in its first week compared to all previous ABC News premieres on the streamer. Specific viewership data was not provided. Described as a “galvanizing look at actor, model and icon Brooke Shields as she transforms from a sexualized young girl to a woman discovering her power,” the two-part doc debuted April 3 on Hulu, following its world premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. “Holding a mirror up to a society that objectifies women and girls, her story shows the perils and triumphs of gaining agency in a hostile world.”

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer As HBO Max morphs into Max next month, the onus is now on the marketing teams inside Warner Bros. Discovery to get the word out. While talk of a combined HBO Max and Discovery+ streamer has swirled around Hollywood for months (including the now-correct assumption that it would be named Max), awareness of the change is just now hitting consumers. That’s where Pato Spagnoletto, global chief marketing officer of direct-to-consumer at Warner Bros. Discovery, and his team will come in. They have a month — the new service launches May 23 — to educate audiences on why the streamer is dropping “HBO” from its name, and what it will now be offering — including the promise of more personalized recommendations, better positioning of kids’ content and several splashy titles, including a Max original devoting each season to adapting one book in J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter” series.

The box office for “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” just keeps on growing.

The box office for “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” just keeps on growing.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Millennials are the largest untapped market that video game companies should be focusing on, per a new study from Fandom, which finds that the generation spends more time gaming than both Gen Z and teens. According to fan-community platform and entertainment company Fandom’s annual Inside Gaming report, which was released Thursday, “despite teens and Gen Z spending more time gaming than they did last year, older generations of players are spending more hours per week gaming.” Compiled based on proprietary user data from Fandom.com and a global study that examines how gamer motivations and behaviors vary by generation, the report found that 52% of Millennials surveyed rank playing video games as their top interest and 40% of Fandom’s Millennial audience spends over 22 hours per week gaming, compared to only 29% of tweens.

“The Last of Us” make for better/more promising television shows or movies. While gamers will try a game that is either from a new-to-them franchise or an original, 70% declare that they’ll try a new game in a preferred franchise. As such, as with film and television, games based on established brands like “Harry Potter,” “Star Wars” and the MCU have a leg up on the competition.The study also detailed which streaming platforms are most likely to be frequented by players of what video games.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Warner Bros. Discovery finally revealed the plans (and confirmed the long-rumored name) for its new streaming service, Max, which will combine offerings from HBO Max and Discovery+ into one product, during a splashy press presentation on the Warner Bros. Studio lot Wednesday. The event kicked off at 10 a.m. at the iconic Burbank location, presided over by WBD CEO David Zaslav, president and CEO of global streaming and games JB Perrette, HBO and HBO Max CEO and chairman Casey Bloys (who now also has oversight of Chip and Joanna Gaines’ Magnolia Network), and U.S. networks group chairman and chief content officer Kathleen Finch. Variety is on the scene, ready to fill you in on all the details about the new streamer, Warner Bros. Discovery’s direct-to-consumer strategy, the future of HBO and the standalone version of Discovery+.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Rupert Murdoch and Lachlan Murdoch could be called upon to testify in Dominion Voting Systems’ defamation lawsuit suit against Fox News and Fox Corp., per a Delaware judge who says he is not against calling upon the media moguls. If the attorneys for Dominion issue trial subpoenas to force a testimony from the Fox leaders, Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis said at a public hearing Wednesday he, “would not quash it and I would compel them to come,” per NBC News. “It would be my discretion that they come,” Davis said. Dominion’s attorneys requested in a letter to the court Wednesday that live testimony be required from Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch, as well as Fox board member and former House Speaker Paul Ryan and Fox exec Viet Dinh. Davis approved the request to compel each of them to testify, according to NBC News.