It’s no secret that Netflix’s sci-fi series Stranger Things pays homage to some of the most classic genre films of the 1980s. In a new video explainer, the show gets broken down almost scene by scene to examine just how much of an influence author Stephen King and director Steven Spielberg had on creators Matt and Ross Duffer. As YouTuber Newfangled points out, there are homages paid to classic Spielberg films including Jaws and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. There’s an officer who takes a job in a smaller town to escape the stresses of big city life, a parent that becomes obsessed with the supernatural, and perhaps most obvious, there’s the use of Indiana as a setting. The video goes a little further, however, and talks about the similarities between Super 8, J.J. Abrams’ film...

Like Hulu and HBO Now, Google is looking to get into the business of live television, targeting a generation of people looking to cut the cord to traditional cable television. In May, Bloomberg reported that Google was looking to use YouTube as a way to offer live television packages, and now the Wall Street Journal has confirmed that the company has reached an agreement with CBS to carry some of the network’s live programming as early as next year. Most important, however, is that YouTube would be able to provide live programming of CBS-owned channels. One of those channels is the popular CW, which carries series like The Flash, Arrow, Supergirl, Legends of Tomorrow and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, but it’s unclear if the CW will be a part of the skinny bundle CBS offers. Netflix and the CW...

Last night’s season seven premiere of The Walking Dead answered one of the biggest questions that fans have had since the season six finale a couple of months ago: Who did Negan kill? Like any good premiere, there were a couple of other big surprises and moments that caught us off guard, and was generally one of the best premieres the show’s had. In an attempt to get everyone in on the conversation, AMC has uploaded the episode to its website for all to watch. Those who are interested in catching the premiere but don’t subscribe to the network can watch it for free for a limited time. AMC hasn’t said if it’s planning to do this with other episodes, but the move isn’t new or unique to the network. HBO often uploads the first episode of its biggest series, including Game of Thrones and W...

Amazon announced today that it was picking up three new children’s series for its Prime streaming service, and one of those series will be produced in-house at Studio Ghibli and directed by Goro Miyazaki. The series, Ronja the Robber’s Daughter, is an adaptation of a children’s book from Swedish author Astrid Lindgren. The show, which was adapted years ago by Miyazaki’s team, aired in Japan between October 2014 and March 2015, but this is the first time it’s coming stateside. It will be narrated by The X-Files’ Gillian Anderson, who also voiced Moro in the American dubbed version of Ghibli’s Princess Mononoke. The series will span 26 episodes and will follow Ronja as she grows up as the daughter of a thief, exploring the enchanted forest near her. According to an official description...

Marvel's head of TV, Jeph Loeb, announced today that Sigourney Weaver would be playing the main villain in the Defenders series. The actress is best known for her work in the Alien franchise as Ripley and Ghostbusters. This marks Weaver's first time working within the Marvel universe. Loeb didn't say who Weaver would be playing, but there's still some time before the series premieres on Netflix. Iron Fist and Punisher are both set to premiere next year, with the Defenders possibly being pushed back to 2018. Earlier this summer, Netflix said it didn't want to have three Marvel series on in one year in an attempt to space out its line of superhero programming. Along with the Sigourney Weaver announcement, Loeb used his time on stage to debut the first official teaser trailer for the...