An Ed Sheeran album and a spinoff of 鈥淭he Bachelor鈥� starring a 72-year-old widower are some of the new television, movies, music and games near you
Among the offerings worth your time as selected by The Associated Press鈥� are Wes Anderson鈥檚 movie 鈥淭he Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar鈥� starring Benedict Cumberbatch, and Jesse L. Martin returns to NBC in 鈥淭he Irrational,鈥� playing a behavioral science expert.
NEW MOVIES TO STREAM
鈥� John Carney, the director of 鈥淪ing Street鈥� and 鈥淏egin Again,鈥� has a new musically inclined charmer in arrives on Apple TV+ Friday. Eve Hewson stars as a single mother to a 14-year-old boy in Ireland who are both having a rough time of it. In an attempt to 鈥渃hange the narrative鈥� she signs up for remote guitar lessons, with a California based instructor played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. AP Film Writer Jake Coyle wrote that it鈥檚 a star-making turn for Hewson. 鈥淗ewson鈥檚 confident, charismatic leading performance he wrote, adding that, 鈥淐arney, who wrote and directed the film, has a way of not hitting the cornball notes too hard and mixing in enough humor to keep the saccharine tones from overpowering.鈥�
鈥� It doesn鈥檛 seem real that we could have two Wes Anderson movies in a year, but sometimes good things do happen. In addition to (on Peacock), Netflix has a Roald Dahl adaptation starring Benedict Cumberbatch as the title character that starts streaming on Wednesday. Clocking in at just under 40 minutes, the glowingly reviewed film is and the first of four rolling out shortly after including 鈥淭he Swan鈥� (Thursday), 鈥淭he Ratcatcher鈥� on Friday and 鈥淧oison鈥� on Saturday.
鈥� an intelligent French gem from director Rebecca Zlotowski, follows a 40-year-old teacher Rachel, (played by the wonderful Virginie Efira) who embarks on a relationship with a man (Roschdy Zem) who has a 4-year-old daughter. Rachel has no children of her own, and is satisfied with her life, but also finds herself developing a strong attachment to the little girl as the three inch closer and closer to feeling like a family. The 鈥渘ew girlfriend鈥� rarely gets this sort of nuanced, empathetic treatment and Efira brings life and lightness to a complex but never tragic character. There are wonderfully comedic scenes and those that will pull on your heartstrings too 鈥� and, of course, Paris isn鈥檛 hard on the eyes either. The film opened quietly in the U.S. earlier this year but will be available to stream now on MUBI and should not be missed.
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NEW MUSIC TO STREAM
鈥� In May, the English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran released his fifth full-length album and the final installment of his series of releases named after math symbols. (The first was his 2011 debut, 鈥�+.鈥�) On 鈥淎utumn Variations,鈥� Sheeran鈥檚 sixth album, produced by The National鈥檚 Aaron Dessner (Taylor Swift, Gracie Abrams), a divorce from the format has allowed for new freedoms. Inspired by composer Edward Elgar鈥檚 鈥淓nigma Variations,鈥� in which every composition was about a different friend, Sheeran鈥檚 latest release centers on his relationships. 鈥淟ast autumn, I found that my friends and I were going through so many life changes. After the heat of the summer, everything either calmed, settled, fell apart, came to a head, or imploded,鈥� Sheeran said in a statement. 鈥淲hen I went through a difficult time at the start of last year, writing songs helped me understand my feelings and come to terms with what was going on.鈥� Prepare the tissues.
鈥� It has been five long years since 鈥檚 debut LP, 鈥淟ost & Found,鈥� defined an era of R&B-pop-trip-hop. In 2021, she dropped a short EP, 鈥淏e Right Back,鈥� as a sort of intermediary 鈥� but who knew the sophomore release of 鈥淔alling or Flying鈥� would take her to new exploratory heights? Surprises abound, from the Bombay Bicycle Club and the Kooks-inspired English-indie track 鈥淕o Go Go鈥� to the glossy, soulful title track 鈥淔alling or Flying.鈥� 鈥淚 like this world that I鈥檝e just come into. And I鈥檓 still figuring things out. Always figuring things out,鈥� Smith says of releasing new music in the current era. 鈥淭his is the first time I鈥檓 putting stuff out there that I can connect with right now.鈥�
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NEW SERIES TO STREAM
鈥� Jesse L. Martin returns to NBC in 鈥� 鈥� playing a behavioral science expert with a keen understanding of what makes people tick. This skill makes him an in-demand problem solver and translator-of-sorts for government agencies and big corporations. The show is based on Dan Ariely鈥檚 book, 鈥淧redictably Irrational鈥� premiered Monday and streams on Peacock. (For more autumn TV options, check out .)
鈥� Blake Shelton left last spring after 23 seasons but another country star has taken a seat in a swivel chair. Reba McEntire joins the show as a coach alongside Gwen Stefani, John Legend and Niall Horan, who won last season with contestant Gina Miles. Season 24 of 鈥淭he Voice鈥� airs new episodes on Monday on NBC. It streams the next day on Peacock.
鈥� What happens when you combine Reese Witherspoon鈥檚 production company Hello Sunshine and the team behind 鈥淰anderpump Rules鈥� for an unscripted show? Romance in a small, Southern town with a side of gossip! follows five women at different points of their life as they look for love in Fairhope, Alabama 鈥� a town with historic homes, tree-lined streets, bluffs overlooking a bay, and where everyone knows one another other鈥檚 business. 鈥淟ove in Fairhope鈥� debuted Wednesday on Hulu.
鈥� The next spinoff of 鈥淭he Bachelor鈥� franchise aims to show you can鈥檛 set an age limit on finding love. Gerry Turner, 72 is A widower from Iowa, Turner had 22 women, ages 60 and older, vying for his affection. 鈥淭he Golden Bachelor鈥� premiered Thursday on ABC and streams the following day on Hulu.
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NEW VIDEO GAMES TO PLAY
鈥� Denmark鈥檚 Jeppe Carlsen was the lead designer of the indie sensations Limbo and Inside, two of the eeriest games of the last 15 years. He鈥檚 launched a new studio, Geometric Interactive, and its debut release, , looks just as spooky. It鈥檚 an exploration of the multiverse in which you can carry an entire world in an orb on your back. Not only can you jump between orbs, sometimes you鈥檒l need to insert one world inside another to solve a particular tricky puzzle. All this globetrotting leads to a 鈥渃osmic mystery鈥� 鈥� and, if Cocoon is anything like Carlsen鈥檚 previous work, you might not want to know the answer. The trip begins Friday on Xbox X/S/One, PlayStation 5/4, Nintendo Switch and PC.
鈥� EA Sports鈥� FIFA has long been one of the world鈥檚 bestselling sports games, but some soccer fans were concerned when the publisher and the sport鈥檚 worldwide governing body ended their 30-year arrangement. Not to worry: EA is back on the pitch with , which presumably stands for 鈥渇ootball club.鈥� You won鈥檛 be able to compete in the World Cup, but more than 700 real-life teams, from the English Premier League on down, are playable. Or you can build your own team from more than 19,000 actual footballers 鈥� even combining men and women on the same squad. As Ted Lasso would say, good thinkin鈥�, Abe Lincoln. Kickoff is Friday on Xbox X/S/One, PlayStation 5/4, Nintendo Switch and PC.
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