With Netflix currently going through a rare drought in terms of adding new content, competitors like Hulu and Disney Plus are continuing to put out fresh material to keep us busy. The former, in particular, are adding some great movies and series for July 13th to 19th, including The Weekend, Into the Dark and documentary Marianne & Leonard: Words of Love, on top of recently released critical favorites like Palm Springs.
Since arriving on Disney Plus, Hamilton has been receiving a lot of praise, as well as some feedback that the musical obscures historical issues over slavery. Lin-Manuel Miranda has also already addressed the topic and has been open about the flaws in the production and its relationship to history. Now, he's commented that ensuring historical accuracy was never his intention.
It's fair to say that any new Stephen King story has a good chance of being optioned for a film or television adaptation, with a large number of projects on the way. And the latest developments see three of the novellas from King's most recent book, If It Bleeds, getting picked up. The creative talent behind these adaptations is unusually impressive, too, with Ben Stiller, Darren Aronofsky and Ryan Murphy taking on the King-authored material.
The news that we'll be getting a spinoff series from The Batman on HBO Max is pretty exciting (to most fans anyway), with the show focusing on the Gotham City Police Department. We're now getting some new reports of what the series will cover, with the latest information being that the as-yet-untitled program will act as a prequel to Matt Reeves' The Batman, exploring how Gotham City became overrun with crime.
It's fair to say that Hamilton has been a big success for Disney Plus, pushing up subscriber numbers and encouraging a lot of online debate over its politics and historical accuracy. For fans who haven't yet had enough of Lin-Manuel Miranda's musical, though, Disney are putting out a new special on July 10th, titled Hamilton: History Has Its Eyes On You.
The darker side of the Star Wars fandom is unfortunate, especially given the franchise's general embracing of diversity. A backlash by certain fans against decisions, whether in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, or for casting choices, has been an ugly reminder of what can happen when people get irrationally angry over pop culture. And Star Wars author Rebecca Roanhorse is now feeling the brunt of fan rage, specifically through people review-bombing her work online.
Since being added to Disney Plus for the July 4th weekend, Hamilton has been a major success, topping the platform's list of its most popular content. There has also been a lot of debate around the production, which brings the award-winning theatrical show to the screen in ways that showcase how live theater can reach new audiences on streaming. Disney have extra reasons to be pleased with the response to Hamilton, though, as it has driven up downloads of the Disney Plus app.
As usual, it's been a busy week for Netflix, with the platform releasing a large number of titles for July. With many new and returning series and other original content to look forward to this month, as well as those that are already getting strong notices on the service, it can be difficult to filter out what to watch. To this end, the always-reliable What's on Netflix have picked eight great movies that've arrived this month, and we'd have to agree with the quality of their picks.
Disney Plus's decision to add Hamilton to their platform this weekend has already produced a lot of excited reactions, even if there has been some debate over censorship in the production. Being able to enjoy Lin-Manuel Miranda's award-winning musical at home has certainly given people a boost during lockdown, especially on the July 4th weekend. However, some fans can't get over Jonathan Groff's spitting as King George III.
