It’s a nice day to be a One Piece fan. The show continues to pull in incredibly positive numbers and Season 2 is swiftly moving away from dream territory to draw nearer and nearer to reality. Thankfully, the producers and writers appear to be ready to go as soon as Netflix and the two striking unions agree.
Not such a great time to be a Stranger Things fan, however, or an Emily Blunt or Chris Evans fan, for that matter. Despite hopes, Season 5 of the smash-hit sci-fi series has still not been given a release date, and Pain Hustlers, Blunt, and Evans’ new movie, coming to Netflix later this year, failed to impress after its Toronto Film Festival premiere.
One Piece season 2 is ready to set sail, Netflix just needs to say “Aye-aye”
One Piece is one of the biggest entertainment IPs in the entire world, and Netflix was astute enough to grab the rights to its live-action adaptation before anyone else had the chance. The strategy, as well as the recognized high quality of the series, have been paying off big time with the Straw Hats collecting over 140 million hours watched in each of the first two weeks of its lifetime on the platform. The show has a runtime of seven hours and 34 minutes.
Moreover, it managed to do what only lasting hits have managed, which is to top its first-week stats. According to Netflix, One Piece was watched for 145.7 million hours in the week between Sept. 4 and Sept. 10 — over 5 million more hours than its first week. It should be worth noting that the show premiered Aug. 31, and its initial viewing metrics only covered four days. Impressive numbers, nonetheless.
It’s hard to not let yourself become optimistic in the face of such a successful performance, which is why the executive producers behind the show have their sights set on five more seasons of everyone’s favorite pirates. Either oblivious of or choosing to ignore Netflix’s cancelation-happy precedents, Marty Adelstein and Becky Clements have revealed their overarching plan for the show.
Season 2, they said, is already mapped out, in the event the streamer chooses to renew. But, beyond that, they’ve also set a “roadmap” for seasons three to six. Fans of the Japanese manga and anime will know that, while six seasons is an incredibly high lifespan for any Netflix show, that amount of episodes wouldn’t even begin to cover the full extent of the One Piece lore.
Stranger Things‘ new campaign might be sweet, but fans were left with a bitter taste in their mouths
Ice cream is one of those things that’s as uncontentious as puppy videos… unless you’re a Stranger Things fan. The official page for the hit Netflix show, which is now entering its final run, shared a video that all but screamed Season Five.
Captured “Excuse our mess,” the teaser featured an ominous image of the beloved, but now destroyed, ice cream parlor where Steve and Robin used to work back in Season 3, Scoops Ahoy. Understandably, viewers, weary from the year-long wait that’s shown no signs of resigning, instantly clung to the teaser video, hoping it would mean a release date announcement.
What it was actually teasing, however, was just ice cream. Fun, thematic, delicious ice cream. But, still, just ice cream. Stranger fans will at least get to mend the heartbreak with a tub of U.S.S. Butterscotch, Triple Decker Extravaganza, Chocolate Pudding, Cinnamon Bun Bytes, Mint Flare, the Void, or Pineapple Upside Down. All are available in a Walmart near you (if you live in the U.S. or Australia, that is).
Not even Emily Blunt and Chris Evans could save the latest Netflix blunder
For every triumphant bet in the biggest streaming platform in the world, there are always at least a handful of flops to humble the decision-makers. Judging by early reviews fresh from the Toronto Film Festival, Emily Blunt and Chris Evans-led Pain Hustlers is joining the list of unsatisfactory Netflix properties.
Critics slammed the film’s plasticity, as well as its trope-y, and even “tone-deaf” approach, amounting to a hard-hitting 20 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes. The crime drama is a satirical look at the pharmaceutical industry, through the lens of Liza Drake (Blunt), a single mother who is swindled into joining a racketeering scheme by sales Pete Brenner (Evans). Not even two of the hottest leads in Hollywood could warm up this cold shower. The movie comes to Netflix Oct. 27.