IN THE SPOTLIGHT
New this Week: ‘Tina,’ ‘Runaway Bunny’ and ‘City on a Hill’
— Most of last week’s Oscar nominees are already streaming or available ondemand. Florian Zeller’s “The Father,” though, is among the most recent arrivals; it becomes available on premium on-demand Friday. (It’s also playing in theaters.) Based on Zeller’s own much-traveled play, “The Father” largely takes the perspective of its main character, 80-year-old Anthony (Anthony Hopkins), who’s in the grip of dementia. Zeller’s directorial debut was nominated for best picture, best actor (Hopkins) and best supporting actress (Olivia Colman, who plays Anthony’s daughter), as well as nods for production design, editing and adapted screenplay.
— In Dan Lindsay and T.J. Martin’s revealing documentary “Tina,” Tina Turner surveys her tumultuous and extraordinary life. The film, which debuts Saturday on HBO and HBO Max, includes intimate interviews with the 81-year-old “Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll,” along with previously unseen footage, audio tapes and personal photos.
— Another Oscar nominee achieved a rare distinction. The piercing Romanian documentary “Collective” was nominated for both best documentary and best international film — something only one previous film (“Honeyland,” in 2020) — has ever managed to do. Alexander Nanau’s film, which arrives Thursday on Hulu, was one of the very best of 2020. It trails the unlikely investigative journalists that doggedly reported on the fallout of a horrifying and deadly fire in a Bucharest nightclub.
MUSIC
— Carrie Underwood’s upcoming album features gospel hymns important to the “American Idol” winner. The 13-song “My Savior” includes “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” with CeCe Winans and “Nothing But The Blood of Jesus” with Bear Rinehart.
— Evanescence is gearing up to release the band’s first full-length of original music in a decade, “The Bitter Truth.” It contains the band’s signature stew of metalinspired sounds and strong rock elements, especially in the fiery, independence-minded new single “Better Without You.”
TELEVISION
— “The Runaway Bunny” gets star treatment in an animated special based based on Margaret Wise Brown’s classic book about a bunny eager to leave home. Besides Tracee Ellis Ross’ performance of an original lullaby by Brown, the HBO Max show out Thursday incorporates songs by Mariah Carey, Roseanne Cash and Ziggy Marley, among others artists. From producer-director Amy Schatz, the special uses hand-drawn animation to evoke Clement Hurd’s illustrations for the 1942 book.
— Emilio Estevez returns as youth hockey coach Gordon Bombay in “The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers,” a Disney+ series follow-up to the 1990s movie franchise. Gordon has a new challenge: help 12-yearold Evan (Brady Morrow) and his mom, played by Lauren Graham (”Gilmore Girls,” “Parenthood”), create a new team after Evan gets dropped by the Ducks.
— A drug violence-riddled federal housing project in Boston is at the center of season two of Showtime’s “City on a Hill,” debuting 10 p.m. Sunday. Kevin Bacon’s FBI agent Jackie Rohr is trying to salvage his career by trading on the city’s flawed criminal justice system, with Aldis Hodge’s assistant D.A. Decourcy Ward his formidable opponent. Their hostility is destined to ensnare the office of federal and county prosecutors in what’s described as “all-out war.” Tom Fontana is the executive producer in charge of the drama, back with eight episodes.