A new Pokémon game and Danielle Deadwyler starring in the apocalyptic thriller “40 Acres” are some of the new television, films, music and games headed to a device near you.
Also among the streaming offerings worth your time this week, as selected by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists: Rapper Gucci Mane returns with a new full-length titled “Episodes,” an animated Roald Dahl adaptation and Keri Russell’s political drama “The Diplomat” premieres its third season.
— An animated adaptation of Roald Dahl’s “The Twits” is coming to Netflix on Friday, Oct. 17. The mean, hateful couple are voiced by Johnny Vegas and Margo Martindale, in this film about their rise to power in the city and the group of children who team up to fight for goodness. Animation veteran Phil Johnson (“Wreck-It Ralph,” “Zootopia”) directed and co-wrote the film, which features a starry voice cast including Natalie Portman, Emilia Clarke and Jason Mantzoukas. David Byrne also contributed some new songs, with Paramore’s Hayley Williams.
— Danielle Deadwyler stars in the apocalyptic thriller “40 Acres” about a family, the Freemans, surviving on a farm while the rest of society has collapsed in the wake of plagues and wars. But their survivalist existence is put in jeopardy when her eldest son meets a woman outside of their property. It will be on Hulu starting Friday, Oct. 17.
— Two standout Sundance documentaries are also worth checking out. “The Alabama Solution,” about horrifying conditions in the Alabama prison system, is already streaming on HBO Max. The Associated Press has written extensively about the problems in the state’s prison system, including high rates of violence, low staffing, a plummeting parole rate and the use of pandemic funds to build a new supersized prison. Also coming on Friday, Oct. 17, to Netflix, “The Perfect Neighbor” from Geeta Gandbhir uses police bodycam footage to reconstruct a neighborhood dispute in Florida that turns deadly. It’s a riveting real life look at the state’s “stand your ground laws.”
— AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr
— The rapper Gucci Mane returns with a new full-length, “Episodes,” two months after his Gangsta Grillz mixtape “Greatest of All Trappers” dropped. What more would you expect from one of the most prolific trap stars of the last few decades?
— The influence of Australian psychedelic musician Kevin Parker, aka Tame Impala, is hard to undersell – there’s a reason some of the biggest names in the business have been running to work with him, a list that recently includes Dua Lipa for her “Radical Optimism” album. On Friday, he’ll release his fifth album, “Deadbeat,” his first full-length in five years. It’s as dreamy as ever.
— In independent music circles IRL and URL, the subgenre shoegaze (marked by distortion, feedback, loud guitar pedal effects as popularized by the Jesus and Mary Chain ) has experienced a revival. In the modern era, those familiar-to-some sounds are meshed with other indie rock styles. No band has been simultaneously influential and underrated for said impact than Philadelphia’s They Are Gutting A Body of Water. That may change on Friday with the release of their next album, “LOTTO” their first for ATO Records and their best to date. For those who like their bands fuzzy, freaky and future-seeking.
— AP Music Writer Maria Sherman
— Alex Murdaugh, the disbarred South Carolina attorney convicted of murdering his wife and son along with committing financial crimes, is serving a life sentence in prison. The story is told in a new true crime dramatization for Hulu called “Murdaugh: Death in the Family,” premiering Wednesday. It stars Jason Clarke as Alex and Patricia Arquette as his wife, Maggie. The series is based on the reporting by South Carolina journalist and podcaster, Mandy Matney, whose investigative work was pivotal in the coverage of Murdaugh. Matney is also an executive producer and Brittany Snow plays her in the series.
— If you need a palette cleanser, the delightful comedy “Loot” returns to Apple TV+ Wednesday for its third season. Maya Rudolph stars as a billionaire who finds her purpose in philanthropy after her tech-bro husband divorces her. It also stars Nat Faxon, Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, Joel Kim Booster and Ron Funches.
— Keri Russell’s political drama “The Diplomat” premieres its third season Thursday on Netflix. Allison Janney also returns as a series regular alongside… wait for it… her old buddy from “The West Wing,” Bradley Whitford. He plays her husband.
— Another one for the true crime fans: a new limited-series on Peacock is about the serial killer John Wayne Gacy.“Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy,” premieres Thursday, and dramatizes the time period in 1978 when police begin to suspect Gacy for the murder of a young man in Des Plaines, Illinois. As they conduct surveillance 24/7, Gacy seems to at first enjoy the attention but his behavior becomes more and more erratic over time and leads to his arrest.
— Pokémon Legends: Z-A brings a major change to Nintendo’s 30-year-old franchise: For the first time, the creatures are competing in real-time fights rather than turn-based battles. That means more of a focus on timing and reflexes, though it will also give your monster the ability to dodge enemy attacks. The story takes place in Lumiose City, a Paris-like metropolis that turns into a battle zone when the sun goes down. Plenty of old favorites like Pikachu and Charizard are on the roster, and if your Pokémon scores enough hits it may undergo “Mega Evolution” to become truly fearsome. You can start trying to catch ’em all Thursday on Switch.
— Keeper is another bizarre concoction from Double Fine Productions, the studio that gave us the trippy Psychonauts. This time, you are a long dormant lighthouse that breaks free of its foundation and gains four legs. Joined by a curious seabird, you wander inland, passing through surrealistic, unpopulated villages as you make your way toward a looming mountain peak. There are no words — just a series of puzzles that look like they were conjured up by Salvador Dalí. The hike begins Friday, Oct. 17 on Xbox X/S and PC.
