🎬 Rough Start

👋 Good morning! 'Stranger Things' wrapped its final season last week, and some fans have already entered the bargaining stage. A theory sweeping TikTok claims the ending viewers saw was actually a villain-orchestrated illusion—and that the real finale drops today. Fans have been combing through frames hunting for clues with an intensity usually reserved for moon landing footage. Netflix hasn't commented, presumably because they're busy not making a secret episode. Guess we’ll find out tonight.

Welcome back to The Dailies. Wednesday's here, your coffee's hot, and we've got the latest from Hollywood ready to go. 👇

The Consumer Electronics Show, tech's annual Las Vegas pilgrimage, kicked off yesterday. It's where Samsung unveils massive TVs and startups pitch the latest gadgets. Hollywood has been showing up for years (Netflix announced its global expansion there in 2016), but the industry's footprint keeps growing.

Part of it is advertising. CES marks the unofficial start to upfront season, and streamers are showing up in force. Netflix, Disney, Amazon, Fox, WBD, and NBCU are all there courting ad buyers as their ad-supported tiers continue to grow.

AI is also a major draw. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang delivered a keynote unveiling the company's next generation of chips, and panels are exploring AI's impact on filmmaking and storytelling. As the tech becomes more embedded in the industry, Hollywood has reason to stay close.

CES organizers also partnered with Cannes' Marché du Film, one of the world's most prestigious film markets, to launch an innovation award recognizing companies, startups, and filmmakers developing transformative tech in production and distribution. When a legendary film market teams up with a gadget convention, it says something about where the industry is headed.

Looking ahead… CES wraps up tomorrow.

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🧹 'The Housemaid' is getting a sequel before it's even done in theaters. The sexy thriller was the dark horse of the holiday season, largely written off as a streaming movie in a genre that Hollywood considered dead on arrival for theatrical. Instead, it's crossed $133M globally, with 63% of its opening night audience coming from the 18-34 demo that Hollywood desperately needs to ensure its future success. Lionsgate is now fast-tracking 'The Housemaid's Secret' for a 2026 production start, and the genre is clearly having a moment with a handful of similar film and TV projects already in the pipeline across the industry. Director Paul Feig and screenwriter Rebecca Sonnenshine are expected to return, with Sydney Sweeney reprising her role.

📉 Comcast's cable spinoff Versant is off to a rough start. The newly independent company, home to MS NOW, CNBC, USA Network, Fandango, and Rotten Tomatoes, has dropped more than 20% since it started trading on the Nasdaq this week. That matters for another big deal: Netflix and Paramount are both bidding for Warner Bros. Discovery. Under Netflix's deal, WBD's cable networks would be spun off separately, with shareholders keeping that stock. Netflix and Paramount disagree on how much that spinoff would be worth, and the answer affects which offer is actually better. Versant is the closest market comparison, and its weak debut suggests Paramount's bid may be more competitive than it first appeared.

📱TikTok wants in on micro-dramas. The company added a "Minis" section where users can binge the buzzy, mobile-first vertical soaps without leaving the app. It's also actively courting producers to make their content free to watch on TikTok in exchange for licensing fees and a cut of ad revenue. The pitch is to reduce friction for viewers who might not want to download an app they've never heard of. The format grew out of China, where parent company ByteDance was instrumental in its success, so it's no surprise they want a piece of the US market. The format is racing toward $26B in annual revenue by 2030. It's one of many signs of the format's growing legitimacy: Fox, Disney, and Paramount Skydance have all made recent moves in the space.