John Krasinski makes his final bow in season four of “Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan,” a new album from Lucinda Williams and the debut of the mystery video game Crime O’Clock 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 Idris Elba on the worst flight ever in the new series “Hijack” for Apple TV+ and a horror movie starring “Succession’s” Sarah Snook as the single mother of a young girl who says she has memories of another life.
NEW MOVIES TO STREAM— The film adaptation of Judy Blume’s classic coming-of-age novel “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” will be available on video on demand starting Tuesday — perfect for summer sleepovers or mother-daughter movie nights at home. Directed by Kelly Fremon Craig (“The Edge of Seventeen”), Abby Ryder Fortson plays the 11-year-old narrator who is navigating a move to the suburbs, new friends, puberty, periods, first crushes and her faith. It is sweet, playful and reverential to its source material, which is hardly a requirement for enjoying the film. Like the book, it's set in the early 1970s, because Blume did not want the characters to be texting. Rachel McAdams is also a standout as Margaret’s mother. It could make for a great double feature with the documentary “Judy Blume Forever,” which is available on Prime Video.
— Netflix also has a new film perfect for the tween set in the animated “Nimona,” inspired by ND Stevenson’s graphic novel about a shapeshifting girl. Chloë Grace Moretz voices Nimona, a rebellious outsider with riot-grrrrl energy who lives in the shadows of a futuristic kingdom with medieval touches. She teams up with a disgraced knight, Ballister (Riz Ahmed), who is on the run after being accused of killing the queen. The film is vibrant and clever, with a fun soundtrack and LGBTQ+ themes that aren’t clumsily handled. “Nimona” starts streaming on Friday, June 30.
— Also arriving on Netflix on Wednesday is “Run Rabbit Run,” a horror starring “Succession’s” Sarah Snook as the single mother of a young girl who says she has memories of another life. As if Shiv isn’t enough of a sell, Snook also gets to use her native Australian accent.
NEW MUSIC TO STREAM— Fans of The Weeknd get a new album, thanks to the TV show “The Idol.” He plays a scheming Svengali in the Sam Levinson-directed HBO series, which has produced the awesome “Popular” with Playboi Carti and Madonna. “The Idol, Vol. 1” includes contributions from Suzanna Son, Moses Sumney, Mike Dean, Ramsey, Jennie Kim and Lily Rose-Depp, who fills the role of pop phenom Jocelyn and sings “World Class Sinner/I’m a Freak.” Still need a reason? Check out “Double Fantasy” featuring Future — and you’ll be hooked, even if, as The Weeknd sings, it’s wrong.
— Counting Lucinda Williams out is a foolhardy option — always, but especially this week. The country star is back with “Stories From a Rock n Roll Heart,” despite suffering a stroke in 2021 that partially impaired some of her motor skills and took away her ability to play guitar. On the album, Williams pays tribute to rock legends Tom Petty (“Stolen Moments”) and Replacements’ co-founder Bob Stinson (“Hum’s Liquor”), to whom she dedicates the album. The single “New York Comeback” has Patti Scialfa and Bruce Springsteen on backing vocals.
— Charlie Watts is celebrated in a posthumous album of jazz recordings by the Rolling Stones drummer. “Anthology” spans 20 years of songs, including a live version of “Swindon Swing” from 1978, “Take the ‘A’ Train" from 2001 and ”Lover Man” live in Birmingham in 1991. Some of the collaborators are double-bassist Dave Green and saxophonists Peter King, Evan Parker and Courtney Pine, trumpeter Gerard Presencer, fellow drummer Jim Keltner and vocalist and Rolling Stones live band member Bernard Fowler. The set features liner notes by music journalist and broadcaster Paul Sexton.
— AP Entertainment Writer Mark Kennedy
NEW SERIES TO STREAM— Charity Lawson has 25 guys vying for her attention in the 20th season of the reality dating show, “The Bachelorette.” The 27-year-old therapist from Georgia was featured on the last season of “The Bachelor” when Zach Shallcross was handing out roses. Shallcross sent Lawson home in week eight when he visited the ladies’ hometowns and met their families, saying the feelings weren’t there. “The Bachelorette” returns Monday.
— Idris Elba is stuck on the worst flight ever in the new series “Hijack” for Apple TV+. Elba plays Sam, a corporate negotiator whose flight from Dubai to London gets hijacked. Sam tries to employ his negotiating skills to defuse the situation on the seven-hour flight, so the passengers and crew make it home safely. The seven-episode series debuts Wednesday with two episodes. The remaining episodes will be released weekly on Wednesdays. “Hijack” also co-stars Archie Panjabi.
— John Krasinski makes his final bow in season four of “Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan,” returning to Prime Video on Friday, June 30. The eight-episode season features Jack back in Washington, D.C. (for part of the time) and the return of Abbie Cornish as his love interest Cathy. Michael Peña also joins season four as well-known Clancy character Domingo “Ding” Chavez, a CIA special operative. Wendell Pierce, Michael Kelly and Betty Gabriel also return.
— A fun family show premiering Friday, June 30 on Netflix is “Is it Cake, Too?” based on the popular internet meme. The premise is simple: people guess whether very real-looking random objects like a handbag, a sewing machine and even a toilet are cake. Ten very talented baker artists compete for a cash prize. Guest judges include Joel McHale, “Saturday Night Live” cast member Chloe Fineman, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, and Dixie and Charli D’Amelio.
NEW VIDEO GAMES TO PLAY— It’s a good week for gamers who crave a little mystery on their menu. Crime O’Clock, from French publisher Just for Games, takes on a centuries-spanning conspiracy in a sprawling European city. Your job is to study detailed black-and-white maps from five different eras, searching for anomalies as you try to seal up cracks in the space-time continuum. It's like a time-traveling version of “Where's Waldo?” in which your actions in one time zone may help you crack cases in the others. The mystery unfolds Friday, June 30, on Nintendo Switch and PC.
— Also coming Friday is Capcom’s high-resolution remake of the 2011 cult classic Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective. The protagonist is a freshly deceased man trying to figure out how he was killed and whodunit. The ghost can only possess a few objects in the land of the living, so he needs to carefully manipulate them to unearth clues and warn other potential victims. It’s a very clever puzzle, and the remake will be available on Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC.
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