Netflix is rolling out a new ‘Category Hub’ globally to offer users more personalized content recommendations.
This updated hub will be available starting April 21st in the left-hand menu on both adult and kids’ profiles. Here, you’ll see ‘Top 3’ categories based on what you normally watch. Curated collections centred around occasions like Earth Day or Internation Women’s Day will also be shown here.
However, Netflix didn’t mention how specific these categories will get. In the sample image provided in the news release, the streamer simply shows ‘Dramas,’ ‘Comedies’ and ‘Action’ in the Top 3, which are all fairly broad. Meanwhile, Netflix already has more defined categories elsewhere on the platform, including those for ‘Blockbuster Sci-Fi Movies,’ ‘Oscar-winning films,’ ‘Movies Based on Real Life’ and, as of this month, ‘Short-Ass Movies.’
In related news, Netflix confirmed earlier this week that it had its first quarterly loss of subscribers — 200,000 — in Q1 2022. The company attributed this to the suspension of its business in Russia amid the country’s invasion of Ukraine, although it estimates further losses of two million subscribers in the second quarter.
In May 2022, Netflix Canada is set to stream several new TV shows and films, including part 1 of Stranger Things season 4, Love, Death & Robots season 3, The Circle season 4 and Vampires in the Garden.
Coming Soon:
Like a Rolling Stone: The Life & Times of Ben Fong-Torres
Welcome to Wedding Hell — Netflix Series (South Korea)
May 1st
1917
40-Love
Basic Instinct
Blippi Wonders: Season 1
Bridget Jones’s Baby
Casper
Crank
Crank 2: High Voltage
Diary of a Mad Black Woman
Dolittle
Kung Fu Panda 3
Molly’s Game
Seed of Chucky
The Hateful Eight
The Hunt
May 2nd
Octonauts: Above & Beyond: Season 2 — Netflix Family (U.K)
May 3rd
Hold Your Breath: The Ice Dive — Netflix Documentary
May 4th
40 Years Young — Netflix Film (Mexico)
The Circle: Season 4 — Netflix Series (new episodes weekly)
Meltdown: Three Mile Island — Netflix Documentary
Summertime: Season 3 — Netflix Series (Italy)
May 5th
Blood Sisters — Netflix Series (Nigeria)
Clark — Netflix Series (Sweden)
The Pentaverate — Netflix Series
Wild Babies — Netflix Documentary
May 6th
Along for the Ride — Netflix Film
Marmaduke — Netflix Film
The South of Magic — Netflix Series (South Korea)
Thar — Netflix Film (India)
The Takedown — Netflix Film (France)
Welcome to Eden — Netflix Series (Spain)
May 8th
Christina P: Mom Genes — Netflix Comedy Ted Bundy: American Psycho
May 9th
Ghost in Shell: SAC_2045 Sustainable War — Netflix Anime (Japan)
May 10th
42 Days of Darkness — Netflix Series (Chile)
Brotherhood: Season 2 — Netflix Series (Brazil)
Operation Mincemeat — Netflix Film
Our Father — Netflix Documentary
The Getaway King — Netflix Film (Poland)
May 12th
Maverix — Netflix Comedy (Australia)
Savage Beauty — Netflix Series (South Africa)
May 13th
Bling Empire: Season 2 — Netflix Series
The Life and Movies of Ersan Kuneri — Netflix Series (China)
The Lincoln Lawyer — Netflix Series
New Heights — Netflix Series
Senior Year — Netflix Film
May 14th
Borrego
May 15th
PJ Masks Season 4
Sonic the Hedgehog
May 16th
Blippi’s Adventures
Servant of the People: Season 2-3
Vampire in the Garden — Netflix Anime (Japan)
May 17th
The Future Diary: Season 2 — Netflix Series (Japan)
May 18th
Cyber Hell: Exposing an Internet Horror — Netflix Documentary
Love on the Spectrum U.S. — Netflix Series
The Perfect Family — Netflix Film (Spain)
Toscana — Netflix Film (Denmark)
Who Killed Sara?: Season 3 — Netflix Series (Mexico)
May 19th
A Perfect Pairing — Netflix Film
The Boss Baby: Back in the Crib — Netflix Family
The G Word with Adam Conover — Netflix Documentary
Insiders: Season 2 — Netflix Series (Spain) new episodes weekly
The Photographer: Murder in Pinamar — Netflix Documentary (Argentina)
Netflix says it’s looking into adding a lower cost, ad-supported subscription tier.
Previously, Netflix has been non-committal about such an offering, despite some analysts suggesting that the company do so. In a recent earnings call, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings admitted that going the ad route would give consumers more options.
“Those who have followed Netflix know that I’ve been against the complexity of advertising and a big fan of the simplicity of subscription,” said Hastings. “But as much as I’m a fan of that, I’m a bigger fan of consumer choice […] Allowing consumers who would like to have lower price and are advertising tolerant get what they want makes a lot of sense.”
Other major streamers have already done this. In the U.S., both HBO Max and Hulu offer lower-cost, ad-supported tiers, while Disney+ will do the same in the U.S. later this year and internationally in 2023. For Netflix, a cheaper alternative could help growth, following the company’s recent news that it lost 200,000 subscribers — its first quarterly decrease in more than 10 years — in Q1 2022. The company is projecting a further loss of two million subscribers in the second quarter.
“Our revenue growth has slowed considerably,” wrote Netflix in an April 19th letter to shareholders. “Streaming is winning over linear, as we predicted, and Netflix titles are very popular globally. However, our relatively high household penetration — when including the large number of households sharing accounts — combined with competition, is creating revenue growth headwinds.”
Netflix attributed the subscriber drop to the suspension of its business in Russia amid global sanctions against the country over its invasion of Ukraine. A cheaper Netflix tier would balance out its recently enacted price increase — the second in under two years.
However, don’t expect an ad-enabled option from Netflix anytime soon. According to Hastings, specific details on how this will work, including pricing, will be hashed out “over the next year or two.” He did note, though, that the company isn’t viewing ads as a “short-term fix” to subscriber growth.
Another strategy the company is publicly eyeing is cracking down on password sharing. While this practice has actually been against Netflix’s terms of service, the company nonetheless hasn’t prevented anyone from doing so. However, the company recently unveiled the testing of a (roughly $3 to 4 CAD) paywall on password sharing in Chile, Costa Rica and Peru.
While the streamer originally said it’s waiting to gather data from these initial tests before making any decisions on expanding them globally, Hastings has now suggested this will likely happen. In its Q1 2022 earnings release, Netflix estimated that in addition to its 222 million paying subscribers, more than 100 million additional households are sharing passwords, including 30 million in the U.S. and Canada.
“Those are over 100 million households already are choosing to view Netflix,” said Hastings. “We’ve just got to get paid at some degree for them.”
It’s unclear when Netflix may potentially introduce the password-sharing paywall in other countries.
Netflix has confirmed that for the first time in more than a decade, it has lost subscribers.
In its latest earnings report, the company revealed that it dropped 200,000 net paid subscribers in Q1 2022. According to Netflix, this drop is due to the suspension of its business in Russia, which led to a loss of 700,000 subscribers. Had that not happened, Netflix claims it would have had 500,000 net additions in Q1 2022.
In any event, the streamer says it expects to lose another two million in the second quarter.
“Our revenue growth has slowed considerably,” wrote Netflix in an April 19th letter to shareholders. “Streaming is winning over linear, as we predicted, and Netflix titles are very popular globally. However, our relatively high household penetration — when including the large number of households sharing accounts — combined with competition, is creating revenue growth headwinds.”
Previously, Netflix has expected to add 2.5 million net subscribers during Q1 2022, with analysts predicting around 2.7 million. For context, Netflix added 3.98 million paid users this time last year.
Revenue, meanwhile, came in at $7.87 billion USD (about $9.33 billion CAD), slightly under analysts’ expectations.
Netflix says it now has 222 million paying households. Interestingly, the company claims more than 100 million additional households are using the service through account sharing. The streamer announced earlier this year that it will test a paywall on password sharing in select foreign countries, although it claims there are no current plans to do this in Canada.
The company also recently raised prices — for a second time in Canada within 2 years — which contributed to a loss of 600,000 subscribers in the U.S. and Canada during the most recent quarter. This was “largely the result of our price change which is tracking in-line with our expectations,” Netflix said.
One of the company’s efforts to diversify its catalogue is the recent launch of Netflix Games, although it’s unclear how many people are currently playing the mobile-only titles.
Update: 19/04/2022 at 5:04pm ET — Updated with more information from Netflix’s release.
For the next couple of weeks, you can get one month of Crave for $0.99.
This deal is for first-time subscribers only and only works if you sign up for a ‘Crave Mobile’ or ‘Crave Total’ subscription.
Most people will want to opt for the Crave Total subscription because it lets you stream on up to five devices in 4K, whereas Crave Mobile only works with one smartphone at up to 720p resolution.
However, both subscriptions give you access to the entire Crave library, including shows like RuPaul’s Drag Race, Friends and The Batman.
Two years after Season 5, the sixth and final season of Better Call Saul will finally premiere on April 18th.
However, it should be noted that the 13-episode Season 6 is being split in two. The first half will kick off with a two-episode premiere on the 18th and run until May 23rd, with the latter half picking up on July 11th and concluding on August 15th.
For this final season, AMC is doing something a little different — the series will air on both its TV network and its AMC+ streaming service. This means that those who have AMC’s TV channel and cord-cutters alike can tune into the Season 6 premiere on April 18th at 9pm ET.
AMC+ costs $6.99 CAD/month in Canada and is available exclusively as a channel on Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV.
Set before the events of Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul follows fan-favourite Jimmy McGill/Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk) as he works to become the lawyer who eventually meets Walter White (Bryan Cranston). In the final season, Jimmy and Kim (Rhea Seehorn) get up to even shadier business while Gus (Giancarlo Esposito) and Mike (Jonathan Banks) wage war against Lalo (Tony Dalton). Quebec City’s own Michael Mando co-stars as Nacho.
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+ will be 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
Outer Range [Amazon Original]
After their daughter-in-law disappears, the Abbotts must contend with a supernatural mystery with ties to the family’s patriarch.
Outer Range was created by Brian Watkins (debut project) and stars Josh Brolin (True Grit), Lili Taylor (Six Feet Under), Toronto’s Tamara Podemski (Coroner) and Tom Pelphrey (Ozark).
Amazon Prime Video premiere date: April 15th, 2022 (first two episodes, new episodes every Friday) Genre: Mystery thriller Runtime: Eight episodes (around one hour each)
The full list of movies and shows hitting Prime Video this month can be found here.
This week in Amazon Prime Video news: Amazon held its first-ever “upfront” in Toronto to highlight upcoming Canadian Prime Video originals — here’s a full breakdown of the announcements.
Apple TV+
Roar [Apple Original]
Roar is an anthology series explores eight tales of women exploring gender roles, identity, autonomy and more.
Based on the eponymous book of short stories by Cecelia Ahern, Roar was created by Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch (GLOW) and stars Issa Rae (Insecure), Nicole Kidman (The Hours), Cynthia Erivo (Harriet), Merritt Wever (Nurse Jackie), Alison Brie (GLOW) and Betty Gilpin (GLOW).
Crave premiere date: April 15th, 2022 (all episodes) Genre: Anthology, dark comedy Runtime: Eight episodes (29 to 35 minutes each)
Showtime’s latest anthology series focuses on the personal and professional lives of the First Ladies of the United States.
The First Lady was created by Aaron Cooley (Best. Worst. Weekend. Ever.) and stars Viola Davis (How To Get Away With Murder) as Michelle Obama, O.T. Fagbenle (The Handmaid’s Tale) as Barack Obama, Michelle Pfeiffer (The Fabulous Baker Boys) as Betty Ford, Aaron Eckhart (The Dark Knight) as Gerald Ford, Gillian Anderson (The Crown) as Eleanor Roosevelt and Toronto’s Keifer Sutherland (24) as Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Crave premiere date: April 17th, 2022 (first episode, new episodes every Sunday) Genre: Biographical drama Runtime: Ten episodes (around one hour each)
After Laurie, her daughter and granddaughter fail to kill Michael Myers, they band together with the rest of Haddonfield to try to stop the killer once and for all.
Halloween Kills features returning Halloween series cast Jamie Lee Curtis (Laurie), Judy Greer (Karen), Andi Matichak (Allyson Nelson) and Kyle Richards (Lindsey Wallace), as well as Anthony Michael Hall (The Breakfast Club) and Dylan Arnold (You).
Original theatrical release date: October 15th, 2021
Crave premiere date: April 15th, 2022 Genre: Slasher Runtime: 1 hour, 45 minutes
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.
Disney+
The Kardashians [Star Original]
Get an inside look at the Kardashian-Jenner family, including Kourtney, Kim, and Khloé Kardashian and half-sisters Kendall and Kylie Jenner.
The full list of movies and shows hitting Disney+ Canada this month can be found here.
Netflix
Anatomy of a Scandal [Netflix Original]
The wife of a powerful politician must contend with scandalous secrets surfacing once he’s accused of a shocking crime.
Based on Sarah Vaughan’s novel of the same name, Anatomy of a Scandal was developed by Vancouver’s Melissa James Gibson (House of Cards) and David E. Kelley (Big Little Lies) and stars Sienna Miller (American Sniper), Michelle Dockery (Downton Abbey), Rupert Friend (Homeland) and Naomi Scott (Aladdin).
In an effort to win unclaimed prize money, two friends reboot a terrifying game from the ’80s.
Choose or Die was directed by Toby Meakins (Breathe) and stars Iola Evans (The 100), Asa Butterfield (Sex Education), Eddie Marsan (Ray Donovan) and Robert Englund (Nightmare on Elm Street).
Former U.S. President Barack Obama narrates this docuseries about some of Earth’s most spectacular parks, including those in the U.S., Indonesia and Kenya.
Netflix Canada premiere date: April 13th, 2022 Genre: Nature documentary Runtime: Five episodes (50 to 54 minutes each)
The full list of movies and shows hitting Netflix this month can be found here.
Premium video on demand (PVOD)
X
In 1979, a group of filmmakers rent out a guesthouse at a farm to shoot a pornographic film, but when their elderly hosts catch them in the act, they soon find themselves fighting for their lives.
X was written and directed by Ti West (In a Valley of Violence) and stars Mia Goth (Suspiria), Jenna Ortega (You), Martin Henderson (Grey’s Anatomy), Brittany Snow (Pitch Perfect series) and “Day ‘n’ Nite” rapper Kid Cudi (credited as Scott Mescudi).
It’s worth noting that Goth stars as both pornographic actress Maxine and elderly woman Pearl, the latter of whom she’s playing once again in an upcoming prequel film.
Original theatrical release date: March 18th, 2022
PVOD premiere date: April 14th, 2022 Genre: Slasher Runtime: 1 hour, 46 minutes
Amazon held its inaugural Prime Video Presents Canada on April 13th, an upfront-style event to spotlight many of the streamer’s upcoming Canadian originals.
At Toronto’s Massey Hall, Prime Video executives and partner talent took to the stage to unpack the TV shows and films that they’re working on here in Canada.
Prime Video Presents Canada showcases at Massey Hall in Toronto on Wednesday, April 13, 2022. Left to Right: Back Row: Nathalie Bibeau, Unsolved Murder of Beverly Lynn Smith; Liem Vu, event host; Magda Grace, head of Prime Video, Canada; Nav Saini, head of content, Canada, Prime Video; Julian Doucet, The Lake; Madison Shamoun, Julia Stiles, and Jordan Gavaris, The Lake; Brent Haynes, head of scripted originals, Canada, Amazon Studios; Jasmine Sky Sarin and Anthony Timpano, Sugar. Front Row: Bruce McCulloch, Mark McKinney, Dave Foley and Scott Thompson, The Kids in the Hall. (Image credit: Amazon)
See below for a chronological breakdown of everything that was shown off. Note: not every announcement has official media yet, but we’ve embedded official trailers where applicable.
The Kids in the Hall (2022)
As previously announced, Amazon is developing a revival of the iconic Canadian comedy troupe The Kids in the Hall’s eponymous sketch comedy series. Group members Dave Foley, Bruce McCulloch, Mark McKinney and Scott Thompson (Kevin McDonald was absent) appeared to debut the first trailer for the show.
Premiere date: May 13th, 2022
The Kids in the Hall: Comedy Punks
Additionally, Blue Ant Media’s two-part docuseries, The Kids in the Hall: Comedy Punks, will hit Prime Video on May 20th. The series will feature a look at the group’s earliest years through archival footage and new interviews with all five members.
Gary and his Demons
Mark Little, co-creator, writer and star of the animated comedy series Gary and his Demons, here to promote Season 2 of the show. @PrimeVideoCApic.twitter.com/cABwoLjk3c
From Canadian actor-comedian Mark Little (Mr. D) comes Gary and his Demons, an animated comedy about a grouchy old demon slayer with nothing left to lose.
Premiere date: The previously released Season 1 and the newly produced Season 2 are both coming to Prime Video in September 2022
The Lake
Image credit: Amazon
Amazon’s first scripted Canadian original series follows a gay man who seeks to reconnect with the teenage daughter he gave up for adoption while at the family cottage, which is now owned by step-sister.
Canadian Julian Doucet (Hudson & Rex) wrote the series, which stars Caledon, Ontario’s Jordan Gavaris (Orphan Black) and Americans Julia Stiles (Hustlers) and Madison Shamoun (Black-ish). The series was shot in Northern Ontario.
Premiere date: June 17th, 2022
The Unsolved Murder of Beverly Lynn Smith
Welland, Ontario filmmaker Nathalie Bibeau (The Walrus and the Whistleblower) directs this four-part docuseries about the unsolved 1974 murder of a 22-year-old woman in Oshawa, Ontario.
Premiere date: May 6th, 2022
Sugar
Sugar is an Amazon Original film based on two influencers from Montreal who get caught up in crime. Also filmed in Montreal! pic.twitter.com/hAezCGTV8V
Indian-born Canadian filmmaker Vic Sarin (Partition) directs Amazon’s first Canadian feature film based on the real-life “Cocaine Cuties,” two Montreal influencers who become the centre of a drug-trafficking case. The movie stars Americans Kat McNamara (Arrow), Vancouver’s Jasmine Sky Sarin (Partiton) and and was filmed in Montreal
Premiere date: TBA 2022
LOL: Qui Rira Le Dernier
A brief video message from Patrick Huard about LOL: Qui Rira Le Dernier, Amazon’s first Quebecois production and an all-French Canadian cast of comedians, hosted by Huard. He poked fun at Jay Baruchel, who hosted Prime’s LOL Canada. Qui Rira Le Dernier coming later this year. pic.twitter.com/j0PpMFq69p
Montreal’s Patrick Huard (Bon Cop Bad Cop) appeared via pre-recorded video to talk about his excitement for Amazon’s first Quebecois production. Hosted by Huard, it’s an offshoot of Amazon’s Last One Laughing series (which just got a Jay Baruchel-hosted Canadian version earlier this year) and features an all-French cast.
Premiere date: TBA 2022
Three Pines
Image credit: Amazon
Prolific English actor Alfred Molina (Spider-Man franchise) popped up in a pre-recorded video to promote his crime drama series Three Pines. Filmed in Quebec, the series follow Chief Inspector Armand Gamache (Molina) as he investigates a string of murders in a small Canadian village.
The show is based on Toronto author Louise Penny’s Armand Gamache novels and co-stars Vancouver’s Roussif Sutherland (Reign) and Cardston, Alberta’s Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers (Night Raiders).
Veteran American actress Jamie Lee Curtis (Halloween) showed up via video to announce a new comedy series based on the true story of The Great Canadian Maple Syrup Heist.
Curtis is executive producing the series alongside Toronto’s Kathryn Borel (Corked: A Memoir), who also serves as co-showrunner. Amazon promised “big-name” casting news will come later this year, but it did confirm that the series will shoot in Quebec.
Premiere date: TBA
The Tragically Hip
The Tragically Hip are here! They’re working on a Prime Video documentary. 🎶 🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/4p8YZZ7mB9
And finally, members of the Tragically Hip and filmmaker Mike Downie (brother of the late Hip member Gord Downie) took to the stage to announce a new untitled multi-part documentary series. Mike Downie says the series will explore the history of the group and, of course, his brother’s legacy.
Premiere date: TBA 2024
That’s everything from the Prime Video Presents panel. Of course, these are all new Canadian originals; the streamer also began the presentation highlighting some of the other 25-plus originals that were filmed here. These include the Toronto-shot The Boys (featuring a video message from star Karl Urban), Upload (filmed in Vancouver and starring Toronto’s Robbie Amell) and the recently released Reacher (filmed in North Pickering, Ontario).
Following a recent price increase, an Amazon Prime membership, which includes Prime Video, costs $9.99 CAD/month or $99/year.
Disclaimer: The Kids in the Hall: Comedy Punks and Gary and his Demons are produced by Blue Ant Media, the parent company of MobileSyrup.
Rogers-owned network Citytv has announced two new streaming products focused on general entertainment and news.
The first, Citytv+, is a new ‘channel’ exclusively for Amazon’s Prime Video service that includes live and on-demand streaming of content from Citytv, FX, and FXX. This includes Young Rock, The Bachelorette, Law & Order,Chicago Med/Fire/P.D., The Americans and Sons of Anarchy, as well as the recently premiered Canada’s Got Talent and Atlanta.
Citytv+ costs $4.99/month with a free 30-day trial.
Citytv’s second streaming product is CityNews 24/7, a free stream for Prime members. This platform will offer news, entertainment and sports stories from the CityNews team, as well as weather, traffic and more. CityNews 24/7 will also include live coverage of Breakfast Television and CityNews local newscasts.
You can sign up for Citytv+ here. An FAQ for the service is also available here.
