{"id":922161,"date":"2026-07-24T06:16:23","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T11:16:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/24\/international-insider-troubled-world-cup-underway-seriencamp-report-doctor-who-ditched\/"},"modified":"2026-07-24T06:16:23","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T11:16:23","slug":"international-insider-troubled-world-cup-underway-seriencamp-report-doctor-who-ditched","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/24\/international-insider-troubled-world-cup-underway-seriencamp-report-doctor-who-ditched\/","title":{"rendered":"International Insider: Troubled World Cup Underway; Seriencamp Report; \u2018Doctor Who\u2019 Ditched"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\tWe\u2019re back, Insiders. Jesse Whittock here reporting from Dubrovnik, where I\u2019ve been working this week as the troubled 2026 World Cup gets underway. Let\u2019s kick off, and make sure to sign up for the full newsletter here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\tWorld Cup Winners & Losers<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\"Lionel<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>

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\t\t\t\t\tLionel Messi, Christian Pulisic, Cristiano Ronaldo and Kylian Mbappe <\/span><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty Images<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\n\tWorst Cup 2026?:<\/strong> Arguably the most toxic sporting event in modern history kicked off this week, the 2026 World Cup in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. What should be the greatest celebration of the globe\u2019s most popular has been blighted by controversy, politics, deportations and visa denials, allegations of criminality and bad faith accusations leveled at organizer FIFA over ticket prices and perceived deference to the Donald Trump administration. The unpleasantness was summed up when U.S. Customs and Border Protection denied entry to Somalian referee Omar Artan on unspecified accusations of associations with \u201csuspected members of terrorist organizations.\u201d Meanwhile, the Iranian team is being forced to base itself in Mexico and fly in and out of the U.S. for group matches on the same day. Sports journalists are now questioning whether FIFA President Gianni Infantino has lost control of his tournament, with the bureaucrat astonishingly telling fans to \u201cchill\u201d in response to this question at a press conference. Still, if you can stomach the stench, Mexico got the tournament underway yesterday by beating South Africa 2-0 in front of a wild crowd in Mexico City. That was one of seven games Andreas identified as ones to watch<\/a> due to their intriguing subplots. Prior to the game, Andrea Bocelli and Ejae performed<\/a> at the opening ceremony alongside Shakira and Burna Boy, and South Africa\u2019s Tyler, who sung the national anthem. The good vibes certainly aren\u2019t translating everywhere, though. Social media videos of Canadians booing the American flag emerged overnight, while a good portion of U.S. sports fans barely registered anything was happening and instead went wild over the Knicks\u2019 historic comeback win<\/a> in the NBA finals.<\/p>\n

\n\tCatching Up in Cologne<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\tWatch on Deadline\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJohannes Klingelhofer<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\n\tGreifeneder\u2019s next generation:<\/strong> The beer was flowing in Cologne this week as Deadline headed to Seriencamp to take the temperature of one of the most bustling industries in Europe. We were in town early to give the Deadline German TV Disruptor Award to Anke Greifeneder<\/a>, HBO Max\u2019s head honcho in Germany who has had a fascinating career during which she has trained as a lawyer, penned seven novels and launched a number of American brands locally. HBO Max is her latest challenge, and potentially her most thrilling, and Greifeneder explained to us on stage<\/a> how she plans to unearth the next voices of a generation, the German Lena Dunham or Richard Gadd. Elsewhere, Seriencamp may be all about the small screen, but it was a clutch of box office hits from Gen-Z creatives that were really creating buzz. Executives were keen to discuss how Reddit, YouTube and fandoms and online communities can be leveraged for TV projects, with the hope that this could become a valuable source of IP. Deadline\u2019s deep dive analysis of this trend can be found here<\/a>, and all of our Seriencamp coverage can be found over here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\tDoctor Struck Off<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\"'Doctor<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>

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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBBC Studios\/Bad Wolf\/James Pardon<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\n\tWho\u2019s to blame?:<\/strong> With Doctor Who<\/a><\/em>\u2018s ratings plummeting and Disney walking away from a co-production deal with the BBC, the Doctor himself has been in need of emergency treatment for some time now. This week, the BBC decided there would be no new regeneration surgery \u2013 for now, at least \u2013 and canceled the planned Christmas special<\/a>. Showrunner Russell T. Davies said he had no script in place, nor a new Doctor. It was shocking, albeit unsurprising news for an iconic British TV brand that has been slipping for several years now. Jake moved things on by speaking to senior figures in UK drama, with informed sources saying Doctor Who<\/em> will stay off air until at least 2028<\/a> and maybe longer. That could be tough to take for dedicated fans \u2013 Whovians \u2013 but is arguably necessary for creative renewal to take place. For now, the Tardis goes into storage.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Insider Interview<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\"'What<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>

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\t\t\t\t\tEllis Howard (right) as Byron in \u2018What It Feels Like For a Girl\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBBC<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\n\tWhen the relatively unknown Ellis Howard landed a role in the BBC\u2019s adaptation of Paris Lees\u2019 What It Feels Like For a Girl<\/em> two years ago, he \u201ccouldn\u2019t believe we would even get a British audience\u201d let alone one on the other side of the pond. Now, Howard finds himself in L.A. promoting What It Feels Like For a Girl<\/em> after it sold to Prime Video, a deal that he described as \u201ca revolutionary act, an act of protest\u201d for this \u201cketamine-laced queer odyssey.\u201d Howard chatted to us about making the show, his next set of projects, and the \u201cgorgeous kinship\u201d between What It Feels Like For a Girl<\/em> and Adolescence<\/em>. >>>Read The Interview<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tThe Essentials<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\"Olivia<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>

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\t\t\t\t\tOlivia Cooke in \u2018The Girlfriend\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tChristopher Raphael\/Amazon Content Services LLC<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\n\t\ud83c\udf36\ufe0f\u00a0Hot One:<\/strong> Amazon MGM Studios is developing a sequel series<\/a> to its psychological drama miniseries The Girlfriend<\/em>, an entirely standalone story titled The Boyfriend<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\n\t\ud83c\udf36\ufe0f\u00a0 Another One:<\/strong> Jennifer Saunders, Sean Teale, Simone Ashley, Amar Chadha-Patel, Rhea Norwood, Matthew Beard and Sharon Horgan have been cast<\/a> in recurring guest star roles in Season 6 of Only Murders in the Building<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\n\t\ud83d\udd25 A third<\/strong>: BUFF Studios is developing documentary feature\u00a0Who\u2019s the Daddy?<\/em><\/a> about Shirley Crabtree, the British wrestling icon better known to generations of fans as Big Daddy.<\/p>\n

\n\t\ud83c\udded\ud83c\uddf7 First NEM terms:<\/strong> European big-hitter execs Sam Barnett<\/a> and Henning Tewes<\/a> both laid out their views on the future at a sunny NEM Dubrovnik<\/a> in Croatia.<\/p>\n

\n\t\ud83d\uded1 Blocked: <\/strong>Kyrgyz drama Kurak<\/em>, directed by Erke Dzhumakmatova and Emil Atageldiev, has been denied a censor certificate<\/a> in its home country, forcing the film to withdraw from the ongoing Bishkek International Film Festival.<\/p>\n

\n\t\ud83d\udc49 You\u2019re hired: <\/strong>Hawco Productions has hired theater producer Philip Riccio<\/a>, as the Canadian production house behind Saint-Pierre<\/em>\u00a0implements a \u201cstructured\u201d push into development.<\/p>\n

\n\t\ud83e\udd1d You\u2019re hired too:<\/strong> Showrunner and writer J\u00f6rg Winger has joined<\/a> Dynamic Television\u2019s new German arm as President. At the same time, his new thriller series, Conspiracy<\/em>, has gone into development at ZDF.<\/p>\n

\n\t\ud83c\udf7f<\/strong> Preview:<\/strong> Matt Carey wrote this preview<\/a> of Sunny Side of the Doc, the international documentary marketplace held in La Rochelle, France, ahead of its 37th edition.<\/p>\n

\n\t\ud83d\udd8b\ufe0f Signed: <\/strong>Anonymous Content has signed Bollywood megastar Hrithik Roshan<\/a>, one of the highest-grossing Indian actors of all time.<\/p>\n

\n\t\ud83c\udf7f Box office:<\/strong> The first day returns<\/a> for Steven Spielberg\u2019s\u00a0Disclosure Day<\/em> were around $12M, sources told Deadline.<\/p>\n

\n\tPhoto of the Week<\/strong><\/p>\n

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<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>

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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tHector Vivas \u2013 FIFA\/FIFA via Getty Images<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\n\tMexican wave<\/strong> \u2013 The 2026 World Cup got underway in Mexico amid mounting controversy about the tournament\u2019s organization north of the border.<\/p>\n

\n\tInternational Insider<\/a> was written by Jesse Whittock and edited by Max Goldbart, who also contributed<\/em>. Send any tips, comments or ideas for international coverage to jw*******<\/span>@******<\/span>ne.com<\/span><\/a> and mg*******<\/span>@******<\/span>ne.com<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We\u2019re back, Insiders. Jesse Whittock here reporting from Dubrovnik, where I\u2019ve been working this week as the troubled 2026 World Cup gets underway. Let\u2019s kick off, and make sure to sign up for the full newsletter here. World Cup Winners & Losers Lionel Messi, Christian Pulisic, Cristiano Ronaldo and Kylian Mbappe Getty Images Worst Cup<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":922162,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4064,805],"tags":[12053,7713],"class_list":["post-922161","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-insider","category-international","tag-insider","tag-international"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/922161","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=922161"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/922161\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/922162"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=922161"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=922161"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=922161"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}