The latest Rolling Stones album and the streaming debut of the hit movie “Backrooms” 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: a new version of “Little House on the Prairie,” new albums from Adam Lambert and Finn Wolfhard and “College Football 27” from EA Sports.
— The box-office sensation “Backrooms” is making its premium video-on-demand debut on July 7, available to purchase on all the major streaming services. Kane Parsons, 20, directed the feature length adaptation of his viral webseries about the dread of liminal space, starring Chiwetel Ejiofor as a furniture store salesman. In his review, Associated Press Film Writer Jake Coyle wrote that it’s a “fitfully unsettling nightmare that never convincingly builds beyond its creepy, dated-decor premise.”
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— Maika Monroe plays a woman looking to rebuild her life after prison, heartbreak and tragedy, opposite Tyriq Withers in the Colleen Hoover adaptation “Reminders of Him,” streaming on Peacock on Friday, July 10. In his review for the AP, Mark Kennedy called it a “a well-crafted, well-acted sad-happy Hoover adaptation,” praising Monroe, who, he writes, “stretches out her dramatic muscles to play Kenna and nails the assignment, a woman with a hard shell who is looking for a little grace, a tricky role that’s both flirty and maternal.”
— And just in time for the Fourth of July comedown, “The Long Walk,” set in a dystopian, postwar America, arrives on HBO Max on July 10. Cooper Hoffman and David Jonsson star in this adaptation of a Stephen King story in which 50 boys are selected by lottery for a harrowing contest in which the walk only ends when one survivor remains. Fittingly, “Hunger Games” veteran Francis Lawrence directed.
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— AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr
— Only the Rolling Stones have the flex to get Anya Taylor-Joy and Charles Melton to appear in one of their music videos. The movie stars play a frustrated couple in the video for the new soulful R&B single “Jealous Lover.” That’s from the upcoming album “Foreign Tongues,” out Friday, July 10, which includes the Cure’s Robert Smith on guitar for the rollicking single “Divine Intervention.” The album also has contributions from Steve Winwood, Paul McCartney and the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Chad Smith. “Foreign Tongues” will also include a special appearance from drummer Charlie Watts, lifted from one of his final recording sessions before his death in 2021.
— Finn Wolfhard isn’t resting on his music or TV successes. The “Stranger Things” star has his sophomore solo album out Friday, July 10, a year after the intriguing multi-hyphenate artist dropped “Happy Birthday.” And things are looking up — or is that Upside Down? — for Wolfhard: While his debut was a lo-fi, distortion-heavy sneer of garage-band strut, the singles from the 12-track “Fire From the Hip” so far reveal a more mature songwriter, with a more melodic bent and less dense, punky production. The lead single “I’ll Let You Finish” cheekily nods to the viral VMA moment when Kanye West interrupted Taylor Swift at the 2009 Video Music Awards.
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— Adam Lambert struts away from Queen for his sixth solo studio album, simply titled “Adam.” Lambert says he was inspired by ’90s alternative rock and electronica, including Nine Inch Nails, Björk, Prince and Muse. Singles from the 12-track album include the vampire-dance of “Eat U Alive” and the infectious glam of “Under the Rhythm,” which samples ATC’s “Around the World (La La La La La).” Both tracks explore losing control with a lover: “I know I look a mess, but I’m gon’ sweat it off,” he sings in the second.
— AP Entertainment Writer Mark Kennedy
— The Associated Press first reviewed The War and Treaty in 2018, writing: “Michael Trotter Jr. and Tanya Blount-Trotter, the pride of Albion, Michigan, are husband and wife and a powerhouse R&B duo who sound as though they were born to sing together.” The assessment holds true nearly a decade later, as they prepare to release their latest album, “The Story of Michael and Tanya.” Lead single “Don’t Say Goodbye” is a smooth throwback, timeless with its harmonies and soulful production. If that’s not enough to sway you, maybe this is: The album also features Wynonna Judd and Whoopi Goldberg. You read that correctly.
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— AP Music Writer Maria Sherman
— A reboot of “Little House on the Prairie” debuts on Netflix Thursday, July 9. Like the original series starring Michael Landon and Melissa Gilbert, the show is based on the classic books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Set in the American West in the late 19th Century, the tight-knit Ingalls family settles in Kansas, but their new home comes with a variety of challenges. Luke Bracey plays the father, Charles. Crosby Fitzgerald is Caroline, the family matriarch. Skywalker Hughes plays eldest daughter, Mary, and Alice Halsey is the feisty younger daughter, Laura, also known as Half-Pint.
— J.K. Simmons stars in the new MGM+ crime drama “The Westies,” about the real Irish gang that ruled the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood in Manhattan in the early 1980s. In the series, the Jacob Javits Convention Center is under construction in their backyard, promising an abundance of (illegal) ways to make money. The Westies’ turf is threatened by a clash of ideas between the young and old-school members. The eight episode series debuts on Sunday, July 12.
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— AP Writer Alicia Rancilio
— The World Cup may still be raging, but EA Sports would like to remind you that the other kind of football is right around the corner. “College Football 27” promises streamlined play-calling, a new “Dynasty Blueprint” mode for aspiring athletic directors and an revamped “Road to Glory” campaign that lets you rake in the sponsorship cash as you fight for the Heisman Trophy. Ole Miss running back Kewan Lacy, Miami wide receiver Malachi Toney and Oregon quarterback Dante Moore are the cover models, but the buzziest addition may be Mascot Mashup, which pits team mascots against each other in 11-on-11 slugfests. Kickoff is Thursday, July 9, on PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S or PC.
— The title location in Bandai Namco’s “Echoes of Aincrad” is a 100-story floating castle. The first floor is pleasant enough, with plenty of amiable villagers ready to help, but once you get to the second floor you may have to contend with giant cows and other monsters. The whole edifice is really one giant virtual reality maze, and you’ll need mad sword skills to escape. “Echoes” is a spinoff of the long-running Sword Art Online franchise, which encompasses novels, manga, anime and games, but it represents the first time you’ll be able to create your own avatar rather than playing as teenage protagonist Kirito. Start slashing Friday, July 10, on PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S or PC.
— Lou Kesten
