10 Stories You Should Know: 09/07/2022

"Peppa The Pig" introduces its first lesbian couple

Here is a rundown of today’s stories that should be on your morning radar:

’New Amsterdam’ Is Getting A Turkish Adaptation (The Hollywood Reporter)
NBCUniversal Formats said on Wednesday that the first international version of Universal Television’s NBC medical drama New Amsterdam will be produced for Turkey. The Turkish adaptation Hayat Bugün, meaning “Life Is Today,” will be produced by 03 Medya in association with Universal International Studios. Original show creator David Schulner is consulting on the series.

’Thomas The Tank Engine’ To Introduce First Autistic Character (The Guardian)
Bruno the Brake Car, voiced by nine-year-old autistic actor Elliott Garcia from Reading in the UK, will start appearing in episodes of the latest Thomas & Friends series from later this month.

Mattel, the US toy giant behind franchises including Barbie and Hot Wheels that acquired Thomas the Tank Engine in 2011, said it had “carefully curated Bruno’s character to ensure an accurate fictional representation of autism”.

The company says that Bruno rolls in reverse at the end of the train – “giving him a unique perspective on the world” – and loves schedules, routine, timetables and “when everything goes to plan”.

’Peppa The Pig’ Introduces It First Lesbian Couple (The Sun)
Sketching two female polar bears in dresses, Penny says: “I’m Penny Polar Bear.

“I live with my mummy and my other mummy.

“One mummy is a doctor and one mummy cooks spaghetti. I love spaghetti.”

Saudi Arabia, Gulf Countries Order Netflix to Remove Un-Islamic Content (Variety)
I’ve been arguing in my TooMuchTV newsletter that media companies aren’t going to be able to dodge the various culture wars much longer. And given the Gulf countries feelings about content they consider “un-Islamic,” this feels almost inevitable.

Associated Press reported that Saudi state television also aired video of an interview it conducted with a woman it identified as a behavioral consultant who described Netflix as being an “official sponsor of homosexuality.” It aired footage of a cartoon that had two women embrace, though the footage was blurred out. “Saudi state television also aired a segment suggesting Netflix could be banned in the kingdom over that programming reaching children,” AP reported.

UK Production Revenues Near Pre-Covid Levels, But International & Streamer Spending Falls, Says Pact (Television Business International)
McVay rejected the notion that streamers and U.S. studios are moving investment from the UK to other nations such as France to cater for the non-English-language-content boom.

“I don’t think Netflix is robbing Britain to pay France,” he added. “The UK is still a major player and money is not shifting from one market to the other.”

McVay’s comments, however, came a day after a similar French TV market report showed record international spend of €678M ($672M) driven by the success of France’s Tax Rebate for International Production.

Armie Hammer Doc To Remove Image Of Alleged Bite Mark (Variety)
The Discovery+ limited series House Of Hammer is removing an image of an alleged bite mark that one of the actor’s exes believed to be a photo of her own body. Turns out, the image in question appears to be a bite mark tattoo from Pinterest

Federation Acquires Majority Stake in ‘Britannia’ Producer Vertigo Films (The Hollywood Reporter)
International studio Federation (The Bureau, Around the World in 80 Days) has struck a deal to acquire a majority stake in London-based British film and television production company Vertigo Films (Britannia, Bulletproof, The Sweeney, Monsters). Financial and other terms weren’t disclosed.

Sky To Pay UK & Ireland Staff $23M To Help With Cost-Of-Living Crisis (Deadline)
Sky is giving £1,000 ($1,148) to 70% of its UK and Ireland staff over the winter to ease the pressure of the cost-of-living crisis, amounting to around £20M ($23M). The majority of employees will be given the bonus in two instalments, one next month and the next in January.

Can Disney+ And Tving Equal Netflix's Success In Korea? (The Korea Herald)
The streaming service offered “Outrun by Running Man,” a spinoff of the popular SBS variety show “Running Man,” as its first original content. But it failed to meet viewers’ expectations, many of them feeling that the spinoff was not much different from the original.

Three original series -- “Rookie Cops,” “Grid” and “Kiss Sixth Sense” -- received lower-than-expected interest. It did not help matters that “Snowdrop” (2021), a highly anticipated JTBC drama exclusively available on Disney+, came under fire for alleged distortions of history, leaving an unfavorable impression on local viewers.