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The Olympics-ready “Challengers” making its streaming debut and an EP from country-turned-pop singer Maren Morris 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: Léa Seydoux and George MacKay lead the intriguing French sci-fi “The Beast,” a World of Goo sequel video game oozes onscreen and a new HBO documentary lets Elizabeth Taylor tell her story by relying on 40 hours of recently discovered audio.
— Just in time for Olympics fever, Luca Guadagnino ’s sweaty, synthy “ Challengers ” made its streaming debut on MGM+ on Monday. Even if you missed it in theaters, it’d be hard not to be at least aware of it, what with the teasing photo of Zendaya, Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor perched suggestively on that bed and the ubiquitous “I TOLD YA” T-shirt in paparazzi photos. For the few uninitiated, “Challengers” is set in the world of competitive tennis, where all three are rising stars until an injury forces Zendaya’s character off the court. I wrote in my review that it’s “a prickly treat, about fractured relationships, egos, infidelity and ambition” with “plenty of skin, sweat, close-ups of muscly thighs and smoldering looks of lust and hate in this deliriously over-the-top psychodrama.” The Associated Press named it one of the best movies of 2024 thus far.
— “ Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes " also arrives on Hulu on Friday. Set generations after the death of Andy Serkis’s Caesar (though he looms large as a figure), the smart apes are now running society and humans are the primitive ones. This installment introduces a young ape, Noa, played by Owen Teague, whose peaceful village is attacked by some bad actors who have twisted Caesar’s legacy. Mark Kennedy wrote in his three-and-a-half-star review for The Associated Press that “this franchise has somehow found new vibrancy,” and that “director Wes Ball nicely handles all the thrilling sequences — though the two-and-a-half hour runtime is somewhat taxing.” All nine of the prior films in the franchise are currently available on Hulu as well.
— Léa Seydoux and George MacKay (“1917”) lead the intriguing French sci-fi “The Beast,” loosely based on the Henry James story “The Beast in the Jungle.” The time-jumping story has Seydoux, as Gabrielle, leading three different lives in three different time frames (1910 Paris, 2014 Los Angeles and a 2044 in which the world is being run by artificial intelligence and humans desperate for a leg up try to purify their DNA). The film, which has shades of horror and romance, was written and directed by Bertrand Bonello, and will is now streaming on the Criterion Channel.
— On his third full-length album, “Stampede,” the masked cowboy Orville Peck tries his hand at the great country tradition of duet albums. A collection of new material, Americana staples and unexpected twists on genre, “Stampede” features everyone from Willie Nelson and Elton John to Kylie Minogue, Diplo and Mickey Guyton. Nelson and Peck harmonize beautifully on a cover of the queer classic “Cowboys Are Frequently Secretly Fond of Each Other,” and “Papa Was a Rodeo” is an unexpected bluegrass cover of the Magnetic Fields’ song, now featuring Molly Tuttle and Golden Highway.
— Country-turned-pop singer Maren Morris is readying a new EP, “Intermission,” leading with the singles “cut!,” a collaboration with Julia Michaels, and the dreamy “i hope i never fall in love,” which slows down the instantly-identifiable drum pattern of the Ronettes’ “By My Baby.” Heartbreak, growth, and self-discovery are strong themes across “Intermission.” It’s been less than a year since Morris filed for divorce from her husband Ryan Hurd, citing the prominent country music couple’s “irreconcilable differences” after five years of marriage. Whether that informed the songwriting on this EP or not — these five tracks are all open-hearted, big-voiced Morris.
— On Friday, Los Angeles punk heroes X released their final album, “Smoke & Fiction.” After nearly 50 years — with some intermittent breaks — the band is currently embarked on their North American farewell tour. “Smoke & Fiction” follows 2020’s “Alphabetland,” their first album with their original-lineup in 35 years — that’s singer Exene Cervenka, vocalist and bassist John Doe, guitarist Billy Zoom and drummer DJ Bonebrake. There’s a lot to celebrate here, primarily the band’s enduring sense of immediacy. The lead single from “Smoke & Fiction,” “Big Black X,” is energetic rockabilly punk, exactly what you want to hear from their swan song.
— AP Music Writer Maria Sherman
— A new Spanish-language crime drama called “Women in Blue” ("Las Azules") is now on Apple TV+. Based on a true story, it follows four women in Mexico’s first female police force established in 1970. They soon discover the step forward in equality is a publicity stunt to distract the public from a serial killer who is targeting women. They band together to crack the case.
— When Netflix rebooted the creepy crime favorite “Unsolved Mysteries” in 2020 it was an immediate hit, but this was no lockdown fluke. The series dedicated to cold cases and unexplained paranormal activity has fascinated viewers since its inception in 1987. The show uses reenactments and interviews to shed light on unsolved cases and returned with new episodes on Wednesday.
— A new 30-minute talk show on Prime Video gives internet personalities a TV platform to delve further into their areas of expertise. “Influenced” is co-hosted by social stars Achieng Agutu, Eyal Booker, Tefi Pessoa, Taryn Delanie Smith, and Cyrus Veyssi.
— Rob and John Owen Lowe star in a second season of their workplace comedy “Unstable” for Netflix. Rob Lowe plays the eccentric founder of a biotech company whose consuming grief over the loss of his wife leads to behavior that threatens the business. Enter John Owen as his socially awkward but more stable son to right the ship. Laughs ensue.
— A new documentary lets Elizabeth Taylor tell her story by relying on 40 hours of recently discovered audio with the late Oscar winner as she recounted her rise to fame. It also features archival footage, personal photos and home videos. “Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes” premieres Saturday on HBO and streams on Max.
— When World of Goo oozed onscreen in 2008, it was at the crest of a wave of indie productions that redefined what it took to make a smash-hit video game. It’s surprising that it’s taken 16 years for a sequel to emerge, but World of Goo 2 is finally on its way. The premise is the same: Viscous black sludge is streaming onto the landscape, but you can shape it into bridges, towers and other structures to guide it toward its goal. The developers, a tiny studio called 2D Boy, promise that the follow-up is just as puzzling, unpredictable and squishy as the original. Go with the flow Friday on Nintendo Switch, PC or Mac.
