The chances of George R.R. Martin finishing the damn books just plummeted.

by Therese Odell, posted in watch this

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Here’s A BUNCH OF TV News

Yesterday, Warner Bros. Discovery made their big anticipated “Max” announcement: On May 23, HBO Max will become just Max, and it will feature all of the HBO Max content (that didn’t get axed this past fall and winter) as well as the Discovery+ content. (Discovery+ will also remain a stand-alone streamer for folks who don’t want to pay for HBO content.) They dropped the “HBO” from the name because — and this is true — it was too fancy. This is what happens when the people who brought you MILF Manor buy a prestige brand that they don’t understand BUT WHATEVER.

The Max Ad-Lite tier will cost $9.99 a month or $99.99 a year; Max Ad Free, the plan that is essentially the current HBO Max, will cost $15.99 a month or $149.99 a year; and a new Max Ultimate Ad Free tier will cost $19.99 a month or $199.99 a year. 

Max Ad Lite will offer subscribers up to two concurrent streams, 1080p resolution, no offline downloads and 5:1 surround sound quality, while Max Ad Free will give 30 offline downloads in addition to the two concurrent streams, 1080p resolution and 5:1 surround sound quality. Max Ultimate Ad Free will offer up to 4 concurrent streams, up to 4K HD resolution, 100 offline downloads and Dolby Atmos sound quality.

The Ultimate Ad-Free tier will have an expanded catalog of content available in 4K UHD including key programming such as “Game of Thrones,” “The Last of Us,” “Harry Potter,” “Lord of the Rings,” “The Dark Knight” trilogy and more. All Warner Bros. movies released this year and going forward will also be available in 4K UHD when they arrive on Max following their theatrical windows.

Existing HBO Max subscribers will find their plan migrated to Max Ad Free on May 23, with all their plans and settings still in place. And the price will remain the same for at least six months. (What I can’t find anywhere is what happens to people like me: I have HBO Max for free through my cable subscription to HBO. Will that remain the same or will I have to pay for HBO twice over — in which case I end up cutting the cable subscription altogether?)

Despite cutting a bunch of kids’ content during the purge, it looks like Max will try to get back into the family arena. They announced some new shows and explained that the name HBO was in their way before — parents weren’t going to turn on a service to entertain their kids that has traditionally been associated with Game of Thrones and The Sopranos, for instance. And we’re going to have to wait a minute to learn more about what they plan in the sports and news arenas.

What they didn’t want to talk about yesterday: J.K. Rowling.

But what they were excited to announce yesterday was the end of any hope that George R.R. Martin might actually finish “A Song of Ice and Fire.” The presentation reportedly ended with the announcement that they had ordered another Game of Thrones spinoff: Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight. More importantly, it will be written and executive produced by George R.R. Martin and Ira Martin. This is great news for TV fans, among which I include myself. However, it does worry me that this is just one more thing to distract George R.R. Martin from finishing the damn books. 

As for the show itself, it will focus on the adventures of the hedge knight Duncan the Tall and his squire Egg as they travel around Westeros about 100 years before the events of Game of Thrones, and some 200 years after the events in House of the Dragon. Their adventures are in the books The Hedge Knight and The Sworn Sword. SPOILER ALERT: Egg grows up to become King Aegon V Targaryen, who ends up being the great-grandfather of Daenerys.

Finally, what is interesting about this is that just last week there was a rumor that HBO was looking at fast-tracking a series based on Aegon the Conqueror as a follow-up to House of the Dragon, so this is a very different path indeed. That said, Ryan Condal seems to be keeping the door open on that show, too:

“I’ve always said the show is called ‘House of the Dragon.’ It’s not called ‘The Dance of the Dragons,’” Condal told TheWrap, referring to a specific Targaryen civil war set in the universe of Martin’s books. “And I think there is a very rich 300-year Targaryen dynasty to mine many stories out of, and that is the thing that I think is the most promising for the future for fans of Westeros is that George [R.R. Martin] has written some deeply complex history. That’s three centuries long that begins with Aegon’s Conquest — actually it begins before Aegon’s Conquest with the story of the Targaryens leaving old Valyria because of the dream of one little girl. There are so many stories to be mined out of there. I think as long as there’s a willing audience, there is plenty of Targaryen to come.”

This series isn’t the only one announced yesterday. Please find more big Max announcements in “In Development” and “Dates” below.

But despite all that big news … Warner Bros. Discovery shares were down by 6% when all was said and done yesterday.

OOOH, FOX NEWS IS IN TROUBLE. But before we get to all that, if you are a fan of Succession you need to read this AMAZING Vanity Fair profile on Rupert Murdoch and what will happen to his empire after he drops dead on a private plane on the way to Sweden. There are so many good juicy bits in here, including the fact that as part of his divorce settlement with Jerry Hall, she was forbidden to talk to Succession writers; that the siblings have accused each other of talking to the Succession writers; that like in Succession, James did not attend his father’s 90th birthday party; that the two brothers, Lachlan and James are fighting for control — and that despite Lachlan being Rupert’s ideological heir, and James hating everything Fox News stands for, he might end up the one in control; how Jerry Hall discovered security cameras were sending footage of her private residence back to Fox News, and that Mick Jagger helped her get rid of them; and an amazing story about Rupert, a yacht, and an injury from his previous marriage. IT IS SO GOOD, GO READ IT.

Right, so, depending on what happens in a Wilmington, DE courtroom in the coming weeks, there might not be much left over of Fox News for the Murdoch boys to be fighting over. Recently, I mentioned that there was a Fox News producer, Abby Grossberg, who felt like she was being thrown under the bus in the Dominion Voting Systems lawsuit and she separately sued Fox News, claiming the network instructed her to lie in her depositions. Fox News fired her, which was a choice, because LORDY, THERE WERE TAPES. Grossman turned over to the court in the Dominion Voting Systems case tapes that Fox News did not turn over during the discovery process. The tapes included the host she worked for, Maria Bartiromo, talking to Rudy Guiliani and Sydney Powell, and a tape of herself talking to a Trump campaign official:

Grossberg asked the Trump official if any of the voting machines have been looked at in Georgia.

“I’d have to check on that in terms of Georgia, I know during the audit they did check on those machines,” the official said in the recording. “Can just go off the record for one sec here?”

Grossberg replied, “Yeah, sure. Of course. I don’t want us to say it, if it’s not. That’s why we’re checking.”

“I think they have looked at the machines. When the secretary of state did its audit. There was a lot, I think a fair bit of looking at the machines. The audit came in pretty darn close to what the machine count was with the receipts. So, you know, I don’t know the outcome of those, but our understanding, again, this is from the Secretary of State’s office, was that there weren’t any physical issues with machines on those inspections.”

OH SNAP. So let me get this straight … Fox News, while covering the “newsworthiness” of the President claiming there was election fraud, somehow failed to report that one of the President’s own people admitted there was no election fraud.

HMM, I WONDER WHY.

ADDITIONALLY, Fox News failed to tell Dominion and the court that Rupert Murdoch was an executive chair at Fox News:

Dominion Voting Systems argued that during its two-year legal tangle over its defamation claims, Fox failed to disclose that the top Murdoch was an executive chair at Fox News. The plaintiffs’ lawyers told Judge Eric Davis that with that information, it could have obtained a significant amount of additional documents from Fox News during discovery.

The judge didn’t think any of this was cute, told Fox News that they have a “credibility problem” and suggested that he was going to appoint a special master to look into Fox News’ constant lying to the court. And in case you were wondering, no, that’s not good for Fox News.

Meanwhile, jury selection began today, and media lawyers and former CNN media critic Brian Stetler don’t see any reason why Dominion would ever settle. Bleed them dry, Dominion.

HOLD UP: They’re just going to come out and give us a description of the next season of American Horror Story and instead of putting out a bunch of cryptic teasers? SINCE WHEN? Anyway: I give you American Horror Story: Delicate:

Anna Alcott is desperate to have a family. But as she tries to balance her increasingly public life as an indie actress with a grueling IVF journey, she starts to suspect that someone is going to great lengths to make sure that never happens. Crucial medicines are lost. Appointments get swapped without her knowledge. Cryptic warnings have her jumping at shadows. And despite everything she’s gone through to make this pregnancy a reality, not even her husband is willing to believe that someone is playing twisted games with her.

Then her doctor tells her she’s had a miscarriage—except Anna’s convinced she’s still pregnant despite everything the grave-faced men around her claim. She can feel the baby moving inside her, can see the strain it’s taking on her weakening body. Vague warnings become direct threats as someone stalks her through the bleak ghost town of the snowy Hamptons.

As her symptoms and sense of danger grow ever more horrifying, Anna can’t help but wonder what exactly she’s carrying inside of her…and why no one will listen when she says something is horribly, painfully wrong.

This story about how Chris Evans won’t host Saturday Night Live because his friends told him he’s not funny has been on every single media site I follow so I suppose people care about it.

A Stranger Things novel focusing on Eddie, Flight of the Icarus, is being published this fall. Is that what the writers were hinting at with these recent tweets that freaked some fans out?

Now that she’s vanquished Netflix, Mo’Nique is coming for CBS.

Yeah, we don’t need an Entourage reboot, thankyouverymuch.

I mentioned in passing a couple of days ago that Elon Musk Twitter labeled NPR as “US state-affiliated media,” which they objected to because it is “the same term it uses for propaganda outlets in Russia, China and other autocratic countries.” Twitter walked it back a little, and changed it to “government-funded media.” NPR counters that 1% of its budget comes in the form of government grants, and in protest has gone silent on Twitter, refusing to provide new content on its 52 accounts. They were the first media site to do so but they are not the last: PBS just announced they are no longer going to tweet to their more than 2.2 million Twitter followers. Great job, Elon.

Drake Bell is safe and sound in Florida after having been reported “missing and endangered” earlier this morning.

Renewals

  • The Ark has been renewed on Syfy for a second season.
  • Die Hart has been renewed at Roku for a third season.
  • The Bear might have been quietly renewed for a third season on FX. GOOD.

Cancellations

In Development

Casting News

Mark Your Calendars

  • The Regime will premiere on Max sometime next year.
  • True Detective: Night Country will premiere on Max sometime in 2023.
  • The Penguin will debut on Max soon.
  • Smartless will debut on Max sometime soon.
  • The Sympathizer will debut on Max sometime soon.
  • Class of ‘09 will debut on Hulu on May 10.
  • Never Have I Ever returns on Netflix on June 8.
  • Love & Translation will premiere on TLC and Max this winter.
  • Queen Cleopatra debuts on Netflix on May 10.
  • Blood & Gold will premiere on Netflix on May 26.
  • Fixer Upper: The Hotel will premiere on Magnolia Network on Max in November.
  • Dead Hot will premiere on Tubi on April 14.
  • Spirit Rangers returns on Nick Jr. on May 8.
  • Headliners with Rachel Nichols premieres on Showtime Extreme and streams on Showtime tonight.
  • Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai premieres on Max on May 23.

R.I.P.

Jung Chae-yul, South Korean model and actress, star of Zombie Detective

Anne Perry, British crime writer who was involved in the murder that inspired Heavenly Creatures

Mary Quant, Iconic British fashion designer who created miniskirts and hotpants

WATCH THIS

Obsession: This new erotic thriller follows a successful surgeon as he becomes obsessed with his soon-to-be daughter-in-law. Series premiere. Netflix

Florida Man: With a title like this, you’d expect it to be a comedy, but nope. Edgar Ramirez stars as a disgraced cop who returns to Florida, only to be swept up in a treasure hunt. Premiere. Netflix

The Brady Bunch Movie: A feature film based on a classic sitcom some 30 years later that is actually clever and very funny? SURE, JAN. 6:55 p.m., MGM+

Late Night:

  • The Late Show with Stephen Colbert: Nicolas Cage, Christine and the Queens
  • The Late Late Show with James Corden: Ben Affleck; Chris Messina
  • Jimmy Kimmel Live: Bill Hader, Jane Goodall, Metallica
  • Watch What Happens Live: Toni Collette, Lisa Ann Walter
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