The It List: Fox revives 'Joe Millionaire' with a twist, Michelle Obama visits 'Black-ish,' action-packed 'The 355' gathers all-star team of female spies and the best in pop culture the week of Jan. 3, 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 Jan. 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.)
WATCH IT: Joe Millionaire: For Richer or Poorer is a dating show with a twist
The original Joe Millionaire came along less than a year after The Bachelor, when reality dating shows were a fairly new concept. What set it apart from the competition is that the female contestants believed they were competing to win the heart of a rich guy, when he was really a construction worker without a fortune. At the end, the Joe — Evan Marriott — and the woman he chose split $1 million ... before the obvious breakup. This reboot will be somewhat different, as it features a group of women trying to win the hearts of two eligible bachelors, only one of whom is truly a millionaire. Cue the singles partying it up in a mansion, crying, arguing and, yep, being accused of not being there for the right reasons. — Raechal Shewfelt
Joe Millionaire: For Richer or Poorer premieres Thursday, Jan. 6 at 8 p.m. on Fox.
WATCH IT: Jessica Chastain, Lupita Nyong’o, Penélope Cruz and more add up to The 355
We don’t have to wait very long for 2022’s first star-studded action thriller. Jessica Chastain, Lupita Nyong’o, Penélope Cruz, Diane Kruger and Fan Bingbing join forces as a team of international agents uniting to recover a top-secret weapon in this ensemble from longtime X-Men producer-turned-director Simon Kinberg, who cowrote the script with Theresa Rebeck (Catwoman). MCU superfans certainly won’t also mind the inclusion of Sebastian Stan, too, who costars along with édgar Ramírez. Watch an exclusive clip from the action above. — Kevin Polowy
The 355 opens in theaters Friday, Jan. 7. Get tickets on Fandango.
WATCH IT: Black-ish welcomes Michelle Obama in final season premiere
The acclaimed, groundbreaking sitcom begins its eighth and final season with an important celebrity dinner guest: former First Lady Michelle Obama, who Dre (Anthony Anderson) and Bow (Tracee Ellis Ross) meet at a fundraiser for When We All Vote. The comedy comes into play after Obama agrees to an evening at the couple’s home, and their family members just can't stay away. (I mean, it is Michelle Obama.) Anderson gave a sweet nod to the show in October: "It has been an amazing run and I am so proud & honored of the work that we've done with this beautiful piece of work," he wrote on social media. "ALLLLL the laughs, tears, provocative and teaching moments, EVERYTHING in between... Black-ish will live forever!!! and we are all so happy and thankful for every fan and viewer." — R.S.
Black-ish Season 8 premieres Tuesday, Jan. 4 at 9:30 p.m. on ABC.
STREAM IT: Move over, Spidey and Batman, El Deafo has arrived to save the day
Cece Bell’s instant-classic autobiographical graphic novel — about a young rabbit girl who, after losing her hearing, finds inner strength in the guise of a superhero alter ego — is lovingly adapted in this three-part Apple TV+ animated series starring deaf actress Lexi Finigan, Jane Lynch and Pamela Adlon. Sad, sweet and ultimately uplifting, El Deafo might be the most satisfying superhero story you’ll see in 2022. — Marcus Errico
All episodes of El Deafo begin streaming Friday, Jan. 7 on Apple TV+.
WATCH IT: This Is Us begins its final chapter
Save your tears! It's going to be an emotional ride.
Your first look at the #ThisIsUsFinalChapter is here. Don't miss the season premiere Tuesday, January 4 on @NBC. pic.twitter.com/ETp7fHuHyq— This Is Us (@NBCThisisUs) December 29, 2021
Well, even the cast members are crying in the first look that NBC dropped Dec. 29 for the sixth and final season of the Emmy-winning family drama. In it, we see Rebecca (Mandy Moore) lamenting the heartbreaking loss of all the rich memories she's made with Jack and their kids, then with their spouses and with Miguel. "Sometimes I think about what my very last memory will be before the candle goes out," she says. A mix of such short scenes — for instance, Miguel, Beth and Toby in a bar, clinking their glasses to "The new Big 3" — accompanies cast members commenting on the end of an era. But it's not all tears! Chris Sullivan, the actor who plays Toby, promises that, "As sad as it is, I think these … last episodes, it's quite joyful." — R.S.
This Is Us Season 6 premieres Tuesday, Jan. 4 at 9 p.m. on NBC.
WATCH IT: The Bachelor kicks of Season 26
Clayton Echard is taking his shot at love. It was an unconventional move for ABC to choose Echard, a contestant on Michelle Young's season of The Bachelorette, as the lead before her season even aired. But the network apparently wanted a fresh face for Bachelor Nation — and he's not the only one viewers will see. Jesse Palmer was named the new host of the series, replacing Chris Harrison who stepped away from the franchise earlier this year after a racial controversy. Palmer, an ESPN commentator and former NFL star, was the Bachelor for the show's fifth season in 2004. The Bachelor franchise has been plagued by criticism for its lack of diversity, and after Young's historic season, some fans view Echard as a setback. Whether that translates to ratings, though, remains to be seen. — Taryn Ryder
The Bachelor Season 26 premieres Monday, Jan. 3 on ABC.
WATCH IT: Regina King’s powerful drama One Night in Miami gets physical release on Criterion
If you’re a regular reader of this column you know we’re big fans of The Criterion Collection. Not only do the home entertainment tastemakers continue to celebrate the classics with dazzling new re-releases on Blu-ray and 4K, one of the coolest trends of late is their ability to release Netflix and Amazon films we once thought would be streaming only for eternity. The latest example comes with Amazon’s One Night in Miami, Regina King’s towering, brilliantly acted stage-to-screen adaptation from Kemp Powers that tells a fictionalized account of a real-life hang between American icons Malcolm X (Kingsley Ben-Adir), Muhammad Ali (Eli Goree), Jim Brown (Aldis Hodge) and Sam Cooke (Leslie Odom Jr.). In addition to a 4K transfer, special features include various cast and filmmaker conversations and an essay by critic Gene Seymour. — K.P.
One Night in Miami: The Criterion Collection is now available. Buy it on Amazon.
— Video produced by Anne Lilburn and edited by John Santo