10 Stories You Should Know: 09/21/2022

It's Wednesday and there is a lot of discuss.

Hulu’s Value In Focus As Disney, Comcast Go Public With Negotiation Tactics (The Hollywood Reporter)
Comcast already has a streaming service in NBCU’s Peacock platform, which has seen stalling numbers for paying subscribers (about 13 million) and has not reached a level to seriously compete with Netflix or Disney+. Roberts clearly sees Hulu, which commands a high average revenue per user and has an established subscriber base, as a means to help broaden Peacock’s library and bring in more subscribers, pushing the platform toward more of a tier one status. However, reaching that status would also require a larger and continued investment in content, and it is unclear whether Comcast is prepared to do that, said Moody’s analyst Neil Begley. 

Zach Shallcross Is Officially ABC’s Next Star of ‘The Bachelor’ (Variety)
Shallcross is a 26-year-old tech executive from Anaheim Hills, Calif. His bio on ABC’s website describes him as an “old-fashioned romantic” who has “a huge heart that he is so ready to share forever with the right woman.” The California native splits time between Texas and Orange County, and is said to be a “family man” whose parents have been married over 30 years, showing him what true love looks like. Bachelor Nation learned during the hometown episodes on “The Bachelorette” that Shallcross’ uncle is “Seinfeld” actor Patrick Warburton, who appeared on the reality show when Shallcross visited his family.

Campaign To Sack UK Star Presenters Over ‘Jumping Queen’s Queue’ Reaches Almost 30,000 Signatures (Deadline)
Tales of behind-the-scenes panic by producers, Willoughby in tears, lawyers being called in for both as they seek to keep their jobs, all adds up to an extraordinary twist on the already strange week of the Queen’s death and funeral in the UK. One commentator told British radio yesterday, “There was a lot of emotional oxygen flying around the UK this week. I guess it had to go somewhere.”

Fantasy Has Always Been About Race (Harper’s Bizarre)
But fantasy has always been about race. And medieval fantasy is not history, but a reproduction of history and its metaphors. The West cannot tell itself about itself without the inclusion of race. As a European invention emerging from colonialism and the transatlantic slave trade, race is the story of Europe’s encounter with difference, and the West’s primary way of organizing the world. The racial hierarchies of our world get translated into fantasy races that reflect the measure of one’s humanity. Race is the dominant social system in The Lord of the Rings’ Middle-earth, and as the blueprint for “high fantasy” literature, its racial allegories are reproduced across the genre: In fantasy book series, role-playing games, and films written in its tradition, race is the social hierarchy and source of conflict; in Game of Thrones’ Westeros, race is more of a political geography. It’s even the first decision (race, gender, class) a player must make in creating a character for any campaign in the iconic Dungeons & Dragons role-playing games. In fantasy, race is not just part of world building. It is the world.

Raju Srivastava Death: Indian Film Industry Loses A Gem Who Lived For Spreading Laughter (Outlook India)
The urban populace loved him because his earthy stories were pretty alien to them, and through his eyes, they could see a different world from the small towns of India. The people from these smaller towns loved Srivastava for the brilliance in which he brought relatability to the characters. From Amitabh Bachchan to even a poor farmer in the heartlands of the country has been a fan of this brand of Raju Srivastava’s humour.

’Andor’ Review – The Best Star Wars Show Since The Mandalorian (The Guardian)
When word of mouth spreads about a new streaming show, viewers tend to tell each other not how many episodes are in the season, but how many you have to watch before the thing gets good. In the case of Andor (Disney+), the latest addition to the Star Wars TV universe, the magic number is three.

Nobody Willing To Run Welsh Pub After Brewery Banned Mobile Phones, Music, TVs And Swearing (Wales Online)
Despite its eccentricity however, the Sir Gawain has some excellent reviews online from those who applauded the venue for its traditional values. "If you are looking for good beer, good banter, and a fabulous relaxed atmosphere, you won’t get better locally," said one person. "A true community pub, with a heart of gold."

Manga Arabia Signs Agreement With Malaysia’s Kadokawa Gempak Starz (KGS) To Publish Arabic IPs In Malay And Chinese (ArabNews.com)
The first season of X-Ventures followed the adventures of three young Saudi heroes Laith, Lynn and Ziad, and invited readers along on their thrilling journeys. The 12-chapter story blends adventure and entertainment, granting readers an insight into the fascinating world of oil and energy sources while sparking their imagination. The second season of the X-Ventures series will have the team tackle an archeological mystery, taking them on a daring journey filled with fun and excitement brought by the young heroes.

Chris Winfrey Will Take Reins Of Charter Communications As CEO (Variety)
Winfrey will take the reins of the company as many traditional cable distributors face business disruption, with younger consumers opting for broadband-based entertainment options that include streaming hubs. Earlier this year, Charter entered into a joint venture with rival Comcast Corp. that aims to develop a streaming platform for smart TVs and mobile devices that will license Comcast’s Flex platform and use Xumo, a streaming venue Comcast bought in 2020. Charter is expected to contribute $900 million over several years.

Peacock Orders Its First Original Adult Animation Series ‘In The Know’ From Mike Judge (Cartoon Brew)
Lauren Caspian is NPR’s third most popular host. He’s a well-meaning, hypocritical nimrod, just like you and me. He’s also a stop motion puppet. Each episode follows the making of an episode of Lauren’s show In the Know, in which Lauren conducts in-depth interviews with real world human guests. Lauren collaborates with a diverse crew of NPR staff. They are also puppets and nimrods.