The lack of streaming service Paramount Plus in the UK has been a thorn in the side of for fans of certain shows, including Star Trek: Discovery, which had been on Netflix until recently, but was banished to little-known service Pluto TV as CBS/Viacom (or as it'll be known from now on, just Paramount Global) grabbed it back. There was good news out of the company's Investor Day announcements, with word that Paramount Plus will launch here in the summer.
No specific date was offered, but it's a positive step forward, bringing together a lot of the company's offerings in one place, even if it does also mean another streaming service to shell out for.
And, as is customary on days like this, the company announced a huge swathe of new movies and TV shows, with more South Park movies on the way — two a year for the next six years! (and the show's archive finally coming fully to the service), new SpongeBob and Transformers offerings (next year's Rise Of The Beasts kicks off a new cine-trilogy and a CG movie is due in 2024), and updated details on the new Beavis And Butthead movie, Beavis And Butthead Do The Universe, which sees them go first to space and then forward in time to today, where they'll have to cope with modern life. That will then lead to a new series for the boneheaded pair.
Taylor Sheridan's Yellowstone universe is expanding, with yet another spin-off, 1932 joining the original series and fellow prequel 1883.
Also headed our way? Seth Rogen's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie next year, which will pave the way for new villain-driven Turtles films on the service.
Original miniseries The Offer, about the making of The Godfather will be on the service alongside Grease prequel Rise Of The Pink Ladies, and a whole host of other series in the works.
In addition to the third Sonic movie in active development (more on that here), SEGA is developing an animated series featuring Knuckles, voiced once again by Idris Elba from Sonic The Hedgehog 2.
On the movie front, the plan is for the service to host all of Paramount's big screen offerings once they've completed their runs in cinemas (including the likes of Babylon, from La La Land's Damien Chazelle), and to generate a host of new original movies that will be exclusive to the service.
Teen Wolf fans will no doubt be enthused to learn that a new original movie will bring back some of the characters of the show and launch a new series, Wolf Pack, based on the books by Edo van Belkom. Oh, and the Sexy Beast prequel series, which had been in the works at the Paramount Network across the pond before it was summarily cancelled, is being revived for streaming.
Of course, there's still a chance that some shows may be delayed thanks to the knotty issue of international licensing and other channels having the rights for a while yet, but with luck, the launch means that a lot of what people actually want to watch might finally end up in one spot.