Here鈥檚 a collection curated by The Associated Press鈥 entertainment journalists of what鈥檚 arriving on TV, streaming services and music and video game platforms this week.
MOVIES
鈥 Will Smith鈥檚 comeback campaign is in full swing thanks to the new Antoine Fuqua movie 鈥淓mancipation,鈥 which begins streaming on Apple TV+ on Friday. The film follows the escape of an enslaved man, Peter (Smith), from a Louisiana plantation during the Civil War. In his review, AP Film Writer Jake Coyle writes that the film is Fuqua鈥檚 film is often harrowing and gripping but also less nuanced and too narrowly confined in genre conventions than its real-life protagonist deserves.鈥
鈥 is a dream almost 15 years in the making for the Oscar-winning filmmaker, who first announced his plans to make an adaptation of Carlo Collodi鈥檚 story in 2008. After many years of false starts, Netflix helped del Toro realize his vision, with beautifully intricate stop-motion puppets and voice actors like David Bradley (Geppetto) and Ewan McGregor (Sebastian J. Cricket). He鈥檚 set the story in Italy between the two world wars during the rise of fascism. The 鈥淧an鈥檚 Labyrinth鈥 filmmaker told Vanity Fair that though the film is challenging, he hopes it will appeal to all generations. 鈥淭hese are times that demand from kids a complexity that is tremendous,鈥 he said. Co-directed by Mark Gustafson, 鈥淕uillermo del Toro鈥檚 Pinocchio鈥 hits Netflix on Friday.
鈥 Or for a holiday-themed romantic comedy (with some earnestly blatant brand tie-ins), head over to Amazon Prime for in which a jewelry mix-up sends two relationships into a spiral. Kendrick Sampson plays a man about to propose to his longtime girlfriend and Zoey Deutch plays a woman in a dead-end relationship who accidentally gets an engagement ring meant for someone else. This mishap is an elaborate set-up that gets Sampson and Deutch to meet. Directed by Daryl Wein and produced by Reese Witherspoon鈥檚 Hello Sunshine, 鈥淪omething from Tiffany鈥檚鈥 starts streaming Friday.
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MUSIC
鈥 Can't get to New York but still want to hear chart-toppers? Join the at Madison Square Garden concert on Friday with Dua Lipa, Lizzo, The Kid Laroi, Backstreet Boys, Charlie Puth, AJR, Demi Lovato, Lauv, Ava Max, Dove Cameron and Jax. The concert will be carried live across the country on all iHeartRadio CHR鈥痵tations and will livestream exclusively via The CW App and CWTV.com. Not happy with just listening? There鈥檚 also an exclusive IMAX Live presentation in IMAX theatres nationwide for the first time.
鈥 Broadway star Idina Menzel opens up about her career and her life in the documentary Menzel has starred in 鈥淩ent鈥 and 鈥淲icked鈥 as well as created the legendary voice of Elsa in Disney鈥檚 鈥淔rozen.鈥 Cameras follow Menzel on a national tour over the course of 16 shows as she juggles the challenges of being a working mom with a grueling travel schedule, all while preparing finally to realize her dream of singing at Madison Square Garden in her hometown of New York City. Join her Friday on Disney+.
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TELEVISION
鈥 In the new TV series Jessica Chastain and Michael Shannon play out the between country music stars Tammy Wynette and George Jones. The couple divorced in 1975 after six years together, but they remained a major influence in each other鈥檚 lives. Chastain and Shannon also sing the artist鈥檚 legendary songs in the series including Wynette鈥檚 鈥淪tand By Your Man鈥 and Jones鈥 鈥淗e Stopped Loving Her Today.鈥 The show premiered Sunday simultaneously on Showtime and the Paramount Network, and the remainder of the series will be available exclusively on Showtime.
鈥 The true crime genre is booming but ID/discovery+ explores a case perhaps you haven鈥檛 heard of. is a three-part look at the murder of Vladimir Pokhilko, one of the creators of the video game 鈥淭etris,鈥 died along with his family in their California home in 1998. Originally believed to be a murder-suicide, investigators revisit the case and find it鈥檚 much more complicated than once thought. 鈥淭he Tetris Murders鈥 debuts Monday on ID and discovery+.
鈥 Spoiler alert: has already unveiled its season eight winner but the hit Fox show has one more episode to air just in time for the holidays. A special singalong edition airs Wednesday on Fox, featuring new performances, bloopers and behind-the-scenes material.
鈥 Season two of the heartwarming debuts on Apple TV+. on Friday. Created by Academy Award winner Si芒n Heder, actor Kumail Nanjiani, and Emmy-nominee Lee Eisenberg (鈥淭he Office,鈥 鈥淲eCrashed,鈥) the scripted anthology series tells the unique stories of immigrants in the United States who are trying to achieve their dream. New episodes include stories of a Somali chef preparing for the Minnesota State Fair; a Korean medical student whose passion is hat design and a Japanese woman in Ohio trying to form a women鈥檚 baseball team.
鈥 Alicia Rancilio
VIDEO GAMES
鈥 is the latest spinoff of Square Enix鈥檚 long-running series of role-playing epics. It鈥檚 an origin story of sorts for two of the characters from 2018鈥瞫 鈥淒ragon Quest XI,鈥 Erik and Mia. We meet them as children living on a Viking ship before they鈥檙e magically transported to the land of Draconia. Familiar monsters, from slimes to sabercats, abound, but now the kids can recruit the beasts to help them hunt for loot. And they can spend their fortune building an elaborate castle while they search for seven elusive Dragonstones. It鈥檚 a more lighthearted take on the 鈥淒Q鈥 franchise, and it comes to the Nintendo Switch on Friday.
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