The It List: Joy Reid takes nightly anchor slot at MSNBC, San Diego Comic-Con goes virtual, celebrate One Direction's 10th anniversary and the best in pop culture the week of July 20, 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. 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 July 20-26, 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: Joy Reid’s nightly program the ReidOut makes its debut
Joy Reid will make history as cable’s first Black female primetime anchor with her new show on MSNBC. Reid is filling the slot vacated by Chris Matthews, the longtime anchor of Hardball, who abruptly resigned in March. According to a statement from the network, the Washington D.C.-based show “will feature one-on-one conversations with politicians and newsmakers while addressing provocative political issues both inside and outside of the beltway.” Reid has hosted the weekend program AM Joy on the network since 2016. “I’m honored and thankful for this opportunity,” the political pundit said. “I’ll always be proud of the work we did on AM Joy by pushing the envelope and tackling pragmatic conversations. I’m eager to carry that same energy into the 7 p.m. hour where we can continue to build on bringing in diverse, smart, and accomplished voices to the table on topics that are important to our viewers.” — Taryn Ryder
The ReidOut With Joy Reid premieres Monday, July 20 and airs weekdays at 7 p.m. on MSNBC.
STREAM IT: Attend San Diego Comic-Con from your couch with Comic-Con@Home
At least we don’t have to deal with trying to book a decent San Diego hotel, waiting in epic lines or getting a whiff of those occasionally unpleasant odors from Congoers, right? Surely pop culture junkies are bummed that the coronavirus’ cancellation tour included San Diego Comic-Con 2020, but the show goes on… line with Comic-Con@Home. Set over the same five-day stretch (July 22-26), the first-ever virtual SDCC will include over 350 pre-recorded panels, including such fare as Bill & Ted Face the Music, The Walking Dead and the 75-year-delayed The New Mutants. Sure, there’s no splashy Marvel panel to make headlines, but you don’t even have to leave your couch or pay anything — and you’re guaranteed not to be shut out of Hall H. — Kevin Polowy
“Attend” Comic-Con@Home for free on Comic-Con’s YouTube channel starting Wednesday, July 22.
STREAM IT: Dave Franco directs real-life spouse, Alison Brie, in the slow-burn thriller, The Rental
Think you’ve had Airbnb horror stories? It’s nothing compared to what the two couples in Dave Franco’s directorial debut, The Rental, experience. Looking for a weekend escape from the big city, Michelle and Charlie (Alison Brie and Dan Stevens) and Josh and Mina (Jeremy Allen White and Sheila Vand) book a tricked-out cabin in the woods. But simmering tensions between the four — including a romantic attraction between Charlie and Mina, and brotherly resentment between Josh and Charlie — conspire to put a damper on the fun. It doesn’t help that strange things are present in the rental… things like hidden cameras in the shower and a creepy housekeeper (Toby Huss) who keeps a too-close eye on the place. Co-written by Franco and mumblecore master, Joe Swanberg, The Rental studiously tightens the tension for the first hour before going on a serious third-act rampage. While the movie sometimes put the “slow” in “slow burn,” Franco gets strong performances from the central quartet — including his real-life wife, Brie — and the closing moments will have you checking the closets at your next Airbnb rental. — Ethan Alter
The Rental premieres Friday, July 24 on most VOD services including Vudu.
STREAM IT: Caddyshack is turning 40, which is nice
Golf is just about the only sport that’s been cleared for COVID-19, so perhaps it’s fitting that the bawdy 1980 comedy that brought country club shenanigans and class warfare to the fore (sorry) is marking a major milestone this month. (And really, who among us isn’t currently eyeing anything and anyone outside our bubble with the suspicion normally reserved for rogue Baby Ruth bars floating in a public pool?) From Bill Murray’s ruthless pursuit of a Kenny Loggins-stanning gopher to Rodney Dangerfield getting down on the green, this cult comedy — directed by future Ghostbuster Harold Ramis — remains a riotous, irresistibly quotable summertime tonic four decades later. — Erin Donnelly
Caddyshack is available to stream on Amazon.
HEAR IT: Revisit the story of One Direction’s life
Harry Styles is now an androgynous glam god, Niall Horan is a folk-pop troubadour, Louis Tomlinson is a retro-‘90s Britrocker and Zayn Malik and Liam Payne have crossed over to hip-hop and EDM. But before they all went off in their own musical directions, they became stars as the prefab X Factor boy band One Direction. And, incredibly, that was a whole decade ago, on July 23, 2010. Now Directioners can celebrate this anniversary via a new immersive 10 Years of One Direction website, where they can create interactive “mixtapes,” follow a timeline of the group’s career and purchase/stream B-sides, rarities, remixes, live recordings and acoustic versions of popular 1D songs. The midnight memories will flow! — Lyndsey Parker
The 10 Years of One Direction website launches Thursday, July 23.
STREAM IT: Radioactive teams Rosamund Pike and science for great alchemy
Rosamund Pike earned an Oscar nomination for her stunning turn in 2014’s Gone Girl — but as most cinephiles would surely agree, the British actress still feels like one of film and television’s most underappreciated performers. Amazon’s Radioactive is exactly the type of vehicle she deserves: a meaty, leading role that allows her to, well, radiate. Pike plays Marie Curie, the pioneering early 20th century physicist and chemist who fought doubt and a whole lot of sexism on her way to becoming the first woman to win a Nobel prize (though it was initially only going to be rewarded to her husband Pierre Curie, played by Sam Riley). While thematically the film veers into familiar terrain as other biopics like Big Eyes and Collette — women do the work, men get the credit — its story feels unfortunately fresh and topical in a national climate where politics are being aimed at discrediting science. Check out an exclusive clip from the film above. — K.P.
Radioactive premieres Friday, July 24 on Amazon Prime.
HEAR IT: Avengers music fans can score Alan Silvestri’s Infinity War and Endgame soundtracks on vinyl
Alan Silvestri may be one of the most underrated composers working in Hollywood today. As Rotten Tomatoes pointed out, despite working on 17 Robert Zemeckis movies, he’s only been nominated for one: Best Original Score Oscar (for Forrest Gump). But Silvestri certainly caught the attention — or at least ears — of Marvel fans with his supersonic contributions to the MCU, starting with Captain America: The First Avenger. In expanding its impressive collection of vinyl soundtracks, Mondo has dropped Silvestri’s two most epic MCU scores yet — Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame — in a double-album, six-plate set that, we should warn you, is about as heavy as the Infinity Gauntlet. But what gem of a release it is, giving listeners the opportunity to soak up the films’ emotionally rich, variant and textured compositions as standalone triumphs. — K.P.
The Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame vinyl box set is available to purchase on Mondo.
WATCH IT: Wayhaught, Earpers! Syfy’s beloved Wynonna Earp is back at last
Purgatory’s top paranormal peacekeeper hasn’t drawn her signature demon-dispatching gun since the Season 3 finale in 2018. But the two-year delay wasn’t purposeful: Thanks to some behind-the-scenes issues, Wynonna Earp very nearly didn’t return at all. But the show’s devoted fanbase kept the faith, and they’ve been rewarded with a fourth year of adventures starring Wyatt Earp’s descendent, Wynonna (Melanie Scrofano), his long-living best friend, Doc Holliday (Tim Rozon) and the best couple on genre television, Waverly (Dominique Provost-Chalkley) and Officer Haught (Katherine Barrell). With the Earp family curse gone, creator Emily Andras has teased that this season’s theme is “Fight for your family,” which suggests that some of this year’s crop of villains might hit… close to home. — E.A.
Season 4 of Wynonna Earp premieres Sunday, July 26 at 10 p.m. on Syfy.
READ IT: Oliver Stone reflects on his life and filmography in his new memoir, Chasing the Light
In his heyday, you could always count on Oliver Stone to serve up compelling, and controversial, multiplex fare. The filmmaker looks back at his career in Chasing the Light, a memoir that covers his childhood, his years serving in Vietnam and finding success in Hollywood with era-defining hits like Platoon and Wall Street. Relentlessly political, Stone also weaves the larger story of America into his own life story, exploring how the turbulent 1960s and 1970s gave way to the conservative 1980s. You’ll get some good Charlie Sheen stories, too. — E.A.
Chasing the Light is available Tuesday, July 21 on Amazon.
WATCH IT: Helter Skelter: An American Myth retells one of Hollywood’s most shocking stories
While there’s a shelf full of docs and books on the horrifying story of Charles Manson and his family — which terrorized Los Angeles in the summer of 1969, killing actress Sharon Tate and at least eight others — this one stands out. For starters, the six-part docuseries is produced and directed by Lesley Chilicott, a producer on Al Gore’s Oscar-winning documentary on climate change, An Inconvenient Truth. It’s also billed as “the most comprehensive telling of the Manson Family yet told in a visual medium,” thanks to previously unseen interviews with former family members, as well as journalists who covered both the heinous crimes and the trials that followed. — Raechal Shewfelt
Helter Skelter: An American Myth premieres Sunday, July 26 at 10 p.m. on Epix.
HEAR IT: Neon Trees are not forgotten
After a too-long (nearly six-year!) hiatus — during which frontman Tyler Glenn came out as gay at age 30, left the Mormon church and released the confessional solo record Excommunication — the dance-punk band behind the hits “Animal” and “Everybody Talks” is finally back. Their fourth album, I Can Feel You Forgetting Me, perfectly juxtaposes Glenn’s dark, autobiographical lyrics with the quartet’s signature summer-playlist-ready beats. — L.P.
Download/stream I Can Feel You Forgetting Me on Apple Music.
READ IT: The library is open for Trixie Mattel and Katya Zamolodchikova
The hard-werking RuPaul’s Drag Race power-duo behind the web/TV programs UNHhhh and The Trixie & Katya Show have finally branched out into the lifestyle and wellness sphere. In their new self-help book, Trixie and Katya's Guide to Modern Womanhood, the queens tap into the feminine mystique like no one else ever could, spilling the tea on beauty, fashion, etiquette and happy homemaking. May the best women…win! — L.P.
Trixie and Katya's Guide to Modern Womanhood is available to purchase on Amazon.
STREAM IT: Go back to the future with the latest installment in the Red Dwarf franchise, The Promised Land
It’s been 32 years since the cult sci-fi comedy Red Dwarf took flight on British television, and the titular starship is still soaring through the cosmos. The latest installment, Red Dwarf: The Promised Land, docks on Britbox on July 26, and reunites the original cast, including Craig Charles, Chris Barrie and Danny John-Jules. Written and directed by franchise co-creator, Doug Naylor, this feature-length special finds the crew on the run from Rodon — the tyrannical leader of a gang of feral cats. This exclusive clip from The Promised Land captures Red Dwarf’s veddy British appeal, with chuckle-inducing exchanges like: “What’s our present flight path?” “It’s down, sir.” If you like that, there’s plenty more Red Dwarf on Britbox: The streaming service is home to the show’s extensive back catalogue. With Doctor Who on indefinite hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic, now’s a good time to hitch a ride with a new group of British space travelers. — E.A.
Red Dwarf: The Promised Land premieres Sunday, July 26 on BritBox.
READ IT: Continue your Avatar adventures in book form with The Shadow of Kyoshi
Thanks to Netflix, Nickelodeon’s beloved animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender is back and bigger than ever. If you’ve already binged your way through the show (again) and its sequel, The Legend of Korra, crack open the new tie-in YA novel, The Shadow of Kyoshi. A sequel to last year’s The Rise of Kyoshi, the book turns back the clock a couple hundred years before Aang showed up, and follows the Earth Kingdom-born Avatar Kyoshi as she masters the elements and confronts a Spirit World-generated menace. Here’s hoping it’s not cabbage-based. — E.A.
The Shadow of Kyoshi is available Tuesday, July 21 on Amazon.
WATCH IT: All-Star Best Thing I Ever Ate fuels your food fantasies
The coronavirus pandemic has put a serious wrench in dining out for now, but we can dream, can’t we? This show is the perfect way to do that. It features network personalities Guy Fieri, Alex Guarnaschelli, Alton Brown and many more showcasing their favorite dishes made by others. Specialty sandwiches, fried chicken and ice cream are just some of the dishes that’ll be on the menu as they spotlight eateries in Atlanta, Las Vegas, Chicago and elsewhere. For the inspired, the celeb chefs will also share recipes for at-home versions of the decadent dishes. — R.S.
All-Star Best Thing I Ever Ate premieres Monday, July 20 at 9 p.m. on Food Network.
READ IT: Brush up on bias with the Antiracist Baby Picture Book
Parents who want to take proactive measures to call out racism and injustice while raising their children to do the same have made Ibram X. Kendi’s Antiracist Baby board book, released last month, a bestseller — and very hard to find in bookstores. Now there’s a hardcover picture book option that’s bound to appeal to older kids and families looking to get their hands on this clever approach to instilling inclusive values and unpacking biases. Featuring vibrant illustrations from Ashley Lukashevsky, this budding bookshelf staple proves that it’s never too early to get kids to think critically. — E.D.
Antiracist Baby Picture Book is available to purchase on Amazon.
HEAR IT: The Naked and Famous bare all
The Naked And Famous · Recover (Out July 24th)
Since their last album, New Zealand’s the Naked and Famous have pared down from a quintet to a duo (Alisa Xayalith and Thom Powers), during a tumultuous period of personal ups and downs that led to a four-year absence from the indie scene. This reboot has led to TNAF’s aptly titled fourth studio album, the ultimately optimistic Recover, which features tracks about Powers’s near-death experience (“An Aesthetic”), forgiveness and acceptance (“Come As You Are”) and even Xayalith’s dog (“Sunseeker”). — L.P.
Download/stream Recover on Apple Music.
— Video produced by Gisselle Bances
