The blockbuster biopic “Michael” and a new documentary about Travis Barker are some of the new television, films, music and games headed to a device near you.
Also among the streaming offerings worth your time this week, as selected by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists: players can get back on the gridiron in “Madden NFL 27,” a new season of “Reacher” drops and Carly Simon releases her first album in more than a decade.
New movies to stream from Aug. 10-16
— The Michael Jackson biopic “Michael” begins streaming Aug. 10 on Starz after a $1 billion run at the box office. Director Antoine Fuqua’s estate-approved dramatization of Jackson’s life stars his nephew Jaafar Jackson as the King of Pop. In my review, I wrote that “Michael” “slides a sequin glove over the pop star’s tarnished legacy, shrouding Michael Jackson’s complications with a conventional biopic that, if you cover your ears, sounds great.”
— The Netflix-Sandler connection continues in “Don’t Say Good Luck” (Aug. 14), a Happy Madison production starring Sandler’s daughter Sunny. In the coming-of-age comedy, she plays a high school theater student whose school play aspirations are complicated by her mother’s illness. Co-starring Melanie Lynskey.
— In “Normal” (Aug. 14 on HBO Max), Bob Odenkirk extends his action-hero resume beyond the two “Nobody” movies. In director Ben Wheatley’s film, Odenkirk plays a substitute sheriff who arrives in a wintery Minnesota town full of strange happenings, including the recent death of the previous sheriff. In my review, I called it “a hyperviolent Midwestern Western that cleverly inverts some genre standards with a pleasingly loose hold on reality.”
— AP Film Writer Jake Coyle
New music to stream from Aug. 10-16
— Less than three minutes into “Travis Barker: Louder Than Fear,” a new documentary about the famed Blink-182 drummer, and audiences are launched into the aftermath of the devastating plane crash he survived in 2008. The film follows the esteemed musician from 2017 to 2026, but doubles as a celebration of his life before and after the life-altering crash, a central event in a career full of them. It’s a must-watch for fans, or simply those in need of a dynamic doc about resiliency. Stream it on Hulu on Aug. 13.
— Singer Carly Simon has been in headlines as of late; in July she shared that she has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and was recently treated for skin cancer. It makes her forthcoming album “Comes In Waves” — her first album of original songs since 2008, out Friday, Aug. 14, — even more of a miracle. “Working on the music gave shape to days that did not always have much shape. It gave me somewhere to go without having to leave the room,” she said in a statement. “It reminded me that illness can change your life without becoming the whole of your life.”
— Becky G is back with the bilingual “Baraja Bendita,” a new album and her first since leaving Kemosabe Records. Fans expecting more of 2024’s “Encuentros,” which explored rancheras and corridos, may be wise to return to that release. This one, out Friday, she has assured in interviews, is still a celebration of her Mexican heritage. It is still Becky G, after all — but largely, it is a return to her rap-pop roots.
— AP Music Writer Maria Sherman
New series to stream from Aug. 10-16
— The first three episodes of Season 4 of “Reacher” starring Alan Ritchson drop on Prime Video on Wednesday, Aug. 12. The new episodes are based on book 13 in the Jack Reacher series by Lee Child called “Gone Tomorrow.” After Reacher witnesses a woman take her own life on the subway, he becomes a target for information she passed onto him before her death.
— Season 3 of “Tires,” starring stand-up comics Steve Gerben and Shane Gillis, arrives on Netflix on Thursday, Aug. 13. The show is a workplace comedy about the employees of an auto repair shop that leans into its blue-collar setting. Gerben and Gillis cocreated the show with John McKeever, who directs all the episodes. The trio also writes most of the series as well.
— Kyle Chandler and Aaron Pierre star in the new HBO series “Lanterns,” which premieres Sunday, Aug. 16 on HBO Max. The show is based on DC Comics’ Green Lantern characters. Chandler and Pierre play Hal Jordan and John Stewart, members of the intergalactic law enforcement tasked with maintaining order throughout the universe and its galaxies. Their job takes them to Earth where they investigate a murder in Nebraska. “Lanterns” is the second live-action series in the debut phase of the new DC Universe under co-chairs James Gunn and Peter Safran. Part sci-fi superhero story, it’s also inspired by mysteries like “True Detective.”
— AP Writer Alicia Rancilio
New video games to play from Aug. 10-16
— This long, hot summer can’t be over soon enough, so thank goodness “Madden NFL 27” is on its way. EA Sports has even put a cold-weather quarterback, the Chicago Bears’ Caleb Williams, on the cover. And the new edition has “dynamic weather,” meaning you could get slammed by a snowstorm midway through a game. EA is also promising new short-yardage mechanics and tighter defensive coverage. And wannabe franchise owners can look forward to the “Persona Engine,” which EA says “gives every NFL athlete a distinct personality.” Autumn arrives Thursday, Aug. 13, on PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S, Switch 2 and PC.
— Lou Kesten
