The streaming service debut of “Michael” and new albums from Olivia Rodrigo and Keith Urban 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: the new season of “Sweet Magnolias,” a new YA series “Every Year After” and the survival game “Solarpunk.”
— The Michael Jackson biopic “Michael” is still moonwalking its way to $900 million in theaters, but it’s also going to be available to watch at home — for $24.99 — starting June 9 on major platforms like Apple TV, Prime Video and YouTube. Antoine Fuqua’s movie, starring Jaafar Jackson, was sanctioned by Jackson’s estate and its producers include the estate’s executors. In his review for The Associated Press, film writer Jake Coyle wrote that the movie “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.”
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— Kate Hudson’s Oscar-nominated performance in “Song Sung Blue” will be on Netflix starting June 13. She plays Claire Sardina, one half of a Neil Diamond tribute act from Milwaukee, opposite Hugh Jackman in a film that Mark Kennedy, in his AP review, called “big-hearted but misguided.”
— Now that Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni ended their legal feud over the acrimonious production of “It Ends With Us,” perhaps its time to give the romantic drama a rewatch? It’ll be streaming on Hulu on June 9. In his review, Kennedy called it “uneven” in its attempt to “balance the realities of domestic violence inside a rom-com and a female-empowerment movie.”
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— And you can’t go wrong with Abbas Kiarostami’s “Where is the Friend’s House,” which will be available on June 12 on Kanopy. Greta Gerwig, in an interview with The Criterion Channel, said it is “a perfect film.”
— AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr
— First, she was “SOUR.” Then, she had “GUTS.” Now she’s abandoned four-letter words for the mouthful “You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love.” Such are the musical and emotional complications of Olivia Rodrigo, a popstar for those who love depth of feeling and ’80s guitar pop. Her third album is prepped to be her best one yet, from the butterflies-in-the-stomach, The Cure-referencing “Drop Dead” to, well, “The Cure,” with its early contender for “best bridge of the year.” Run don’t walk.
— Welcome to music festival season! For those who love artists across genres and generations but aren’t big on getting off the couch, Disney+ and Hulu offer a solution. They’ll stream a few of the biggest U.S. fests this year, kicking things off with Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival on Thursday through Friday. Log on, settle in and enjoy The Strokes, Noah Kahan, Skrillex, RÜFÜS DU SOL and more.
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— Keith Urban hath returned — and now, the four-time Grammy Award winning country music superstar is into yacht rock. “Flow State,” out Friday, is comprised of 10 covers — including a reimagination of Bread’s “The Guitar Man” with John Mayer and Walter Egan’s “Magnet and Steel” with Little Big Town. The sole original is “We Go Back,” with Michael McDonald, and it stands up to the rest of the collection. Get into that soft West Coast sound.
— Also back in the fold: Rapper Rick Ross, who releases “Set in Stone” on Friday. Little has been revealed about the 19-track release, but if it is anything like the single “Minks in Miami” — a collaboration with French Montana and Max B that features a hook interpolating Rare Earth’s 1971 hit “I Just Want to Celebrate” — listeners are in for a treat.
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— AP Music Writer Maria Sherman
— With “The Summer I Turned Pretty” and now “Off Campus,” Prime Video remains committed to the YA/romance space. Its newest offering is “Every Year After,” an eight-episode series based on a novel by Carley Fortune. It follows Percy (Sadie Soverall) and Sam (played by Matt Cornett), whose childhood friendship turned romantic before complications pulled them apart. A family tragedy reunites them and stirs up old feelings. All episodes drop Wednesday.
— “Sweet Magnolias” returns for its fifth season Thursday, June 11 on Netflix. JoAnna Garcia Swisher, Heather Headley and Brooke Elliott play lifelong friends living in a small town in South Carolina. Together, they navigate relationships, parenting and their careers.
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— AP Writer Alicia Rancilio
— With so many steampunk and cyberpunk games out there, perhaps it’s time to move on to “Solarpunk.” The goal in this survival game from German indie studio Cyberwave is to design a new culture using renewable energy sources like sunlight, wind and water. Your home is on an island floating in the sky, and you’ll want to build an airship to travel to other islands. It’s all kind of chill compared to the dystopias you typically expect in this genre, and you can team up with friends as you try to create a pollution-free paradise. Take flight Monday, June 8, on PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S, Switch 2 or PC.
— While you’re waiting for the next NBA Finals game, why not hit the court with “NBA The Run,” a 3-on-3 street basketball throwdown? It’s the debut release from Play By Play Studios, and the developers are trying to recreate the vibe of arcade classics like “NBA Jam.” That means head-spinning footwork, gravity-defying dunks and balls that may burst into flame. There are 32 pros on the roster, including Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs and Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks, and the courts bounce from New York to Beijing. Tipoff is Tuesday, June 9, on PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S and PC.
— Lou Kesten
