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Latest Netflix News: The most dreaded day in Henry Cavill’s career arrives as Netflix kicks an AI hornet’s nest at the worst time

Hey, Netflix, read the room.

Maybe advertising a high-paying AI-related job isn’t the best way to mend the relationships with the two unions actively striking to stop the spread of the technology in the entertainment industry, but then what would you expect from the streaming platform that let Henry Cavill go from one of its more popular shows?

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It’s time to say goodbye to the leading actor in The Witcher series as the second volume of the show’s third season hits the platform. Also arriving on Netflix is a new true crime documentary that promises the suspense and revelation that the streamer has been steadily delivering in the genre, while the teaser for one of its biggest reality dating shows brings the heat (and misery).

The Witcher Season Three Volume Two might not be perfect, but it’s got fans deep in their feelings

Warning: Spoilers ahead for episodes six, seven, and eight of The Witcher season three.

It’s the last hurrah for Henry Cavill and his take on the fearless Geralt of Rivia as the second batch of episodes of the third season of Netflix’s The Witcher hit the platform on Thursday.

While the latest three episodes in the saga still failed to live up to the heights of what the show once was, fans have nonetheless latched onto the long-awaited emotional developments between the core trio of the series, Geralt, Yennefer, and Ciri. The unconventional but loving family has had a rough go of it throughout season three, but its final stretch was at least successful in delivering some satisfactory emotional resolutions, leaving a pool of fangirl and fanboy tears in their wake.

One meaningful moment had been particularly anticipated by viewers.

Henry Cavill will be replaced by Liam Hemsworth at the helm for the upcoming fourth season of The Witcher, which has no set release window yet.

New true crime documentary unravels yet another chilling missing person’s case

Netflix is easily the leading streaming service in the true crime genre, exploring the most intriguing and heartbreaking real-life stories through a slew of strong and insightful documentaries. Now the streamer is shining a light on a disturbing case from the turn of the millennium, which took place in Tokyo when a British woman named Lucie Blackman disappeared.

Missing: The Lucie Blackman Case hit Netflix on Thursday and has already caused quite an impression among viewers. Both Lucie’s father and a number of Japanese detectives who were involved in the case at the time are interviewed for the documentary, which reveals some shocking truths about the criminal underbelly of the country.

Blackman and her best friend Louise Phillips had moved to Japan in 2000, finding work as hostesses in the Casablanca bar, in Roppongi, Tokyo. On July 1, Phillips stopped hearing from her friend, and after a chilling phone call, she told Blackman’s family what had happened.

First look at the second season of The Ultimatum: Marry or Move On says what we’re all thinking

Why exactly you’d think joining a Netflix reality show with your significant other would be the best way to solve your commitment issues is anyone’s guess, but it sure makes for good entertainment. The streamer’s bombastic reality show is very close to returning for a second season, which is scheduled to drop Aug. 23.

In the first official teaser for season two of The Ultimatum: Marry or Move On, we meet the new couples who have signed up for the adventure supposed to either result in marriage or separation: James/Ryann, Lisa/Brian, Kat/Alex, Antonio/Roxanne, and Trey/Riah. The premise of the show consists of couples where one half is ready to settle down, and the other is having doubts. As a result, they get paired with other contestants to test the true nature of their feelings. Netflix has also previously released a queer version of the program.

At one point in the teaser, James says “I don’t even know why I agreed to come do this,” which is essentially what we’re all thinking as we watch these people voluntarily destroying their relationships on camera.

Netflix makes its stance in the AI debate clear with new job posting

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JULY 21: Members Of SAG-AFTRA and WGA go on strike at Netflix, Sunset Gower and Paramount Studios on July 21, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. Members of SAG-AFTRA, Hollywood's largest union which represents actors and other media professionals, have joined striking WGA (Writers Guild of America) workers in the first joint walkout against the studios since 1960. The strike could shut down Hollywood productions completely with writers in the third month of their strike against the Hollywood studios.
Photo by Momodu Mansaray/Getty Images

Amid not one but two industry-devastating strikes from the Writers and the Actors Guild, where the use of artificial intelligence dominates the conversation, Netflix is currently on the market for “a new Product Management role to increase the leverage of our Machine Learning Platform,” according to the listing found on its website.

The streamer has been one of the main targets of the striking actors and writers, due to the shockingly little money creatives are making from residuals from the streamers’ properties for which they worked. The streaming world, in general, has killed residuals as a viable plan B for working actors and writers, who would turn to those sporadic checks, during the age of cable and DVD, as a way to make ends meet when jobs were scarce.

At the same time as they look to the past, to challenge companies to increase residuals, the unions are also looking towards the future to protect themselves from essentially being replaced by machines. The job listed by Netflix would pay between $300,000 and $900,000, which is over 30 times more than what the average actor working in Hollywood makes. According to SAG-AFTRA, 87% of its members make less than $26,000 per year.