New this week: ‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,’ Kanye and ‘From’
Here’s a collection curated by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists of what’s arriving on TV, streaming services and music platforms this week.
MOVIES
› Directors Coodie Simmons and Chike Ozah chart Kanye West’s fascinating journey over 20 years in the new multi-part documentary, “jeenyuhs: A Kanye Trilogy,” which is being rolled out in installments on Netflix. In part one, hitting Netflix on Wednesday, Ye is not yet famous and trying to make a name for himself, while his friends document his every move and his sweet relationship with his late mother Donda before his life changed with the release of “College Dropout” in 2004. Also coming to Netflix on Wednesday is a new “Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” in which Leatherface returns after 50 years to terrorize some new unlucky souls starring “Eighth Grade” breakout Elsie Fisher.
› Tim Roth and Charlotte Gainsbourg star as members of a wealthy family on vacation at a luxurious resort near Acapulco in Michel Franco’s “Sundown,” which comes to VOD on Thursday. A family tragedy cuts the holiday short, but Roth’s character Neil stays behind, saying he’s left his passport at the hotel. But it soon becomes clear he has no intention of going back to real life. The film is intentionally withholding with the most basic information, but Franco does a tremendous job balancing beachside ennui with escalating tension. It’s “The White Lotus” meets “Somewhere.”
› Matthew Vaughn continues his Kingsman series with a prequel, “The King’s Man,” which is every bit as manic, vulgar and violent as the others, but now just based in and around World War I and starring the always delightful Ralph Fiennes. It is a marked improvement over the off-the-walls sequel in which Julianne Moore feeds someone a human burger that she’s freshly ground and grilled herself, but also straddles the uneasy line of using a real historic context for its own irreverent sensibility. But you can decide for yourself when it comes to Hulu on Friday.
— AP Film Writer
Lindsey Bahr
MUSIC
› Texas rock rules on Friday. Singer and songwriter Leon Bridges from Fort Worth, and Houston trio Khruangbin rejoin for the release of “Texas Moon,” a follow-up EP to their acclaimed “Texas Sun” project in 2020. Bridges calls it “more introspective,” while Khruangbin bassist Laura Lee says it “feels more night time.” Bridges brings his soulful voice and the mostly instrumental trio offer everything from reggae to surf rock, especially on the funky, ultra-cool “B-Side.”
› Yoko Ono turns 89 on Friday and some admirers have a birthday gift: “Ocean Child: Songs of Yoko Ono,” a 14-track album of covers from such artists as David Byrne, Yo La Tengo, Sharon Van Etten, Japanese Breakfast and The Flaming Lips. It’s been organized by Ben Gibbard, the lead vocalist and guitarist for Death Cab for Cutie. “I have a hard time believing that when people hear this music that they will just shrug and walk away from it. I think it’s too good to be ignored,” Gibbard tells The AP.
— AP Entertainment
Writer Mark Kennedy
TELEVISION
› “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” returns Friday for its pandemic-delayed fourth season on Amazon Prime Video, which means stand-up Miriam ‘Midge’ Maisel (Rachel Brosnahan) can attempt her own comeback. When last seen she’d been abruptly fired from a gig, but is ready to reclaim her mojo. “You know what’s great about me? It’s when I’m ME,” she tells manager Susie (Alex Borstein). “Every single show, I’m gonna say exactly what’s on my mind.” The Emmy-winning series created by Amy Sherman-Palladino is reunion central for stars of her “Gilmore Girls,” with Kelly Bishop and, perhaps briefly, Milo Ventimiglia the latest alumni to join the Maisel fun.
› A little attention, please, to two of the presidents who make possible a three-day weekend for a grateful America. “Lincoln’s Dilemma,” out Friday on Apple TV+, promises to examine “a complicated man in the context of his time” and tell the story of those caught in slavery. Jeffrey Wright is the narrator with Bill Camp voicing Abraham Lincoln and Leslie Odom Jr. as abolitionist Frederick Douglass. Skip to the 20th century for CNN”s “LBJ: Triumph and Tragedy,” a two-part documentary on Lyndon Baines Johnson airing at 9 p.m. EST Sunday and Monday, Feb. 20 and 21. Archival broadcast material, audio tapes of the president and interviews with those close to him tell the story of Johnson’s groundbreaking social policies and wartime disaster.
› Actor Harold Perrineau of “Lost” had luck with a singleword titled series before, so maybe the combo sci-fi and horror series “From” will follow suit. Characters in the Epix drama debuting Sunday are anything but fortunate: Trapped in a middle American town described as “nightmarish,” they also face scary creatures who emerge after dark from surrounding woods. There are “Lost” alumni among the producers as well, Jack Bender and Jeff Pinker. The ensemble cast headed by Perrineau includes Catalina Sandino Moreno, Eion Bailey and Hannah Cheramy.
— AP Television
Writer Lynn Elber