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Streaming

Established streaming industry leaders like Netflix and Amazon are facing more competition than ever. Now legacy entertainment giants are in the game with their own subscription services, like Peacock, HBO Max, Paramount Plus, and the Disney Plus / Hulu / ESPN Plus bundle, while Apple TV Plus attacks around the edges. Meanwhile, the rise of ad-supported free platforms like Roku Channel and Pluto TV has attracted enough attention that Plex, YouTube, and Amazon’s Freevee are trying to get a chunk of the action too.

Jess Weatherbed
Jess Weatherbed
Grace Rocky save streaming.

Good news for those of you who didn’t catch Project Hail Mary in theaters — it’ll finally be available to stream on Prime Video on July 3rd. Unless you have something better to be doing this weekend…

Andrew Webster
Andrew Webster
Streaming scares.

Last week I wrote about Unhinged, a fascinating horror experience from Netflix that’s part of the streamer’s push into TV-based games. Well, now you can experience it for yourself, as it launches today.

Charles Pulliam-Moore
Charles Pulliam-Moore
You wanna pop bottles on the PJ? Read this.

If you’ve ever found yourself wondering how course-peddling hustlebros manage to convince their followers that they’re selling enough subscriptions to galavant around the world in private jets, you need to check out this excellent 404 piece that highlights one of the trade’s shadiest tricks: fake dashboards.

Andrew Webster
Andrew Webster
Super streaming Galaxy.

If you missed the second Super Mario movie in theaters, it’s hitting Peacock on July 30th, which is a good amount of time to jump into the games if you haven’t.

Andrew Webster
Andrew Webster
Looking cool, Joker.

Fresh off the reveal of Persona 6 comes a report that Netflix is working on a live-action adaptation of the series. There aren’t many details yet, and the streamer has yet to confirm, but Christopher Monfette — who has worked on series like Picard and the upcoming VisionQuest — is attached as writer.

Andrew Webster
Andrew Webster
Take the edge off.

As promised, Netflix has released the first trailer for the sequel to its Cyberpunk 2077 anime Edgerunners. The new season will tell a standalone story, and the first look is full of blood, guitars, and some delightfully retro shots. No specific premiere date yet, but it’ll start streaming in the fall.

Andrew Liszewski
Andrew Liszewski
A custom Game Boy cartridge is one of the worst ways to watch YouTube.

If you’re trying to cut down the amount of time you spend on YouTube, there’s at least one more video you should watch. Modder Throaty Mumbo has built a custom cartridge that can search and stream YouTube on a Game Boy Color. The quality and experience look awful, but it works.

Comcast is splitting in twoComcast is splitting in two
Jess Weatherbed
Dominic Preston
Dominic Preston
There are no ads on the high seas.

For this weekend’s Stepback, Emma Roth highlights that ad-free streaming is now priced like a luxury. You were all very quick to jump to the comments section and point out that there is a cheaper option.

4NDREW:

Viewers on a budget absolutely have an alternative: sail the luxurious, ad-free high seas. For many, piracy becomes increasingly enticing as the paid options continue the enshittification.

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Ad-free streaming is a luxury now

Steady price increases are pushing viewers toward cheaper, ad-supported tiers.

Emma Roth
Andrew Webster
Andrew Webster
Ghostbusters: the next generation.

Netflix announced an animated Ghostbusters series several years ago, and it’s finally showing signs of life. The streamer just released the first image for Ghostbusters: Night Shift, which is set in 1994, stars a new group of busters, and is set to premiere some time in 2027.

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A still image from the animated series Ghostbusters: Night Shift.
Image: Netflix
Richard Lawler
Richard Lawler
Netflix’s other One Piece trailer.

In addition to the anime series that’s been running for 25 years and its own live-action adaptation, Netflix will premiere its The One Piece anime series in February 2027. While showing off the first trailer (and a trailer for Cyberpunk Edgerunners S2 that will apparently debut on the 29th), Netflix said global anime fandom on the service grew to 1.5 billion views in 2025.

(Update: Added date for Edgerunners S2 trailer.)

Andrew Webster
Andrew Webster
Status update.

The Hill family continue to get into all kinds of modern-day shenanigans in the new trailer for King of the Hill’s 15th season. That includes Bobby and Connie becoming official through a Facebook update, and Hank feeling uncomfortable around an electric truck. Maybe he’d prefer a Slate.

Jay Peters
Jay Peters
YouTube settles ahead of the next bellwether trial over alleged harms from social media.

The terms of the settlement are confidential, Courthouse News Service reports. Meta, Snap, and ByteDance are still set to be defendants in the trial, which is being brought by a 15-year old plaintiff known as “R.K.C.” and is scheduled to start on July 27th.

In the first bellwether case, Meta and YouTube were found negligent.

Musician and YouTuber Hainbach on ‘Breath of the Wild’ and Swiss Army Knives

The experimental composer has a new album, a new plugin, and strong feelings about mattresses.

Terrence O'Brien
Richard Lawler
Richard Lawler
Spider-Man: Brand New Day’s new trailer has the Hulk, and “a powerful villain no one can even see.”

With tickets going on sale today ahead of Spider-Man’s premiere on July 31st, Sony Pictures released a new nearly three-minute trailer to follow the March teaser that quickly racked up a billion views.

This new one still features a world that’s forgotten Peter Parker, and also highlights the movie’s villain, an invisible entity that seemingly takes over even Bruce Banner / Hulk.

In Toy Story 5, the problem really is these damn phones (and tablets)

Disney and Pixar’s latest feature gets at the heart of how we let tech hurt us.

Charles Pulliam-Moore
Richard Lawler
Richard Lawler
Netflix was reportedly worried about antitrust scrutiny if it bought Roku instead of Fox.

Now Semafor reports Netflix was interested in acquiring the company before Fox closed its $22 billion deal, losing out once again after Paramount swooped in with a deal to buy Warner Bros. while enjoying a cozier relationship with this administration’s regulators.

Jess Weatherbed
Jess Weatherbed
Disney is using Adobe AI for theme park Imagineering.

The R&D team at Walt Disney Imagineering has embraced Adobe’s Firefly Foundry platform to “accelerate the design and pre-production visualization pipeline” for Disney Parks and Experiences. The partnership will use AI models trained on Disney assets to turn sketches into fully rendered concept art, 2D images into 3D prototypes, and more.

Pour one out for Roku City

Under Lachlan Murdoch’s leadership, Roku will become a doorway to all things Fox.

Charles Pulliam-Moore
Dominic Preston
Dominic Preston
Fox execs will do anything but go to therapy.

Like buying Roku, for example.

Dkfkhfkwkdnc:

The masculine urge to fold companies into progressively dumber conglomerates

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Fox is buying RokuFox is buying Roku
Dominic Preston
X-Men ’97 has what Masters of the Universe is missing

The two projects highlight how it takes more than nostalgia to reinvigorate a franchise.

Charles Pulliam-Moore