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Apple TV+ and HBO Max earn their first best comedy Emmy nominations
'Ted Lasso,' 'Hacks' and 'The Flight Attendant' are all up for one of TV's two biggest awards.
What's on TV: 'Friends' reunion, 'Rugrats' and 'Lucifer'
Also new this week: 'My Fair Lady' 4K and the 'Black Lighting' series finale.
'Friends: The Reunion' hits HBO Max on May 27th
HBO Max will begin streaming Friends: The Reunion on May 27th.
Movies Anywhere will let you share purchases with friends
Chances are you're already sharing streaming recommendations with friends who are staying at home to socially distance themselves. Now, Movies Anywhere wants to make it a little easier to share actual movies. The service, which syncs up your purchased films across platforms like iTunes, Amazon Video, Google Play and Vudu, is launching a new feature called Screen Pass that will let you temporarily share your purchased movies with friends and family, The Verge reports.
'Friends' cast is locked in for a reunion special to launch HBO Max
Now that AT&T spent more than $400 million pulling Friends from Netflix to serve as one of the pillars for its HBO Max streaming service, the WarnerMedia company has also shelled out to get the original cast back together for a reunion special. Negotiations over the special have been rumored for months, but now it's confirmed that Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry, and David Schwimmer will all be a part of the unscripted event. According to The Hollywood Reporter, each one could make between $2.5 to $3 million just to appear in this event. Along with all 236 episodes of the popular sitcom, it will be available when HBO Max launches in May. In case you've forgotten, it's taking a "curated by humans" angle to go along with its mix of original and archival content, and will cost $14.99 per month.
What's coming to Netflix in January: hello 'Sabrina,' goodbye 'Friends'
It's the start of a new year and a new decade, but for Netflix this will be a bittersweet January -- it's as much about what's going away as what's coming. The company is ready to offer a helping hand, at least. It has released a schedule that not only tells you what to expect at the start of 2020, but what merits a marathon viewing session before it's gone for good.
Disney+ is boosting its library by running a Starz ad (update)
When you first launch Disney+ after it becomes available next early week, you might find something that wasn't supposed to be there. According to The Verge, the streaming service will show some subscribers an ad promoting premium TV channel Starz after they finish the initial sign-up process. Disney confirmed to Engadget that the one-time promo will be shown to some users once they finish signing up for the service and entering payment details.
How to get the most out of Netflix, Hulu and other streaming services
A Netflix or Hulu subscription alone won't cut it anymore. The streaming landscape is fracturing as bastions of old media rise up with their own services, offering a blend of originals and library material. Over the coming months, the streaming video options will multiply like Gremlins, as the likes of Disney, Apple, WarnerMedia, NBCUniversal and mobile platform Quibi hop into the game.
HBO Max will be the exclusive streaming home of 'Friends'
AT&T's WarnerMedia finally has a name for its streaming service -- and some unfortunate news for people hoping it would share some classic shows. The new platform will be named HBO Max, and will unsurprisingly use HBO's material as its base on top of originals and shows from other Warner networks. Most notably, that includes exclusive rights "at launch" to every episode of Friends -- true to its word, AT&T won't let Netflix and others share its classics. There are similar on-launch exclusives for Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Pretty Little Liars.
Here's how multiplayer works in 'Dr. Mario World'
Nintendo is set to release its latest mobile game Dr. Mario World on July 10th, and we're starting to get a better idea of what the game will look like. Today, Nintendo dropped a trailer that reveals how the game's multiplayer mode will work. It also launched a new site with general info, like when and where you can download the game.
AT&T's streaming bundle with HBO could start at $16
AT&T's streaming video service, which will bundle HBO, Cinemax, and a wide selection of Warner Bro. films and television, is shaping up to be a surprisingly good deal. AT&T will be pricing the bundle at between $16 and $17 a month, reports the Wall Street Journal. Considering that HBO Now costs $14.99 a month, customers may opt to shell out the extra dollar or two a month to access Cinemax, as well as favorite shows and movies from Warner Bro.'s expansive archives, such as Friends and The Big Bang Theory.
Spotify might let users build and listen to playlists together
Spotify appears to be working on a "Social Listening" feature that will let multiple users control a playlist from separate devices. They'll also be able to listen to the same songs in real-time. The company hasn't announced the added capability yet, but researcher Jane Manchun Wong spotted a prototype and shared images on Twitter -- where she's previously leaked other updates. The group DJ feature could work like Dubtrack.fm and the former Turntable.fm. It will likely allow users to listen to the same songs while they're apart or collaborate on a playlist when they're together.
'Friends' will be there for you on Netflix 'through 2019' (update)
After a day of panic where it looked like beloved '90s sitcom Friends would leave Netflix next month, there's been a stay of execution. Following a report from Variety that said Netflix was negotiating to keep the show around after a quick backlash, the company confirmed that Friends will stay on the streaming service "throughout 2019." Earlier in the day, a visit to the show's page in the US indicated that the classic sitcom would only be available until January 1st, 2019, but that notice has since been removed.
Instagram may soon let you tag your friends in videos
Instagram is testing a feature that lets users tag their friends in videos. Unlike with photos, where an overlay on the image shows everyone who's tagged, you can tap a button that takes you to page listing all the people tagged in the clip.
Facebook nixes Friend List Feeds, but Friend Lists live on
Facebook has been culling various features that take it away from its new "back to basics" emphasis on people over brands. It ended its Explore Feed test after it found that not many people liked splitting their news feed. Now the company is getting rid of another type of feed: Friend List Feeds. A message posted to the Facebook app says that the feeds based on your Friends Lists will be unavailable starting today, August 9th. Facebook said it was doing this to "focus on improving your main News Feed experience."
Apple Music's 'Friends Mix' is a playlist of your pals' top tunes
Apple is giving your friends the keys to your Music account. Okay, not really, but every Monday, it'll compile 25 songs your friends are listening to into a playlist dubbed, you guessed it, "Friends Mix." 9to5Mac notes that this doesn't seem to be tied to a specific iOS update. From the sounds of it, the new trick relies heavily on the social features (seeing your friends' listening history, specifically) announced last June. Of course, this isn't the only playlist feature Apple Music has going for it. There's also "My Chill Mix" and the weekly new release mix. Editorial and personalized playlists have been Spotify's bread and butter for awhile, and Apple Music is keen to take a few notes from its competitor. The feature is currently in a staggered rollout so, if you don't see the mix pop up in your For You section, or Siri doesn't respond when you ask it to play the mix, just be patient. Welcome to the social.
Instagram adds status markers to your DM list
Instagram started telling you when your friends were active in the direct message list last January. Now the photo-centric social network is expanding the feature with a new green dot to indicate who is online and active.
You can see your friends' HQ Trivia answers, but only on Fridays
Now that hit mobile game HQ has become more social, the company is reportedly planning to let you see your friends' answers on Fridays. TechCrunch says the feature has been in testing for a while, now, and will roll out to all HQ players this week.
'Friends' finally comes to Netflix UK
In August 2011, Channel 4 broadcast Friends for the last time. It was the end of an era — many, myself included, had grown up with the coffee-fueled Manhattanites on the terrestrial channel and its hipper sibling E4. That same year, the beloved sitcom switched to Comedy Central, restricting it to those with an applicable Sky, BT or Virgin Media package. If, like me, you've missed the gang and their New York hijinks, good news — the show is now available on Netflix in the UK. It's been an awfully long wait — all 10 seasons, after all, came to US Netflix on January 1st, 2015.
Facebook's 'ticker,' aka creeper feed, is no more
Facebook has killed one of its oldest features, the "ticker," that let you see at a glance what your friends were doing or sharing. First launched in 2011, it used to appear to the right of your news feed (on the web app) showing likes, comments and other friend activities. As TechCrunch noticed, Facebook's help community had been posting about the ticker's disappearance, when a verified employee chimed in to say that "this feature is no longer available."
