Today
‘Squid Game’ stocks tank on new season letdown
Expectations were high for season two of the dystopian drama, which was released on December 26 on Netflix. But some notable reviews were less-than-favourable.
- Youkyung Lee
This Month
Think you’re cultured? Try this 2024 life and arts quiz
Test your knowledge of what went down this year with 40 questions from the Financial Times.
- Ludovic Hunter-Tilney
The year’s biggest gift is $1.8b, and it’s not from Buffett
Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings tops the list of the 12 biggest gifts of 2024, thanks to a $US1.1 billion donation to his education foundation.
- Maria di Mento
‘What choice do they have?’: US CEOs bend the knee to Trump
From Hollywood to Silicon Valley and Wall Street, senior executives have been bending over backwards to meet Donald Trump since he won the election.
- James Politi and James Fontanella-Khan
- Opinion
- Crime
Why Luigi Mangione stars in a new era of villainy
What explains the public fascination with the man charged with murdering UnitedHealthcare chief Brian Thompson?
- Jo Ellison
How Dungeons & Dragons became cool
The role-playing game, celebrating its 50th birthday, was once a nerdy niche. It’s championing by Hollywood creators has won it unprecedented popularity.
- The Economist
- Opinion
- Review
Five streaming Christmas movies that are so bad, they’re good
“Brain rot” was the Oxford English Dictionary’s word of the year. Here’s some holiday drivel to help you join the trend.
- Rachael Bolton
November
How the world’s most popular TV show is made
Hwang Dong-hyuk wrote Squid Game, the biggest Netflix series ever, in the depths of despair. He’s back for season two. What can we learn from its success?
- Sam Buckingham-Jones
- Exclusive
- Media & marketing
Billionaire-backed British sports streamer turns Foxtel suitor
DAZN has been trying to build a global platform, aggressively expanding including in Australia. News Corp’s cable TV business could be its next target.
- Sam Buckingham-Jones
- Opinion
- Performing arts
Quincy Jones shows why AI will never beat human brilliance
No algorithm will ever have the real life story that is embedded in the work of a great and original artist.
- Dave Lee
The Netflix model used for going to the doctor
The Challenger winner of the Business to Consumer category, Updoc, has delivered compound annual growth of 200 per cent.
- Simon Evans
The Aussie drama taking Netflix by storm
For four days in late October, Territory, which follows the Lawson family and its tenuous hold on Marianne cattle station, topped global Netflix viewing.
- Sam Buckingham-Jones
The TV watching habits of Australians (in three charts)
The way Australians consume media is changing – these three charts show how.
- Edmund Tadros
October
Rinehart’s $1b MinRes deal; ‘Garbage’ row erupts; Coles’ big squeeze
Read everything that’s happened in the news so far today.
Netflix’s co-CEO says it’s ‘impossible’ to run the $500b giant alone
Greg Peters once wanted to be an astronaut – now he’s leading a company worth more than Disney, Paramount and Warner Bros Discovery combined.
- Sam Buckingham-Jones
Menendez brothers could be freed for murders after Netflix expose
The two brothers were jailed for shooting dead their parents in 1989 in their Beverly Hills home in a case of wealth and privilege that captivated the US.
- Daniel Trotta
Japan’s unlikely export success
The surging global popularity of anime has lifted the industry’s value to the likes of semiconductors or steel.
- The Economist
September
They have 31m followers - but you’ve never heard of these YouTube superstars
Bounce Patrol has more followers than Beyonce, operates out of a quiet Melbourne street, and is helping YouTube transform from the home of DIY videos to a major TV broadcaster.
- Sam Buckingham-Jones
- Exclusive
- BOSS
Disney chief goes retro for AFL finals to reel in streaming rivals
Disney’s Australian boss Kylie Watson-Wheeler is bringing her AFL obsession into her day job as the US giant takes on the dominant players in the local streaming wars.
- Patrick Durkin
How Netflix won the streaming wars
The company has staged a remarkable recovery since the ‘great correction’ of 2022 and now has the edge over rivals in traditional Hollywood.
- Christopher Grimes