The It List is Yahoo’s weekly look at the best in pop culture, including movies, music, TV, streaming, games, books, podcasts and more. During the coronavirus pandemic, when most of us are staying at home, we’re going to spotlight things you can enjoy from your couch, whether solo or in small groups, and leave out the rest. With that in mind, here are our picks for May 24-30, including the best deals we could find for each. (Yahoo Entertainment may receive a share from purchases made via links on this page.)
WATCH IT: Tulsa Burning: The 1921 Race Massacre recounts a tragic, true story
As depicted on HBO’s Lovecraft Country, the Tulsa Race Massacre, in which a mob of white people attacked the Black residents in the enclave of Greenwood, Okla., was devastating. Dozens, if not hundreds of people were killed — experts don’t know the exact numbers — and many more were injured or left without homes. “My mother saw four men coming toward our house, and all of them had torches,” a survivor says in the trailer for History Channel’s timely new documentary. Archival footage and photos, as well as interviews with experts, also are part of the project executive-produced by NBA star Russell Westbrook. The film captures, too, how the city continues to be affected by the legacy of the awful 18 hour-event, which the establishment long refused to discuss. — Raechal Shewfelt
Tulsa Burning: The 1921 Race Massacre premieres Sunday, May 30 at 8 p.m. on History Channel.
WATCH IT: Crime Scene Kitchen cooks up a fun new concept
In a world full of food competitions, this one is different than others that have come before it: chefs examine a kitchen that’s just been used to prepare a delicious dessert and, using the clues left behind, have to recreate it as closely as possible in the hopes of winning a $100,000 prize. Community alum Joel McHale, who hosts, advises contestants that they’re competing on a show that “combines the non-stop thrills of a cooking competition with the light-hearted fun of an active criminal investigation.” Sound weird? It is, at first, but in a good way for those looking for a change from the norm. Less unexpected is that celebrity foodies, chef Curtis Stone and cake artist Yolanda Gampp, are judges. — R.S.
Story continues
Crime Scene Kitchen premieres Wednesday, May 26 at 9 p.m. on Fox.
STREAM IT: Groundbreaking Sports Illustrated model Leyna Bloom makes her acting debut in indie drama Port Authority
Ahead of her history-making debut in this summer’s Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition — the first Black and Asian transgender woman to be featured in the magazine’s pages — model Leyna Bloom has her first film role in Port Authority. Directed by Danielle Lessovitz, the New York City-set drama stars Fionn Whitehead as a new arrival in the Big Apple trying to put his unsavory past behind him. He finds fresh hope, and new love, with Wye, a young trans woman involved in the city’s ballroom scene. Originally filmed in 2018, the movie premiered at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, where Bloom walked the red carpet as the first trans lead actress of color in the festival’s seven-decade history. This exclusive clip from Port Authority captures an intimate moment between the two lovers as they look ahead to a better future. — Ethan Alter
Port Authority premieres Friday, May 28 in theaters and Tuesday, June 1 on digital and on demand services, including FandangoNow.
STREAM IT: Rebecca Romijn and Jerry O’Connell embark on a dangerous safari in the thriller Endangered Species
Talk about your crazy family vacations! Real-life husband and wife Jerry O’Connell and Rebecca Romijn co-star in Endangered Species, a new thriller from M.J. Bassett, who previously directed the rugged, Megan Fox action movie Rogue. But the couple notably isn’t married in the film: instead Romijn is partnered with Strike Back star Philip Winchester, and they attempt to fix their (fictional) marital troubles by taking their teen children on an African safari that quickly goes wrong. How wrong? Let’s just say that the family becomes stranded on the savannah, and has to confront various dangers, ranging from hungry wildlife to vicious poachers. O’Connell plays a more experienced safari traveller who encounters the doomed clan in this clip from early on in the movie. “This country’s going to eat them alive,” he muses as Romijn heads off into the wilderness. Maybe he should have warned her first? — E.A.
Endangered Species premieres Friday, May 28 in theaters and on digital and on demand services, including FandangoNow.
STREAM IT: Controversial musician Moby tells his own life story in the surreal Moby Doc
Considering his background as a DIY musician, it shouldn’t be a surprise that Moby’s visual autobiography, Moby Doc, feels equally handmade. The musician narrates and appears in almost every frame of the 90-minute documentary, which takes a mixed media approach to his life and career. Director Rob Gordon Bralver uses animation, archival footage, dramatic re-enactments and surreal flights of fancy — like an extended conversation between Moby and the Grim Reaper — to chart his subject’s rise from an outsider artist to a mainstream success story. But that rise was followed by a precipitous fall, brought about by Moby’s own self-inflicted wounds, including drug addiction and alcoholism. (Not mentioned in the film are his controversial claims that he dated Natalie Portman in the late ’90s — an account that she’s strongly disputed.) In this exclusive clip, Moby acknowledges his addictions and their impact on his career in suitably meta fashion. — E.A.
Moby Doc premieres Friday, May 28 in theaters and on most VOD platforms, including FandangoNow.
BUY IT: Relive the saga of the Winchester brothers with the complete Supernatural Blu-ray box set
For a while there, it looked as if Supernatural might run on the CW forever. But all good things… yada yada yada. After 15 seasons, those beloved Winchester boys — Dean and Sam, played by Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki — hung up their demon-fighting gear last November. Never fear, though: the show will live on in reruns and on Blu-ray, courtesy of the mammoth Supernatural: The Complete Series box set. All 327 episodes are included, along with such bonus features as a 68-page collectible booklet, commentary tracks, unaired scenes and behind-the-scenes featurettes, like the farewell documentary The End of the Road. This exclusive clip from that extended tribute to the show features Padalecki tearfully expressing his gratitude to the cast, crew and fans for the show’s historic run. — E.A.
Supernatural: The Complete Series will be available Tuesday, May 25 at most major retailers, including Amazon.
BUY IT: Tom Holland and Daisy Ridley join forces in Doug Liman’s Chaos Walking, now on Blu-ray
Sorry, Marvel Zombies and Jedi Padawans, but there will never be a Marvel-Star Wars crossover… at least as long as Kevin Feige is in charge. But both fandoms can get a taste of that potential team-up with the dystopian sci-fi adventure Chaos Walking, which pairs Tom “Spider-Man” Holland with Daisy “Rey” Ridley. Based on a YA trilogy by Patrick Ness, Doug Liman’s film version takes place in the distant future, when Earth has colonized a far, far away planet, where men’s thoughts are broadcast out loud via a condition known as the “Noise.” Arriving on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD after a theatrical run earlier this year, Chaos Walking comes with an audio commentary by Liman, as well as featurettes and nearly 45 minutes of deleted scenes, including this exclusive never-before-seen prologue of fan favorite Mads Mikkelsen explaining the rules of this brave new world. — E.A.
Chaos Walking will be released Tuesday, May 25 on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD at most major retailers, including Amazon.
WATCH IT: A Quiet Place Part II should be a big boost for movie theaters
A Quiet Place Part II has been ready to go for so long that director and star John Krasinski and co-star Emily Blunt completed a press junket for it a full 15 months ago. That was just before their highly anticipated follow-up to 2018’s sleeper hit became one of the first cinematic casualties of the coronavirus pandemic. The horror-thriller is finally rolling out, and it should be a boon to struggling movie theaters more than any “post-COVID” release yet. The sequel — which presents further evidence that Krasinski is a real-deal director — is just as intense and pulsating as the first film, if not more so, over a brisk 97 minutes that barely gives you time to breathe and sets up an inevitable third chapter. You’re going to want to see this one on the big screen — and with the socially distanced seating, you’re going to be thankful for the extra legroom to squirm. — Kevin Polowy
A Quiet Place Part II premieres Friday, May 28 in theaters. Buy tickets on Fandango.
WATCH IT: The Voice finale reignites Adam Levine and Blake Shelton’s TV bromance
This a finale-heavy week for singing show fans. Following Sunday’s announcement of the 19th American Idol winner, now it’s time to crown a new The Voice champ — the 20th in the series’s decade on the air. Will it be Team Kelly’s country revivalist Kenzie Wheeler, Team Legend’s gospel-crossover showman Victor Solomon, Team Jonas’s folky songbird Rachel Mac, or one of Team Blake’s two contestants, soul-pop belter Cam Anthony and roots-rocker Jordan Matthew Young? We’re not sure, but we do know that the two night finale coinciding with the show’s 10th anniversary will be nostalgic — as original coach Adam Levine, who seeming acrimoniously left the show two years ago, returns to perform with Maroon 5. Other guest performers will include Justin Bieber, Snoop Dogg with DJ Battlecat, Gwen Stefani with Saweetie, Thomas Rhett, OneRepublic, Lauren Daigle, Ben Platt and Kelsea Ballerini. — Lyndsey Parker
The Voice Season 20 finale airs Monday, May 24 and Tuesday, May 25 at 8 p.m. on NBC.
STREAM IT: Female buddy comedy Plan B would make Harold & Kumar proud
In the Natalie Morales-directed Plan B, the straight-laced teen Sunny (Kuhoo Verma) and her slacker best friend Lupe (Victoria Moroles) go on a hijinks-filled adventure across conservative South Dakota in a desperate attempt to find birth control after the former loses her virginity. The occasionally raunchy, R-rated road trip comedy features hilarious, star-making turns from its two leads while simultaneously defying ethnic stereotypes, so it’s no wonder it shares producers with the Harold and Kumar movies in Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg. Search for this one on Hulu. — K.P.
Plan B premieres Friday, May 28 on Hulu.
HEAR IT: DMX makes a historic Exodus
Just seven weeks after his shocking death at age 50, comes the posthumous eighth studio album from the multiplatinum rapper, the 13-track, star-studded Exodus. Executive-produced by DMX’s longtime friend and producer Swizz Beatz; issued by Ruff Ryders-Def Jam (the label that made DMX a superstar in the ‘90s and signed him to a new deal in 2019); and featuring guest appearances by Jay-Z, Nas, Alicia Keys, Lil Wayne, Usher, Snoop Dogg, the LOX and even U2’s Bono, the career-capping Exodus will no doubt even further solidify Earl Simmons’s legacy as one of hip-hop’s all-time greats. — L.P.
Exodus by DMX is available Friday, May 28 to download/stream on Apple Music.
STREAM IT: Launchpad introduces new diverse voices on Disney+
Disney continues putting its money where its mouth is when it comes to inclusion efforts. Their streamer Disney+ launches what promises to be its inaugural season of Launchpad, an inspired collection of live-action short films from diverse storytellers selected from a wide pool of more than 1,100 applicants. The shorts featured include Aqsa Atlaf’s American Eid (about a young Pakistani immigrant raising awareness about the Muslim holiday); Hao Zheng’s Dinner Is Served (about a Chinese student breaking barriers at an elite boarding school); Ann Marie Pace’s Growing Fangs (about a half-human/half-vampire Mexican American teen); Jessica Mendez Siqueiros’s The Last of the Chupacabras (a supernatural tale of a lone Mexican American struggling to carry on her traditions); Stefanie Abel Horowitz’s Let’s Be Tigers (a drama about a babysitter dealing with grief); and Moxie Peng’s The Little Prince(ss), which centers around a ballet-loving, 7-year-old Chinese boy. Your next Star Wars or Marvel director could be right here. — K.P.
Launchpad premieres Friday, May 28 on Disney+.
WATCH IT: Which Masked Singer mystery celebrity will take home the Golden Mask?
Will the winner of The Masked Singer Season 5 be the Black Swan (who is probably JoJo), the Piglet (probably Nick Lachey), or the Chameleon (most likely Wiz Khalifa)? Regardless, if our guesses are correct, then what Jenny McCarthy-Wahlberg has proclaimed is true: This will be the closest race in Masked Singer history. And whether our guesses are right or completely off-base, this “game-changing season’s” grand finale is sure to be exciting. Take it off, take it off, take it off and tune in! — L.P.
The Masked Singer Season 5 finale airs Wednesday, May 26 at 8 p.m. on Fox.
BUY IT: The Father disorients its way onto DVD and Blu-ray
Unfortunately, his anti-climactic Oscar win will always be marred by belief of many that Chadwick Boseman should have won for his final role in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, but Anthony Hopkins indeed gave one of the best performances of the year — and his illustrious career — in The Father. Florian Zeller’s brilliantly disorienting drama takes us into the mind and daily frustrations of Hopkins’s dementia-suffering senior citizen, as his daughter (Olivia Colman) attempts to tend to him. It’s a psychological thriller disguised as a drama, and it’s not to be missed. Blu-ray extras include deleted scenes and making-of featurettes. — K.P.
The Father is available to buy on DVD and Blu-ray or to stream on Amazon.
WATCH IT: PBS pays tribute to America’s troops with the latest edition of Capital Concerts’ National Memorial Day Concert
For the second year in a row, coronavirus restrictions are preventing the National Memorial Day Concert from returning to the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol for its annual, music-filled tribute to U.S. troops at home and abroad. But the show is going on anyway: Capital Concerts and PBS have prepared the virtual, 90-minute telecast A Night of Remembrance, emceed by returning hosts Joe Mantegna and Gary Sinise. The line-up of musical acts include music royalty, like Gladys Knight, the Four Tops and Vince Gill, as well as big-time Broadway stars such as Brian D’Arcy James and Sara Bareilles. (Here’s hoping the other members of Girls5eva crash the party.) In between songs, the show will also honor the heroism of the nurses who served during the Vietnam War, and commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Korean War and the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks — a segment hosted by former firefighter Steve Buscemi — as well as pay tribute to Gold Star Families who lost loved ones in Afghanistan and Iraq. — E.A.
National Memorial Day Concert: A Night of Remembrance airs Sunday, May 30 on PBS stations.
BUY IT: Travel back to 2015 with new Back to the Future Part II Playmobil playsets
Playmobil’s new “Back to the Future Part II” hoverboard chase playset (Photo: Playmobil)
When Back to the Future celebrated its 35th anniversary last year, Playmobil joined in the festivities by launching multiple playsets from Robert Zemeckis’s 1985 classic. Now, the company is inviting fans to build a more futuristic version of the past with two new editions based on the 1989 sequel, in which Marty McFly and Doc Brown visited the far-off year of… 2015. Recreate Part II’s famous hoverboard chase, complete with the wheel-free boards and iconic Jaws 19 poster with one. Meanwhile, a separate playset lets you construct Marty’s rugged pick-up truck — provided you’re not chicken. — E.A.
Playmobil’s Back to the Future Part II playsets are available now at most major retailers, including Amazon.
WATCH IT: The iHeartRadio Music Awards are on the pop pulse
No, awards season isn’t over just yet! Only four days after the Billboard Music Awards (see above) comes the equally A-list iHeartRadio Music Awards. This year’s ceremony, hosted by Usher, will feature performances by Silk Sonic (aka Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak), Doja Cat, Dan + Shay, Ariana Grande and the Weeknd (who apparently appreciated this awards show — and the BBMAs, at which he also performed — a whole more than he does the boycotted Grammys). On top of all that, Sir Elton John will receive iHeartRadio’s Icon Award. Thursday night’s all right, indeed. — L.P.
The iHeartRadio Music Awards air Thursday, May 27 at 8 p.m. on Fox.
HEAR IT: k.d. lang gets a dance-club Makeover
Just in time for all your Pride Month parties comes this collection of classic dance remixes from 1992-2000, including “Miss Chatelaine,” “Theme from The Valley of the Dolls,” “Sexuality,” “Summerfling,” “Lifted By Love” and “If I Were You.” K.d. completists will definitely want to spring for the physical LP, which not only comes out on dazzling turquoise vinyl and features a previously unseen 1995 David LaChapelle portrait of lang, but also includes a fan-designed paper doll set paying tribute to the queer alt-country icon’s signature styles. — L.P.
Makeover by k.d. lang is available Friday, May 28 to download/stream on Apple Music.
BUY IT: Underexposed! is filled with coming attractions for the best blockbusters you’ll never see
Joshua Hull’s “Underexposed!: The 50 Greatest Movies Never Made” (Photo: Abrams Books)
For every major Hollywood blockbuster that arrives in theaters, a dozen more fail to launch. Those unrealized films are the subject of Joshua Hill’s new book, Underexposed!: The 50 Greatest Movies Never Made, which chronicles the non-making of 50 wish-we’d-seen-’em flicks. The list runs the genre gamut from superhero adventures, like Joel Schumacher’s Batman Unchained and George Miller’s Justice League: Mortal, to prestige pictures including the Coen brothers’ To the White Sea and Martin Scorsese’s Gershwin. Hill does bend his own rules to include one film that famously was made, but remains unseen: Jerry Lewis’s legendary disaster, The Day the Clown Cried, which is under lock and key until June 2024. — E.A.
The Greatest Movies Never Made is available Tuesday, May 25 at most major booksellers, including Amazon.
HEAR IT: Moby presses Play again
Want even more Moby after Moby Doc? Reprise, the 19th studio album by the techno pioneer, puts a new spin on his classic catalog, with orchestral and acoustic arrangements of hits spanning his 30-year career. Reprise’s wide-ranging guest stars include Kris Kristofferson, the Screaming Trees’ Mark Lanegan, rising Americana artist Amythyst Kiah, pop singer-songwriter Skylar Grey, jazz/soul/gospel star Gregory Porter, and My Morning Jacket’s Jim James. — L.P.
Reprise by Moby is available Friday, May 28 to download/stream on Apple Music.
— Video produced by Jon San and edited by John Santo
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