The Commercial Appeal - Go Memphis
New this week: ‘Without Remorse’ and ‘The Mosquito Coast’
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
Now that awards season is finally over, it’s time for some spring action movies and what better way to start than with Michael B. Jordan playing an elite Navy SEAL avenging his pregnant wife’s death in a Tom Clancy adaptation? “Without Remorse,” hitting Amazon Prime Video on Friday, finds the “Creed” and “Black Panther” star playing John Clark (who some may be familiar with as a character in the Jack Ryan universe). Jordan co-stars with Jodie Turner-smith (“Queen & Slim”), Jamie Bell and Guy Pearce in the globe-trotting action pic, which could very well be the start of another franchise.
If you’re hunting for something a little more family friendly, Netflix has the animated “The Mitchells vs. the Machines” premiering Friday as well. Produced by “The Lego Movie’s” Phil Lord and Chris Miller the Michael Rianda-directed crowd-pleaser finds a family whose cross country road trip gets sidetracked by a robot apocalypse. Featuring the voices of Maya Rudolph, Abbi Jacobson, Danny Mcbride, Olivia Colman and Eric Andre, some have described it as a mash-up of “Vacation” and “The Terminator.”
Or if you’re feeling like mulling over ideas of nature versus nurture, there’s the new documentary “Lucy the Human Chimp,” available Thursday on HBO Max, about a chimpanzee who was raised in a suburban home by a psychologist and his wife and later was transferred back to the wild. Lucy made headlines in her day, having learned sign language and how to eat with silverware, but when puberty hit she became aggressive and destructive and was sent to a rehabilitation center in Gambia. Filmmaker Alex Parkinson promises to go beyond the headlines and focus on the bond between Lucy and her caregiver Janis Carter.
Billie Eilish is releasing the first single from her highly anticipated sophomore album on Thursday. Eilish announced Tuesday that the 16-track “Happier Than Ever” will arrive July 30, even revealing the track list and album artwork. The 19-year-old didn’t say which song would be released Thursday as the lead single, but all of the tracks were written by her and her older brother and close collaborator Finneas. Together, they crafted her debut album – “When We All Go to Sleep, Where Do We Go?” – winning a total 11 Grammys at the 2020 show. This year they won two more Grammys for the songs “Everything I Wanted” and “No Time to Die.”
Signed to Merge Records, which mainly features alternative rock artists, R&B singer Dawn Richard is set to drop her sixth solo album on Friday. The former Danity Kane and Diddy-dirty Money performer blends a number of genres on “Second Line,” including R&B, pop, electro and alternative sounds. The album centers on the New Orleans-born singer’s persona King Creole. “The definition of a second line in New Orleans is a celebration of someone’s homecoming,” Richard said. “In death and in life, we celebrate the impact of a person’s legacy through dance and music. I’m celebrating the death of old views in the industry. The death of boxes and limits.”
Jay-z’s latest signee, 21-year-old Maeta, is releasing a new EP on Friday. “Habits,” the rising performer’s sevensong project for Roc Nation, is a blend of pop and alternative R&B sounds and features collaborations with Grammy winners like Skrillex, Mustard and Kaytranada. The EP cover art was even inspired by a photo of the icon Janet Jackson. Maeta, who is from Indianapolis and got her start by covering songs on Soundcloud and Instagram, released her debut EP, “Do Not Disturb,” in 2019.
Television
Hulu’s “The Handmaid’s Tale” is back for a 10-episode fourth season, with the action moving from Boston to Chicago, site of an ongoing rebellion against the oppressive Gilead regime. There are new risks ahead for Elisabeth Moss’ rebel leader June, and no end in sight: The series has been renewed for another season. Three episodes debut Wednesday, with the rest to follow in consecutive weeks. In the meantime, want to take a deeper dive into its themes and real-world issues with Moss, co-stars Yvonne Strahovski, Ann Dowd and Joseph Fiennes, and the drama’s producers? They’re part of “Female Empowerment in the Age of The Handmaid’s Tale,” a Paley Center for Media program.
The new Apple TV+ drama series “The Mosquito Coast” boasts a notable family connection: it stars Justin Theroux and is based on the 1981 novel of the same name by acclaimed writer Paul Theroux, his uncle. In the adaptation by novelist and series producer Neil Cross (“Luther”), radical idealist Allie Fox (Justin Theroux) abruptly flees California with his wife and children for a perilous journey through Mexico. The U.S. government is after him, with the why to be unveiled. The seven-episode series co-stars Melissa George, Logan Polish and Gabriel Bateman. After its two-episode premiere Friday, new episodes will be released on consecutive Fridays.
The third and final season of FX’S groundbreaking “Pose” begins Sunday (10 p.m. EDT) with two episodes. The series that delved into the New York ballroom scene of the late 1980s – a time both exuberant and Aids-plagued – introduced the largest LGBTQ cast ever on TV. It also made a screen star of Billy Porter, the Tony Award-winner (“Kinky Boots”) who plays Pray Tell, the balls’ organizer and emcee. In 2019, Porter became the first openly gay man to win a lead actor Emmy. The new season, set in 1994, finds his character struggling with health crises and Mi Rodriguez’s Blanca, who’s working as a nurse’s aide, his staunch ally. The seven-episode season ends June 6.