The It List: 'The Crown' has a new Diana and Charles to break up, Netflix doc looks at case of Alabama woman convicted of killing man she says raped her, Olivia Culpo and her sisters star in reality series and all the best in pop culture the week of Nov. 7, 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 Nov. 7-13, 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: State of Alabama vs. Brittany Smith revisits an Alabama court case that made national headlines
In 2018, Alabama resident Brittany Smith shot and killed the man she accused of attacking and raping her in her home. Charged with murder, Smith invoked the state's Stand Your Ground law in her defense, which makes the use of deadly force legal in the face of perceived or actual threats. But a state judge ruled against her, and she ended up pleading guilty to avoid what could have been a life sentence in prison. (She ultimately served 18 months in prison, and 18 months of house arrest.) After The New Yorker profiled Smith's case in 2020, her story gained national attention for the apparent gender divide in the way that already-controversial Stand Your Ground laws were being applied in courts and how women speaking up about abuse were believed — or not — by law enforcement. Netflix's true-crime documentary State of Alabama vs. Brittany Smith continues to explore that timely theme, with new interviews from Smith and her family, who argue that Stand Your Ground laws shouldn't just apply to men. — Ethan Alter
State of Alabama vs. Brittany Smith premieres Thursday, Nov. 10 on Netflix.
WATCH IT: The Culpo Sisters are the 2022 version of Keeping Up With the Kardashians
This new reality show documents former Miss Universe Olivia Culpo as she moves to Los Angeles — and her sisters, Aurora and Sophia, follow. "In our family, there's no boundaries. There's no filter," Olivia says. "And there's no shortage of drama." The three proceed to have adventures like arguing and teasing one another, clinking their glasses at upscale venues and taking plenty of photos. After all, Culpo is an influencer, even though her parents don't know what that means. When the sisters' parents come to visit, their mom hilariously admits it: "They call Olivia an influencer but we don't know because we're not influenced by it." Not everything is light, though. Olivia cries in the trailer, as she explains that she was in an abusive relationship that she's never talked about before. — Raechal Shewfelt
The Culpo Sisters premieres Monday, Nov. 7 at 9 p.m. on TLC.
STREAM IT: The Crown returns with new scandals and a new cast
The Crown's fifth season features a cast led by Imelda Staunton as Queen Elizabeth II, Elizabeth Debicki as Princess Diana and Dominic West as Prince Charles. The sweeping, Emmy award-winning drama, which imagines what went on behind-the-scenes at Buckingham Palace and elsewhere and recreates historic events, promises to delve into the final days of Diana and Charles's unhappy marriage — and the fallout. "The royal family is in genuine crisis," a voice says in the trailer, as a newspaper leads with the headline, "Princess 'will not go quietly.'" The phrase uses Diana's actual words from the BBC interview with Martin Bashir that she sat for in 1995. We see the paparazzi's obsession with Diana, too, as they trail her, and she laments, "People will never understand how it's really been for me. I never stood a chance." At one point, Her Royal Highness tells her son, now King Charles III, "You, as future king, have a duty." — R.S.
The Crown Season 5 premieres Wednesday, Nov. 9 on Netflix.
STREAM IT: David E. Kelley is back on the case with the Peacock procedural The Calling
From Picket Fences to Boston Legal, super-producer David E. Kelley knows a thing or two about spinning yarns that involve crime and punishment. Kelley's latest series, The Calling, follows NYPD Det. Avraham Avraham (Jeff Wilbusch), who believes he's divinely suited to cracking cases. Based on a popular series of crime novels by Israeli author Dror Mishani, the eight-episode show puts Avraham in situations where he has his faith in God — and humankind — tested, but he seeks to remain committed to his bedrock principles. This exclusive clip from The Calling features the detective consulting surveillance tapes of a possible suspect in his current case. — E.A.
The Calling premieres Thursday, Nov. 10 on Peacock.
WATCH IT: Melissa Fumero and Rachel Bloom have a good old-fashioned Bar Fight!
Talk about your epic break-ups. After parting ways, exes Nina (Brooklyn Nine-Nine's Melisa Fumero) and Allen (Shrill's Luka Jones) amicably divide up their various possessions. But the one thing neither can give up is their favorite watering hole. That sets the stage for a major Bar Fight! where the duo face off in various challenges, egged on by their friends — including that Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Rachel Bloom — and the bar's kooky staff. Written and directed by Jim Mahoney, it's an anti-romantic comedy that goes down as smoothly as a well-mixed Old Fashioned. This exclusive clip from the film features Bloom hyping up Fumero as she prepares for single life. — E.A.
Bar Fight! premieres Friday, Nov. 11 in theaters and on most VOD services.
WATCH IT: Holy Spider and A Couple are two top-tier foreign-language films
In addition to Hollywood prestige pictures, the fall awards season brings the best in international cinema to a theater near you. Following an award-winning premiere at the Cannes Film Festival last May, Iranian director Ali Abbasi's taut thriller Holy Spider is starting its nationwide American roll-out. Set in modern-day Iran — but filmed entirely in Jordan — the story follows a female journalist (Zar Amir Ebrahimi) as she investigates a series of murders committed by a religious zealot who believes he's doing holy work. Holy Spider is inspired by a true story that took place in Abbasi's native country in 2000, one that's newly relevant in light of the female-led protests currently happening in Iranian cities and garnering national attention. This exclusive clip from the film depicts the difficulty of being a professional woman in an intensely patriarchal society.
A New York Film Festival premiere, the French-language A Couple is one of the few narrative features by master documentary director Frederick Wiseman. Essentially a one-woman show filmed in the European countryside, the movie unfolds as a series of impassioned monologues delivered by Sophia Tolstoy (Nathalie Boutefeu) — wife of the famed 19th century Russian author Leo Tolstoy — as she muses on their tumultuous relationship. As with his non-fiction work, Wiseman's rigorous style and ability to capture the major and minor dramas of the human experience a make A Couple an immersive experience. — E.A.
Holy Spider and A Couple premiere Friday, Nov. 11 in theaters.
WATCH IT: Meet Me in the Bathroom for a deep dive into New York City's early 2000s indie rock scene
From '50s folk to '70s punk, New York City has been at the epicenter of some of music history's most influential movements. In the early 2000s, it became the staging ground for indie rock's ascendence as bands like the Strokes, LCD Soundsystem and The Moldy Peaches first conquered the city's bar culture and, later, the world. Directors Will Lovelace and Dylan Southern chronicle that heady time in Meet Me in the Bathroom, which features new interviews with members of those bands as well as vintage early-aughts footage captured in a variety of formats — including by early cellphone cameras. Currently playing in limited theatrical release in New York and L.A., the film has nationwide screenings scheduled for Nov. 8 prior to its Showtime premiere on Nov. 25. This exclusive clip reveals the origin story behind The Strokes, and how their rise was the spark that reignited indie rock. — E.A.
Meet Me in the Bathroom has special nationwide screenings on Tuesday, Nov. 8 and premieres Friday, Nov. 25 on Showtime.
WATCH IT: Yellowstone returns with more Dutton drama
As it returns for a fifth season with a two-hour event, the Kevin Costner-led drama about the inner workings of a powerful Montana ranching family, is coming off sensational ratings. It was the most watched series on cable and broadcast TV last year, and the Season 4 finale that aired in January drew the largest audience of any cable series since 2017, according to The Wrap. As we return, the scenic world of the Duttons looks somewhat different, as Costner's patriarch steps into the role of governor. While there will be some changes that come with that, some things will stay the same. Cole Hauser, who plays ranch overseer Rip, tells Yahoo Entertainment that his character has a season that's about "being consistent" and "being a rock" for his sweetheart, Beth Dutton (played by Kelly Reilly). He has a bigger job than ever making sure the ranch is taken care of while John, as always, fiercely protects it, now from his even more powerful position. — R.S.
Yellowstone premieres Sunday, Nov. 13 at 8 p.m. on Paramount Network.
HEAR IT: Revisit Guns N’ Roses’s glory days with this Use Your Illusion box set
Guns N’ Roses captured in all their spectacular, swaggering glory. An aptly full box set (either a seven-CD/Blu-ray or 12-LP/Blu-ray configuration) of GNR’s most overstuffed albums, this collection features nearly 100 remastered cuts, 63 of which had never been released before, including classic originals (“November Rain,” “Don’t Cry,” “You Could Be Mine,” “Civil War”) and covers (“Live and Let Die,” “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door”). There are two full concerts showcasing Axl, Slash and company at the height of their powers, shredding through Use Your Illusion tracks along with such greatest hits as “Sweet Child o’ Mine,” “Welcome to the Jungle” and “Patience” and covers ranging from "Hotel California” to “Wild Horses” to the love theme from The Godfather. The Blu-ray includes the band’s 1991 concert filmed at New York’s Ritz Theatre while a hardcover book chronicles the band’s early ’90s heyday. And there’s even a reproduction concert ticket guaranteeing a front-row seat to the magnificent mayhem. — Marcus Errico
The Use Your Illusion Super-Deluxe Box Set is available Friday, Nov. 11 at Amazon and other music sellers.
HEAR IT: Bruce Springsteen survives all music trends
The Boss is in a sentimental state of mind on his latest album, Only the Strong Survive, a collection of classic R&B and rock covers. Among the highlights are “Do I Love You (Indeed I Do),” “The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore,” “What Becomes of the Brokenhearted,” “Hey, Western Union Man" and “I Wish It Would Rain.” Soul legend Sam Moore also features on two tracks, “Soul Days” and “I Forgot To Be Your Lover,” and other special guests include the E Street Horns, and backing vocalists Soozie Tyrell, Lisa Lowell, Michelle Moore, Curtis King Jr., Fonzi Thornton and Dennis Collins. — Lyndsey Parker
Only the Strong Survive by Bruce Springsteen is available Friday, Nov. 11 to download/stream on Apple Music.
READ IT: See the Star Wars adventures that happen a long time before the movies
While Star Wars movies and television shows have primarily focused on the extended period of time around George Lucas’s original trilogy, Disney’s Lucasfilm has spent the past two years building out a much richer history in books and comics. Set centuries before The Phantom Menace, in the high-gloss age predating the Galactic Empire, the High Republic saga features an array of characters, creatures, vehicles and planets that have yet to appear on screen. This latest edition of the Art of Star Wars series offers a peek into the new chapter of the galaxy far, far away via dazzling concept paintings, sketches and models along with commentary from the writers and artists behind the stories. — M.E.
The Art of Star Wars: The High Republic (Volume One) is available Tuesday, Nov. 8 from Amazon and other booksellers.
HEAR IT: Christine and the Queens see red
Redcar is the new alias of shapeshifting French pop artist Christine and the Queens, and Redcar les adorables étoiles is the long-awaited follow-up to C&TQ’s last album, 2018’s Chris. The ambitious album’s release coincides with a new sold-out musical production by the same title, “an exclusive show in the name of poetry,” taking place at the Cirque d’Hiver in Paris on Nov. 9 and 10 and at London’s Royal Festival Hall on Nov. 22. — L.P.
Redcar les adorables étoiles by Christine and the Queens is available Friday, Nov. 11 to download/stream on Apple Music.
WIN IT: Celebrate Black Panther with an ultra-rare Xbox Series X console
As Black Panther: Wakanda Forever prepares to roar in multiplexes nationwide, Xbox is partnering with Marvel Studios to launch a whole series of STEM initiatives. And the crown jewel of that series is a Black Panther-inspired Xbox Series X console modeled after the world-famous Wakandan salute. Not available in stores, you can enter to win one of these custom-made consoles now by visiting an Xbox microsite and taking part in a Wakanda Forever-based coding challenge. And while you're there, get inspired by the personal stories told by some of the leading Black engineers and content creators in the gaming industry and watching a special drone video of the night sky narrated by Wakanda's leading STEM expert, Letitia Wright aka Shuri. — E.A.
Enter to win a Black Panther-inspired Series X console on special Xbox sites.
HEAR IT: Morris Day calls it a day
What time is it? It’s time for the final solo album by one of Minneapolis’s finest funk legends Morris Day. And he’s throwing one hell of a farewell party, with funky friends like Snoop Dogg, ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons, Jazze Pha, E-40, Tech N9ne, Daddy O, Big Daddy Kane, Flo Rida and Trinidad James guesting on Last Call. — L.P.
Last Call by Morris Day is available Friday, Nov. 11 to download/stream on Apple Music.
PLAY IT: Shoot your shot with Stranger Things-inspired basketballs from Spalding
Get ready to dunk on Demogorgons with Spalding's new line of basketballs that coulda come straight out of the Upside Down. Choose between four different Stranger Things-inspired designs, all of which feature imagery from the blockbuster Netflix series, from Hawkins High's tiger mascot to the Hellfire Club's fiery D&D games. You'll want one of these bad boys in your hand the next time you hit the court with Vecna. — E.A.
Spalding's Stranger Things basketballs are available Sunday, Nov. 13 exclusively at Spalding.
HEAR IT: Louis Tomlinson continues in his own direction
The follow-up to Tomlinson’s 2020 solo debut Walls, Faith in the Future finds the former One Direction member and proud Northern Englishman continuing to forge his own path, inspired by '90s and early-2000s indie bands like the La’s, James, the Verve, Arctic Monkeys and Tomlinson’s all-time favorite group, Oasis. It’s a virtual wonderwall of new-school-meets-old-school Britrock. — L.P.
Faith in the Future by Louis Tomlinson is available Friday, Nov. 11 to download/stream on Apple Music.
