I think that I can almost enjoy how much people are getting bent out of shape by this on other social media. (I confess to scanning a few of the comments under that TrekMovie article.)
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Asia Surpasses North America and Europe to Lead in Streaming Scripted Series Orders
(www.hollywoodreporter.com)
As the US financial markets, politicians and entertainment media obsess about mergers and moving production of US scripted shows back to the United States, this seems like an enormous reality check. The United States provides less and less of the scripted entertainment globally.
It squashes the long held beliefs that the world watches/prefers American popular entertainment exports over those made at home or in other countries and regions.
There’s a new global leader in greenlights.
Over the first half of 2026, Asia surpassed both North America and Europe to become the world’s leader in streaming scripted orders, the researchers at Ampere Analysis have found. From January through June, 36 percent of “first-run scripted TV orders from the leading global streamers” (Prime Video, Apple TV+, Disney+, HBO Max, Netflix and Paramount+) originated in the APAC (Asia-Pacific, which encompasses countries in East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Oceania) region.
What’s unfortunate for members of this instance is that, in this process, it’s science fiction and fantasy that are being crowded out on the major streamers. (Perhaps that’s because English speaking science fiction and fantasy viewers are less willing to give scripted shows in and films in other languages a try…? )
Here’s a chart of the trends :
As a Canadian, who sees many of our Canadian productions obscure that they are set in Canada or even outright pretend to be in the USA even when based on Canadian source material, I hope that this means that we can tell our own stories without having to obscure our identity for distribution to international audiences.
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Just posted today on the creator’s Mastodon account.
2
PHOTOS: ‘Birdwatcher’ brings a Cold War-era Monsterverse to Prague’s city center
(www.praguereporter.com)
Local media in Prague, Czech Republic, are continuing to provide updates on early production for Birdwatcher — working title for the new Monsterverse Monarch: Legacy of Monsters spinoff show focused on Lee Shaw during the Cold War in the 1980s.
The Prague Reporter can reveal exclusive photos from the production, showing star Wyatt Russell on location alongside an array of period props and vehicles. The imagery points to a story set in the Soviet Union during the Cold War, with Russell’s Lee Shaw apparently operating undercover and under pursuit by the KGB…
…The Prague Reporter’s exclusive set photos offer the clearest look yet at Birdwatcher‘s Cold War setting. Several images show period props featuring Cyrillic lettering, while others capture Russell in scenes that appear to depict his character moving covertly behind the Iron Curtain...
…e Cyrillic markings on props strongly suggest that Birdwatcher is portraying the Soviet Union, although the specific locations represented by the scenes have not been officially identified. Previous reports have placed the story in 1984, when Shaw is sent on a secret mission behind enemy lines to prevent the Soviet Union from unleashing a Titan capable of changing the course of the Cold War.
Here a couple of the large number of behind the scenes photos from the article.
Note: the lower photo for bread store #61 🍞— хлеб is Russian for bread.
Dropping in belatedly to say that my partner and I felt this was an improvement over the season premiere, and we felt it got things back on track.
Dropping back to add that Youku is making Mystic Nine available through free ad-supported video on demand through its app or through its YouTube channel. One episode is being released per day.
As of today, 13 episodes are posted in Youku’s English subtitle playlist and 12 on the English dub playlist on YouTube.
As there has been a fair bit of interest when I shared information on a recent Mainland Chinese science fiction movie, I thought it would be worthwhile to let the users here know about the top ranked urban fantasy television series Mystic Nine that is the hit of the summer with a 30% market share in China.
If you’re looking to try a 20th century fantasy show with a touch of horror and monsters, timey wimey shenanigans, lots of humour, cute dogs, great vfx and the kind of fantastic action scenes that Chinese television excels in, this is the one. (If you are a fan of Moopsy in Star Trek Lower Decks, this show definitely has something for you.)
Mystic Nine (2026) is a 30 episode x 40 minute series produced for Youku but more easily accessible internationally through Rakuten Viki.
It’s part of a larger Lost Tomb IP novel and television franchise that involves 9 clans responsible for the 9 gates of the city Changsa in the Republican Era. Think of Raiders of the Lost Ark meeting Republican Era factionalism.
This entry takes place in 1935 and the book author was reportedly closely involved in the adaptation. It’s a good entry into the IP and the opening credits give a nutshell summary of the clans.
I’d been wondering when we’d hear about more women being cast for this show as the balance up to now was heavily skewed to men as compared to Monarch: Legacy of Monsters.
Stana Katic is someone who usually is cast as a lead, so it will be interesting to see what role she’s given in this one.
The continuance of Paramount+ as a standalone streamer is entirely dependent on the delay of the merger. I would take anything the current management says with a certain amount of skepticism as they are having to carry on while the antitrust challenge is ongoing.
Ellison has been transparent that he is looking to consolidate the WB and Paramount streamers or at minimum restructure and retarget their content and audiences. He’s looking for synergies and in his justifications to investors regarding the merger, he’s specifically cited the intention for Paramount and WB to use Skydance’s animation studios.
I actually wonder in hindsight to what degree Paramount and Nickelodeon proactively shut down renewals with animation houses in anticipation of a deal with Skydance.
It’s interesting that they believe that they have leverage — and that it just might be the case.
Ellison suffered a setback that should not be underestimated when Taylor Sheridan unequivocally rebuffed Paramount’s offer to renew his first look contract. He has been Paramount+’s biggest content producer but flatly rejected a renewal, despite extensive personal courting by David Ellison and one of his senior people brought over from Skydance.
So, it’s not obvious that the kind of creatives that Ellison wants to work with will actually be willing to sign on with him. The Hagemans are significant creators in animation and Skydance’s animation studio is a major part of its business. They really are in a position to insist that on Prodigy renewal as part of any deal.
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'The Horror of Godzilla' #1 Review: IDW Returns the King of the Monsters to His Terrifying Roots
(bloody-disgusting.com)
The choices in this list are an odd mix of ones that almost everyone acknowledges as top ranked and others that are likely not.
A Mathematically Perfect Redemption as the only standalone Lower Decks episode to make the cut?
No TAS classics such as Yesteryear, The Slaver Weapon or the Counterclockwise Incident?
TNG Qpid but not Q Who?
Nothing at all from Prodigy — the best effort and most successful landing of a serialized season the franchise has achieved?
Thanks for the thought experiment OP.
My spouse and I found this season opener disappointing, if for different reasons.
My partner couldn’t get past the bad science. More, something made them feel like they were watching low budget mid 20th century scifi.
I found the performances/acting off across the board. Given the strength of the cast one has to wonder why they were overwrought and unconvincing. The pacing and rhythm of dialogue definitely was part of it. The direction has to be part of it but the episode director has done a lot of better episodes in the this era.
I’m usually pretty forgiving on science and engineering as long as the process feels right. Without the actors selling it, I just didn’t get into the show in a way that allowed for suspension of disbelief.
The cast is saying they feel this is their strongest season yet. Based on episode one, I am unconvinced.
This is good news.
It was well done and might be something Paramount is willing to do more of even if the television franchise is on ice.
The casting for this show is even more stacked than for Monarch: Legacy of Monsters.
That said, given that it’s a Cold War era show, I would expect a few more women in the mix — even if Shaw’s romantic interest is already stuck on Keiko, it’s difficult to imagine an 80s espionage scenario without women. So far, Millie Brady is the only woman mentioned in cast announcements.
A suitably summery Godzilla cartoon from Grickle. Available for purchase from the creator at the link to their website.
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I find it interesting how much attention franchise fans give to crowd-sourced ratings on IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes when we know that they are brigaded. Why give any credence to manipulated data?
As I have been watching more content from China recently, I have learned that the manipulation of social media and streaming audience data, especially ratings, is a very high profile public discussion outside North America.
In fact, there have been repeated attempts to develop and patent algorithms in China to detect manipulated ratings and streaming audience data and correct for them. None have successfully proved they can clean up brigading and manipulation to the satisfaction of national authorities.