This week: Willie Nelson, Nick race special, ‘Hamilton’
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
■ “Hamilton”: Disney Plus does not want to throw away its shot. On Friday, July 3, the streaming service will debut the much-anticipated live capture of the hit Broadway show. With Broadway theaters dark for at least the summer, it’s the closest anyone can get right now to Lin-Manuel Miranda’s pop-culture sensation — and, at least this way, tickets are far easier to come by. The PG-13 film was shot in summer 2016 over two “Hamilton” performances with the original cast, and it comes complete with an intermission.
■ “John Lewis: Good Trouble”: “There are forces today trying to take us back to another time,” says the Civil Rights leader and Congressman John Lewis in the opening of Dawn Porter’s documentary. “We have miles to go.” Few voices have echoed louder and more truthfully through the past 55 years of American life than the 80-year-old Lewis. Porter’s film, debuting on-demand Friday, July 3, is a sturdy vessel for Lewis’ story.
■ “Welcome to Chechnya”: David France’s documentary, streaming on HBO, is about an underground pipeline rescuing LGBTQ Chechens from the Russian republic where the government has for several years waged a lethal crackdown on gays. France, the filmmaker of the Oscar-nominated “How to Survive a Plague,” went to great lengths to capture LGBTQ Chechens’ road to safety. And to protect their anonymity, he used artificial intelligence to digitally replaced their faces.
■ “Western Noir”: Film noir and the Western are the two great, intrinsically American genres of moviemaking and they can feel like diametric opposites. One is harshly bright and mapped across open plains, the other is cloaked in shadow and hustles down dark urban alleyways. But a new series, beginning Sunday on the Criterion Channel, finds common ground in a batch of post-WWII films of frontier gloom, including Anthony Mann’s “The Naked Spur” (1953), with Jimmy Stewart and Robert Ryan; Robert Wises’ “Blood on the Moon” (1948), with Robert Mitchum; and Fritz Lang’s “Rancho Notorious,” with Marlene Dietrich. —AP Film Writer
Jake Coyle
Music
■ Whitney Houston:
Thirty-five years ago the icon Whitney Houston released her self-titled debut album, taking over radio station across the world with anthems like “You Give Good Love,” “Saving All My Love for You,” “How Will I Know” and “Greatest Love of All.” To commemorate its milestone anniversary, Sony’s Legacy Recordings has released a 2 LP vinyl version of the 13x platinum album. The package also includes a second album — the U.S. release of the “Whitney Dancin’ Special” EP/remix album — which was previously released only in Japan in 1986.
■ Willie Nelson: Lucky No. 70. You read that right. The legend Willie Nelson will release his 70th studio album, “First Rose of Spring,” on Friday, July 3. The album was originally supposed to drop in April days before he turned 87, but was pushed back because of the coronavirus pandemic. “First Rose of Spring” features two new songs as well as Nelson’s interpretations of tunes written by others, including Chris Stapleton and Toby Keith.
— AP Music Editor
Mesfin Fekadu
Television
■ Alicia Keys hosts “Kids, Race and Unity,” a “Nick News” special aimed at helping children understand the crisis facing America. Among those joining the discussion are the co-founders of Black Lives Matter and Keedron Bryant, the 12-year-old “I Just Want to Live” singer-songwriter. In a statement, Keys said talking about race can be uncomfortable and families may want to protect kids from racism. But there is “no way around this topic if we want to move forward in any kind of meaningful way,” the musical artist said. The special airs on Nickelodeon, TeenNick, and Nicktoons and online on sites including Nickelodeon YouTube. — AP Television Writer
Lynn Elber