The It List: Ayesha & Steph Curry host a celebrity couples dating game show, Jennifer Lopez's rom-com 'Marry Me' premieres, 'Fresh Prince Bel-Air' spinoff 'Bel-Air' kicks off on Super Bowl Sunday and the best in pop culture the week of Feb. 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 Feb. 6-13, 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: Stephen and Ayesha Curry enter the game show arena with About Last Night
The Currys are competitive. So is anyone surprised by their new venture? Ayesha and Stephen's new show features pairs of celebrity couples competing against each other in each of the eight episodes. The NBA star and his wife serve as co-hosts and will quiz each episode's three celebrity couples on trivia and games. Zooey Deschanel and Jonathan Scott, Terry Crews and Rebecca King-Crews and Tituss Burgess and Pablo Salinas all make appearances. "We'd actually always wanted to do something together and wanted something around the premise of a date night," Ayesha tells People. "We don't get to do a lot of them, but we love going on them. And so we said, 'Hey, this is a great excuse to get some work done and also have some date nights.' It's really that simple."
About Last Night premieres Thursday, Feb. 10 on HBO Max.
WATCH IT: Be sure to catch the hard-hitting indie drama Catch the Fair One
Catch the Fair One pulls no punches in its powerful story of a Native American boxer on a mission of vengeance. Real-life fighter Kali Reis — who made history as the first Indigenous boxer to hold the International Boxing Association's middleweight title — co-wrote the script and and stars as Kaylee, who is still recovering from the devastating end of her in-ring career, as well as the even more devastating loss of her sister to a trafficking ring. When a private detective clues her in to her sibling's possible whereabouts, she puts her fighting skills to use against the men that took her. (Watch an exclusive clip above to see just how far she's willing to go.) Reis received an Independent Spirit Award nomination for her commanding screen presence, and the film powerfully addresses the plight of missing women that's affecting too many Indigenous communities. — Ethan Alter
Catch the Fair One premieres Friday, Feb. 11 in theaters and on most VOD services.
STREAM IT: Charlie Day and Jenny Slate form broken hearts club in rom-com I Want You Back
Charlie Day (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia) and Jenny Slate (Parks and Recreation) are one of those rom-com couples we never knew we needed. But the beauty of I Want You Back, at least in its marketing, is that it is truly difficult to tell if they’re going to end up together by the time credits roll in this V-Day release from Big Time Adolescence director Jason Orley. Day and Slate definitely have a meet-cute: They link up as each cries in a stairway after being dumped by their significant others, then conspire to help break up their exes from the people they’ve moved onto. Of course, they probably end up together… but it's still a nice slice of genuine suspense in the rom-com genre, not to mention two very funny leads? We’ll take it. — Kevin Polowy
I Want You Back premieres Feb. 11 on Amazon Prime Video.
HEAR IT: Mary J. Blige’s super return
Just two days before she plays what is sure to be a historic Super Bowl halftime show with Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem and Kendrick Lamar, the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul drops her 14th studio album, Good Morning Gorgeous. Featuring collabs with MJB’s other famous friends, like Anderson .Paak, DJ Khaled and Usher, it’s a true family affair. — Lyndsey Parker
Good Morning Gorgeous by Mary J. Blige is available Friday, Feb. 11 to download/stream on Apple Music.
READ IT: Deadpool: Samurai puts the Merc with a Mouth into his own manga
A smash hit when released in Japan (it was the No. 1 manga of 2021), the first volume of this lively team-up between Marvel and mega manga publisher Shonen Jump sends Deadpool to Tokyo to launch a new Avengers spinoff team, the Samurai Squad. Along the way our irreverent antihero encounters heroes fresh (Sakura-Spider, symbiote-powered teen idol Neiro Shinichi) and familiar (Captain America, Iron Man) as well as some pesky supervillains — breaking the fourth wall and cracking jokes at every turn. — Marcus Errico
Deadpool: Samurai, Vol. 1 is available Tuesday, Feb. 8 in digital and paperback versions from Amazon and other retailers.
STREAM IT: A new fresh prince sits on the throne of Bel-Air
New fish, same pond. Peacock's streaming series Bel-Air transforms Will Smith's fish out of water '90s comedy into a contemporary YA drama that stars newcomer Jabari Banks as the 21st century Fresh Prince. Like his predecessor, Banks's Will departs the mean streets of West Philadelphia for the tony backyard parties of the L.A. neighborhood. Eagle-eyed fans will spot numerous shout-outs to the original series amidst storylines that echo The O.C. and All American. Take a minute — just sit right there — and follow the adventures of the new prince of Bel-Air. — E.A.
Bel-Air premieres Sunday, Feb. 13 on Peacock.
WATCH IT: Encanto emerges as Disney’s most popular recent animated hit
We don’t talk about Bruno, but we can talk about what a hit Encanto has turned out to be for Disney. In a year that also included releases of the gorgeous and sprawling Raya and the Last Dragon and the surprising super-charmer Luca from Pixar, it’s this vibrant, feel-good ode to family from Zootopia masterminds Byron Howard and Jared Bush that’s made the biggest splash on our pop culture consciousness since its release. While the story about a young Colombian who’s the only one without a “gift” in her enchanted clan has all the feels and lessons aplenty, it’s the toe-tappingly addictive Latin grooves of Lin-Manuel Miranda (most notably the breakout single “We Don’t Talk About Bruno”) that really make this one sing. After a 30-day theatrical release and continued run on Disney+, Encanto enchants on Blu-ray starting this week. — K.P.
Encanto releases on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD Tuesday, Feb. 8. Buy it on Amazon.
HEAR IT: Eddie Vedder’s new all-star jam
The Pearl Jam frontman’s second studio album, Earthling, is an all-star event, featuring collaborations with Elton John, Stevie Wonder and Ringo Starr and backing musicianship from Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith and ex-RHCP guitarist Josh Klinghoffer. The 13-track LP is also produced by Producer of the Year Grammy-winner Andrew Watt (Post Malone, Ozzy Osbourne). This month, Vedder embarks on his first solo tour in more than a decade to support the record, with Watt, Smith, Klinghoffer, Jane’s Addiction’s Chris Chaney and Frames frontman/Once star Glen Hansard comprising his live band lineup. — L.P.
Earthling by Eddie Vedder is available Friday, Feb. 11 to download/stream on Apple Music.
STREAM IT: The unbelievable — but very true — story of Anna Sorokin is portrayed in Inventing Anna
Shonda Rhimes produces, and Ozark's Julia Garner stars in the dramatic limited series that you knew was coming about the exploits of Anna Sorokin. She's probably better known as Anna Delvey, the name she used while infamously posing as an international heiress and living a lavish lifestyle among New York City's upper-class at the expense of others, which turned out to be quite illegal. "Shonda was able to shoot interviews of Anna the first week that she got into jail," Garner, who visited Sorokin behind bars, told W magazine in August, "So I'd already spent a lot of time looking at things like how she moves her eyes and how she talks, how her accent changes based on who she's with. And I'd also been told that she was really smart. But when you meet Anna, you realize she's actually kind of a genius, and she's incredibly charming and really hilarious — a very dangerous combination." The 10 episodes costar Laverne Cox, playing a celebrity trainer and life coach connected to Sorokin, and Veep alum Anna Chlumsky, as the reporter who eventually documented the fake socialite's manipulative adventures. (While Chlumsky's character is named Vivian, it was actually Jessica Pressler who wrote the May 2018 New York Magazine story on which the series is based.) — Raechal Shewfelt
Inventing Anna premieres Friday, Feb. 11 on Netflix.
WATCH IT: American Experience: Riveted: The History of Jeans unzips the story of an icon
Where did blue jeans begin? How did they go from work staple to fashion statement? Why are jean-wearing movie cowboys almost always white men? And when did women first wear them? The PBS documentary series takes on those questions and more in a new edition. To that last one, the experts featured explain that while American society was not quite comfortable with women wearing pants in the 1930s, the women themselves were beginning to do it anyway when, for example, they were away from home and in a more rustic setting. "Vacationing was a secure laboratory, especially for the women," historian Adrienne Rose Bitar says. "Denim afforded many women the ability to get dirty… to hunt, to fish, to ride horses. I think denim on a dude ranch not only gave the women the ability to move more freely, to experience their bodies in different ways, but perhaps to think more freely… to rethink their position in American society." Of course, it didn't take blue jean makers long to realize the potential new market. — R.S.
American Experience: Riveted: The History of Jeans premieres Monday, Feb. 7 at 9 p.m. on PBS.
WATCH IT: Questlove’s directorial debut Summer of Soul — one of 2021’s best docs — lands on DVD
Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised), Ahmir-Khalib “Questlove” Thompson’s vibrant found footage-look at the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, aka “Black Woodstock,” could be one the greatest concert docs ever made. Even then, it transcends the genre. Lovingly mixed like a visual DJ set, the film unspools rich and colorful never-seen-before footage of acts like Sly and the Family Stone, Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight and Nina Simone intercut with thoughtful social commentary, making for a vital celebration of Black musical expression that also captures a quintessential moment in time for American — and especially African American — culture with profound impact. The award-winning doc debuts on DVD this week with bonus features including audio commentary from Questlove and a making-of doc. (Hard to say why Disney/Fox didn’t give this one a Blu-ray release… maybe there’s a special edition coming?) — K.P.
Summer of Soul is available on DVD Tuesday, Feb. 8. Buy it at Walmart.
HEAR IT: Slash brings 4 to the floor
The iconic guitar god takes a break from his Guns N’ Roses duties to release his fourth album with his side band, Slash featuring Myles Kennedy & the Conspirators. Recorded entirely live, the old-fashioned way, at Nashville’s historic RCA Studio A with producer Dave Cobb (Chris Stapleton, John Prine, Jason Isbell, Brandi Carlile), the album, aptly titled 4, showcases the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer at the peak of his virtuosic powers. — L.P.
4 by Slash featuring Myles Kennedy & the Conspirators is available Friday, Feb. 11 to download/stream on Apple Music.
WATCH/STREAM IT: Jennifer Lopez and Owen Wilson get hitched in her latest rom-com Marry Me
Stop us if this sounds familiar: The new rom-com Marry Me features Jennifer Lopez as a pop superstar whose tumultuous love life is closely watched by the press and public alike. But here's where fantasy departs from reality. In the film, Lopez makes the impulse decision to wed a random guy in the crowd — played by Owen Wilson — after her latest beau is revealed to be a cheater. Rather than undo their shotgun wedding right away, the duo decides to play-act as a couple for the 'gram... only to inevitably fall in love for real. It's a little bit Notting Hill and a little bit The Proposal, scored to a whole lot of original J.Lo tunes and Wilson wisecracks. — E.A.
Marry Me premieres Friday, Feb. 11 in theaters and on Peacock.
HEAR IT: Tegan and Sara are Still Jealous after all these years
Canada’s favorite indie-rock twins celebrate their landmark 2004 album, So Jealous, with the reimagined, stripped-down Still Jealous. Featuring Sara singing acoustic versions of So Jealous tracks written by Tegan and vice versa, the idea for the pandemic project dates back to the duo’s spring 2020 fundraiser for their LBGTQ+ nonprofit Tegan and Sara Foundation, when Sara recorded an unplugged remake of Tegan’s “You Wouldn’t Like Me.” That effort is one of Still Jealous’s many highlights, along with Tegan tackling the Sara-penned hit “Walking With a Ghost.” — L.P.
Still Jealous by Tegan and Sara is available Friday, Feb. 11 to download/stream on Apple Music.
WATCH IT: Fellini classic La Dolce Vita gets Scorsese bump with new Blu-ray release
They don’t come much more classic than La Dolce Vita, Federico Fellini’s timeless 1960 favorite about the exploits of a celebrity gossip journalist (Marcello Mastroianni) over the course of a week while on roman holiday. (Imagine a celebrity gossip journalist being a movie hero in the 2020s…) Fellini’s film is well-known to have influenced many cinema greats, including Martin Scorsese, who proves exactly that by raving about its impact in an introduction for Vita’s new Blu-ray release, which also features the film’s dazzling 4K restoration. — K.P.
La Dolce Vita releases on Blu-ray Tuesday, Feb. 8. Buy it on Amazon.
HEAR IT: Spoon’s Lucifer rising — and rocking
The Austin indie-rockers’ 10th album, Lucifer on the Sofa, is their most hard-charging and straight-up-rawkin’ yet, drawing inspiration from their vibrantly weird hometown and from fellow Texans like ZZ Top and Dale Watson. According to witty frontman and lyricist Britt Daniel, “It’s the sound of classic rock as written by a guy who never did get Eric Clapton.” — L.P.
Lucifer on the Sofa by Spoon is available Friday, Feb. 11 to download/stream on Apple Music.
— Video produced by Anne Lilburn and edited by John Santo