New this week: Luke Bryan, Jeff Foxworthy and 2 Seth Rogens
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
■ “American Pickle”: Seth Rogen plays dual roles in this film about a man from the 1920s who falls into a vat of pickle juice, wakes up fully preserved 100 years later and gets a chance to know his great-grandson. Part “Being There” meets “Kate & Leopold,” part Rogenjoint, “American Pickle,” has a sweet-heart and a few fun gags that’ll make this a pleasant watch on HBO Max.
■ If you want to keep the warm feelings going, the good-natured “Peanut Butter Falcon” is on Amazon Video as well. This lovely 2019 indie features Shia LaBeouf and newcomer Zack Gottsagen on a Huck Finn-type journey across North Carolina. It’s a soulful performance from LaBeouf, but it’s Gottsagen, who has Down syndrome, who wins over your heart as a young wrestling-obsessed man who is determined to be free.
■ “Howard”: Lyricist Howard Ashman has been gone for almost 30 years, but his witty and nimble work lives on in the songs of “Little Shop of Horrors,” “The Little Mermaid,” “Beauty and the Beast” and “Aladdin.” In this documentary streaming on Disney+ Friday, Aug. 7, director Don Hahn tells Ashman’s story with the help of family, friends and collaborators and how he created some of his most iconic works while secretly battling AIDS.
— AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr
Music
■ Country superstar Luke Bryan is looking to his roots on his seventh album. The Georgia native’s small-town values helped shape “Born Here Live Here Die Here,” his new album. The album features the hits “Knockin’ Boots,” “What She Wants Tonight” and “One Margarita.”
■ Multi-platinum rapper Aminé is releasing his sophomore album, “Limbo.” The album features the singles “Riri,” “Shimmy” and the Young Thug-assisted “Compensating.”
— AP Music Editor Mesfin Fekadu
Television
■ Jeff Foxworthy, comedian and self-declared “avid collector of a lot of different stuff,” is on a virtual treasure hunt in the new A&E series “What’s It Worth?” From the safety of his Georgia home’s man cave, Foxworthy visits “everyday people” to check out their potentially valuable heirlooms, pop-culture keepsakes and such. Experts help determine whether the items have more than sentimental worth, while Foxworthy uncovers personal stories that A&E says can be “as impressive as the dollar value itself.”
■ Of all the shows in all the world suitable for a pandemic, would too-close-for-comfort “Big Brother” be anywhere on the list? Nah. But that hasn’t kept it from returning to CBS with an “all-star” cast. Contestants are being quarantined and tested for the coronavirus before entering their shared digs, face weekly tests and will avoid all contact with the crew, the network said. The game remains the same, with the housemates living together as they vie for a $500,000 prize. “Big Brother” will air Sundays, Wednesday and Thursdays at 7 p.m.
— AP Television Writer Lynn Elber