The It List: Carrie Underwood pens health and fitness book, Mandy Moore drops first new album in 10 years, Pixar's 'Onward' opens in theaters and the best in pop culture the week of March 2, 2020
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 March 2-8, including the best deals we could find for each. (Yahoo Entertainment may receive a share from purchases made via links on this page.)
READ IT: Carrie Underwood wants to help you Find Your Path to fitness
There isn’t much Carrie Underwood hasn’t done, but the American Idol winner-turned-Grammy darling had never written a book until now. In her debut as an author, the “Before He Cheats” singer shares the knowledge she’s accumulated on her journey to be fit. She promises to share secrets for diet, including recipes, and the workouts that she practices, which she calls Fit52, plus many more of her own tips to, what the book calls, “embracing a long view approach to health.” Perhaps the best possible endorsement of the whole plan are the strong legs Underwood displays when she’s walking any red carpet. — Raechal Shewfelt
Carrie Underwood's Find Your Path: Honor Your Body, Fuel Your Soul, and Get Strong with the Fit52 Life arrives at bookstores, including Amazon, Tuesday, March 3.
WATCH IT: Pixar marches Onward with a heart-tugging and fantasy-laced father/son story
Pixar’s latest cartoon blockbuster hews closely to the studio’s traditional formula of ticking clock-quests, sly humor and emotionally lacerating climaxes... but then again, that’s a formula with proven results. Set in a magical realm where magic is a thing of the past, Onward follows a pair of elven brothers (voiced by Tom Holland and Chris Pratt) as they spend one last day with their dearly departed dad, temporarily brought back to life via a resurrection spell. Well, half of him is brought back anyway — restoring the other half is what motivates the story’s busy plot. Director Dan Scanlon mines a lot of humor from the incongruity of seeing fantastical creatures like manticores, centaurs and dragons leading boring suburban lives, while the siblings’ daddy issues are a reliable source of tears. While Onward tells a familiar story, there is one element that’s new for both Pixar and Disney: It features the first openly LGBTQ supporting character in a major Mouse House animated feature. Here’s hoping the movie’s anticipated success moves the studio onward towards making the first Disney animated feature with an openly gay hero. — Ethan Alter
Onward opens in theaters on Friday, March 6; visit Fandango for showtime and ticket information.
HEAR IT: NCT 127 get in the Zone
The nine-member South Korean boy band’s second full-length album, Neo Zone, is a must-have for K-pop completists, as the physical edition comes with a photo book, lyric book, postcard, poster, stickers, photos and more. — Lyndsey Parker
Download on iTunes; buy on CD at Amazon.
WATCH IT: Better Things Season Premiere (FX) 3/5
Pamela Adlon’s part-quirky comedy, part-touching drama about a single mom raising three daughters in Los Angeles is back with more feels. After Sam’s reunion with daughter Frankie at the end of last season, the show’s new collection of episodes promises to see Sam and all of her girls experience more uncomfortable, authentic moments while dating, waxing, supporting each other and just doing their best. Adlon revealed to reporters at the latest TCAs that some of the general themes of the season are rain, couples and being alone. Don’t get the idea the show’s gone soft, though. Adlon also noted the cast shot a scene in which mother and one of the daughters were arguing and the c-word was said. She didn’t know then if it would make it to air, because of network standards. — R.S.
The fourth season of Better Things premieres with two, back-to-back new episodes on Thursday, March 5 at 10 p.m. on FX.
PLAY IT: Fight alongside Wonder Woman in Ravensburger’s new board game Wonder Woman: Challenge of the Amazons
Wonder Woman’s idyllic island home of Themyscira becomes a battleground in Challenge of the Amazons, a fast-paced strategy game from Ravensburger. Form your own justice league of up to five Amazon players and choose one of three classic villains to defeat: Circe, Ares (who you may recall from the 2017 big-screen blockbuster) and Cheetah — to be played by Kristen Wiig in this summer’s Wonder Woman 1984. The gameplay changes based on which big bad you pick, and the difficulty increases as you level up. Arm yourselves with relic tokens, hero miniatures and reference cubes, all of which are housed in a box featuring artwork by illustrator, Jenny Frison, whose drawings have graced the cover of many a Wonder Woman comic book. Ravensburger is also releasing the latest edition of their popular Disney: Villainous series, Perfectly Wretched, which introduces Cruella de Vil and Mickey’s longtime nemesis, Pete, into the gameplay. — E.A.
Wonder Woman: Challenge of the Amazons is available for purchase on Amazon.
HEAR IT: Mandy Moore shines on Silver Landings
Following a more than decade-long recording hiatus and her confession that ex-husband Ryan Adams gaslit her and derailed her musical career, the former teen singer and This Is Us star is back with the optimistically titled Silver Landings, produced by power pop maestro Mike Viola. Other collaborators include her new husband, Taylor Goldsmith from Dawes, and former Rilo Kiley drummer Jason Boesel. — L.P.
Download on iTunes; buy on CD/vinyl at Amazon.
WATCH IT: Hulu doc offers an intimate look at Hillary Clinton for supporters and detractors alike
The highly anticipated Hillary Clinton documentary finally debuts, which features the 2016 democratic presidential nominee like you've never seen her before. The four-part series touches on her campaign and personal life — and Clinton doesn't hold back. Yes, that means she even touches on her husband former President Bill Clinton’s affair with Monica Lewinsky. Clinton called it "emotionally draining" to revisit the scandal, but admitted the topic had to be included. — Taryn Ryder
Check out Hillary for yourself when it premieres Friday, March 6 on Hulu.
WATCH IT: Queen & Slim rides onto DVD & Blu-ray
Lena Waithe (Masters of None, The Chi) continues to flex her chops as a powerhouse screenwriter with this topical romantic drama. Daniel Kaluuya and Jodie Smith-Turner play a black Cleveland couple forced to go on the lam after a fatal run-in with a threatening police officer, and soon the pair become Bonnie & Clyde-like cult heroes. Some plot points on their odyssey are a little tough to swallow, but strong performances from its leads and mesmerizing lensing from Beyoncé's "Lemonade" director Melina Matsoukas make this one well worth visiting on home entertainment. Extras include a commentary with Matsoukas and Waithe and various behind-the-scenes featurettes. It's also got one of the coolest Blu-ray covers we've seen in a minute. — Kevin Polowy
Buy Queen & Slim on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD or digital on Amazon.
WATCH IT: Alex Garland will warp your fragile little minds with the new FX on Hulu miniseries, Devs
The one-two punch of Ex Machina and Annihilation have established novelist-turned-filmmaker Alex Garland as one of the most exciting science-fiction auteurs around. Now, Hulu has granted him eight episodes to spin a yarn that’s almost certainly going to inspire a cult following. Nick Offerman stars as Forest, an elusive Bay Area tech giant who runs the next-gen company, Amaya. When an employee goes missing, the vanished guy’s girlfriend, Lily (Sony Mizuno), tries to get to the bottom of what happened and what exactly is being cooked up in Amaya’s development division. If you’re at all familiar with Garland’s work, you already know that this by-the-numbers premise will grow, twist and change into an unnerving techno-parable about the way we live now. — E.A.
Devs premieres Thursday, March 5 on FX on Hulu.
WATCH IT: Kelly Reichardt’s First Cow brings 19th century Oregon to life
Ten years after the expertly-crafted period piece, Meek’s Cutoff, writer/director Kelly Reichardt returns to the 19th century wilderness with First Cow. Based on a novel by Jonathan Raymond, the film follows the unlikely friendship of a cook (John Magaro) and an entrepreneur (Orion Lee) who launch the Oregon frontier’s most successful start-up biscuit baking company. The secret ingredient in their buzzed-about baked goods? Fresh milk that’s stolen from the udder of the region’s first and only bovine... which also happens to be the personal property of the wealthiest man in their neck of the woods. Just as Meek’s Cutoff immersed moviegoers in the day-to-day rhythms of a wagon train, First Cow is studiously attentive to the smallest details of life in the Pacific Northwest wilderness. But the film is also the opposite of history class homework: It’s a living portrait of a vanished place and time. — E.A.
First Cow opens in theaters on Friday, March 6; visit Fandango for showtime and ticket information.
HEAR IT: Ice-T and Body Count are still out for blood
Nearly 30 years after they caused controversy with “Cop Killer,” legendary rapper Ice-T’s metal band is back with their brutal seventh studio album, Carnivore, sounding as angry and adrenalized as ever. Their tour kicks off March 15 at New York City’s Webster Hall, with dates at various European metal festivals to follow this summer. — L.P.
