The It List: The story of how Jodi Arias charmed her fellow inmates is told in Lifetime movie 'Bad Behind Bars,' 'That '70s Show' and 'Night Court' get sequel series and all the best in pop culture the week of Jan. 16, 2023
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 Jan. 16-22, 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: Bad Behind Bars: Jodi Arias looks at what happened after she arrived in prison
Lifetime is following up its 2013 TV movie Jodi Arias: Dirty Little Secret, which it says is one of its most successful true crime movies, with the story of Arias's life once she was arrested in July 2008 for allegedly murdering her ex-boyfriend, Travis Alexander. It focuses on the time when Arias was waiting for her trial to take place — ultimately, a jury found her guilty of the grisly crime in 2013 — and she became especially close with cellmates Donavan Bering and Tracy Brown, who become so enamored of Arias that one of them wore a tattoo of her name. This go round, Celina Sinden (Reign) plays Arias, who convinces Bering, upon her own release, to spread the word about Arias's innocence. The plan works, for a while, until the couple begins to communicate with Arias's mother. — Raechal Shewfelt
Bad Behind Bars: Jodi Arias premieres Saturday, Jan. 21 at 8 p.m. on Lifetime.
STREAM IT: Hello Wisconsin! That '90s Show takes you back in time to that basement
Back in the '90s, we were all about the '70s. Now that we're in the '20s, we're all about the '90s. Netflix's algorithm processed our collective obsession with the Grunge Era and now we've got That '90s Show, a sequel series to the Fox comedy that made Topher Grace, Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher household names. All of those actors — plus Laura Prepon and Wilmer Valderrama — make guest appearances in the new show, bringing us up to speed on where their lives are now. (The whereabouts of Danny Masterson's Hyde are never mentioned in the premiere — an unsurprising omission given the actor's recent sexual assault trial.) But the real focus is on a new class of teenagers, led by Callie Haverda as Grace and Prepon's teen daughter and Mace Coronel as Kunis and Kutcher's would-be heartthrob son. To put it in '90s terms, That '90s Show is the equivalent of Crystal Pepsi: a novelty we didn't really need, but whose existence is fascinating all the same. — Ethan Alter
That '90s Show premieres Thursday, Jan. 19 on Netflix.
WATCH IT: 30-plus years later, Night Court is back in session
The wildly successful sitcom that nabbed seven Emmys over its nine seasons on NBC, from 1984 to 1992, returns with some all new adventures. This time, Big Bang Theory actress Melissa Rauch, who's also an executive producer on the series, stars as Abby Stone, the daughter of Harry Stone (played by the late Harry Anderson in the original series) who became a judge herself. Longtime fans were delighted to hear that original star John Larroquette will be reprising his role as the often insufferable Dan Fielding, for which he won four consecutive Emmys. Larroquette explained to TV Guide that, since we last saw Fielding, the character fell in love and matured only for his wife to die, at which time he "retreated back into this dark cave" and was "pulled back into the light" by Harry's daughter. Rauch and Larroquette will be joined by India de Beaufort (Kimi), Kapil Talwalkar (Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist) and Lacretta (Second Act). — R.S.
Night Court premieres Tuesday, Jan. 17 at 8 p.m. on NBC.
WATCH IT: The Menu has a pretty satisfying selection of extras on Blu-ray
It’s been out for a few months, but we know not everyone’s seen it (like my mom, she hasn’t seen it), so we’ll just say this: The Menu is one of those movies that the less you know about it, the more it pays dividends. You probably already know that Ralph Fiennes is an exclusive chef for fancy-pants rich folks like Nicholas Hoult and Anya Taylor-Joy, and something is gonna go horribly, horribly wrong. Perfect place to start. Now just see it. The Menu arrives on Blu-ray this week, with bonus features including a making-of doc and three deleted scenes. Check out an exclusive clip from the featurette above. — Kevin Polowy
The Menu releases on Blu-ray and DVD Tuesday, Jan. 17 on Best Buy.
STREAM IT: The Price of Glee reveals the high cost of the once-beloved Fox series
For a series that was ostensibly a musical comedy, an awful lot of tragedy came out of Fox's hit series, Glee. The three-part docuseries The Price of Glee explores some of the dark stories that unfolded during and after the show's six season run from 2009 through 2015. Using a mix of archival footage and new interviews with Glee crew members and entertainment journalists, the series delves into the backstage drama involving controversial star, Lea Michele; Cory Monteith's history of drug abuse and eventual death by overdose; Mark Salling's arrest on child pornography charges and subsequent death by suicide; and Naya Rivera's recent drowning. This exclusive clip addresses the toll that the series was taking on Monteith's mental health as he dealt with stalkers and non-stop public attention. — E.A.
The Price of Glee premieres Monday, Jan. 16 at 9 p.m. on ID and Discovery+.
WATCH IT: Storm Reid searches for her missing mom in the internet-era thriller Missing
The burgeoning "all on a laptop" genre of horror pictures and thrillers has so far yielded such hits as Host and Searching. Now, Missing heads into theaters hoping for the same level of success. Made by the same creative team behind Searching, this standalone story follows Storm Reid's June, an internet-savvy 18-year-old whose mother (Nia Long) goes missing while on a trip to Colombia with her new boyfriend (Ken Leung). Trying to trace her mom's movements armed with only her laptop and a smartphone, June stumbles onto a larger mystery with reality-defying twists and turns galore. Don't get too hung up on the tech logic and just enjoy the ride... and make sure to change all of your computer passwords when you get home. — E.A.
Missing premieres Friday, Jan. 20 in theaters; visit Fandango for showtimes and ticket information.
READ IT: How to Sell a Haunted House serves up horror for the HGTV set
Grady Hendrix, the meta horror-meister behind The Final Girl Support Group and My Best Friend’s Exorcism, is back with this page-turner involving creepy puppets, potentially possessed real estate and the terrifying dysfunction that seems to haunt all families. A chilling read for these chilly winter nights. — Marcus Errico
How to Sell a Haunted House is available Tuesday, Jan. 17 in digital and hardcover from Amazon and other booksellers.
HEAR IT: Ryuichi Sakamoto faces his mortality
Ryuichi Sakamoto’s latest opus, 12, is an exquisite song cycle about aging and death that has already earned critical raves and comparisons to other mortality-focused classic albums like David Bowie’s Blackstar and Nick Cave’s Skeleton Tree. Written and recorded in Tokyo during the Japanese composer/pianist’s cancer battle and recovery over the past two years, the diaristic album’s dozen tracks are numbered for their recording dates — with Sakamoto’s labored breathing, as he struggles with his health issues, sometimes even being audible in the mix. “After I finally ‘came home’ to my new temporary housing after a big operation, I found myself reaching for the synthesizer. I had no intention of composing something; I just wanted to be showered in sound,” Sakamoto explained in a statement while making the deeply personal and vulnerable record. “I’ll probably continue to keep this kind of ‘diary.’” — Lyndsey Parker
12 by Ryuichi Sakamoto is available Tuesday, Jan. 17 to download/stream on Apple Music.
WATCH IT: Cloverfield celebrates 15 years since mysterious debut with 4K Ultra HD release
“The fandom for that movie was really intense,” director Matt Reeves (The Batman) told us about the Easter egg-finding viewers of Cloverfield, his 2008 found-footage monster mash that arrived in theaters shrouded in mystery before becoming a $175 million sleeper hit. Those fans should be thrilled to know the film is back in circulation again this week, with a 4K Ultra HD landing on (mostly virtual) shelves in the form a limited edition steelbook. Bonus features include a commentary from Reeves, deleted scenes, alternate endings and entire extra devoted to Easter eggs. Mmmm. — K.P.
Cloverfield releases on 4K Ultra HD Tuesday, Jan. 17 on Amazon.
READ IT: Get inside the brain of a manga master with Before Chainsaw Man: 17-21
This quartet of one-shot stories written and illustrated by Tatsuki Fujimoto gives a glimpse at his earliest work (17-21 refers to his age at the time these were crafted). Fans of the blockbuster Chainsaw Man will recognize that manga’s roots in panels populated with shape-shifting aliens and vampire gore, alongside sweeter tales of teenage fantasy. A follow-up volume with four additional stories from his formative years, titled 22-26, will be released in March. — M.E.
Before Chainsaw Man: 17-21 is available Tuesday, Jan. 17 in digital and paperback from Amazon and other booksellers.
HEAR IT: M?neskin rushes to the front of the rock pack
As winners of the over-the-top Eurovision Song Contest who hail from Italy, don’t always sing in English and play the supposedly out-of-fashion of hard rock, M?neskin may not have seemed like obvious contenders to become mainstream American superstars. But that’s exactly what happened. After scoring the No. 2 TikTok song of 2021, they’ve toured with the Rolling Stones, recorded with Iggy Pop, earned raves from Flea, performed on the VMAs and SNL… and now, as Best New Artist nominees, they have a solid chance of being the first Italian act to win in a “Big Four” Grammy category since 1958. Mammamia, indeed! The retro-rock band’s hotly anticipated third album, RUSH!, is packed with arena anthems, including “Gossip” with Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello, that will convince you that Italians really do do it better. — L.P.
RUSH! by M?neskin is available Friday, Jan. 20 to download/stream on Apple Music.
BUY IT: Country icon Dolly Parton goes Pop with two new Funko figures
She's been a Rhinestone cowgirl... and now she's a Funko Pop. Country music legend Dolly Parton gets the vinyl treatment from the collectibles giant with two all-new 4-inch figures as part of the Pop Rocks line. Choose between an orange ensemble Dolly with sparkly banjo or a Funko-exclusive white pantsuit Dolly with shreddable guitar. How long until we get the Coat of Many Colors edition? — E.A.
Dolly Parton Funko Pops are available for pre-order now at Funko and Walmart.
HEAR IT: John Cale makes a merciful return
Mercy is Welsh composer and legendary Velvet Underground co-founder John Cale’s first album of new songs since 2012, so he has plenty to write about on this record inspired by events of past decade, like Trump, Brexit, COVID-19, climate change and civil rights. Among the topical LP’s many indie-darling collaborators are Weyes Blood, Animal Collective's Avey Tare and Panda Bear, Actress, Dev Hynes (aka Blood Orange), and Sylvan Esso, further proving the Cale is as relevant and influential as ever. — L.P.
Mercy by John Cale is available Friday, Jan. 20 to download/stream on Apple Music.
