The It List: 'Shazam!,' Khalid, 'Killing Eve,' 'The View' book and the best in pop culture the week of April 1, 2019
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 1 to 7, including the best deals we could find for each.
WATCH IT: Killing Eve (Season 2 premiere)
This action-packed crime show is slowly building the audience it deserves, so don't get left behind. In its eight-episode first season, Killing Eve introduced us to secret agent Eve Polastri (Sandra Oh), an expert in female serial killers. When she learns about a series of high-profile international killings, she becomes obsessed with the perpetrator, childlike sociopath Villanelle (Jodie Comer). The fascination turns out to be mutual, and their cat-and-mouse game takes a potentially lethal turn in the Season 1 finale. The new season will pick up "exactly 36 heart-thumping seconds" later, with Villanelle fleeing from Eve, the mystery of the Twelve still unanswered and plenty of twists ahead.
Killing Eve Season 2 premieres Sunday, April 7 at 8 p.m. on BBC America. If you need to catch up, Season 1 is available to stream on Hulu.
WATCH IT: Shazam!
The latest DC Comics-derived blockbuster continues the creative renaissance that began with 2017's Wonder Woman and continued with last year's Aquaman. When Billy Batson (Asher Angel) utters the titular magic word, he transforms into a big, goofy superhero who looks and sounds like noted geek, Zachary Levi. The movie transforms right along with him, becoming a lively and colorful comedy that seamlessly blends humor and action. While Shazam! perhaps lacks the epic visual scope of its direct predecessors, it's overflowing with heart, and builds to a final act that'll have audiences young and old cheering.
Shazam! opens in theaters on Friday, April 5. Visit Fandango for showtime and ticket information.
READ IT: Ladies Who Punch: The Explosive Inside Story of The View, by Ramin Setoodeh
Over the last couple of weeks, one juicy story after another has come out from the book written by Variety reporter Ramin Setoodeh: Rosie O’Donnell had a crush on Elisabeth Hasselbeck, Barbara Walters and Whoopi Goldberg had a behind-the-scenes power struggle and so much more. Read the details about those stories and many others, as told by the past and present stars of the show in Setoodeh’s first book, which promises to be a perfect spring read.
Ladies Who Punch: The Explosive Inside Story of The View is available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
SHOP IT: Avengers: Endgame toys
There's something for everyone amongst the wave of Avengers: Endgame merchandise that's washing into stores this month. Choose between Funko Pops, action figures, Nerf blasters, massive Lego sets and even a freakin' Iron Man robot.
Avengers: Endgame merchandise is available on Amazon and other outlets. See our full shopping guide here.
HEAR IT: Khalid, Free Spirit
The five-time Grammy nominee and recent SNL musical guest is back with his hotly anticipated sophomore album, featuring the Disclosure-produced hit single “Talk.”
Download on iTunes; buy on CD/vinyl at Amazon.
WATCH IT: Bumblebee
How is it that the best Transformers movie yet (by a mile) also made the least at the box office? Granted, we've seen diminishing returns from Optimus Prime and the gang in recent years, but some things we'll never understand. This '80s-set throwback directed by Travis Knight (Kubo and the Two Strings) and starring Hailee Steinfeld and John Cena is smart, fresh, funny and perfectly divided in its ratio of (wo)man vs. machine. In other words, it should've been the perfect vehicle to jumpstart a stalling franchise. So don't miss it on DVD and Blu-ray. (Bonus points to Paramount for sending press copies of the movie on VHS, complete with old school press kits.)
Bumblebee is available on 4K Blu-ray, DVD and Digital — but sadly not VHS. Get it on Amazon.
HEAR IT: Sara Bareilles, Amidst the Chaos
The acclaimed singer-songwriter reunites with her Jesus Christ Superstar co-star John Legend on her T Bone Burnett-produced sixth album, her first since 2015’s What's Inside: Songs from Waitress.
Download on iTunes; buy on CD/vinyl at Amazon.
WATCH IT: Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (series finale)
There was never a dull moment on television's one and only musical-comedy series about mental illness. After four obscenely funny and insightful seasons, creator Rachel Bloom is closing out the story of her onscreen alter-ego Rebecca Bunch. The show, which began with Rebecca's romantic obsession with her teenage summer-camp boyfriend, has come full circle: In the finale, she'll either choose one of her three onscreen loves (Vincent Rodriguez III, Skylar Astin, Scott Michael Foster) or walk into the sunset alone. Either way, she'll go out singing. The finale will be followed by a concert special, with the cast performing selections from the show's songbook (which includes over 150 original numbers).
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend airs Friday, April 5 at 8 p.m. on The CW, followed by the concert special at 9 p.m.
HEAR IT: Brooks & Dunn, Reboot
The superstar country duo’s first album in 12 years features all-new arrangements of their biggest hits, with guests Kacey Musgraves, Kane Brown, Thomas Rhett, Brett Young, the Brothers Osborne, Luke Combs, Midland and others.
Download on iTunes; buy on CD/vinyl at Amazon.
WATCH IT: The Last O.G. (Season 2 premiere)
Tracy Morgan's return to television comedy — playing a freshly released ex-con who faces true horror when he heads home to his newly gentrified slice of Brooklyn — was just as uproarious as we hoped it'd be (and also a little darker) when it premiered last year. The 30 Rock alum is back in business for Season 2 — or at least Tray Barker (Morgan) hopes to be when he opens up a food truck operation (if you can't beat 'em, join 'em right?) and continues his efforts to get back into the good graces of his remarried ex-wife (Tiffany Haddish). Look for a special appearance from Morgan's 30 Rock colleague Jack McBrayer, aka Kenneth the smiley page.
The Last O.G. Season 2 premieres Tuesday, April 2 on TBS.
WATCH IT: Peterloo
The latest feature from British writer/director Mike Leigh hasn't generated the same amount of critical acclaim and awards attention as films like Topsy-Turvy or Naked, but make no mistake: Peterloo is one of the year's best movies. Leigh dramatizes the events that led to the 1819 Peterloo Massacre — when peaceful British reformers were attacked and killed by militias acting on the orders of local industrialists — with his typically immersive approach to period detail and extraordinary attention to the nuances of human behavior. Peterloo recreates an era when political speech was a valued part of the public discourse at all levels of society — a lesson we could benefit from today.
Peterloo opens in limited release on Friday, April 5. Visit Fandango for showtime and ticket information.
HEAR IT: The Drums, Brutalism
Indie auteur and LGBTQ advocate Jonny Pierce — his generation’s answer to Brian Wilson or Morrissey — continues to wear his huge, broken heart on his sleeve with another batch of tuneful ruminations on love, loss and regret.
Download on iTunes; buy on CD/vinyl at Amazon.
SHOP IT: Golden Girls magnet set
Settling down with some Golden Girls reruns is always a blast, but it’s even better with these fun magnets. The collection of magnets comes with a two-sided backdrop — the lanai and the kitchen, of course — so you can recreate your favorite scenes from the show, along with a 32-page book of quotes and fun facts about Rose, Blanche, Dorothy and Sophia. While the set does include a cheesecake magnet, you’ll have to supply your own edible one.
The Golden Girls magnet set is available at Amazon and Target.
WATCH IT: The Chaperone
Downton Abbey reunion alert! No, it's not the feature film version of the beloved British TV series — you've gotta wait until September for that. But The Chaperone does involve the participation of two key Downton-ites: series creator, Julian Fellowes, wrote the script and Lady Crawley herself, Elizabeth McGovern, plays the title role. Based on the book by Laura Moriarty, the film transports viewers back to '20s era New York City, when future star, Louise Brooks (Haley Lu Richardson), first arrives in the Big Apple in the company of her chaperone, Norma Carlisle. It's the maiden release of Masterpiece Films — the big-screen label of the long-running PBS series that introduced the Crawley family to American viewers — and boasts the same mixture of addictive soap opera and lavish early 20th century production design that made Downton Abbey a hit.
The Chaperone is currently playing in limited release. Visit Fandango for showtime and ticket information.
WATCH IT: Amazing Grace
The concert documentary of the late Aretha Franklin’s January 1972 performance of the title song and many others at New Bethel Baptist Church in Los Angeles has received spectacular reviews since it was first screened last year. Director Sydney Pollack directed the film in the beginning, but legal issues kept the film from being released for decades, until a second director, Alan Elliott, stepped in to finish it. No less than director Spike Lee has called it, “One of the greatest concerts ever put to film.”
Amazing Grace opens in select theaters Friday, April 5. Buy tickets at Fandango.
HEAR IT: Danny Elfman, Dumbo (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
The ex-Oingo Boingo man behind some of the most iconic movie music of the past 30 years returns to score one of the most anticipated films of the year, with Arcade Fire contributing a poignant remake of “Baby Mine.”
Buy on CD at Amazon.
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