Netflix's semi-annual release of viewership data across thousands of series and film titles sees UK shows dominating, as the company Co-CEO Ted Sarandos had predicted earlier this week in speaking appearances in New York and London. Harlan Coben adaptation Fool Me Once led the pack in the first half of 2024 with more than 100 million views globally, just ahead of the third season of Bridgerton with 91.9 million. Bridgerton had an epic six months, with its first and second season also making the top 20, racking up a respective 38.4 million and 34.2 million views globally. Shonda Rhimes’ show is commissioned out of the U.S. but made in the UK with British acting talent. After Bridgerton Season 3 came Baby Reindeer – the controversial smash series that is currently subject to a lawsuit – watched by 87.6 million, with The Gentlemen next with 75.9 million.
On the film side, Millie Bobby Brown-starring Damsel paced the field with more than 143 million views globally, according to the data.
>>>Full Data Dump Coverage |
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| Deadline Exclusives & Originals |
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Watts & Walt Do A Deal - Spider-Man: No Way Home director Jon Watts, his production company Freshman Year and producer Dianne McGunigle have been staked to a first-look feature deal with Walt Disney Studios. >>>Targeting Live-Action Projects
Up Next For Vanessa Kirby - In a highly competitive situation, Apple has landed rights to develop Off Season, a spec from Holland, Michigan‘s Andrew Sodroski, which Academy Award nominee Vanessa Kirby will star in and produce through her Aluna Entertainment, according to our sources. >>>Femme Fatale Thriller
Eye On 'Zarna' - CBS is developing Zarna, a multi-camera comedy starring stand-up comedian Zarna Garg. The project, which drew interest from multiple networks, comes from The Big C creator Darlene Hunt, Mindy Kaling‘s Kaling International, Kevin Hart‘s Hartbeat and Warner Bros. Television, where Kaling International is under an overall deal. >>>Real-Life Inspiration
Money Men - Eyeing opportunities among early- to growth-stage media and entertainment companies, Guggenheim Brothers Media has opened its doors as a private investment firm. >>>$20M & Less The Sweet Spot
Murdoch & Me - The younger Rupert Murdoch seemed like an adventurer in the media world who was willing to take astonishing risks in challenging the establishment. Now, he finds himself in court this week trying to cement his legacy by rewriting his documents of succession to ensure that control of Fox and News Corp. remains in the hands of a chosen son, Lachlan. The Reno, Nevada, setting seems appropriate for the grizzled gambler. >>> Peter Bart's Column |
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Matt Reeves didn’t start out wanting Colin Farrell to disappear behind a pile of prosthetics.
When his discussions with the actor began before the making of 2022’s The Batman, the primary focus was on the inspiration for Oz Cobb, not over whether Farrell should resemble comic book renderings of the classic DC villain for both the movie and the HBO series The Penguin that’s debuting today.
“We talked a lot about Fredo. We talked about John Cazale in The Godfather, and the idea of maybe trying to give him a penguin nose, or doing something to kind of mess up Colin’s face to get the sense of somebody who’d been overlooked, somebody who had this ambition inside of him but who was mocked and who had been looked down upon,” recalls Reeves to Deadline.
“All of a sudden one day [prosthetics designer] Mike Marino said, ‘Let me show you what I’ve been working on.’ Mike is an incredible artist, and he did this sculpture. I’m telling you, the sculpture was exactly the way that Oz looks right now. It’s incredible. And I was like, ‘Wait, what?’ We had never said, ‘Let’s just take Colin and turn him into something that we’ve never seen before.’ I said, ‘This is Colin Farrell. I got to now tell the studio he’s not going to look like Colin Farrell.'” >>>Read The Interview |
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Exclusive
Apple TV+’s comedy series Platonic is staging a major Saturday Night Live reunion for Season 2. Aidy Bryant, Kyle Mooney and Beck Bennett , who spent years together on the NBC sketch program, have been tapped for recurring roles on the series.
Exclusive
Jean Smart, fresh from her Emmy win over the weekend, will host the SNL Season 50 opener on September 28 with another Emmy attendee, musician Jelly Roll who sang as part of the In Memoriam tribute, as musical guest.
Exclusive
Get Out producer QC Entertainment has enlisted Gabrielle Union to star in The Casket Girls, a new horror film to be directed by Justin Dyck (Anything for Jackson), which they will produce and fully finance.
Exclusive
Marc Maron is set to produce and star in In Memoriam, a new comedy that five-time Emmy winner Rob Burnett wrote and will direct for Invention Studios.
Exclusive
Veteran TV actress Valarie Pettiford will take over the role of Amy Lewis on The Young and the Restless. The character was first essayed by Stephanie E. Williams in 1983.
Exclusive
Paula Patton and Emmy winner Loretta Devine are set to reteam on Finding Faith, an indie psychological drama from writer-director LazRael Lison (A Miracle Before Christmas).
In Brief - Revival series sets main cast... Odessa A’zion added to A24’s Marty Supreme... Sarah Catherine Hook, Jameela Jamil, Lucien Laviscount & Lukas Gage join People We Meet On Vacation... Shark Tank ups Daniel Lubetzky to full-time panelist |
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More News 🎥 The Motion Picture Association has added Amazon MGM Studios and Prime Video as its newest member. It joins Netflix, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures, Universal Studios, The Walt Disney Studios and Warner Bros. Discovery.
⚖️ Sean “Diddy” Combs will be staying behind bars until his trial for sex trafficking and more, a federal judge in Manhattan ruled.
🤖 Lionsgate and applied AI research company Runway have partnered on a new model customized to the studio’s proprietary portfolio of film and television content. |
| On the Radar
Thu - The Penguin series premiere; Tony Vinciquerra at FT conference
Fri - Greg Peters at FT conference
Sun - Snowpiercer series finale; Matlock series premiere
Mon - Megalopolis NY premiere; 911: Lonestar S5 premiere |
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The 'Doctor' Is In - Sean Teale, Phillipa Soo, Don Johnson, Dana Walden, Ryan Murphy, Joshua Jackson, Joseph Baken and Bob Iger at the premiere for ABC's Doctor Odyssey at Bel-Air Bay Club. |
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