Following the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, a state funeral is being broadcast around the world. As many gather to pay respects to the longest-reigning monarch, broadcasters worldwide are airing coverage surroundingthe event. However, the British network Channel 5 has a different way of mourning.
Channel 5 is instead airing The Emoji Movie.
As September 19th is now a day for those in the United Kingdom to reflect and mourn the loss of Queen Elizabeth, broadcasters are not only airing the funeral receptions conducted by the Dean of Westminster. The venue of the funeral took place at Westminster Abbey hundreds of thousands gathered.
As this is one of the largest broadcasting events in recent history, several channels are exclusively covering the queen’s funeral. Channel 5, however, is instead focusing on providing viewable content for children. Included in the day’s roster of films is The Emoji Movie. The stars are the likes of T.J. Miller, James Corden, and Patrick Stewart, the latter plays Poop, the poop emoji.
Speaking of steaming piles, The Emoji Movie has been critically panned since its release in 2017. The film currently sits at six percent on Rotten Tomatoes. At the 2018 Razzie Awards, The Emoji Movie won ‘Worst Picture of the Year.’
Channel 5’s intentions were in the right place. Its child-friendly lineup of films includes Stuart Little, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, and Sing. However, it doesn’t take away how funny it is to see The Emoji Movie being aired as an alternative to the queen’s funeral. Many British viewers joined in jest to share pictures of Channel 5’s broadcasting choices.
Channel 5 broadcasting the Emoji Movie instead of the royal funeral is the funniest bit of our generation
FX’s Welcome to Wrexham is finally making its way to Canada via Disney+ next month. The sports documentary series sees Canadian Ryan Reynolds reviving the third-oldest professional association football team in the world alongside Rob McElhenney.
Starting on October 13th, episodes of Welcome to Wrexham will land on Disney+ on a weekly basis. The first season of the docu-series has 12 episodes, each spanning roughly 30 minutes.
Rob McElhenney. Ryan Reynolds. Wrexham, Wales. To this town, football is not life and death. It’s more important than that.
In September 2020, Reynolds and McElhenney announced their intention to purchase Wrexham AFC. The announcement came following the non-league football team found itself in a slump. As the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Wrexham AFC furloughed staff and players. Reynold and McElhenney through their hats into the ring and offered a £2 million (roughly $3 million CAD) takeover from owners Wrexham Supporter’s Trust. The offer was ultimately accepted.
The duo aims to highlight the changes and improvements brought to the team. With no prior experience managing a sports team, Reynolds and McElhenney showcase their “hands-on ownership.” Things have seemingly been boding well for the team and its new owners. Wrexham AFC was even added to FIFA 22 following the purchase.
Reynolds and McElhenney serve as executive producers of Welcome to Wrexham. Maximum Effort, Reynolds’ film company is co-producing the series and handling marketing.
FX has commissioned two seasons of the series. However, there is currently no word on when to expect the follow-up season to begin streaming.
Every week, MobileSyrup outlines some of the most notable movies and TV shows that recently hit Canadian streaming platforms.
Our ‘Streaming in Canada’ column typically focuses on new content from Amazon Prime Video, Crave and Netflix, but other services like Apple TV+ and Disney+ are mentioned when relevant. Premium video on demand (PVOD) platforms are also fair game as movies continue to come to digital early amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Finally, we’ll highlight shows or movies that are made by Canadian companies, involve notable Canadian cast or crew and/or are filmed in Canada.
Amazon Prime Video
The Grand Tour: A Scandi Flick (Season 5) [Amazon Original]
Jeremy, Richard and James head to the Scandinavian Arctic Circle, exploring Cold War sub bases, frozen lake race tracks and more.
Amazon Prime Video Canada release date: September 16th, 2022 (first episode, new episodes every Friday) Genre: Motoring Runtime: TBA (around one hour each)
The full list of movies and shows hitting Prime Video Canada this month can be found here.
Apple TV+
Sago’s Mini Friends [Apple Original]
Based on the popular Sago Mini World app, this preschool series follows Harvey the floppy-eared dog and his best friends as they express true gratitude for everything in their life through kindness, humour and original songs.
It’s worth noting that Sago’s Mini Friends was produced by Spin Master Entertainment and animated by Brown Bag Films, two Toronto-based companies.
Apple TV+ Canada premiere date: September 16th, 2022 (first episode, new episodes every Friday) Genre: Animated, children’s Runtime: 10 episodes (23 minutes each)
Following the events of Season 4, June faces the consequences of her actions while Serena attempts to raise her profile in Toronto.
Based on Ottawa-born writer Margaret Atwood’s novel of the same name, The Handmaid’s Tale was created by Bruce Miller (Eureka) and stars Elizabeth Moss (Mad Men), Yvonne Strahovski (Chuck), Pointe-Claire, Quebec’s Amanda Brugel (Kim’s Convenience), Bradley Whitford (The West Wing), Ann Dowd (The Leftovers) and Samira Wiley (Orange is the New Black).
It’s worth noting that The Handmaid’s Tale is filmed in Toronto.
Crave premiere date: September 14th, 2022 (first episode, new episodes every Wednesday at 9pm ET) Genre: Drama Runtime: 10 episodes (around one hour each)
A standard Crave subscription is priced at $19.99/month, with Starz costing an additional $5.99/month. A mobile-only subscription is also available for $9.99/month.
The full list of movies and shows hitting Crave this month can be found here.
Netflix
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners [Netflix Original]
From the popular anime company Studio Trigger (Kill la Kill) comes this spin-off of CD Projekt Red’s Cyberpunk 2077 video game.
The series follows a street kid named David (Demon Slayer‘s Zach Aguilar) who tries to survive the dangerous and futuristic Night City by becoming a mercenary outlaw known as a cyberpunk.
Netflix Canada premiere date: September 13th, 2022 Genre: Anime Runtime: 10 episodes (23 to 26 minutes each)
Down on their luck, two high school students agree to go after each other’s bullies.
Do Revenge was directed by Jennifer Kaytin Robinson (Someone Great) and stars Camila Mendes (Riverdale), Maya Hawke (Stranger Things), Sophie Turner (Game of Thrones) and Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy the Vampire Slayer).
Disney is now streaming BTS: Permission to Dance on Stage — LA on its Disney+ service around the world.
The special features a recording of BTS’ concert at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium in late 2021 in which the popular South Korean boy band performed songs like “Dynamite,” “Butter” and “Permission to Dance.”
Disney has made the special available on Disney+ as part of its Disney+ Day celebrations. Notably, this is a surprise drop on Disney+, as it was not previously confirmed to be among the list of titles hitting the service on September 8th. Other Disney+ Day premieres include Thor: Love and Thunder, Obi-Wan Kenobi: A Jedi’s Return and Pinocchio.
Disney has kicked off a limited-time promotion on Disney+ subscriptions for Disney+ Day, its day-long celebration of the eponymous streaming service.
From September 8th at 12am ET/9pm PT to September 20th at 2:59am ET/11:59am PT, Canadians can snag a one-month Disney+ membership for $1.99 CAD, down from the $11.99 monthly fee. This offer will be available to new and returning Disney+ subscribers.
The offer coincides with Disney+ on September 8th, at which time Disney will drop a slew of new content on the streaming service, including Thor: Love and Thunder, Obi-Wan Kenobi: A Jedi’s Return and Pinocchio.
Also this week is D23, the company’s biannual convention celebrating all of its brands. As part of this event, a variety of announcements are expected to be made regarding Marvel and Star Wars shows, films and games, among other reveals.
Elon Musk is not a fan of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.
The controversial Tesla CEO took to Twitter on Labour Day to slam the buzzworthy Prime Video series, claiming that creator J.R.R. Tolkien is “turning in his grave” over it.
Almost every male character so far is a coward, a jerk or both. Only Galadriel is brave, smart and nice.
“Almost every male character so far is a coward, a jerk or both. Only Galadriel is brave, smart and nice,” tweeted Musk.
He’s referring to the Elven warrior played by Morfyyd Clark, who some have taken issue with for being a tough warrior. In Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy, set thousands of years later, Galadriel (Cate Blanchett) is portrayed as a more regal and serene character.
It should be noted, though, that only two episodes of The Rings ofPower‘s eight-episode first season have been released so far, and Amazon is planning at least four more seasons. Therefore, it’s quite premature to already be getting upset about the show’s depiction of characters.
Of course, there are completely valid reasons to dislike anything, The Rings of Power included, but people like Musk certainly don’t seem to have any. As beloved The Sandman writer Neil Gaiman tweeted in response to all of this, “Elon Musk doesn’t come to me for advice on how to fail to buy Twitter, and I don’t go to him for film, TV or literature criticism.”
Amazon Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power has premiered with its first two episodes on the streaming service. While being received well by critics, Amazon has been facing an onslaught of internet trolls review bombing the series.
In an attempt to counteract reviews made by internet trolls, Amazon’s new delay on reviews is in place in order to evaluate each one. This way, Amazon hopes to weed out genuine and constructive reviews. Thus, the company can mitigate using those made by bots, trolls, and other malicious users.
This practice is reported to have launched quietly upon the premiere of Amazon Prime Video’s A League of Their Own. However, upon the two-episode premiere of Rings of Power, Amazon confirms the existence of the review delay.
Aside from Amazon Prime Video’s reviews, Ring of Power has faced negative reviews made by trolls. For example, Rotten Tomatoes shows a respectable 84% rating from critics, but a surprisingly low 39% from users. Delving into the content of the low reviews paints a picture of internet trolls intentionally providing negative reviews. Many are purely based on the show’s focus on a female protagonist and cast of colour.
This is far from the first series or film to face review bombings. While Rotten Tomatoes continues to suffer from negative reviews and trolls, Amazon’s new review policy appears to be working. A League of Their Own shows 80 percent of user ratings with five stars and 14 percent with one star, averaging 4.3 out of 5 stars on the platform. The first user reviews for Rings of Power should be rolling out soon on Prime Video.
Despite internet trolls attempting to bring down the party, Prime Video has revealed that 25 million global viewers tuned into the premiere of Rings of Power in the first 24 hours. Suffice to say that the show has started on a very good foot for the streaming service.
Netflix plans to push forward the launch of its ad-supported subscription tier to early November in a bid to beat Disney+.
The detail comes from the Wall Street Journal, which reported on August 31st that some ad buyers claimed Netflix told them it would launch its ad tier on November 1st. Varietycited industry experts in a September 1st report corroborating the November 1st launch goal, noting the ad-tier would go live in “multiple countries, including the U.S., Canada, U.K., France and Germany.”
A November 1st launch would put Netflix about a month ahead of Disney’s planned December launch for an ad-supported subscription tier. It’s worth noting that Disney has only detailed plans for a U.S. launch — it’s unclear if an ad tier will come to Canada.
“We are still in the early days of deciding how to launch a lower-priced, ad-supported tier and no decisions have been made,” Netflix told Variety in a statement.
Variety also detailed some of Netflix’s reported ad bid expectations. Netflix partnered with Microsoft on ads and reportedly requested ad buys submit initial bids next week. Netflix reportedly sought a “soft $65 CPM” (CPM means cost per thousand views, and $65 USD is about $85 CAD). However, the industry standard is below $20 USD CPM (about $26 CAD).
Additionally, Netflix reportedly wants a $10 million USD (roughly $13.1 million CAD) minimum commitment in annual ad spending from agencies. The streaming giant hopes to secure ad buys by September 30th to meet the November 1st launch date. Interestingly, Netflix reportedly expects to have about 500,000 customers on the ad-supported plan by the end of 2022.
With summer on its way out, Spotify has revealed the top tunes that filled the airwaves this season, including Canadian artists like Drake, Justin Bieber and more.
In Canada, Spotify notes that the number one song in the country is Harry Styles’ As It Was, with the track being streamed more than 18 million times in Canada over the past three months. Additionally, since the premiere of Stranger Things Season 4 on May 27th, Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God) saw 90 million new listeners or first-time streams.
For Canadian-specific artists, Spotify confirms that Drake and Justin Bieber made the top 20 on Canada’s list. Drake’s Jimmy Cooks landed fairly high on the list, which was streamed over 14 million times. The artist also appeared as a feature on Future’s Wait For U, which saw over eight million streams. Justin Bieber’s Ghost also made the list with seven million streams.
Spotify’s most streamed songs of summer across the globe are as followed:
