“The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives,” a docuseries following young wives in Utah, and the suspenseful thriller “Rebel Ridge” are some of the new television, films, music and games headed to a device near you.
Also among the streaming offerings worth your time as selected by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists: the return of the acclaimed English spy series “Slow Horses," Astro Bot gets his own full full-fledged adventure on the PlayStation 5 and George Strait will release his 31st studio album, “Cowboys and Dreamers."
— Jeremy Saulnier makes lean, suspenseful thrillers, several of which (“Blue Ruin,” “The Green Room”) have turned into cult favorites. His latest, “Rebel Ridge” (on Netflix starting Friday, stars Aaron Pierre as an ex-Marine who becomes ensnared in a violent battle with a corrupt small-town police department and its chief (Don Johnson). The film, engrossing and stylish, is enlivened by the magnetic presence of Pierre.
— “The Boy and the Heron” didn’t turn out to be Hayao Miyazaki’s swan song. (He’s said to be at work again on another film.) But it did live up to the considerable expectations built up for the long-in-coming late opus from the Japanese anime master. The film, streaming Friday on Max, was the best animated feature winner at the Oscars earlier this year and – in a first for the 83-year-old Miyazaki – No. 1 for a weekend at the box office. In it, a 12-year-old boy named Mahito, uprooted from Tokyo after the death of his mother during World War II, discovers a portal into a fantastical realm. In my review, I wrote that “The Boy and the Heron” is like “returning to a faintly familiar dreamland. Only, since the only location here is really Miyazaki’s boundless imagination, it’s less the feeling of stepping back into a recognizable place than it is revisiting a well-remembered sense of discombobulation and wonder.”
— They call him King George for a reason. On Friday, George Strait will release his 31st studio album, “Cowboys and Dreamers,” a collection of classic-sounding contemporary country from a Texas troubadour who has nothing left to prove, and no reason to quit. Standouts include a collaboration with Chris Stapleton (“Honky Tonk Hall of Fame”), who opened for Strait on his recent stadium tour, a cover of Waylon Jennings’ “Waymore’s Blues,” and the Jimmy Buffet-informed vacation stomper, “MIA Down in MIA.”
— The internet was primed for an electroclash revival, and in The Dare, it has a figurehead. The musical project of Harrison Patrick Smith, The Dare has quickly become a stalwart of New York City nightlife, largely due to the success of his amorous anthem “Girls.” He’s further cemented his nascent fame by producing and co-writing “Guess,” a deluxe club tune from Charli XCX’s extended “BRAT,” and a remix featuring Billie Eilish. When his debut album releases on September 6, titled “What’s Wrong With New York?”, all eyes and ears will be back on his own nostalgic-sounding Anglophilia. Put on your best suit and hit the dance floor.
— MJ Lenderman is no stranger to this space — last year, AP named an album by his band, Asheville, North Carolina’s alt-country indie rockers Wednesday, as one of 2023’s best. As a soloist, the multi-instrumentalist — but perhaps most principally, a guitarist — has made a name for himself for his lax songwriting style – funny, acerbic, cutting with a wizened equanimity. On “Morning Fireworks,” his skills have been sharpened. Heartbreak is amusing and suburban and timeless. It, like last year’s “Rat Saw God,” feels like an easy contender for one of 2024’s most exciting releases.
— A master of disco, soul, R&B and beyond, Sylvester’s unimpeachable legacy gets a new release in “Live at The Opera House,” a massive collection of over two hours of material. That includes 13 songs captured from his performance at the San Francisco War Memorial Opera House on March 11, 1979. It will be released as a box set, for those looking to dive into its exclusive photographs and liner notes. For everyone else, it will hit streaming on Friday, Sept. 6.
— AP Music Writer Maria Sherman
— “Slow Horses,” Apple TV+ British spy series starring Gary Oldman, returns for season four just in time for the Primetime Emmy Awards. Season three received nine nominations including outstanding drama series and lead actor for Oldman. The show’s new season is also rated 100% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. In “Slow Horses,” MI5 agents who’ve made big mistakes are relegated to a division run by Oldman’s character Jackson Lamb. The story is based on Mick Herron’s “Slough House” novels. It returns Wednesday.
— First there was Bravo’s “The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City,” and now Hulu is introducing “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives,” a docuseries following young wives in Utah who are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They are also online influencers who banded together to create TikTok content they called #MomTok. The women juggle their online personas with family life and remaining in good standing with the Church — and each other — after a sex scandal brings worldwide attention. It premieres Friday.
— In “The Wonderland Massacre & The Secret History of Hollywood,” crime writer Michael Connelly examines the 1981 quadruple massacre at Wonderland Avenue in Los Angeles that inspired the film “Boogie Nights.” It premieres Sunday on MGM+.
— It’s been way too long since we’ve had a lovable new mascot to play with, but Sony is hoping Astro Bot can pick up the slack. The little guy first showed up in a game for Sony’s virtual reality headset, but this is the first time he’ll get a full-fledged adventure on the PlayStation 5. It begins with the destruction of the droid’s mothership, leaving him to travel across more than 50 planets to reassemble his crew — and perhaps meet some iconic PlayStation characters along the way. It’s the sort of running-and-jumping silliness that made stars out of Spyro the Dragon and Ratchet & Clank, interspersed with acrobatic flying antics. Astro Bot lifts off Friday.
— The Casting of Frank Stone is an intriguing collaboration between two preeminent horror game makers. It’s set in the world of Behaviour Interactive’s Dead By Daylight, a multiplayer survival hit, but it’s a solo game from Until Dark designer Supermassive Games. The title character is a serial killer, while the protagonists are four teenagers who come up with the brilliant idea of making a movie about him. If you’ve played either of the aforementioned titles, you know someone’s going to wind up on the wrong end of a meat hook. The gore starts flowing Tuesday on PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S and PC.
