Taylor Swift’s rerecording of her “Speak Now” and survivalist Bear Grylls taking Bradley Cooper and Rita Ora into the wild are among the new television, movies, music and games headed to a device near you.
Among the offerings worth your time as selected by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists are the sci-fi comedy ”Biosphere” starring Sterling K. Brown and Mark Duplass, and a new spin-off series starring Luann de Lesseps and Sonja Morgan from “The Real Housewives of New York City.”
NEW MOVIES TO STREAM
— Sterling K. Brown and Mark Duplass are the last two men on Earth in the not-too-distant-future sci-fi comedy ”Biosphere,” available in theaters and on demand on Friday from IFC. John DeFore in The Hollywood Reporter wrote that it’s “a mysterious and hilarious pic that really can’t be discussed much without saying things a prospective viewer would be better off not hearing.” “Biosphere” is the directorial debut of Mel Elsyn, who co-wrote the script with Duplass.
— If Paramount+ isn’t in your streaming bundle, “80 for Brady” is now available on Prime Video. The movie, inspired by a true story, stars Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, Rita Moreno and Sally Field as a quartet of best friends, and lifelong Patriots fans, who go to the super bowl to see Tom Brady play. Reviews weren’t great, but most singled out the legendary actors as reason enough to take a chance. Stephanie Zacherek, in Time, wrote it was “brassy, ridiculous and shameless” and also “irresistible,” while critic Katie Walsh singled out the “loose, absurdist” humor of the screenplay. Plus, it’s only 98 minutes.
— Freddie (Park Ji-min) is a 25-year-old who was adopted as a child, raised in France and decides to return to South Korea, where she was born, for the first time in “Return to Seoul,” coming to Mubi on Friday. The critically acclaimed film, written and directed by Davy Chou, got a little lost in its theatrical run but made a handful of year-end best of lists. Richard Lawson, in Vanity Fair, wrote, “She’s a fascinating creation, prickly and mercurial and, for a spell, immoral. But Chou eventually rounds his film into something compassionate, a bittersweet collage of a young life in flux.”
NEW MUSIC TO STREAM
— Taylor Swift has given us a chance to travel back in time after she re-recorded her sophomore country album, “Speak Now,” her third do-over after “Red (Taylor’s Version)” and “Fearless (Taylor’s Version).” “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)” has 22 songs, including six that were written during the album’s original era, but not recorded until recently. Fall Out Boy and Paramore’s Hayley Williams are among the guest appearances. Swift wrote on social media: “Since ‘Speak Now’ was all about my songwriting, I decided to go to the artists who I feel influenced me most powerfully as a lyricist at that time and ask them to sing on the album.”
— If PJ Harvey’s new album sounds fresh and inspired that’s because the new songs came out in about three weeks and they were recorded spontaneously. “I Inside the Old Year Dying” is Harvey’s 10th studio album and first since 2016’s Grammy-nominated “The Hope Six Demolition Project.” The album is produced by long-time collaborators Flood and John Parish. Lead folkish single “A Child’s Question, August,” is filled with pastoral imagery, sparse instrumentation and the singer’s soprano.
— Go to Netflix if you’re hoping to wake up before you go-go to celebrate a special pop duo in “Wham!” The 92-minute documentary about the musical pair — George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley — lands Wednesday and promises access to personal archives including never-before-seen footage, and previously unheard interviews. The doc, directed by Chris Smith, charts the duo’s four-year journey from teenage school friends to global superstars with hits like “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” and “Young Guns.” Michael died in 2016.
— AP Entertainment Writer Mark Kennedy
NEW SERIES TO STREAM
— Part one of “The Lincoln Lawyer” season two is now on Netflix. If you haven’t watched the series based on the novels by Michael Connelly, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo plays Mickey Haller. Haller is a well-known defense attorney in Los Angeles who has a keen ability to think outside the box in ways to help his clients. He’s also often chauffeured around town in a Lincoln while he does work from the back seat. Season one saw Haller return to law after several setbacks including addiction and a divorce. In season two, Haller is the It Lawyer in town. Season two is based on Connelly book’ “The Fifth Witness.”
— David Corenswet and Rachel Brosnahan aren’t the only new Superman and Lois Lane in town. A new animated series, “My Adventures with Superman,” has Jack Quaid as the superhero’s voice along with Alice Lee as Lois Lane. Airing Thursdays on Adult Swim, the story follows Clark Kent as a reporter for the local paper in Metropolis who also happens to be a secret superhero.
— Adventurist Bear Grylls has found more celebrities to take out of their comfort zone and be tested by the great outdoors. Watch Bradley Cooper venture out into the Wyoming Basin on a new season of “Running Wild with Bear Grylls: The Challenge,” premiering Sunday. Other stars featured include Troy Kotsur, Grylls’ first deaf guest whom he takes to the Scottish Highlands, “Doctor Strange” and “Sherlock” star Benedict Cumberbatch, Tatiana Maslany of “She-Hulk,” recording artist Rita Ora, and Tony Award-winners Daveed Diggs and Cynthia Erivo.
— Bravo is sending two of its most iconic Bravo-lebrities, Luann de Lesseps and Sonja Morgan of “The Real Housewives of New York City,” and giving them the “Simple Life”-meets-“Schitt’s Creek” treatment in “Luann and Sonja: Welcome to Crappie Lake.” Normally accustomed to trips to the Hamptons or St. Tropez, the pair jet off to Benton, Illinois, where the population is less than 7,000. The socialites check into a motel and are requested by the mayor to boost Benton’s morale. De Lesseps and Morgan revitalize a local theater with a variety show and build a new program. They also take part in activities like searching a nearby lake for crappie fish with their bare hands or going mudding with monster trucks. The show premieres Sunday on Bravo and episodes will stream the following day on Peacock.
NEW VIDEO GAMES TO PLAY
— In 2004, the Japanese developer Nihon Falcom launched one of the most ambitious video game franchises in history with The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky. Ten titles later, the drama of the war-torn land of Zemuria shows no signs of slowing down, and it has been finding a wider Western audience since NIS America took over the English translations in 2019. The latest chapter, The Legend of Heroes: Trails into Reverie, is being pitched as the series’ midpoint, so it may be a good chance for newcomers to catch up and the story so far and brace themselves for the endgame. If you relish the turn-by-turn strategy and anime-influenced storytelling of old-school Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy games, you can pick up the trail Friday on PlayStation 5/4 and Nintendo Switch.
