The It List: New Netflix doc reexamines Marilyn Monroe's death, Peacock series tells the story of polygamist leader Warren Jeffs through the lens of his favorite wife, Miranda Lambert drops 'Palomino' album and the best in pop culture the week of April 25, 2022
The It List is Yahoo's weekly look at the best in pop culture, including movies, music, TV, streaming, games, books, podcasts and more. Here are our picks for April 25 - May 1, including the best deals we could find for each. (Yahoo Entertainment may receive a share from purchases made via links on this page.)
STREAM IT: The Mystery of Marilyn Monroe: The Unheard Tapes puts the spotlight on the star's final day
The lyrics to Elton John's original version of "Candle in the Wind," which was about screen legend Marilyn Monroe, include the lines, "Even when you died, oh, the press still hounded you," with good reason. Almost 60 years after Monroe was found dead at her Los Angeles home, on Aug. 4, 1962, her fans — many who weren't even alive when she was — continue to be fascinated with her and what led to her untimely death. The upcoming Ana de Armas movie Blonde, an adaptation of the Joyce Carol Oates historical novel of the same name, is only the latest project to make her its subject. This new Netflix documentary film cobbles together the final weeks, days and hours of the beloved Some Like It Hot actress's life through previously unheard interviews of those who knew her. And it's loaded with photos of the photogenic star throughout the 36 years of her life. Of course, the doc also promises to dig deep into Monroe's last night, including persistent conspiracy theories about the involvement of the Kennedys and the FBI. — Raechal Shewfelt
The Mystery of Marilyn Monroe: The Unheard Tapes premieres Wednesday, April 27 on Netflix.
WATCH IT: The documentary Flint: Who Can You Trust? revisits the Flint water disaster
Flint's slow-moving environmental disaster began eight years ago, when the Michigan city's officials infamously redirected the water supply from the Great Lakes to the contaminated Flint River as a cost-cutting measure. The ramifications of that disastrous decision are still being felt in the rising numbers of serious health cases, including lead poisoning in Flint's youngest residents. Anthony Baxter's new documentary covers the past, present and future of this crisis, and the city's ongoing struggles in obtaining access to clean water. This exclusive clip from the film depicts some of the activists still fighting to gain attention for their plight as the country's attention has turned elsewhere. — Ethan Alter
Flint: Who Can You Trust? premieres Friday, April 29 in theaters and on most digital platforms.
WATCH IT: Fiddler's Journey to the Big Screen is a mitzvah for fans of the classic musical
Fiddler on the Roof is 50 years old. Sounds crazy, no? The new documentary Fiddler's Journey to the Big Screen reveals the ins and outs of how Norman Jewison's 1971 film version of the Broadway favorite became a movie musical classic. Featuring new interviews with Jewison — who, as he reminds us, is famously not Jewish — as well as the film's cast and the show's lyricist, Sheldon Harnick. The film reveals the on-set stories behind major musical moments like "Sunrise Sunset" and "If I Were a Rich Man." This exclusive clip from the documentary features legendary composer John Williams, who adapted the original score to the screen, discussing his work on the film and matching the music to the onscreen action. — E.A.
Fiddler's Journey to the Big Screen premieres Friday, April 29 in theaters. Get tickets on Fandango.
READ IT: Beloved Locke & Key graphic novel series turned Netflix hit continues with The Golden Age
Before it was a bingeable Netflix favorite, Locke & Key started as a comic book series penned by bestselling horror author, Joe Hill. With the show's third and final season set to stream later this year, IDW Publishing is dropping a new graphic novel The Golden Age, collecting various standalone stories from the Locke & Key-verse, including a 2021 crossover with Neil Gaiman's Sandman series. This exclusive page from one of the stories featured in the collection spotlights Hill's fluid storytelling and the book's dynamic art. — E.A.
Locke & Key: The Golden Age is available Tuesday, April 26 at most major booksellers including Amazon.
STREAM IT: Ex-wife of polygamist leader Warren Jeffs speaks out in Preaching Evil
Peacock has a new four-part docuseries about Warren Jeffs, the now-imprisoned leader of the Fundamental Latter-Day Saints (FLDS), an off-shoot of the Mormon Church that still practices polygamy. The series tells the story of Jeffs's rise to power and subsequent downfall through his favorite wife, Naomi Jessop, who served as his personal scribe. "She wrote down a roadmap to criminal activity," a law enforcement officer says in the trailer, "We were really interrupting an entire culture of sexual abuse." Additionally, Preaching Evil features interviews with Jeffs's former wife, Vicki Thompson, and their children, Wendell and Sarah.
Preaching Evil: A Wife on the Run With Warren Jeffs premieres Tuesday, April 26 on Peacock.
STREAM IT: Shining Girls finds Elisabeth Moss trapped in a murderous mind-bender
Fresh off the Oscar-winning CODA and the sci-fi stunner Severance comes the latest must-see Apple TV+ offering. Based on Lauren Beukes’s 2013 novel, this eight-episode limited series stars Elisabeth Moss as the lone survivor of a terrifying serial killer who attempts to solve the puzzle of her attack while reality seemingly warps around her. With a cast that includes Jamie Bell, Amy Brenneman, Phillipa Soo and Wagner Moura, Shining Girls aims to keep viewers as unsettled as Moss’s heroine while the twisty story unfolds. — Marcus Errico
Shining Girls premieres Friday, April 29 on Apple TV+.
STREAM IT: Godfather making-of drama The Offer could be breakthrough for Paramount+
The Emmy-nominated Western hit Yellowstone has thus far been the main attraction drawing subscribers to Paramount+, the latest studio-driven streaming service looking to disrupt a crowded marketplace ruled by Netflix, Amazon, Apple TV+ and HBO Max. The streamer should get another bump, however, from The Offer, an entertaining and engaging series recreating the stranger-than-fiction making of The Godfather that the 1972 classic’s legions of fans will find hard to refuse. While the story is told through the eyes of lead producer Al Ruddy (Miles Teller), it's Matthew Goode who steals the show with an absurdly good, uncanny portrayal of late studio head Robert Evans (just listen to his voice alone). Close behind though is the amusing, surprisingly poignant bromance between Francis Ford Coppola and Mario Puzo (Dan Fogler and Patrick Gallo, both stellar). — Kevin Polowy
The Offer premieres Thursday, April 28 on Paramount+.
STREAM IT: Andrew Garfield’s Banner year continues with this riveting true-crime thriller
Following up a stellar 2021 film run that included Spider-Man: No Way Home, Tick, Tick… Boom! and The Eyes of Tammy Faye, Andrew Garfield shines anew in Under the Banner of Heaven, an FX/Hulu limited series loosely based on the nonfiction bestseller by Jon Krakauer (Into Thin Air, Into the Wild). The actor stars as a Mormon detective and loving family man who suffers a crisis of faith while investigating the horrific murder of a young woman and her infant daughter by adherents to an extremist LDS offshoot sect in the thrall of its self-anointed prophet. The outstanding ensemble also includes Daisy Edgar-Jones, Sam Worthington, Wyatt Russell and Rory Culkin. Expect plenty of love come Emmy time. — Marcus Errico
Under the Banner of Heaven premieres Thursday, April 28 on FX on ulu.
HEAR IT: Miranda Lambert rides again
Following her long-overdue Entertainer of the Year win at the 2022 Academy of Country Music Awards and last year’s acclaimed The Marfa Tapes collaborative project with Jack Ingram and Jon Randall, country superstar Lambert gallops back onto the scene with her eighth solo studio album, Palomino. She produced the album alongside Randall and Luke Dick and co-wrote 14 of the 15 tracks; the record also features a duet with the B-52's on “Music City Queen” and a cover of Mick Jagger's 1993 solo song “Wandering Spirit,” as this trailblazer once again cofounds expectations and pushes musical boundaries. — Lyndsey Parker
Palomino by Miranda Lambert is available Friday, April 29 to download/stream on Apple Music.
READ IT: Being Patrick Swayze celebrates the late star in all his hip-swaying, heart-fluttering, butt-kicking glory
Anyone who's a fan of Dirty Dancing, Ghost, Point Break or any of the other many movies that Swayze starred in before dying of pancreatic cancer in September 2009, when he was 57, will be delighted by this new book. Officially titled Being Patrick Swayze: Essential Teachings From the Master of the Mullet, writer Neal E. Fischer's tome features fun illustrations by Kyle Hilton, facts about Swayze's life and films (not just the most popular ones, either), plus quizzes, trivia (Swayze was up for Bill Murray's role in Zombieland!) and games, such as "Match the Mullet to the Movie." But don't think for a second that it's mocking him. It's more like the Ryan Gosling "Hey, Girl" meme; there's a definite reverence right from the start, when Fischer dedicates his book to Swayze for "just being so damn cool." It's often silly, in a good way, like when Fischer pleads with readers to store the book on a coffee table or bookshelf. "Nobody puts this book…" well, you know. — R.S.
Being Patrick Swayze is available Tuesday, April 26 at Barnes and Noble and other booksellers.
STREAM IT: Freaky Finnish horror film Hatching gets egg-cellent marks
And you thought egg season was over after Easter last week. In Hatching, Finnish director Hanna Bergholm’s acclaimed feature horror debut, a 12-year-old gymnast named Tinja (Siiri Solalinna) living in the idyllic suburbs finds a dead bird’s deserted egg in the nearby woods. The girl brings the egg home and nestles it (not entirely strange), until it grows bigger and bigger and bigger until it’s the size of a mini-pony (OK things are getting strange now) — ultimately hatching into some sort of giant bird beast (yep, we are officially on strange overdrive). Hatching debuted “at” January’s virtual Sundance Film Festival to major acclaim, and now hatches in select theaters for viewers ready to relish in its strangeness. — K.P.
Hatching opens in select theaters Friday, April 29. Get tickets from Fandango.
HEAR IT: Willie Nelson is 89 years and 72 albums young
Here’s another boundary-pushing country legend who shows no signs of slowing down. The redheaded stranger’s 72nd (yes, seventy-second!) studio album is set to come out on his 89th birthday, and it’s a celebration of the past, present and future — featuring new originals like “I'll Love You Till the Day I Die” (written by Chris Stapleton and Rodney Crowell) and several tracks penned by Nelson and album producer Buddy Cannon, as well as covers of Leonard Cohen and Beatles classics. Happy birthday, Willie! — L.P.
A Beautiful Time by Willie Nelson is available Friday, April 29 to download/stream on Apple Music.
STREAM IT: U.K. comedy Ten Percent pokes fun at the entertainment industry
Picture the original, British version of The Office with a dash of Veep and a showbiz twist, and you've got Ten Percent. The U.K. adaptation of French hit Call My Agent!, this eight-episode comedy centers on London's Nightingale Hart agency, where entertainment agents grapple with serious off-screen drama, like mistakenly sending nipple pasties to, ahem, Dame Maggie Smith. The premise lends itself well to celebrity cameos by the likes of Oscar nominee Helena Bonham Carter, Emmy nominee David Oyelowo and many others. In the first episode, for instance, the agent of actress Kelly Macdonald (No Country for Old Men, Line of Duty) has to break it to her that the execs behind a new project aimed at 15-year-old girls think that, at 45, she's too old for the part. Things get really awkward when she's asked about it on a talk show. — R.S.
Ten Percent premieres Friday, April 29 on Sundance Now and AMC+. BBC America offers it beginning Sunday, May 1.
READ IT: Revisit the Jurassic Park trading cards for a dino-mite trip down memory lane
While there's still more than a month until Jurassic World: New Dominion reunites original Park-goers Sam Neill, Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum, fans can bide their time with this nostalgia-tweaking tome — a comprehensive guide to the full series of Topps cards based on the original 1993 Steven Spielberg classic. Featuring images of all the Jurassic Park stars, both human and dino, the compilation includes full-color reproductions of the fronts and backs of all 154 trading cards released, as well as bonus sticker cards, comic art cards, hologram cards, supplemental marketing/promotional material and four actual special-edition cardboard cards tucked inside the back cover. All that’s missing is the teeth-breaking bubblegum. — M.E.
Jurassic Park: The Original Topps Trading Card Series is available Tuesday, April 26 from Amazon and other book sellers.
HEAR IT: Kehlani goes on a Road-trip
The acclaimed neo-soul artist’s hotly anticipated third album promises to be her most personal and ambitious yet. “Blue Water Road is a destination in my mind,” she shared in a press release. “I’m giving everyone access. It’s an emotional journey, a sexual journey and a spiritual journey. To me, the album is like a glass house. It’s light, transparent and the sun is shining right through it.” Joining Kehlani on this aural road trip are Blxst on “Any Given Sunday,” Justin Bieber on “Up at Night,” Syd on “Get Me Started,” Jessie Reyez on “More Than I Should” and Thundercat and Ambre on the epic closing track “Wondering/Wandering.” — L.P.
Blue Water Road by Kehlani is available Friday, April 29 to download/stream on Apple Music.
WATCH IT: We Remember: Songs of Survivors honors Holocaust victims through the power of music
One of the darkest chapters in world history is being remembered in a new special weaving together survival stories with new works of music. In We Remember: Songs of Survivors, singer-songwriters Elizabeth Clark, Jude Roberts, Michael Veitch and Kelleigh McKenzie create stunning pieces of music about the experiences of four survivors of the Holocaust. Airing two days before Yom HaShoah, or Holocaust Remembrance Day, viewers watch as the songwriters turn pain into an opportunity for healing as their powerful music is presented as a community concert. Few documentaries have taken such a unique approach in telling the horrific stories of the Holocaust, which took the lives of 6 million Jews, but by turning trauma into music, Clark, Roberts, Veitch and McKenzie remind us all of the healing power of art, community and storytelling. — David Artavia
We Remember: Songs of Survivors premieres Tuesday, April 26 at 8 p.m. on PBS.
HEAR IT: The Head and the Heart are feeling Blue
The beloved Americana band releasing their first album since 2019 — produced by Grammy-winning songwriter/producer/engineer Jesse Shatkin (Sia, Pink, the Shins, Tegan and Sara) — is of course reason alone to celebrate. But to best enjoy the dreamy, harmony-stacked indie-folk of the title track, “Tiebreaker,” “Hurts (But It Goes Away),” “Virginia (Wind in the Night),” catch TH&TH live when they go on tour starting May 20, with a well-curated rotation of opening acts that includes Jade Bird, Shakey Graves, Hiss Golden Messenger and Dawes. — L.P.
Every Shade of Blue by the Head and the Heart is available Friday, April 29 to download/stream on Apple Music.
READ IT: The Death of the Justice League kicks off with Justice League No. 75
Back in 1993, Superman famously met his end at Doomsday's fists in Superman No. 75. Flash-forward to 2022, and the Man of Steel — plus his fellow Justice League teammates — are all about to push up the daises as Justice League No. 75 kicks off DC's top-secret Death of the Justice League event. And writer Joshua Williamson has gone on the record promising that these deaths will count. With top titans like Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman suddenly gone, a variety of familiar and all-new heroes will have to step up and protect DC's Infinite Earths from fresh crises. Our only question is: Who's gonna enter the Speed Force now that the Flash is dead? — E.A.
Justice League #75 releases Tuesday, April 26 at most major retailers and digitally on Comixology.
STREAM IT: I Love That for You will make you laugh and cry at the same time
Expect hours of belly-laughing mixed with ugly crying in Showtime’s latest comedy, I Love That for You, starring a superb team made up of Saturday Night Live alums Vanessa Bayer and Molly Shannon, and the legendary Jenifer Lewis. Inspired by Bayer’s own experience of overcoming childhood leukemia, the show centers on her character, Joana Gold, who overcomes childhood leukemia to achieve her dream of becoming a host at a home shopping channel. As we follow her need to get rid of a life-long label as “that cancer girl,” we watch Joana form intense friendships against the backdrop of a highly competitive workplace. With laugh-out-loud moments mixed with tear-jerking scenes (performed with incredible nuance by Bayer), I Love That for You is everything you want in a comedy, with a little more. — D.A.
I Love That For You premieres Sunday, May 1 at 8:30 p.m. on Showtime.
READ IT: Don Winslow kicks off his final crime trilogy with City on Fire
Don Winslow's sprawling crime stories have transported eager readers from the lush beaches of California to the dry deserts by the Mexican/American border. But the bestselling author's latest book — the first installment in a new trilogy, that will also be his swan song from publishing as he explores the political arena instead — takes place closer to his own childhood home in coastal New England. Set in Rhode Island in the 1980s, City on Fire introduces Winslow's newest anti-hero, Danny Ryan, a loyal foot soldier in a local faction of the Irish mob who watches his corner of the world go up in flames when tensions erupt with the Italian Mafia. An addictive slice of pure pulp fiction, coupled with classical allusions to the Greek epic, The Iliad, City on Fire is your first great beach read of the year. And don't worry: Despite Winslow's retirement, the second two installments are locked and loaded for release over the next two years. — E.A.
City on Fire is available Tuesday, April 26 at most major booksellers including Amazon.
— Video produced by Anne Lilburn and edited by John Santo
