New this week: Beyoncé, Alanis Morissette, Emmy noms
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
■ “Black Is King”: Written, directed and executive produced by Beyoncé, the pop star’s “visual album” arrives Friday, July 31 on Disney+. Given that the last time Beyoncé made something similar she crafted the dazzling film “Lemonade,” “Black Is King” — like most things involving Beyoncé — is a major event. This one, a fantasia celebrating black identity, comes as a companion piece to last year’s Beyoncé-curated album “The Lion King: The Gift.” She has described it as “a story of how the people left most broken have an extraordinary gift and a purposeful future.”
■ “Stockton on My Mind”: Mark Levin’s documentary, on HBO, charts the journey of Michael Tubbs, who became the youngest mayor of a major American city by the age of 26 and the first African American mayor of his hometown, Stockton, California. Tubbs has helped make the low-income working-class community in Central California an incubator for new ideas in combating institutionalized racism, gun violence and economic hardship.
■ “The Fight”: Elyse Steinberg, Josh Kriegman and Eli Despres’ documentary, honored for social impact filmmaking at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, follows the work of the American Civil Liberties Union during the presidency of Donald Trump. It’s multi-front battle that, in this riveting account, encompasses conflicts over immigration, abortion and voting rights. As the directors showed in the excruciatingly entertaining 2016 Anthony Weiner documentary “Weiner,” they have talent for colorful fly-on-the-wall filmmaking of politics in action. Here, they focus on four tireless ACLU attorneys. Magnolia Pictures releases “The Fight” on-demand Friday, July 31.
— AP Film Writer Jake Coyle
MUSIC
■ That’s what new friends are for: Musical icon Burt Bacharach and Kacey Musgraves producer Daniel Tashian have teamed up to release a new five-song EP. “Blue Umbrella,” out Friday, July 31, was recorded in Nashville and features Bacharach on piano and Tashian on vocals. Tashian has worked with a handful of country music acts, but he’s best known for his magic on Musgraves’ epic 2018 album “Golden Hour,” which earned him his first pair of Grammys. Bacharach, a six-time Grammy winner and three-time Oscar winner, is one of music’s most revered composers, known for tracks like “That’s What Friends Are For,” “(They Long to Be) Close to You” and “Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do),” among others. “Blue Umbrella” is Bacharach’s first album in 15 years.
■ R&B powerhouse Brandy is releasing her first independent album. “B7,” her seventh studio release, will be out Friday and is the Grammy winner’s first album in eight years. It features collaborations with Chance the Rapper, Daniel Caesar and her daughter Sy’rai, who sings on “High Heels” and performs background vocals on the single “Baby Mama.” Sy’rai also co-wrote both tracks. Brandy had a hand in writing all 15 songs on “B7” with helpers including Darhyl Camper Jr. (H.E.R.), Kim “Kaydence” Krysiuk (Ariana Grande), Akil “Fresh” King (Beyoncé) and others.
■ It’s been a busy year for Grammy-winning rocker Alanis Morissette: She celebrated the 25th anniversary of her groundbreaking “Jagged Little Pill” album, and a musical version of the record debuted on Broadway in December. She’s also been working hard in the studio to make “Such Pretty Forks in the Road,” her ninth album to be released Friday. It’s her first new album in eight years and was originally supposed to drop in April but was pushed backed because of the coronavirus pandemic. Morissette also had an anniversary tour planned for her 1995 album, but that was also scraped due to COVID-19.
— AP Music Editor
Mesfin Fekadu
TELEVISION
■ The Emmys, the awards that honor TV’s best, unveiled this year’s crop of nominees on Tuesday — but online and not on TV. The usual announcement ceremony at the TV academy in Los Angeles was canceled because of the coronavirus, with Leslie Jones instead hosting a virtual event to be found at Emmys.com. How the Sept. 20 ceremony on ABC will play out is anybody’s guess, but we do know that Jimmy Kimmel will host. As for the contenders, with last year’s winners “Game of Thrones” and “Fleabag” having hit the road, there’s room for fresh faces including the comedies “Ramy” and “Insecure.”
— AP Television Writer
Lynn Elber