The It List: Dave Grohl, other rockers talk the importance of mom in 'From Cradle to Stage'; Emilia Clarke stars in true crime thriller 'Above Suspicion'; a '90s girl group returns in 'Girls5Eva'; and the best in pop culture the week of May 3, 2021
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 3-9, 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: Dave Grohl and his mother band together to interview rock moms in From Cradle to Stage
Just ahead of Mother's Day, the Foo Fighters and Nirvana musician and his mom, Virginia Hanlon Grohl, team up and travel home with other famous performers to talk with them — and their own moms — about their beginnings. The unscripted show, inspired by her book of the same name, sees them meeting with Miranda Lambert and her former mom-ager Bev Lambert in Texas — as well as visits with fellow Virginians Pharrell and Carolyn Williams and Brandi and Teresa Carlile in the rural Pacific Northwest. Being VIPs, the Grohls have an easy in with their subjects, who quickly get candid sharing funny anecdotes about each artists' upbringing and the grind that goes into breaking into the music biz. The six-part series captures honest moments between the celebrities and their moms that you don't often see, like Miranda begging Bev not to mention "Texas" in every sentence of their interview. Grohl also goes home to Springfield, Va., giving his own hometown tour in a way that's very him — quipping to the camera person that they've got to get back inside quickly before any old friends see him and know he's back in town. His stories about his own rise to fame and conversations with Virginia make it an interesting watch in itself. — Suzy Byrne
From Cradle to Stage premieres Thursday, May 6 on Paramount+.
STREAM IT: Emilia Clarke has the mother of all problems in small-town thriller Above Suspicion
Emilia Clarke trades Westeros for backwoods Kentucky in this true-crime tale helmed by Dead Calm and Sliver director, Phillip Noyce. The Game of Thrones star plays Susan Smith, who dreams of escaping her dead-end life as a small-time, small-town drug dealer and addict. She sees her opportunity when handsome FBI agent Mark Putnam (Jack Huston) arrives in town, hoping to make a name for himself by making some big-time arrests. Susan becomes his informant, and his lover, even if it means betraying those around her — including her abusive ex, Cash (Johnny Knoxville, in a rare dramatic turn). Meanwhile, Mark finds his own life spiraling out of control the closer he gets to Susan, leading them both down the path to a tragic end. This exclusive clip from Above Suspicion provides a glimpse of the spark that ignites their affair… and burns down both of their lives. — Ethan Alter
Above Suspicion premieres Friday, May 7 in theaters and on digital and on-demand services, and May 18 on Blu-ray and DVD.
HEAR IT: It's a family affair as Lea Thompson and Zoey Deutch team up for A Total Switch Show
You can't say that '80s icon Lea Thompson doesn't keep it all in the family. The Back to the Future star teams up with her daughters — Madelyn and Zoey Deutch — for Audible's new scripted comedy podcast A Total Switch Show. Madelyn, 30, co-wrote the body-swapping story, which finds 54-year-old Lisa (Thompson) and 23-year-old Emma (Zoey Deutch) waking up to discover that they're living their own version of Freaky Friday. Take a listen to this exclusive clip from the premiere episode, where mother and daughter argue about whether or not to let daddy dearest (Bradley Whitford) know about the switch up. — E.A.
A Total Switch Show premieres Thursday, May 6 on Audible.
STREAM IT: Sean Penn's activist efforts take the spotlight in Citizen Penn
Sean Penn is one of his generation's most acclaimed actors, but contrary to his conservative critics, his second career as an activist isn't all for show. That's the takeaway from Citizen Penn, director Don Hardy's documentary about Penn’s ongoing humanitarian efforts that started more than a decade ago when he volunteered to help in Haiti following that country's devastating 2010 earthquake. Granted full access to the operations of Penn's charity organization, CORE, Hardy illustrates how the actor has developed deep alliances with local groups and even the U.S. Army. "Without question, the best humanitarian aid organization ever built is the U.S. military," Penn says in this exclusive clip from the film. "They're the ones who told us… you're going to end up managing this whole thing." — E.A.
Citizen Penn premieres Thursday, May 6 on Discovery+.
STREAM IT: The Boy From Medellín offers an inside look at reggaeton superstar J Balvin
Even casual music fans will know his voice from chart toppers like "Mi Gente" and "I Like it." Now, with Amazon's feature documentary The Boy From Medellín, comes an intimate look at J Balvin, the Colombian reggaeton sensation who's become one of the biggest hit machines of the past decade. Directed by Oscar winner Matthew Heineman (Cartel Land, City of Ghosts), the film follows J Balvin (born José Balvin) as he prepares for a concert like no other, a homecoming to Medellín, where he'll play a sold-out stadium. Check out an exclusive featurette for the film above. — Kevin Polowy
The Boy From Medellín premieres Friday, May 7 on Amazon Prime.
STREAM IT: Girls5Eva is the show 4 — make that 5 — u
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt writer-producer Meredith Scardino and co-executive producer Tina Fey tell the story of one-hit-wonder '90s girl group Girls5Eva — now middle-aged women with day jobs and kids, hoping to spice up their lives with a 2021 comeback. And with lyrics like "Gonna be famous 5eva/'Cause 4-ever's too short/Too short/Gonna be famous 3-gether/'Cause that's one more than 2-gether/So what are you waiting five/Girls 5eva," how can they fail? Sara Bareilles, Busy Philipps, Renée Elise Goldsberry and Paula Pell star. — Lyndsey Parker
Girls5Eva is available Thursday, May 6 on Peacock.
WATCH IT: Legendary brings it you every ball
The groundbreaking voguing reality competition and celebration of ball and queer culture, which IndieWire described as "a mind-boggling fantasia of ingenuity," returns for a highly anticipated second season. Main panelists Megan Thee Stallion, Jameela Jamil, ballroom legend Leiomy Maldonado and stylist Law Roach, along with guests like Tiffany Haddish, Taraji P. Henson, Normani, Adam Lambert and Demi Lovato, preside as 10 new houses attempt to snatch that fabulous $100,000 cash prize.— L.P.
Legendary returns Thursday, May 6 on HBO Max.
WATCH IT: Celebs come together to encourage vaccine confidence in Vax Live: The Concert to Reunite the World
A return to normalcy amid the COVID pandemic is something most everyone can get behind. In the U.S., more than 40 percent of Americans have received at least one shot of the vaccine — with that pace slowing down — while in Namibia, less than 0.1 percent of the population has gotten a dose. Those numbers led Global Citizen, an international education and advocacy organization, to put together a star-studded concert special, hosted by Selena Gomez, intended to inspire vaccine confidence worldwide — and call on world leaders to make sure vaccines are accessible for all. There are a number of performers lined up — Jennifer Lopez, H.E.R, Foo Fighters, Eddie Vedder, J Balvin — as well as celebrities, including Ben Affleck, Chrissy Teigen, David Letterman, Sean Penn, Gayle King and Jimmy Kimmel, making appearances. And it goes beyond Hollywood, with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle acting as campaign chairs, and appearances by President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and other world leaders. — S.B.
Vax Live: The Concert to Reunite the World will air Saturday, May 8, at 8 p.m. on ABC, ABC News Live, CBS, YouTube and iHeartMedia radio stations and app. Fox will air it at 11 p.m.
READ IT: There's a Jeff Goldblum book now, and that's all you need to know.
It's funny how pop culture works these days. Get meme'd enough, and there will be a book written about you (just ask all five Bill Murray books on our shelves). That's not a knock on Because He's Jeff Goldblum: The Movies, Memes and Meaning of Hollywood's Most Enigmatic Actor. We want all the Goldblum we can get in our lives. Washington Post journalist Travis M. Andrews colorfully and entertainingly deciphers the allure of the Jurassic Park and Independence Day star and walking, talking delight through a traditional biography format. Now, if only Goldblum would read the audio book. — K.P.
Because He's Jeff Goldblum is available Tuesday, May 4 at Amazon.
HEAR IT: Miranda Lambert, Jack Ingram and Jon Randall take a trip
An audio document of the three superstar singer-songwriters' five-day journey to the tiny, mythical West Texan art hub to record stripped-down country songs, The Marfa Tapes, will be accompanied by a film version, which premieres on Facebook one day after the album comes out. — L.P.
The Marfa Tapes album by Miranda Lambert, Jack Ingram and Jon Randall is available Friday, May 7 to download/stream on Apple Music.
STREAM IT: Star Wars: The Bad Batch introduces a new crew of clones into that far, far away galaxy
Think all clone troopers are alike? Think again. The new Disney+ animated series Star Wars: The Bad Batch introducers viewers to Clone Force 99: a group of soldiers whose peculiar genetic make-up made them resistant to Order 66: the Palpatine-initiated command that led to the destruction of the Jedi and the fall of the Republic. As their fellow clones join the rising Empire in the wake of the prequel trilogy, the five Bad Batch members — Hunter, Wrecker, Tech, Crosshair and Echo — become mercenaries for hire, traveling around the galaxy and crossing paths with such previously established characters as The Mandalorian's Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen), Rogue One's Saw Gerrera (Forrest Whitaker) and Rebels's Caleb Dume (Freddie Prinze Jr.)
Timed to the series premiere — and Star Wars Day — Hasbro is adding a slew of Bad Batch figures to its premium Black Series line. Hunter, Wrecker and Crosshair get the 6-inch treatment, and additional figures include an Elite Squad Trooper and a lowly Tech. These are definitely the clone toys you're looking for. — E.A.
Star Wars: The Bad Batch premieres Tuesday, May 4 on Disney+; Hasbro's Bad Batch toys are available on Hasbro Pulse and Amazon.
BUY IT: Oscar winner Judas and the Black Messiah hits Blu-ray
We live in a post-Oscar winner Daniel Kaluuya world, and that's a beautiful thing. The actor won a very deserving Best Supporting Actor Academy Award last week for his powerhouse performance as slain Black Panther leader Fred Hampton. But Kaluuya's excellent performance is hardly the only reason to watch Shaka King's potent, tragic, infuriating tale of how the FBI conspired to murder Hampton while he slept abetted by a petty thief informant (LaKeith Stanfield, also Oscar-nominated for his performance). It's one of the year's best films, and this week lands on Blu-ray and DVD with bonus behind-the-scenes featurettes. — K.P.
Judas and the Black Messiah is available on Blu-ray and DVD on Tuesday, May 4 at Amazon.
HEAR IT: Nancy Wilson wears her heart on her sleeve
Incredibly, it has taken until 2021 for the pioneering Heart guitarist, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, and four-time Grammy winner to release her first solo album, but it's been worth the wait. You and Me includes covers like Bruce Springsteen's "The Rising," Pearl Jam's "Daughter," the Cranberries' "Dreams," and Simon & Garfunkel's "The Boxer" (the latter with guest vocalist Sammy Hagar), as well as originals like "Party at the Angel Ballroom" (featuring Guns N' Roses' Duff McKagan and Foo Fighters' Taylor Hawkins) and an acoustic instrumental tribute to Wilson's late friend Eddie Van Halen, "4 Edward."— L.P.
You and Me by Nancy Wilson is available Friday, May 7 to download/stream on Apple Music.
BUY IT: Speed still has its 'whoa' factor on 4K Ultra HD
As Keanu Reeves enjoys a renaissance of sorts in recent years, it's comforting to know just how long the guy has been entertaining us. A new 4K release of his first mega-blockbuster hit, 1994's Speed, is a nice reminder. Reeves stars opposite Sandra Bullock as a cop faced with the unenviable task of boarding a full city bus rigged with a bomb that will detonate if the vehicle slows under 50 miles per hour. The upgraded release also includes commentary from director Jan de Bont, extended scenes and a music video from Billy Idol. — K.P.
Speed is available on 4K Ultra HD on Tuesday, May 4.
— Video produced by Jon San and edited by John Santo
