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Netflix is developing a new animated series based on Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, targeted at younger viewers. The streamer is also broadening its Sega ties with planned film adaptations of the video games Crazy Taxi and Stranger Than Heaven.
In a Decoder interview, comedian and podcaster Adam Conover traces his path from CollegeHumor through cable's Adam Ruins Everything and Netflix back to YouTube, where he now runs a podcast called Factually! He contends Hollywood abandoned large swaths of TV programming to YouTube while chasing Netflix and HBO-style prestige, and rejects the notion that this shift democratized media.
At BlizzCon, Blizzard revealed a spring 2029 release window for Diablo V and confirmed an animated television adaptation of the franchise being developed with Netflix. Details on both projects remain scarce—Blizzard has not disclosed the game's story specifics, the show's release date, or which studio is animating it, only teasing that 'Sanctuary's darkness is spreading.'
Subscribing to eight leading ad-free streaming services now costs about $151 monthly, up from roughly $90 four years ago, according to new pricing data. Apple TV+ has raised prices 200% since its 2019 launch, while Netflix's Premium tier is up 125% since 2013, and price hikes accelerated further with an 11.8% jump over the past year alone.
Florida has filed a lawsuit against Netflix, alleging the streaming company misled subscribers about its privacy practices while secretly gathering detailed data on users' devices, locations and viewing habits. The suit contends this tracking extended to children and families who were unaware of the extent of the surveillance.
The Toronto International Film Festival kicked off its annual lineup, featuring new work from Takashi Miike, Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, Werner Herzog, and a four-hour Elon Musk documentary. Among the festival's early standouts is 'The Only Living Pickpocket in New York,' starring John Turturro as an aging, technophobic thief navigating a city that has moved on to smartphones. The film hits theaters October 30th.
An independent pricing tracker compiled monthly rates for nine flagship streaming tiers—Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, HBO Max, Apple TV+, Paramount+, Peacock, YouTube Premium and Spotify—comparing March 2021 to today. The combined monthly cost for the same services rose from $95.91 to $154.41, a 61% jump equal to $702 more annually, without any downgrades or cancellations factored in.
An Ampere Analysis report cited by Business Insider found that average ad minutes per hour across major US ad-supported streaming tiers rose 18% between January and August 2026. Paramount+ now shows the most ads at just over nine minutes per hour, while Netflix saw the sharpest percentage jump, climbing from 1.40 to 2.44 minutes per hour, though it still airs the fewest ads overall. Prime Video was the only service among the group to actually cut its ad load during this period.
Streaming and video-call services have modest bandwidth needs on their own—Netflix 4K needs just 15 Mbps and Zoom calls need under 5 Mbps—but households with multiple devices running simultaneously need far more headroom. Experts recommend at least 100 Mbps for one or two people, 300 Mbps for larger or work-from-home households, and 500 Mbps or more for heavy users, while noting the FCC's official broadband baseline is now 100 Mbps down and 20 Mbps up.
Apple TV won 20 Creative Arts Emmy awards this weekend ahead of the September 14th Primetime ceremony, putting it in third place behind HBO Max's 16 and Netflix's 13. Comedy Widows Bay accounted for 8 of Apple's wins, including Outstanding Guest Actress for Betty Gilpin, with Pluribus, Margo's Got Money Troubles, Palm Royale and Mr Scorsese also contributing wins.
Netflix has ordered a live-action series called Ravenloft, based on the Dungeons & Dragons setting, focusing on the origin story of vampire villain Strahd von Zarovich. Alfonso Cuarón will executive produce, while John August, known for writing several Tim Burton films, will pen the script.
Netflix is developing a live-action series based on the Dungeons & Dragons Ravenloft setting, with Alfonso Cuarón and John August attached as executive producers alongside Hasbro Entertainment. The show will reportedly focus on Strahd von Zarovich, tracing his transformation from a tragic figure into one of D&D's most notorious vampire villains. Deadline also reported that Netflix has scrapped a separate live-action Forgotten Realms series that was being developed by Shawn Levy and Drew Crevello.