A fresh Rolling Stones album, a John le Carr茅 and 鈥淟iving for the Dead,鈥� a new Hulu series that鈥檚 like 鈥淨ueer Eye鈥� meets 鈥淕host Hunters鈥� are some of the new television, movies, music and games near you
Among the offerings worth your time as selected by The Associated Press鈥� are comedian Heather McMahan's first network comedy special called 鈥淭he Son I Never Had鈥� and Nida Manzoor鈥檚 rollicking action-comedy movie 鈥淧olite Society.鈥�
NEW MOVIES TO STREAM
鈥� John le Carr茅, whose birth name was David Cornwell, But before his death, the author of 鈥淭he Spy Who Came in From the Cold鈥� and 鈥淭inker Tailor Soldier Spy鈥� sat down with documentarian Errol Morris for a series of probing interviews. The result, is one of the non-fiction highlights of the movie year. In the film, which streams Friday on Apple TV+, Cornwell discusses his career as a spy, his books and historical truth in a fittingly murky, noir-tinged documentary about one of the 20th century鈥檚 greatest writers. ( .)
鈥� DreamWorks Animation鈥檚 is about a 15-year-old with a secret. Ruby (voiced by Lana Condor) and her family are sea creatures who are passing as humans on land. Ruby is, in fact, not just an aquatic mammal, but one of the mightiest of all, a Kraken. Director Kirk DeMicco鈥檚 film, which begins streaming Friday on Peacock following a theatrical run this summer, is a coming-of-age tale with monsters, mermaids and overprotective moms (Toni Collette). AP鈥檚 Mark Kennedy praised it as 鈥渁 tale of generational sisterhood with the message to not hide your difference.鈥�
鈥� Nida Manzoor鈥檚 is a coming-of-age tale, too, but a much different beast. In the directorial debut of the 鈥淲e Are Lady Parts鈥� creator, Priya Kansara and Ritu Arya play British-Pakistani sisters with divergent dreams. Ria (Kansara) pines to be a stuntwoman. Lena (Arya) has fading artistic hopes that are fast being consumed by an arranged marriage to (Akshay Khanna). Ria sets out to spoil their parents鈥� plans in a rollicking action-comedy that, as , 鈥渕arries Jane Austen with kung-fu flare.鈥� It began streaming Tuesday on Prime Video.
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NEW MUSIC TO STREAM
鈥� What was the music world before Cheryl 鈥淪alt鈥� James, Sandra 鈥淧epa鈥� Denton and Deidra 鈥淒J Spinderella鈥� Roper became ? Tracking their legacy is much simpler: Salt-N-Pepa鈥檚 no-nonsense femininity and agency, coupled with their activism and unabashed sexuality, opened the floodgates for all that followed. So, this year, celebrating both 50 years of hip-hop and the 30th anniversary of Salt-N-Pepa鈥檚 famed fourth studio album, Universal Music Group is re-releasing 鈥淰ery Necessary鈥� with bonus tracks, alternative mixes and beyond. Streaming this one is a no brainer 鈥� and for the record, hits every bit as hard in 2023 as it did in 1993.
鈥� Last month, announced they were preparing to release their first album of original material in 18 years, since 2005鈥檚 鈥淎 Bigger Bang.鈥� Come Friday, the wait is over. 鈥淗ackney Diamonds,鈥� is the Stones鈥� first new record since the death of drummer (His drumming is included posthumously and poignantly on two of the album鈥檚 12 tracks.) It is also their best in decades, a multigenerational affair produced by the pop-rock mastermind Andrew Watt (with credits including Post Malone, Justin Bieber) and featuring guest appearances from the likes of Lady Gaga, Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder. Their rock 鈥榥鈥� roll vitality is as present as ever 鈥� there鈥檚 no interest in rehashing the past, rather, 鈥淗ackney Diamonds鈥� is a joyful experiment, full of swagger. ( .)
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NEW SERIES TO STREAM
鈥� a new Hulu series executive produced and narrated by Kristen Stewart, is like 鈥淨ueer Eye鈥� meets 鈥淕host Hunters.鈥� It follows a group of five queer ghost hunters who travel to haunted locations and use their individual skills to confront the spirits and clear the space. There鈥檚 Ken, who specializes in tarot, Juju the spiritual expert, Logan the psychic, a researcher named Roz and Alex who does the ghost hunting. The series debuted Wednesday.
鈥� Comedian Heather McMahan debuted her first network comedy special called on Tuesday. If you haven鈥檛 followed McMahan, she鈥檚 got a popular podcast called 鈥淎bsolutely Not鈥� and a hilarious Instagram account that caught on during the pandemic, and led to sold-out comedy dates. McMahan鈥檚 schtick is both relatable and outrageous.
鈥� The sweet and smart comedy Created by Greg Daniels (鈥淭he Office鈥�), the series takes place in the (near) future where one can opt to be uploaded to a virtual afterlife. The more money you have, the better the second life is. It stars Robbie Amell, a computer programmer, who was uploaded in season one 鈥� and falls for his still-living digital concierge, Nora (Andy Allo.) The first two episodes drop Friday.
鈥� Detective Harry Bosch returns in the second season of on FreeVee on Friday. Bosch was originally introduced by author Michael Connelly in his books and adapted for TV. He鈥檚 now retired from the LAPD, solving cases as a private investigator.
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NEW VIDEO GAMES TO PLAY
鈥� Two iconic characters who have recently become movie stars are returning to the medium that made them famous: the 2-D, side-scrolling, running-and-jumping game. First up is Sonic the Hedgehog with . It鈥檒l look familiar to anyone who grew up in the 1990s with the Sega Genesis, with the furry speed demon hurtling through loop-the-loops, caroming off springs and collecting gold rings. Sonic bounced back Tuesday on PlayStation 5/4, Xbox X/S/One, Nintendo Switch and PC. Three days later, everyone鈥檚 favorite plumber, Mario, returns with . Expect plenty of the block-breaking, mushroom-eating, warp-pipe-traveling antics that put Nintendo on the map in the 1980s. Plus, Mario can turn into an elephant. This one鈥檚 exclusive to the Switch, starting Friday.
鈥� Speaking of multimedia legends, your friendly neighborhood web-slinger is back with . It鈥檚 actually Insomniac Games鈥� third crack at the character, after separate adventures starring alter egos Peter Parker and Miles Morales. This time the two Spideys are teaming up to battle notorious villains like Venom, Kraven the Hunter and The Lizard. If you enjoyed swinging between Manhattan鈥檚 skyscrapers in the previous games, get ready for an even bigger map, now including Queens and Brooklyn. And you can use your web shooters to create underarm 鈥渨eb wings,鈥� which let you soar across spaces that don鈥檛 have tall buildings. Do whatever a spider can starting Friday on PlayStation 5.
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The Associated Press
