New this week: Roddy Ricch, ‘Swan Song’ and ‘The Larkins’
MOVIES
— What’s better than a Mahershala Ali performance? How about two? In Benjamin Cleary’s “Swan Song,” Ali plays a terminally ill family man who turns to an experimental cloning lab in order to spare his pregnant wife and young son the pain of losing him. The duplication process is total, right down to his most subconscious memories. It’s a somber and emotional sci-fi drama, full of existential quandary as Ali’s dying man struggles with his decision and the difficulty of letting go. It debuts Wednesday on Apple TV+ and in theaters.
— In “The Hand of God,” Italian filmmaker Paolo Sorrentino, who directed the luminous Oscar-winning Roman odyssey “The Great Beauty” turns southward to his hometown of Naples for an autobiographical film based on his 1980s childhood. “The Hand of God,” which begins streaming Wednesday on Netflix, was the Golden Lion winner at the Venice Film Festival, and a pick for the Associated Press’ best films of 2021.
— The recent Walt Disney Co. release “Ron’s Gone Wrong” will land on both Disney+ and HBO Max on Wednesday after its theatrical run.
MUSIC
— On Friday, Roddy Ricch is back with his sophomore record, “Live Life Fast.” His new album reflects on the young artist dealing with the sudden fame and money and includes the chart-rising track “late at night.”
— A host of musical artists will join an online concert on Wednesday to benefit environmental causes. The Lumineers, Jack Johnson, Black Pumas, Rhiannon Giddens and Ben Harper will appear on the “Peace Through Music” event run by Playing for Change and the United Nations Population Fund, on Playing for Change’s YouTube channel. Designed to promote environmental sustainability, the concert will raise money for organizations like Conservation International, American Rivers and the World Wildlife Fund.
TELEVISION
— Acorn TV’s “The Larkins” is a feelgood period family drama set in Kent, England, and based on the 1958 H.E. Bates’ novel “The Darling Buds of May.” The ’50s rural setting is idyllic and the family generous and good-hearted, but sketchy business dealings provoke village gossip. The series opens Monday with two episodes, with others out weekly on the streaming service.
— Two makers of the dearly departed “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” Phil Augusta Jackson and Dan Goor, are jumping back into the sitcom pool with NBC’s “Grand Crew.”
It’s set in a Los Angeles wine bar where young professional pals gather to hash out the highs and lows of their lives. Among them: Nicole Byer as an ambitious realestate agent and Anthony who’s married to his career. “Grand Crew” gets a two-episode preview at 8 p.m. Tuesday settling into its 8:30 p.m. time slot Jan. 4.
— If the success of “Yellowstone” for Paramount+ makes it a hard act to follow, how about a prequel to the Dutton family saga? “Yellowstone” co-creator Taylor Sheridan is obliging with “1883,” described as a retelling of Western expansion though the impoverished family’s journey toward a new chapter in pre-statehood Montana. Sam Elliott, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill and Billy Bob Thornton star in the drama debuting Sunday. “Yellowstone,” the modern Dutton story with Kevin Costner as the patriarch of a ranching empire, is in its fourth season on the streaming service.