The It List: Michael Bolton and Zooey Deschanel play matchmakers in 'The Celebrity Dating Game,' Kevin Hart gets in touch with his dad side in 'Fatherhood' and the best in pop culture the week of June 14, 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 June 14-20, 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: Famous people look for love, with a viewing audience watching, in The Celebrity Dating Game
The love lives of celebrities have always fascinated audiences, and ABC hopes to capitalize on just that by rebooting The Dating Game — a game show that ran in various iterations from the '60s through the '90s — with a bunch of very attractive stars looking for mates. Zooey Deschanel, deeply in love herself with Property Brothers star Jonathan Scott, serves as host alongside crooner Michael Bolton, and the duo help stars find love, including Iggy Azalea, Joey Lawrence, Bachelorette Hannah Brown, Modern Family's Nolan Gould, model Tyson Beckford, Carmen Electra, Taye Diggs and Carson Kressley. Each show sees two celebrities pick a match based on interactions with three contestants who are on the other side of a wall, similar to the original format. The twist is that the contestants will be in the dark about the identity of the celebrities. Also, Bolton will give clues by singing parody songs... and we suspect we may hear "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" and "When a Man Loves a Woman" once or twice. — Suzy Byrne
The Celebrity Dating Game premieres Monday, June 14 at 10 p.m. ET on ABC.
STREAM IT: Kevin Hart shoots for laughs and tears in Netflix’s Fatherhood
Every once in a while Kevin Hart gets serious. We saw it with 2017’s The Upside, and we’re seeing it again with his comedic drama — or is that dramatic comedy? — Fatherhood. Hart plays Matt, a man who must raise his daughter alone after the unexpected death of his wife during childbirth. Hart’s in good company with Paul Weitz, the writer-director who has long proven proficient at blending humor and feels in films like About a Boy, Grandma, and In Good Company. Professional scene-stealers Lil Rel Howery (Get Out, Bad Trip) and Anthony Carrigan (Barry) co-star. — Kevin Polowy
Watch Fatherhood on Netflix starting June 18.
WATCH IT: British indie horror Censor pays tribute to bloody ‘80s VHS faves
If the term "video nasty" rings a bell — or better yet, perks your ears up because you're a fan — Censor is must-see material. Prano Bailey-Bond's love letter to '80s low-budget British VHS horror stars Niamh Algar as Enid Baines, a film censor with a traumatic past who begins to suspect one provocateur's brutally violent films may contain hints to the mysterious childhood disappearance of her sister. Taut and stylish, Bailey-Bond's production qualities dwarf the films she’s paying tribute to, but that doesn't mean you can't expect some of the same bloody gore. Check out an exclusive clip above. — K.P.
Censor is now in select theaters and opens on-demand June 18. Get tickets on Fandango.
WATCH IT: Revolution Rent takes Jonathan Larson's Broadway classic to Cuba
Jonathan Larson's Rent was positively revolutionary when it premiered on Broadway in 1996. Eighteen years later, it broke another barrier when it became the first big-time American musical to grace Cuban stages since the Cold War. Revolution Rent takes viewers behind the scenes of that 2014 production, with Rent stage veteran — and son of Cuban refugees — Andy Se?or Jr. as your guide. As Se?or tries to mount the show, he has to contend with cultural differences, limited resources and the historic conflict between the two nations. It all builds up to a tense opening night, a portion of which is glimpsed in this exclusive clip from the documentary. — Ethan Alter
Revolution Rent premieres June 15 at 9 p.m. on HBO.
WATCH IT: Voyagers takes Lily Rose-Depp and Colin Farrell to the final frontier
Take a trek to the stars with writer-director Neil Burger, whose previous credits include breakout hits The Illusionist and Limitless. In Voyagers, the spaceship Humanitas leaves Earth on an 86-year mission to colonize a distant planet, with Colin Farrell's scientist overseeing a much-younger crew that includes Tye Sheridan and Lily Rose-Depp. A decade into the voyage, though, things start to go wrong... very wrong. But as the cast themselves will tell you, Voyagers is less Alien and more 2001: A Space Odyssey. "Neil's script was really, really lovely," Farrell observes in this exclusive clip from a featurette included on the film's Blu-ray edition. "I thought the questions it provoked in me as a reader were fairly profound and substantial questions about the nature of man." — E.A.
Voyagers will be available on Blu-ray and DVD on June 15 at most major retailers, including Amazon.
WATCH IT: An Unknown Compelling Force explores one of the most compelling unsolved mysteries of the 20th century
The Dyatlov Pass Incident has baffled historians, scientists and survivalists since 1959, when a group of nine Russian students were found dead in the Ural Mountains following a blizzard — their bodies bearing terrible injuries and stray traces of radiation. A poorly handled government investigation unsatisfactorily declared that the group died of "an unknown compelling force," which serves as the title of Liam Le Guillou's gripping new investigative documentary. Journeying to the site of the tragedy, the filmmaker attempts to reconstruct the events of that fatal night, separating fact from conspiracy-minded fiction. (For further reading, checking out journalist Douglas Preston's recent New Yorker piece that also explores the case.) This exclusive clip features Le Guillou coming face-to-face with the same destructive weather that the students confronted six decades ago. — E.A.
An Unknown Compelling Force premieres June 15 on most VOD services, including Prime Video.
WATCH IT: Sundance award winner All Light, Everywhere provides a provocative account of the surveillance industry
One of the breakout hits at this year's virtual Sundance Film Festival — where it picked up a jury prize for Nonfiction Experimentation — Theo Anthony's evocative documentary All Light, Everywhere explores the various forces that have shaped our modern surveillance state. More of a contemplative cinematic essay than a hard-hitting piece of journalism, the film asks viewers to think about how they've opened up their lives to devices that track their movements. In this exclusive clip, Anthony visits the Axon Facility, which makes the body cams and tasers present in so many police departments. Even as his guide tries to offer him a benign tour, the director uses his own camera to surveil the people who surveil the rest of us. — E.A.
All Light, Everywhere is currently playing in limited release and expands to more theaters on June 18. Visit Fandango for showtime and ticket information.
STREAM IT: Pixar scores another near-perfect 10 with Luca
Does Pixar ever get tired of all this winning? Even the animation giant's less-heralded titles usually turn out as gems, and Enrico Casarosa’s Luca — aka Sea Monsters, Inc. — certainly falls into that camp. Centered around a young sea creature (Jacob Tremblay) who turns human upon entering land. Unfortunately that land happens to be a small Italian village whose residents have a thirst for hunting sea monsters. Luca is an absolute joy — funny, charming and touching from star to finish. So in other words, it’s a Pixar movie. But the big surprise here is it may be one of the studio's best. — K.P.
Stream Luca on Disney+ starting June 18.
WATCH IT: The Sparks Brothers is the number one doc in heaven
In The Sparks Brothers, such musical luminaries as Beck, Duran Duran, Bj?rk, Flea, the Sex Pistols’ Steve Jones, Giorgio Moroder, Todd Rundgren, Jane Wiedlin, “Weird Al” Yankovic, Jack Antonoff and even Neil Gaiman teach the uninitiated what superfans have known all along: that Sparks, aka the shrouded-in-mystery sibling duo of Ron and Russell Mael, is one of the most influential bands of all time. (In the documentary, Antonoff theorizes that “all pop music is either recycled Vince Clarke or Sparks." Clarke, who also testifies in the film, does not disagree.) The doc’s deep-dive length of two hours and 20 minutes may seem daunting, but an act that has released 25 landmark albums and 345 songs in 50 years, ranging from glam to proto-punk to new wave to post-disco to baroque chamber pop, deserves all the screentime. A superfan himself, director Edgar Wright has made a movie that — much like Sparks’ discography itself — offers something for everyone, for diehards and newbies alike. — Lyndsey Parker
The Sparks Brothers premieres June 18 in theaters. Visit Fandango for showtime and ticket information.
WATCH IT: Details behind Whitney Houston’s secret debt is revealed in Life, Death, and Money
Chronicling the tumultuous lives and deaths of America’s most celebrated entertainers, Reelz’s Life, Death, and Money series gives viewers all the tea. The upcoming episode dives deep into Whitney Houston’s rise to fame and quick spiral into drug addiction and an untimely death. Of course, much has been revealed about the iconic singer since her death in 2012 — including a lesbian relationship with Robin Crawford kept hidden for years — but little is known about the star’s reported $20 million debt, which placed her estate in limbo for a while following her death. All this and more is revealed in a riveting episode full of revelations, including details behind attempted murder accusation, lawsuits, and family drama over Houston’s legacy. — David Artavia
Whitney Houston: Life, Death, and Money premieres Thursday, June 17 at 8 p.m. on Reelz.
HEAR IT: Amythyst Kiah is a glittering new country star
Kiah is a leading nominee at this year’s Americana Music Awards, a past Grammy nominee for “Black Myself,” a trailblazer for queer representation in country music and an esteemed member of Our Native Daughters, a women-of-color alt-country supergroup also featuring Rhiannon Giddens, Leyla McCalla, and Allison Russell. Her Rounder Records debut Wary + Strange, produced by Tony Berg (Phoebe Bridgers, Amos Lee) and featuring musician Blake Mills (Fiona Apple, Perfume Genius), blends alternative rock and roots music in visionary ways that will likely lead to many more award nominations for Kiah. — L.P.
Wary + Strange by Amythyst Kiah is available June 11 to download/stream on Apple Music.
WATCH IT: A medical examiner investigates what really killed Frank Sinatra in Autopsy: The Last Hours of Frank Sinatra
Even two decades after his death, Frank Sinatra loves to make headlines. The charismatic blue-eyed singer with the voice of an angel lived life his way, but his death was another story. While fans knew him as a larger-than-life showman, behind the scenes Sinatra dealt with severe alcoholism and depression, which led to several suicide attempts. A life-long smoker, it didn’t surprise doctors that Sinatra died of a heart attack at 79, but now medical examiner Dr. Michael Hunter dives even deeper into events within the entertainer's life that may have possibly saved him from an untimely death. Were bad habits the cause of his ultimate heart failure, or was it something much deeper... and invisible? — D.A.
Autopsy: The Last Hours of Frank Sinatra premieres Sunday, June 20 at 8 p.m. on Reelz
HEAR IT: Rory Feek is a ‘Gentle’ giant
The first solo album from Rory Feek also marks the Grammy-winning bluegrass artist’s first time back in the studio since his wife and Joey+Rory bandmate, Joey Feek, died from cancer in 2016. Guest stars include Trisha Yearwood, Allison Krauss, Lee Ann Womack, Vince Gill, and Ricky Skaggs, with Dolly Parton lending her angelic vocals to a new recording of “One Angel,” a tribute to the late Joey. — LP
Gentle Man by Rory Feek is available June 11 to download/stream on Apple Music.
BUY IT: Hit the beach with TCM's sunny-movie tome Summer Movies: Sun-Drenched Classics
Take your love of classic movies out doors with TCM's new guide to the greatest warm weather movies of yesteryear. Perfect for beach-reading, Summer Movies: 30 Sun-Drenched Classics features detailed accounts of summer-set favorites, including Rear Window, Gidget, Jaws and Do the Right Thing. Each chapter includes a wealth of production details from author John Malahy, and eye-catching photos. And, better yet, many of the films covered in the book will air on TCM during the summer months. — E.A.
Summer Movies: Sun-Drenched Classics is available at most major retailers including Amazon
BUY IT: Suit up — in a stealthy way — with Hasbro's replica of Captain America's stealth shield
Hasbro's Marvels Legends line adds another legendary collector's piece: a hefty replica of Captain America's blue-and-white stealth shield from Captain America: The Winter Soldier — one of the most popular installments in the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Infinity Saga. Released in the fall, but available for pre-order now, the full-scale shield comes with adjustable straps for Avengers of all arm widths. — E.A.
Marvel Legends Series Captain America: The Winter Soldier Stealth Shield is available for pre-order on Amazon and Hasbro Pulse
PLAY IT: Find the lost toys and save playtime in the Rugrats-themed virtual escape room, The Search for the Lostest Toys.
Why just watch Rugrats when you can be in Rugrats? To ring in the 30th anniversary of the popular 1990s Nickelodeon show, The Escape Game is bringing a one-of-a-kind virtual escape room to your own home for a limited time. (Fans who live in Las Vegas or King of Prussia, Pa., can sign-up for the in-person experience.) In The Search for the Losted Toys, gamers dive into a world where Angelica has tricked the babies and hidden “all of their bestest toys." And, much to her discourse, she also misplaced her beloved doll Cynthia. Now it’s up to Tommy and the rest of his crew — Chuckie, Phil, Lil, Dil, Susie, and Kimi — to find them and save playtime. Of course, in true Escape the Room fashion, you have 60 minutes on the clock so you better act fast. Get your friends together and solve the clues, otherwise this playtime might be your last! — D.A.
The Search for the Losted Toys runs from June 18 through Jan. 2. Visit the official site to sign up.
— Video produced by Jon San and edited by John Santo
