Streaming service HBO Max has given production commitments for three new one-hour dramas from J.J. Abrams and Katie McGrath’s Bad Robot Productions and Warner Bros. Television Group, marking the first new Bad Robot–produced television projects for HBO Max under the exclusive, wide-ranging content collaboration partnership formed by Bad Robot with HBO Max parent company WarnerMedia in fall 2019.
The first series, “Duster,” is to be co-written by J.J. Abrams and LaToya Morgan. Set in the 1970’s Southwest, the life of a gutsy getaway driver for a growing crime syndicate goes from awful to wildly, stupidly, dangerously awful. Morgan is currently a writer on “The Walking Dead”. Previously, she was a co-executive producer and writer of AMC’s “Into the Badlands” and “TURN: Washington’s Spies,” and was a writer for NBC’s “Parenthood” and Showtime’s “Shameless.”
The second series, “Overlook,” is a horror-thriller series inspired by and featuring iconic characters from Stephen King’s masterpiece “The Shining.” “Overlook” explores the untold, terrifying stories of the most famous haunted hotel in American fiction. The project reunites Bad Robot, King and WBTV, who previously collaborated on the acclaimed psychological-horror series “Castle Rock” for Hulu.
The third will be a major series based on DC characters in the “Justice League Dark” Universe, details to be revealed soon.
“What an amazing start to our association with the wildly imaginative Bad Robot team under J.J. and Katie,” said Kevin Reilly, chief content officer, HBO Max and president, TNT, TBS, and truTV. “What could be better than an original J.J. idea and then Warner Bros. letting them loose on iconic I.P. from Stephen King and the DC Universe and to provide more must-have programming on HBO Max.”
All of the Bad Robot series for HBO Max will be executive produced by Abrams and its head of television, Ben Stephenson. Rachel Rusch Rich, Bad Robot’s EVP of television, will serve as a co-executive producer. Warner Bros. International Television Distribution will be the global distributor for the programs.
Current Bad Robot television series produced through Warner Bros. Television include HBO’s “Westworld” and Hulu’s “Castle Rock,” the upcoming “Demimonde” (to be created by Abrams) and “Lovecraft Country” for HBO, as well as “Lisey’s Story,” “Little Voice” and “My Glory Was I Had Such Friends” for Apple TV+.
Austrian activist wins privacy/targeted advertising case against Meta over personal data on sexual orientation
The European Union's top court said Friday that social media company Meta can't use public information about a user's sexual orientation obtained outside its platforms for personalized advertising under the bloc's strict data privacy rules.
The decision from the Court of Justice of the European Union in Luxembourg is a victory for Austrian privacy activist Max Schrems, who has been a thorn in the side of Big Tech companies over their compliance with 27-nation bloc's data privacy rules.
The EU court issued its ruling after Austria's supreme court asked for guidance in Schrems' case on how to apply the privacy rules, known as the General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR.
Schrems had complained that Facebook had processed personal data including information about his sexual orientation to target him with online advertising, even though he had never disclosed on his account that he was gay. The only time he had publicly revealed this fact was during a panel discussion.
"An online social network such as Facebook cannot use all of the personal data obtained for the purposes of targeted advertising, without restriction as to time and without distinction as to type of data," the court said in a press release summarizing its decision.
Even though Schrems revealed he was gay in the panel discussion, that "does not authorise the operator of an online social network platform to process other data relating to his sexual orientation, obtained, as the case may be, outside that platform, with a view to aggregating and analysing those data, in order to offer him personalised advertising."
Meta said it was awaiting publication of the court's full judgment and that it "takes privacy very seriously."
"Everyone using Facebook has... Read More