Category Archives: History

Sep 11 2026
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Books, DVDs, History, Movies, Photography, Television

The Entertainment Forecast

What to Watch, and More! Week of Sept. 11 – Sept. 17

“Family Affair” favorites, the real Butch and Sundance & meet the world’s most famous axe murderess

FRIDAY, Sept. 11
102 Minutes Inside the Towers
Special commemorative documentary tells the untold story of survivors of the horrific events of 9/11 (8 p.m., History).

The Delivery Girl
An insurance adjuster’s mundane life spirals into a nightmare when a food delivery worker develops a deadly obsession with him (Tubi).

SATURDAY, Sept. 12
Mark Rober’s CrunchLabs
Season five of more fun experiments led by the former NASA engineer, YouTube star, gadget-eer and inventor (Netflix).

The Time Machine
Set your “time machine” alarm clock early to catch this 1960 sci-fi classic about a Victorian inventor (Rod Taylor) and his machine that transports him into the distant future. With Yvette Mimieux, Sabastian Cabot and Alan Young (7:30 a.m., TCM).

SUNDAY, Sept. 13
Family Affair
Celebrate the 60th anniversary of the beloved TV series with host Kathy Garver (who played Sissy) and eight of her favorite episodes (1 p.m., Catchy Comedy Network).

High Value Target: The Hunt for Saddam
Joel Kinnamin stars in this eight-part based-on-a-true-story drama, adapted from a bestseller by a CIA analyst, about one man’s search for the truth amid a nation’s complicated quest for justice (9 p.m., TNT).

MONDAY, Sept. 14
The Emmy Awards
Mariska Hargitay hosts tonight’s 78th annual bestowal of trophies to television programs and stars, and Michael J. Fox is set to receive the Bob Hope Humanitarian award (8 p.m., NBC & Peacock).

Adam’s Law
New reality-based courtroom series stars Adam Levy, a former district attorney and the son of TV icon “Judge Judy” Sheindlin (CBS).

TUESDAY, Sept. 15
Agatha Christie’s Tommy & Tuppence
Six-part contemporary adaptation of the author’s 1920s book and short-story series follows a pair of detectives in their adventures through the ages. Starring Antonio Thomas, Josh Dylan and Imelda Staunton (Britbox).

American Experience: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Not the Paul Newman/Robert Redford movie, but the real story of real-life outlaws Harry Longbaugh and Robert Leroy Parker, above, and how they managed to pull off some of the most spectacular Old West heists in history (9 p.m., PBS).

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 16
South Park
Can you believe the iconic, Emmy-winning animated series is starting its 29th season tonight? Well, it is! Welcome back, Stan, Kyle, Cartman and Kenny! (10 p.m., Comedy Central).

Neagley
Maria Sten stars in new spinoff series as a protégé of Jack Reacher who investigates a dangerous evil (Prime Video).

THURSDAY, Sept. 17
Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story
New anthology series from director Ryan Murphy stars Ella Beatty as a young woman with an axe to grind—who changed the way the world saw serial killers (Netflix).

Traitors: New Blood
Host Alan Cumming opens the doors of his Scottish castle to 22 everyday Americans—in lieu of celebrities—ready to get down with the latest twist in the reality competition (8 p.m., NBC).

READ ALL ABOUT IT

Who is Susie? She’s Susie Cave, the wife of musician Nick Cave, and this arty collection of words and photographs is an intimate, evocative testament to their love story—including the devastating loss of a child (Thames & Hudson).

Tag, you’re it! In the graphic novel Bomb It! (Thames & Hudson), you’ll learn all about the story of graffiti, from the subways and alleys of the ‘60s to the global sensation that “public art” has become today.

Take a nostalgic trip down memory lane with Why We Watch The Andy Griffith Show (McFarland), a collection of essays on the gentle charm and wholesome messaging of Mayberry. Find out the reasons—seen through contemporary lenses of religion, law and order, immigration issues, feminism and family—for the show’s enduring popularity.

NOW HEAR THIS

Rock again to one of the classic all-time live double albums with The Allman Brothers’ Live at Fillmore East (UMe Vinylphile Series). Featuring all analog mastering anew from original sources, it captures the Southern rockers firing on all cylinders in 1971 at the renowned club in Lower Manhattan on iconic standout tracks as “Statesboro Blues,” “Whipping Post,” “Done Somebody Wrong,” “One Way Out” and “Stormy Monday.”

The 1986 classic teen flick Pretty in Pink celebrates its 40th anniversary with a re-issued soundtrack album, on pink vinyl (!), featuring vintage ‘80s tunes from the Psychedelic Furs, Suzanne Vega, The Smiths, Echo and the Bunnymen and more.

BRING IT HOME

Season three of creator Tyler Sheridan’s hit Tulsa King comes to DVD, starring Slyvester Stallone as an ex-con Mafia capo from New York City sent to Oklahoma to set up a criminal network there. (Paramount Home Video).

The little yellow fellows are back in Minions & Monsters (Universal Home Entertainment), the latest madcap adventure in the franchise that spun off from the Despicable Me flicks. This time, they’re in Hollywood making a monster movie…so what could go wrong? A lot! Available on 4K UHD, Blu-ray and DVD.

All 10 episodes of the high-octane crime drama Mobland (Paramount Home Entertainment) are rounded up in this season-one DVD, with an all-star cast including Tom Hardy, Pierce Brosnan, Helen Mirren, Janet McTeer and Toby Jones.

Beam me up, Scotty! So I can enjoy the special 60th anniversary of the iconic TV series with Star Trek: The Original Series (Paramount Home Entertainment), with all three seasons—and 79 episodes—of the 1966-69 TV series starring William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelly and Michelle Nichols. Includes more than nine hours of special features!

Passenger (Paramount Home Entertainment) is a harrowing tale of a young couple, a gruesome highway accident and a demonic entity that hitches a horrific ride. Yikes! So buckle up. Starring Melissa Leo, Lou Llobel and Jacob Scipio.

Now you laugh like it’s the ‘80s again with Perfect Strangers: The Complete Series, with all eight seasons of the ABC sitcom about a Midwesterner (Mark Linn-Baker) and his distant European cousin (Bronson Pinchot), who moves in with him (Warner Home Entertainment). Buy HERE
 

Aug 28 2026
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Books, DVDs, History, Movies, Music, Pop Culture, Television

The Entertainment Forecast

What to Watch, and More! Week of Aug. 28 – Sept 3.

“The Whisper Man,” Rita Hayworth rocks & all about Billy the Kid

Robert De Niro, Adam Scott and Michelle Monaghan star in ‘The Whisper Man.’

FRIDAY, Aug. 28
The Whisper Man
When his eight-year-old son is abducted, a widowed crime writer looks to his estranged father, a retired former police detective, for help, only to discover a connection with the decades-old case of a convicted serial killer. Starring Robert De Niro, Adam Scott and Michelle Monaghan (Netflix).

Four Hands, Two Sonatas
South Korean drama about young high schoolers training to become concert pianists (Netflix).

SATURDAY, Aug. 29
Saluting Rita Hayworth
It’s a full day of flicks starring the glamorous redhead from Hollywood’s “golden age,” including “Only Angels Have Wings,” “Gilda,” “Cover Girl” (above) and “You’ll Never Get Rich” (TCM).

SUNDAY, Aug. 30
Robot Chicken Adult Swim Special
When every iconic animated character in Adult Swim’s history (from Aqua Teen Hunger Force to Smiling Friends and, of course, Robot Chicken) boards a cruise ship to celebrate a quarter century on the air, it can only end in a courtroom! (Midnight, Adult Swim).

MONDAY, Aug. 31
History’s Greatest Mysteries
Host Laurence Fishburn explores the wave of anthrax attacks in 2001 in the wake of 9/11, which caused widespread panic in the U.S. postal system and killed five people (9 p.m., History).

TUESDAY, Sept. 1
Billy the Kid
This “American Experience” doc tells the true story of Henry McCarty, the Wild West outlaw known as “Billy the Kid” who outfoxed jailers and captivated the nation with his string of nearly unbelievable escapes…until he met up with sheriff Pat Garrett (9 p.m., PBS).

9/11 United We Stand: 25 Years Later
Documentary about how sports, music, movies and comedy all helped heal the wounds of the devastating terrorist attack on America, with Pete Davidson, Derek Jeter, Billy Crystal, Matthew Broderick, Jon Bon Jovi and others (9 p.m., ABC).

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 2
Driven
Watch all three seasons of the steamy romantic series about a girl with a tragic past (Olivia Grace Applegate) who falls in love with a bad-boy race car driver (Casey Deidrick) (Netflix).

THURSDAY, Sept. 3
Chad Powers
Season two of the football comedy begins, with stars Glen Powell, Eli Manning and Steve Zahn (Hulu).

Arena Access with Mariah Rose
Sports content creator Mariah Rose takes viewers inside the arenas of major teams and sporting events, exploring the culture, food and community that make them shrines for fans (Tubi).


Clash of the Thundermans
New live-action kid-centric superhero comedy series (above) stars Maya Lee Clark as a young girl who suddenly discovers new and unpredictable powers (7 p.m., Nickelodeon).

BRING IT HOME

Put some vroooooom in the room with The Fast and the Furious: The 25th Anniversary Edition (Universal Pictures Home Entertainment). It’s a fresh remaster of the classic 2001 film (starring Vin Diesel, Paul Walker and Michelle Rodriguez) about street racing, muscle cars, heists and spies that laid the foundation for a franchise expansion into more movies, TV series, toys and games.

READ ALL ABOUT IT

Capturing a dramatic moment in history, Timothy W. Ryback’s 53 Days: How Hitler Dismantled a Democracy (Grove Atlantic) examines how dur furher used the German Constitution to turn a democratic republic into an authoritarian state, one that became Nazi Germany. Essential reading for WWII history buffs…and anyone interested in the contemporary parallels.

He’s a good boy! Young readers will lap up Dragon Dog (Random House Studio), about a fierce pooch cross-wired with a dragon who befriends a little lost lamb. The takeaway: Strength and softness can coexist.

Behind every successful music maker is a person behind the scenes: the producer. In Making Music (Akishic), Tape Op magazine founder Larry Crane shines the spotlight on the studio whizzes who’ve manned the control boards for the Beatles, Taylor Swift, Willie Nelson, David Bowie and many more acts, talking about the ins and outs and highs and lows of recording.

David Campany’s Walker Evans (Thames & Hudson) is an insightful study of one of the most quintessential American photographers. Evans, born in 1903, was both a pioneer and a precursor for the many ways photography could communicate. He was best known for his work documenting the effects of the Great Depression. 

Fine art lovers, here you go: Color Unbound: Matisse 1941-1954 (Thames & Hudson) collects artwork from the famed French artist’s final years, at home and in his studio.

Take a deep dive into the jungle with The Foundations of Tarzan (McFarland), Jon C. Scott’s in-depth analysis of the King of the Jungle—created by author Edgar Rice Burroughs—his vine-swinging roots in myth and other literature, and his many later incarnations.

NOW HEAR THIS

Classic rock fans, dig these new Blu-ray audio re-mix releases of ‘70s superstar albums. There’s the smooth balladry of singer-songwriter James Taylor (Gorilla), the mellow tones of former Bread frontman David Gates (his first two solo albums First and Never Let Her Go), the guitar-driven rock of The James Gang (Miami) and the pop jazz of flautist Herbie Mann (Hold On, I’m Coming). Available separately or in a set at rhino.com.

Jun 19 2026
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Books, DVDs, History, Movies, Music, Photography, Pop Culture, Sports, Television

The Entertainment Forecast

What to watch, and more! Week of June 19 – June 25

Butch & Sundance, Marilyn Monroe’s crime scene, Tom Hanks on America & the rising tide of human migration

FRIDAY, June 19
The Clash of Nations: Joe Lewis vs. Max Schmeling
Documentary about one of the most iconic rivalries in boxing history and how their late 1930s bouts came to symbolize the coming showdown between freedom and fascism (8 p.m., History Channel).

How to Make a Killing
Glen Powell and Margaret Qualley star in movie about a man disowned at birth by his obscenely wealthy family, now seeking to reclaim his inheritance—at any cost (8 p.m., HBO).

SATURDAY, June 20
Don’t Trust the Girls Upstairs
Remy Ma stars as a woman forced to confront her past when her life begins to unravel and she opens her home to her orphaned teenage niece (8 p.m., Lifetime).

SUNDAY, June 21
Celebrity Crime Scene: Marilyn Monroe
Re-examining the evidence to the enduring mystery of the screen goddess’ death in August 1962 (8 p.m., Fox).

House of the Dragon
Tonight begins season three of the series, above, set centuries before the events of Game of Thrones. With Matt Smith, Emma D’Arcy and Olivia Cooke (HBO).

MONDAY, June 22
Harry Wild
Fan-fave murder-mystery series starring Jane Seymour as a British crime-solver returns for its new season (Acorn TV).

The Last Ship
Eric Dane and Adam Baldwin star in this series (originally on TNT) about the crew of a U.S. Navy destroyer that has somehow avoided a global pandemic that’s wiped out most of the world’s population. See seasons 1 to 3 streaming on Netflix.

TUESDAY, June 23
Movies by Director George Roy Hill
Get your Paul Newman and Robert Redford fix on with a trio of classic flicks from the late director: The Sting, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and The Great Waldo Pepper (8 p.m., TCM).

The Welcome Table
Documentary about climate change causing massive migrations of humans across the globe. Where will all those people go? (9 p.m., HBO).

WEDNESDAY, June 24
Expedition Unknown
Global explorer Josh Gates returns for an all-new season, exploring far-flung jungles, remote waters and vastcaves hunting for vanished civilizations (9 p.m., Discovery). 

The American Experiment
Tom Hanks is part of this sweeping five-part documentary series reexamining the improbable achievement of America’s founding and the radical question at its center: Can a people govern themselves? (Netflix).

THURSDAY, June 25
CMA Fest Presented by SoFI
The music event of the summer, filmed in June at CMA Fest in Nashville, features all-star performances and surprise collaborations from country music’s hottest acts, including Blake Shelton, Keith Urban, Jelly Roll and Carly Pearce (8 p.m., ABC).

Avatar: The Last Airbender
Season two begins of the animated TV spinoff of the hit sci-fi movie series, about a future world broken into warring kingdoms based on the elements of water, earth, fire and air (Netflix).

NOW HEAR THIS

Steve Martin and Edie Brickell join The Steep Canyon Rangers for Next Act (Yep Roc Records), which reconnects the acclaimed group with its bluegrass roots. Tracks include “Circling the Drain,” “Hard Times” and “Babylon Stone.”

BRING IT HOME


Now you can own the entire first season of the hit HBO prequel to Game of Thrones. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms stars Peter Caffey as the lowborn titular knight, and Dexter Sol Arsell as the young prince he takes as his squire. The DVD features exclusive behind-the-scenes and bonus content.

Mira Sorvino, John Savage, and TikTok phenom Jessica Hosam star in The Goat (MVD Entertainment), an Arabic-Italian drama about a 11-year-old girl fleeing a forced marriage and making a perilous journey across the desert—with a goat.

The classic “slasher flick” franchise I Know What You Did Last Summer (AV Entertainment) was turned into a TV series by Amazon. Now you can scare yourself silly with all episodes of its first (and only) season in 2021, about a group of friends stalked by a brutal killer. Starring Madison Iseman, Bill Heck and Brianne Tju. Buy HERE.

A 1996  Ah-nold classic gets a 30th anniversary salute in the new 4K restoration of Eraser (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment), about a U.S. Marshal (Arnold Schwarzenegger) tasked with “erasing” the identities of people in the witness protection program. Then things get complicated when a witness (Vanessa Williams) uncovers a plot to unleash a weapon of mass destruction.
 

READ ALL ABOUT IT

Author George Tsakiridis, a professor of philosophy and religion at South Dakota State University, looks at a famous superhero through a religious prism in Spider-Man and the Sacred (McFarland). It shows how we can glean from comic books about the webslinger the broader themes of morality, sin, guilt and redemption and even resurrection.

Take a sweeping journey through the Big Apple in Harry Gruyart New York (Thames & Hudson), a spectacular photographic trek with the photographer who’s spent more than half a century chronicling the city’s wide spectrum of people, places, peculiarities and scenes.

Learn about the genesis of hip-hop in Bust a Move by Peter Relic, which traces the rise of the record label Delicious Vinyl and its vital role in vaulting hip-hop music into the pop mainstream with artists like Tone Loc, Young MC and Def Jeff.

May 01 2026
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Books, DVDs, History, Humor, Movies, Pop Culture, Television

The Entertainment Forecast

What to watch, and more! May 1 – May 7

Body-swapping critters, ’60s beefcake brawlers and a month of Mayberry!

FRIDAY, May 1
Swapped
Animated film about a small creature (voiced by Michael B. Jordan) that switches bodies with another animal—and learns a valuable lesson. Additional voices by Juno Temple, Tracy Morgan and Cedric the Entertainer (Netflix).

Lucky Chow
Experience the food of Europe through Berlin, Paris, London, Copenhagen, and Northern Italy, with host Danielle Chang (PBS.org).

SATURDAY, May 2
Kidnapped in Her Own Home: The Martha Carelli Story
A woman finds herself locked in an intense psychological battle when she discovers an escaped convict hiding in her basement (8 p.m., Lifetime).

SUNDAY, May 3
Hercules, Samson & Ulysses
Worlds collide! Set your DVR! This 1963 beefcake brawl (above) brings a pair of Greek heroes together with the Biblical strongman! Starring Kirk Morris, Richard Lloyd and Liana Orfei (5:30 a.m., Turner Classic Movies).

MONDAY, May 4
Month of Mayberry
Tune in tonight for the beginning of four weeks of Andy Griffith Show episodes, above, with special “themed” programming featuring Aunt Bee, Barney Fife and Opie (8:30 p.m., MeTV).

American Idol: 20 Year Reunion
Tonight fan favorites from 2006 return, plus special guests and some smooth-move ballroom flair from the pros of Dancing with the Stars (8 p.m., ABC).

TUESDAY, May 5
The Pusher Trilogy
Gritty acclaimed Danish film series spanning 1996-2005 set in the gritty criminal world of Copenhagen, starring Mads Mikkelsen—who made his acting debut in the first film (Magnet).

Funny AF with Kevin Hart
Vote tonight on who gets the top prize tonight in the comedy star’s cross-country quest to find the next ha-ha susperstar (Netflix).

WEDNESDAY, May 6
The Other Bennett Sister
The often-overlooked sibling in Jane Austen’s iconic Pride and Prejudice gets her own period-piece series, starring Ella Bruccoleri (from Bridgerton and Call the Midwife) (Britbox). 

Life on Earth: David Attenborough’s Greatest Adventure
A chronicle of the famed explorer and his three-year global odyssey, spanning 40 countries to document more than 600 species, which began in 1976 (8 p.m., PBS).

THURSDAY, May 7
M.I.A.
New series about drug-running in the dangerous underbelly of Miami. Starring Shannon Gisela (Peacock).

The Terror: Devil in Silver
Horror abounds in this tale of a man (Dan Stevens) wrongfully committed to a psychiatric hospital where other patients work against him, doctors hold grim secrets and maybe even the Devil himself is afoot. With Judith Light and CCH Pounder (Shudder).

BRING IT HOME

Version 1.0.0

The sequel to the 2018 faith-based film based on the MercyMe song, I Can Only Imagine 2 (Lionsgate Home Entertainment) stars John Michael Finley, Milo Ventimiglia and Sophie Skelton, with appearances by Trace Adkins and Dennis Quaid.

The killer clown known as Pennywise is back in IT: Welcome to Derry: The Complete First Season (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment) of the hit HBO series based on author Stephen King’s 1986 novel It. Follow the terrifying adventures of a couple in the 1960s who move to Maine, just before very bad things begin to happen in their little town of Derry.

Mark Ruffalo leads an FBI task force in rural Pennsylvania looking for the connections between a kidnapped child, a string of burglaries and a brutal biker gang. And what does a garbage man (Tom Pelphrey) have to do with it? It’s all in the pulse-pounding season one of the HBO series Task (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment), now available on DVD and Blu-ray.

READ ALL ABOUT IT

You’re heard about the famed designer Yves Saint Laurent, right? But did you ever hear how he designed the first tuxedo for women, femininizing a garment that had previously been the exclusive domain of men? You can read (and see) all about it in The Yves Saint Laurent Revolution (Thames & Hudson), a stylish graphic novel that tells all about the tux and the rebellious women who first wore it.

Here, kitty kitty! In Ulysses S. Cat and Other Animals I Have Known (W.W. Norton), NPR radio host Scott Simon waxes on creatures (including cats) great and small and their marvelous tales (and tails!) Pet lovers of all kinds will purr with the wisdom, whimsy, joys, worries, love, humor and hijinks found between the covers.

Learn all about history’s prime plunderers and most fearsome explorers in Vikings (Osprey), a colorful exploration of the wide-ranging voyagers and their weaponry, boats, at-home lifestyle and legacy.

In Do You Believe in Magic? (Abrams Books) author Laura Krantz shows young readers how “magic” and “science” are often two sides to the same coin, bridging the gaps between sorcery, sleight-of-hand, myth and reality.

Nov 14 2025
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Books, DVDs, History, Movies, Music, Pop Culture, Television

The Entertainment Forecast

What to watch, and more! Nov. 14 – 20

A new John Lennon doc, a JoBros Christmas, Ken Burns’ Revolutionary War and Charlie Brown’s T’Giving TV tradition

FRIDAY, Nov. 14
One on One
Documentary offers a rare inside at the first year of former Beatle John Lennon and wife Yoko Ono living in New York City in the early 1970s, when the city was rocked by an explosion of creativity and political activism (8 p.m., HBO).

A Very Jonas Christmas
The Jonas Brothers usher in the holidays with this lively movie in which they face a series of escalating problems as they try to make it from London to New York for Christmas. Watch for guests Billie Lourd, Laverne Cox, Andrea Martin, Kenny G, Randal Park…and Jessie Tyler Ferguson as Santa! (Disney+).

SATURDAY, Nov. 15
A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving
It’s over 50 years old, but this Peanuts classic never gets old as Peppermint Patty invites the gang to Charlie Brown’s house for Thanksgiving, and Snoopy decides to cook his own feast with some help from his friends (Apple TV+).

SUNDAY, Nov. 16
Landman
Taylor Sheridan’s series about oilmen in the boomtowns of West Texas begins season two tonight, with Billy Bob Thornton, Demi Moore, Andy Garcia and Ali Larter returning to their roles (Paramount+) 

The American Revolution
Peter Coyote narrates director Ken Burns‘ new docuseries, a sprawling, six-part, 12-hour examination of America’s war for independence. The all-star cast also features Kenneth Branagh, Josh Brolin, Morgan Freeman, Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep and Samuel L. Jackson (PBS).

MONDAY, Nov. 17
Gingerbread Land: The Biggest Little Holiday Competition
Top bakers face off in the “biggest little gingerbread competition” ever, building edible worlds from scratch. Hosted by Oliver Hudson (9 p.m., Food Network).

June Farms
New original unscripted series about June Farms, in West Sand Lake, N.Y., and its staffers during the hustle-bustle wedding season (Prime).

TUESDAY, Nov. 18
Smurfs
When Papa Smurf (John Goodman) is taken by a pair of evil wizards, the Smurfettes lead a mission into the real world to rescue him.  Other voices in the new animated adventure include Rihanna, Nick Offerman, James Corden, Dan Levy, Amy Sedaris, Nick Kroll, Hannah Waddingham and Alex Winter (8 p.m., MGM+).

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 19
The 59th Annual CMA Awards
Morgan Wallen and Laney Wilson (above, also the night’s host) lead the pack of nominees—with five nods each, including Entertainer of the Year—for the live ceremony honoring the best in country music, with performances by BigXthaPlug, Luke Combs, Ella Langley, Megan Moroney, Shaboozey and more (8 p.m., ABC)

Champagne Problems
Minka Kelley stars as an ambitious M&A executive who travels to France to secure the acquisition of a world-renowned Champagne brand, but her plans are upended when she falls into a whirlwind romance with a charming Parisian—who turns out to be the founder’s son (Netflix).

Man on the Inside
Season two finds Charles (Ted Danson, above) going undercover at a college to become a “mole” in a PI’s secret investigation. Mary Steenburgen, Max Greenfield, Stephanie Beatriz and more make guest appearances (Netflix).

THURSDAY, Nov. 20
Ghosts
Sam and Pete get on each other’s nerves during a book tour road trip, when an air strike threatens their ability to get home in time for Thanksgiving (8:30 p.m., CBS).

BRING IT HOME

In Splitsville, two couples discover the farcical downside to open marriage. Starring Adrina Arjona, Kyle Marvin, Dakota Johnson and Michael Angelo Covino (who also directed).

In the bonkers true tale of Secret Mall Apartment (Music Box Films), a group of young artists build a habitable place for themselves inside, yes, a shopping mall—and live there for four years, while filming it all. But their squirreled-away apartment wasn’t a prank, they say. Instead, it was a living art project, one with a meaning and message about community.

The first two seasons of the Emmy-winning The Morning Show, about the turbulent highs and lows of a fictitious New York news network—with an ensemble cast led by Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Anison and Billy Crudup—now comes to DVD and Blu-ray. Time to catch up on all the scandal, rivalry, loyalty, power grabs and more!

A college quarterback with his eye on prize of going pro meets his NFL idol…and a hella lot of weirdness. Marlon Wayans and Tyriq Withers star in Him, a grueling gridiron-centric horror show. (Universal Pictures Home Entertainment).

READ ALL ABOUT IT

For young readers (and Swifties!) in your realm, consider giving them What Are Taylor Swift’s Eras (Penguin Young Readers), with all the deets about her record-setting Eras Tour, which spanned five continents and included more than 150 shows. See the outfits! Re-live the albums and the songs! All all hail, Taylor Swift!

Learn about the long history of what we surround ourselves with inside the places we live, in The Story of the Interior (Thames & Hudson), which explores the social, cultural and technological history of interior design from prehistory into the modern era. And how what we live “in” shapes how we live, work, learn and play.

NOW HEAR THIS

Frank Sinatra’s “melancholy masterpiece” album of lost love and heartbreak, In the Wee Small Hours (Blue Note), celebrates its 70th anniversary with a newly remastered vinyl release. Tracks include “Mood Indigo,” “Ill Wind,” “Dancing on the Ceiling” and “This Love of Mine,” with tunes from the songbooks of Cole Porter, Richard Rogers, Duke Ellington, Hoagy Carmichael and others.

Fans of classic rock will dig Bold as Love, the newly released and freshly remixed box set commemorating the 1967 album from The Jimi Hendrix Experience (Sony). It’s four discs of guitar-god goovery, with tracks in both stereo and mono, rarities, rehearsals, live cuts and TV and radio promo appearances. Plus a 44-page book, and Hendrix’s version of another band’s hit song of the day, “Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.”

The 25th anniversary reissue of Brian Wilson: Live at the Roxy Theatre (Oglio Records) shows the genus co-founder of The Beach Boys on stage in Hollywood performing the magic of his music. Available in a variety of formats (single CD, an expanded version, digital and LPs), it includes performances of Beach Boys classics including “California Girls,” “I Get Around,” “Good Vibrations” and more, plus other songs.

Paul McCartney’s post-Beatlesband, Wings, is the subject of the new hit-filled musical anthology available in multiple formats (LPs, CDs and Blu-ray discs). It charts the band through its course of becoming one of the biggest-selling acts of all time, and it’s packed with songs including “Band on the Run,” “Listen to What the Man Said,” “With a Little Luck,” “Junior’s Farm,” “Live and Let Die,” “Helen Wheels,” “Silly Love Songs” and much more (Umusic).


Get your ya-ya’s out with the new Super Deluxe Edition of Black and Blue (Interscope/Ume), an colossolly expanded remix collection of The Rolling Stones’ groundbreaking 1976 album. Available as 5 LPS or 4 CDs, it contains all the hits—“Hot Stuff,” “Fool to Cry,” “Hand of Fate”—plus a gollywhopping amount of extras, including a Blu-ray of a live Stones concert, a 100-page book, outtakes and jams. I know: It’s only rock ‘n’ roll. But I like it!

Nov 07 2025
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Books, DVDs, History, Movies, Music, Pop Culture, TV

The Entertainment Forecast

Nov. 7 – Nov. 13

Reba’s ‘Happy’ again, a $200 million-dollar picture & oh, those minx-y ‘Morman Wives’

FRIDAY, Nov. 7
Happy’s Place
Reba McEntire (above) kicks off season two of her hit workplace sitcom with two back-to-back episodes as her character inherits her father’s tavern and discovers a new business partner—the half-sister she never knew she had (8 p.m., NBC).

Pluribus
New series from the creative team that brought us Better Call Saul and Breaking Bad is also set in Albuquerque, and stars Rhea Seehorn, Karolina Wydra and Carlos Manuel (Apple TV+).

Frankenstein
Director Guillermo del Toro’s bold new take on author Mary Shelley’s iconic horror classic stars Oscar Issac, Mia Goth, Christoph Waltz and Euphoria’s Jacob Elordi as the monster (Netflix). 

SATURDAY, Nov. 8
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction
Tune in to watch Bad Company, Chubby Checker (above), Joe Cocker, Cyndi Lauper, Outkast, Soundgarden and The White Stripes receive rock’s highest honor and be lauded in all-star tribute performances (8 p.m., Disney+).

Terry McMillan Presents: Preach, Pray, Love
After her release from prison, a former rap star (Karrueche Tran) finds a romantic soulmate in a charismatic young minister (Mark J.P. Hood) (8 p.m., Lifetime).

SUNDAY, Nov. 9
Killer Grannies
Oscar-nominated actress June Squibb hosts this new true-crime series about senior citizens who kill (8 p.m., Oxygen).

The Critics Choice Documentary Awards
Find out which films were voted by critics as the best documentary productions this year, with nominees including Orwell: 2+2 = 5, The Alabama Solution, Pee-Wee as Himself and The Perfect Neighbor (streaming on Facebook, YouTube and X).

MONDAY, Nov. 10
The Warfighters: Battle Stories
Two-hour documentary spotlights America’s elite Special Operations Forces and its war on terror fought by Army Rangers, Navy SEALS, Green Berets and Marines (8 p.m., History).

A Salute to Service 2025
Country star Trace Adkins (above) is featured in this program featuring rousing musical performances by the U.S. Army Field Band and others, plus profiles of veterans across the generations (9 p.m., PBS).

TUESDAY, Nov. 11
The Great War and the Great Gatsby
Carnegie Hall hosts this musical production—a concert with suspense and drama—exploring the experiences of World War I (8 p.m., PBS).

Mysteries Unearthed with Danny Trejo
Actor Trejo returns to host season two of this exploration of mysteries and buried treasures…like the remnants of a killer asteroid twice the size of the Superdome and a 1938 comic book worth a cool quarter of a million dollars (10 p.m., History)

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 12|
Picturing Shakespeare
There are only two accepted portraits of William Shakespeare that are considered “official,” but one that’s been hanging over a mantlepiece for the last 50 years could be the third. It could be worth as much as $200 million…if it is genuine (10 p.m., PBS).

Palm Royale
Kristen Wiig returns for season two of the comedy series set in the tony circles of Palm Beach high society. With Laura Dern, Carol Burnette, Allison Janney, Mindy Cohn and Ricky Martin (Apple TV+).

THURSDAY, Nov. 13
The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives
Season three of the Emmy-nominated series (above) brings more drama as friendship loyalties shift, trust is tested and a war over morality begins between #Momtok and #Dadtok groups (Hulu).

Tiffany Haddish Goes Off
Six-episode docuseries follows the Emmy award-winning comedian/actress on a journey to Africa on a girls’ trip with three childhood friends (Peacock).

READ ALL ABOUT IT

You probably knew some monumental creativity came from Italy, but you had no idea just how deep artistamazoic roots went down over the centuries. Find out in Italy: In the Footsteps of Great Artists (Thames & Hudson), author Nick Trend’s fascinating guided tour of more than 20 great artists who lived, worked and created timeless masterpieces in Florence, Bologna, Naples, Milan and other places on the Italian peninsula.

How did the universe begin? In First Light: Switching on the Stars at the Dawn of Time (Bloomsbury), British astrophysical expert Emma Chapman lays out the science of tracing the history of the cosmos and the very beginnings of the Cosmic Dawn, when the first stars burst into light. If you’re interested in what’s up there and how it all went down, it’s very enlightening!

Find out the full story about how a book by British author P.L. Travers made it to the screen in Making Mary Poppins (W.W. Norton), author Todd James Pearce’s wide-ranging, deep-digging tale of Walt Disney, the songwriting Sherman brothers (who wrote the iconic music for the 1964 film), and how the movie became a pop-cultural milestone. A must-read for Disney buffs!

The beat goes on in Backbeats: A History of Rock and Roll in Fifteen Drummers (Simon and Schuster). Music-historian author John Lingan unspools six decades of musical history through profiles of its backline timekeepers—the drummers—and their contributions to some of rock’s greatest hits. The guest list includes Ringo Starr, Hal Blaine, Dave Grohl and more. Totally dig-able.

BRING IT HOME

A ’70s classic now available for the first time in 4K and Blu-ray, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest stars Jack Nicholson in his first Oscar-winning role, as a patent in a mental facility who inspires his fellow patients to assert themselves. Louise Fletcher also got an Oscar for her role as the icy Nurse Rached.

It’s classic yuks galore with Laurel & Hardy: The Definitive Restorations Vol. 2, with newly remastered versions of eight “shorts” (from the late 1920s and ‘30s), plus a load of bonus content, including a 1936 promotional film, Galaxy of Stars, and This is Your Life: Laurel & Hardy, from 1954.

You’re never too old to rock ‘n’ roll! Or to get a giddy thrill watching Spinal Tap II: The End Continues, as David St. Hubbins, Nigel Tufnel and Derek Smalls (Michael McKeen, Christopher Guest and Harry Shearer) reunite for one final concert…with a couple of VERY special guests stopping by.

Get ready to laugh, ’cause The Naked Gun is back! The new hilarious remake of the 1988 cop-comedy stars Liam Neeson as the son of the investigator played by Leslie Nielsen in the original, putting his own spin on his role as a bumbling police lieutenant out to save the world from an evil genius. With Pamela Anderson and Danny Huston.

One of the year’s best horror flicks comes to DVD with Together (Neon), starring Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple who encounter a mysterious malevolent force that threatens to infect their lives, their love and their flesh in ways, that, well…make your skin crawl. It’s “body horror” in a twistedly original way.

NOW HEAR THIS

Just ahead of its milestone 100th anniversary, the venerable Grand Ole Opry is releasing Opry 100: Country’s Greatest Songs (Virgin Music Group), a hand-picked selection of 20 classic tunes (like “Your Cheatin’ Heart,” “El Paso,” “Crazy” and “Ring of Fire”) pulled from Opry broadcast archives of live performances by original artists (Hank Williams, Marty Robbins, Patsy Cline, Johnny Cash and more) as well as “next-gen” Opry members, like Kelsea Ballerini, Luke Combs and The Old Crow Medicine Show.

Oct 17 2025
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The Entertainment Forecast

What to watch, and more! Oct. 17 – Oct. 23

A new ‘Sheriff’ comes to town, country music hits ‘The Road’ and Charlie Brown re-discovers the Great Pumpkin!

Morena Baccarin stars in ‘Sheriff Country.’

FRIDAY, Oct. 17
Mr. Scorsese
Documentary explores the life, career and movie masterpieces of the acclaimed filmmaker, whose decade-spanning works include Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Goodfellas, Cape Fear and The Last Temptation of Christ (Apple TV+).

Sheriff Country
Fire Country spinoff stars Morena Baccarin as a straight-shootin’ sheriff in California balancing crime fighting, competition for her job and motherhood (9 p.m., CBS).

SATURDAY, Oct. 18
It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
It’s time again for the timeless adventure as Charlie Brown preps for a party, Snoopy sets his sights on the Red Baron and Linus awaits a pumpkin patch miracle (Apple TV+).

Anything But Gray|
New Southern-fried series follows designer Gray Benko as she transforms homes in Charleston, S.C., to bring out their character through color, whimsy and imaginative touches (1 p.m., Magnolia Network).

SUNDAY, Oct. 19
The Road
New singing competition is hosted by country stars Keith Urban, Blake Shelton and Gretchen Wilson (9 p.m., CBS).

Hal & Carter
Lili Reinhart, Betty Gilpin and Mark Ruffalo star in this drama about siblings whose closeness is both a blessing and a curse of co-dependence (Mubi).

MONDAY, Oct. 20
Ratified
Explore the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) through Virginia’s pivotal ratification battle led by Black women and a multi-racial, multi-generational coalition, which enshrined gender equality in America nearly a century after it was proposed (10 p.m., PBS).

Summertide
Drama about a marine biologist (Frank Rautenbach) who loses his wife to tragedy and moves with his rebellious teens back to his childhood home to begin again. But can the calm coastal waters hide the painful secrets roiling just beneath their surface? (Acorn TV).

TUESDAY, Oct. 21
Armed Only With a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud
Documentary about the first American journalist to die while reporting on the war in Ukraine, and how the Arkansas native covered some of the world’s most dangerous conflicts (9 p.m., HBO).

The Rise of RFK Jr.
Learn about the dramatic and controversial rise of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and how this son of a storied dynasty broke with the Democratic party and his family, stoked conspiracy theories and is now reshaping government and public health as the U.S. secretary of health (10 p.m., PBS).

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 22
Riot Women
Joana Scanlan, Rosalie Craig and Tamsin Greig star in this episodic drama about menopausal British women who form a punk band to enter a talent contest, but then find out they have a lot more to shout about than they imagined (BritBox).

Lazarus
Sam Clafin and Bill Nighy star in this new series about a man who becomes entangled in the mysteries surrounding the deaths of two family members (Prime).

THURSDAY, Oct. 23
Nobody Wants This
Season two begins of the romcom about a gentile podcaster (Kristen Bell) who falls in love with a Jewish rabbi (Adam Brody) (Netflix).

The Red King
New series about a police sergeant (Anjli Mohindra) reassigned to an isolated island with an eerie past, strange rituals and unexplained deaths (AMC+).

NOW HEAR THIS

You know her as lead singer of The Pretenders. Now Chrissy Hyde is singing a new tune, and she’s got a bunch of musical friends with her. On Duets Special (Rhino), her fourth album under her own name, she’s harmonizing with k.d. lang, Blondie’s Deborah Harry, Julian Lennon, Lucinda Williams, Rufus Wainwright and more in 13 stripped-down arrangements with minimal instrumentation on tunes like “(You’re My) Soul and Inspiration,” “It’s Only Love,” “Always on my Mind” and “Can’t Help Falling in Love.”

How kool is this? Re-live all the smooth funky groovery of Kool & The Gang on the new reissue of the band’s Greatest Hits (Umusic), available on limited-edition vinyl as well as CD. You’ll get “Jungle Boogie,” “Hollywood Swinging,” “Ladies Night,” “Too Hot,” “Celebration,” “Get Down On It” and more!

READ ALL ABOUT IT

Find out all sorts of inventive do-ers in Lives of the Great Makers (Thames & Hudson), with 40 biographies of people like furniture magnate Thomas Chippendale, painters and glass artists, goldsmiths, sculptors, designers and many more men and women who’ve made our world a better place through the craftiness of their hands. It’s a testament to the creativity and artistry all around us.

How do Bob Dylan’s song lyrics reveal his story? If the answer, my friend, isn’t “Blowin’ in the Wind,” you may find it in Bob Dylan: Things Have Changed (Melville House). Read as former Village Voice reporter Ron Rosenbaum takes an intriguing dive into the life of the enigmatic, shape-shifting Nobel-Prize-winning music-maker via the words of his songs, tracing his trajectory from hippie folkster to Greenwich Village cultural revolutionary, countrified crooner and proselytizing Christian.

In Wild Ocean, acclaimed wildlife photogs Peter and Beverly Pickford highlight the eye-popping, pristine beauties of our planet’s seas, inhabitants and coastal areas, at a time when overfishing, pollution and global warming have plunged their futures into question. (Thames & Hudson)

Named Vogue Living‘s Designer of the Year in 2024 and recognized by Architectural Digest (Germany) as one of the world’s true design influencers, author Fiona Lynch is renowned for her mastery of mood. Her bold style and intuitive ideas are on full display in Material Wonder (Thames & Hudson), a stunningly illustrated book in which she explores new materials and techniques for her brand of “spirited minimalism” to make spaces look like…well, like they should be in a book!

Curb Your Enthusiasm fans will love No Lessons Learned (Black Dog & Leventhal), with first-person interviews from cast members (Larry David, Cheryl Hines, Jeff Garlin, Richard Lewis and many more), directors, producers and others (guests like Jerry Seinfeld, Richard Kind and Ben Stiller) who helped make it a huge hit on its HBO run, all the way back to 2000.  Plus it’s packed with plot outlines, scripts, sketches, quotes and gads of never-before-seen behind-the-scenes pics.

Can you name the Black family who founded one of the country’s most durable construction dynasties?  You’ll find the answer in The Black Family Who Built America (Black Privilege Publishing), about Moses McKissak, a former slave who became an exceptional craftsman and launched a family business now its fifth generation.  It’s written by Cheryl MicKissack, a fifth-generation descendant of Moses who now leads the company.

Perfect bedtime reading the Halloween season, The Screen Chills Companion (McFarland) by Chris Fellner is a treasure trove for fans of scary movies during Hollywood’s “second wave” of horror in the 1940s, when monsters (Frankenstein, the Invisible Man, Dracula, the Wolf Man and more) were spawning all sorts of movie sequels.

BRING IT HOME

Re-bask in the opulence and intrigue of a bygone New York in The Guilded Age: The Complete Third Season (Warner Bros. Discovery), with all eight episodes of the HBO period drama starring Carrie Coon, Christine Baranski, Cynthia Nixon, Nathan Lane and Andrea Martin.

If you’re of an, ahem, certain age, you might remember Shari Lewis, the Peabody Award-winning ventriloquist, puppeteer and TV show host. Shari and Lamb Chop (kinolarber.com) tells her wide-ranging story—and how she created a puppet, Lamb Chop, for TV’s Captain Kangaroo in the mid-1950s, then parlayed that into success as a well-known children’s-TV icon through the decades to come.

Tom Cruise is back, baby, in Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning (Paramount), starring again as special agent Ethan Hunt in all kinds of perilous spy stuff, including escaping from a sunken submarine and hanging outside a biplane. Oh yeah, and trying to save the world! All in a day’s work!

Oct 10 2025
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The Entertainment Forecast

What to watch and more, Oct. 10- 16

Why we love John Candy, the horrors of John Wayne Gacy & a whole night of ‘NCIS’

FRIDAY, Oct. 10
John Candy: I Like Me
Heartfelt documentary tribute to the legendary and much-loved Canadian comedy icon, with stories and memories from Candy’s family, friends, collaborators and admirers—including Tom Hanks, whose son, Colin, directed (Prime Video).

Vicious
Dakota Fanning stars as a young woman who receives a mysterious gift from a late-night visitor, drawing her into a waking nightmare (Paramount+).

The Woman in Cabin 10
While on a luxury yacht for a travel assignment, a journalist (Kiera Knightly) witnesses a passenger thrown overboard, only to be told it didn’t happen. With Guy Pearce and Hannah Waddington (Netflix).

SATURDAY, Oct. 11
Monster in the Family: The Stacy Kananen Story
Based on a true story, this drama follows a young woman (Elisha Cuthbert) who finds herself entangled in a web of buried bodies and manipulation (8 p.m., Lifetime).

SUNDAY, Oct. 12
Matlock
In tonight’s “sneak peek” of season two, Kathy Bates returns to the TV role of lawyer Madeline Matlock (above) for the revived series that gender-flipped the 1980s original, which starred Andy Griffith (8:30 p.m., CBS).

The Chair Company
New comedy series debut about a man who finds himself investigating a far-reaching conspiracy after witnessing an embarrassing incident at work. Starring Tim Robinson, Lake Bell and Sophia Lillis (10 p.m., HBO Max).

MONDAY, Oct. 13
DMV
New workplace comedy starring Harriet Dyer and Tim Meadows, about a crew of lovable misfits (above) tackling bureaucracy, bad attitudes and busted printers—with minimum wage and maximum sarcasm (8:30 p.m., CBS).

Solar Opposites
Sixth and final season of the animated series about space aliens trying to live on a budget. Dan Stevens and Thomas Middleditch provide voices (Hulu).

TUESDAY, Oct. 14
NCIS Night
It’s all NCIS, all night, with season premieres of the flagship drama’s 23rd season, plus spinoffs NCIS: Origins and NCIS: Sydney (begins 8 p.m., CBS).

Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore
An intimate look at the life of the actress, the first deaf performer to win an Academy Award, as she shares her story in her native America Sign Language (9. p.m., PBS).

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 15
From Rails to Trails
Documentary narrated by actor Edward Norton about the movement, which began 60 years ago, to convert abandoned railroad trackways to public trails for cycling and walking (check local listings, PBS).

Murdaugh: Death in the Family
Series based on the real-life family drama of Maggie and Alex Murdaugh and the murder of the fourth-generation scion of a local legal dynasty. Starring Jason Clarke and Patricia Arquette (Hulu).

THURSDAY, Oct. 16
Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy
Limited series (above) dramatizes the evils of the notorious Gacy, who was convicted of kidnapping and murdering 33 young men in the 1970s. Starring Michael Chernus (from Severance), Gabriel Luna (The Last of Us) and James Dale Badge (1923) (Peacock).

NOW HEAR THIS

The political New York City activism of John Lennon and wife Yoko One is celebrated in Power to the People (Capitol/UME), a 12-disc boxed set with more than 100 tracks, a new remix of Lennon’s only full-length concert appearances after the Beatles, outtakes, home recordings, jam sessions and much more. Son Sean Lennon produced the project.

Get a big dose of downhome Texas Blues with The Last Real Texas Blues Album (Antone’s Records), part of the 50th anniversary celebration of the iconic Austin nightclub Antone’s. Fittingly, the album is filled with artists who’ve performed there, including The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Jimmie Vaughn, Charlie Sexton, Lil’ Ed Wilson and McKinley James, performing classics like “You’ll Lose a Good Thing,” “The Sky is Crying,” “Flip, Flop and Fly” and “Going Down.” Put it on, turn it up, and dig it.

READ ALL ABOUT IT

Fans of the British supergroup led by brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher will dig Oasis: Trying to Find a Way Out of Nowhere (Thames & Hudson), a photo-packed visual chronicle by acclaimed rock photog Jill Furmanovsky—who was given unparalleled access to countless worldwide performances, recording sessions and offstage moments, beginning in the band’s early ‘90s heyday.  With written commentary and insights by Noel about the wild ride of being in one of the top-selling groups of all time. 

Wanna look like a million bucks? Author Natalie Hammond tells (and shows) you how in Style Codes: Cher (Abrams), a guide to looking your best based on the singing star’s own “reinvention” to become an icon of class, glamor, success sand style. From gowns to jackets, boots, bell bottoms and hairstyles, you’ll find out what worked for Cher, and how to find inspiration for your own assets.

Look! Up in the sky! No, it’s not superman, but rather Aviary: The Bird in Contemporary Photography (Thames & Hudson), a stunning look at how more than 50 modern photographers artistically “captured” winged splendor, illustrating not only the eye-popping spectrum of color and “design” in the aerial world, but also the ways it’s always inspired us down here on the ground.

How do borders define our world? In Atlas of Borders (Thames & Hudson), geopolitical experts Delphine Papin and Bruno Tertrais reflect on the world through the lens of the seen and unseen things that split it up and separate it. Filled with maps and infographics, it’s a fascinating crash course in the ways, and the whys, the Earth has been subdivided and sliced up, leading to walls, migrations and wars.

As foodies know, there’s something special about good ol’ Southern cookin’. Author and food historian Michael J. Twitty’s Recipes From the American South (Phaidon) is a lip-smackin’ guide to more than 260 yummies of all sorts from our country’s Southland, from bread and biscuits, stews, sauces, sweets to main courses like chicken and dumplings, red-eye gravy and mint julips.

Do you believe in magic? Well, you might, after reading podcaster Pam Grossman’s Magic Maker (Penguin Random House), about how magic and spiritualism have been long associated with creativity—and how you can make the most of those same “supernatural” vibes. It’s trippy and cool and a combination of guidebook and history of spells, magic and witchery, and how they’ve been channeled for centuries to fuel creative arts of all kinds.

What’s in a word? In Unabridged: The Thrill of (and Threat to) the Modern Dictionary (Grove Atlantic), author Stefan Fatsis dives into the exotic world of America’s most famous publisher of dictionaries, Merriam-Webster, at a time when words are changing in many ways, including how we create, define, use and consume language. It’s a vibrant, colorful history of dictionaries and the company that made them household items, how spoken language makes winds its way into our lexicon, and who decides what those words mean. Word up!

Michael Jackson insiders reveal the high-stakes battle to revive the superstar’s reputation and sales mojo in the mid-‘90s after tabloids had started calling him “Wacko Jacko” and his personal life was widely known for its eccentricities. You’ve Got Michael (Trouser Press) avoids the controversies but goes right for the nuts ‘n’ bolts of keeping an outsized supersized career alive, as told by author Dan Beck, the Epic Records exec who worked for five years with the troubled superstar.

It’s been a while for most of us, likely, since we unfolded a paper map and used it for navigation. But such orienteering tools used to be the language essential to exploring and getting around—and they often had to be redrawn and rejiggered, as civilization advanced the geography morphed. The Library of Lost Maps (Bloomsbury) by geographer James Cheshire offers a scholarly tour, across the 19th and 20th centuries, of how maps remind us of our past…and provide gateways to the future for an ever-changing world in progress.

Dig into The Maya Myths: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes and Ancestors (Thames & Hudson), in which author Mallory E. Matsumoto presents a richly detailed look at the legends, beliefs and culture that over previous centuries built a thriving, complex society in what is now Mexico and Central America—before mysteriously collapsing and vanishing.

A spinoff of the popular TikTok series, F*cked Up Fairy Tales (W.W. Norton) by Liz Gotauco offers “grown-up” tellings of classic folktales from around the world, with gritty details that the “Disney-fied versions” conveniently omitted—of homicidal royals, cursed commoners, carnal couplings and all manner of beasts…and beastly behavior. For anyone who likes their mythology refreshingly bawdy, dig in!

Don’t ever tell anybody they’re “irreplaceable,” especially after you read Mary Roach’s Replaceable You (W.W. Norton), a sprightly exploration of the human body. You’ll better understand the many ways science and technology have risen to the challenges of altering (or outright replacing) our skin, our hair, our organs, our breasts and bones and teeth and just about everything else. (W.W. Norton)

BRING IT HOME

Ready for a good scare? Weapons, one of the year’s best supernatural horror flicks, depicts an unsettling scenario about a town in a panic when all the children from a classroom mysteriously disappear—all, that is, except one. Starring Josh Brolin and Julia Garner. Bonus features take you inside the making of the flick (Warner Bros. Discovery).

Joaquin Phoenix, Austin Butler, Emma Stone and Pedro Pascal star in director Ari Aster’s Eddington (A24), a dark comedy set in a small town during the COVID-19 pandemic where disagreements cause political and social turmoil.

Sep 12 2025
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The Entertainment Forecast

What to watch, and more! Sept. 12 – 18

A new morning for ‘The Morning Show,’ honoring TV’s top performers & meet the real ‘Top Guns’

Reese Witherspoon & Jennifer Aniston return to ‘The Morning Show.’

FRIDAY, Sept. 12
Lost in the Jungle
True story about a deadly plane crash that stranded four young siblings deep in the Columbia rain forest, sparking a dramatic rescue mission in a race against time (9 p.m., National Geographic).

Vampirina: Teenage Vampire
New series about a tween bloodsucker (Mykal-Michelle Harris) who leaves the safety of Transylvania to attend an arts boarding school and cultivate her passion for music (8 p.m., Disney Channel). 

SATURDAY, Sept. 13
A Husband to Die For
The horrifying story of a pregnant woman who is savagely attacked in her home and left for dead, only to discover it was all orchestrated by her very own husband. Starring Keana Lyn Bastidas and Marilu Henner (Lifetime).

Grace for the World
Live performances from Pharrell Williams, Jennifer Hudson, Andrea Bocelli, John Legend, Jelly Roll and more will air from St. Peter’s Square, marking the first time such a musical televised event has ever occurred from the heart of Vatican City (streaming on Disney+, Hulu and ABC News Live) 

SUNDAY, Sept. 14
The Ride With Norman Reedus
Climb aboard for season seven with motorcycle enthusiast and Walking Dead star Norman Reedus on more epic road trips around the world (AMC and AMC+).

The Emmy Awards
Comedian Nate Bargatze hosts tonight’s 77th annual presentation honoring the year’s top TV shows and talent (8 p.m., CBS).

MONDAY, Sept. 15
Celebrity Weakest Link
Jane Lynch returns as host of the cutthroat game show with stars from TV, sports and standup comedy (8 p.m., Fox). 

Antiques Roadshow
The durable docuseries continues its 29th season with all-new “vintage” episodes, looking back at memorable objects from 15 years ago and accessing what they’re worth today (8 p.m., PBS).

TUESDAY, Sept. 16

The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City
Season six begins with a supersized crossover episode as the girls prepare to charter the boat and crew of Below Deck Down Under for a glamorous cruise (8 p.m., Bravo).

Top Guns: The Next Generation
There’s no Tom Cruise, but this new six-part series does take you inside the U.S. Navy’s elite aviation program to meet the student pilots and go inside their rigorous  training program (8 p.m., National Geographic).

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 17
Academy of Country Music Honors
Carly Pearce hosts this celebration of country superstars, including Clint Black, Tim McGraw, K.T. Oslin, Mary Chapin Carpenter (8 p.m., Fox).

Electric Bloom
New music-themed comedy mockumentary series about the young women (above) who make up the “world’s biggest band” (Disney +).

The Morning Show
Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston return to lead the star-stuffed cast for season four of the award-winning drama about goings-on (AI, love triangles, coverups, cutthroat competition, corporate meddling and ghosts of the past) at a NYC TV network in a highly polarized America (Apple TV+).

THURSDAY, Sept. 18
Sounds of Summer
Feel-good true story about Swedish pop sensation Gyllene Tilder, one of the most successful bands in Sweden ever, led by Pat Gessle, who would go on to co-found the group Roxette (Viaplay).

Black Rabbit
A rising-star restaurateur (Jude Law) is forced into New York’s criminal underworld in this limited thriller series when his chaotic brother (Jason Bateman) returns to town with loan sharks on his trail (Netflix).

READ ALL ABOUT IT

Since the beginning of time, humans have wondered what it would be like to fly above the earth, like birds. The new 25th anniversary edition of Earth from Above, by Yann Arthus-Bertrand, combines original images with new photography and contemporary insights from environmental experts to show worldwide, bird’s-eye-view splendors of our planet while gauging our progress as caretakes over the past three decades.

Here, kitty kitty. Feline fanciers will love City Cats of Instanbul (Thames & Hudson), a photographic journey by photographer Marcel Heijnen into the lives of the felines that live on the streets of Turkey’s largest metropolis, one of civilization’s oldest outposts.

Take an eye-popping tour of some prize-winning buildings in Assemble: Building Collective (Thames & Hudson), a look at some 40 major works from a design group that’s been called the future of architecture for its emphasis on community-based, collaborative projects in Great Britain, rural Japan and France.

You’ve no doubt hear about “making a deal with the Devil.” Devil’s Contract (Melville House) by Ed Simon takes a deep dive into the history of the Faustian bargain—from ancient times to bluesman Robert Johnson, into modern day—illustrating how sacrificing our principles in pursuit of power can invite all kinds of social ills. It’s a fascinating plunge into the many twists of the enduring mythology of selling our souls.   

NOW HEAR THIS

Celebrate the 40th anniversary of Phil Collins’ hit 1985 album No Jacket Required (Atlantic) with this newly remastered 4-LP box set. In addition to the hits repressed on 180-gram hi-fidelity vinyl (“Sussido,” “One More Night,” “Don’t Lose My Number,” “Only You Know and I Know”), there are additional live tracks, including demos and a recording from Collin’s appearance at Live Aid.

Version 1.0.0

Get a taste of down-home Texas Blues with The Last Real Texas Blues Album (Antone’s Records), honoring the 50th anniversary of the iconic Austin nightclub Antone’s. Fittingly, the album is filled with artists who’ve performed there, including The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Jimmie Vaughn, Charlie Sexton, Lil’ Ed Wilson and McKinley James, performing classics like “You’ll Lose a Good Thing,” “The Sky is Crying,” “Flip, Flop and Fly” and “Going Down.” Put it on, turn it up, and dig it.

Aug 22 2025
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The Entertainment Forecast

What to watch, and more, Aug. 22 – Aug. 28

A superhero splurge, the new Bill Murray flick & Chris Hemsworth’s quest for a better life

FRIDAY, Aug. 22
Long Story Short
Animated comedy from the creator of BoJack Horseman follows the ups, downs, ins and outs, joys and disappointments of a family voiced by  Paul Reiser, Abbi Jacobson, Dave Franco and Max Greenfield (Netflix).

James Can Eat
What’s it like to be a competitive eater, able to down a pan of hot dogs or nearly 60 doughnuts? This documentary takes you inside the ups, down and urrrps of James Webb, Australia’s top-ranked eater, as he pushes his gastro boundaries on his quest to dethrone the “sport’s” icon, Joey Chestnut (Prime).

SATURDAY, Aug. 23
Girl in the Cellar
A single mom resorts to extreme measures to control her teenage daughter, locking her away in the basement—the same place the mother was held captive by her abusive father years ago. Yikes! (8 p.m., Lifetime). 

DC Movie Marathon
Fans can geek through the p.m. with these three movies based on comic books: Justice League (2017), Black Adam (2022) and Man of Steel (2013) (starts 12 noon, TBS).

SUNDAY, Aug. 24
Unforgotten on Masterpiece
In the new season, Inspectors James (Sinéad Keenan) and Khan (Sanjeev Bhaskar) return to uncover the truth behind a dismembered body found in a marsh and connect the dots of people with whom the victim was somehow linked (10 p.m., PBS).

Solo
Talented young individuals confront challenges and distractions, including stage fright and substance abuse, as they chase their dreams in Norway’s vibrant arts scene (Viaplay).

MONDAY, Aug. 25
Limitless: Live Better Now
Filmmaker Darren Aronofsky and actor Chris Hemsworth team up for this docuseries filmed across six countries over two years, blending cutting-edge science with age-old wisdom about how we can all start living better, addressing such issues as pain, fear and cognitive decline. (8 p.m., National Geographic).

The Friend
Bill Murray and Naomi Watts star in this heartwarmer (above) about a writer, her best friend and a 150-pound Great Dane named Apollo (Paramount+).

TUESDAY, Aug. 26
Playing Nice
Brit series about two couples who face a difficult decision when they discover their toddlers were switched at birth in a hospital mix-up. With James Norton, James McArdle, Jessica Brown Findlay and Posy Sterling (BritBox).

Baby Assassins 3
Martial-arts comedy franchise’s newest entry, about a group of young women taking on a brutal freelancer who hopes to take their place in the stone-cold-killer food chain (check streaming services).  

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 27
The Terminal List: Dark Wolf
New original series from the bestselling author of The Terminal List stars Taylor Kitsch as a former Navy SEAL who dives into the world of espionage with CIA Special Ops. With Chris Pratt (Prime Video). 

THURSDAY, Aug. 28
The Thursday Murder Club
Chris Columbus directs this lively romp, based on the bestselling novel, about a group of retires into solving cold-case murders for fun who find themselves in a real-life whodunit. Starring Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Ben Kingsley and Celia Imrie (Netflix).

Kidnapped: The Chloe Ayling Story
Ripped-from-the-headlines true crime thriller about a British model (Nadia Parkes) whose kidnapping creates a media firestorm accusing her of faking it all (AMC+).

NOW HEAR THIS

John Fogerty marks the big 8-0 birthday with his new album, Legacy: The Creedence Clearwater Revival Years (Concord), and its new re-recordings of 20 classic CCR tunes including “Proud Mary,” “Fortunate Son,” “Bad Moon Rising,” and “Lookin’ Out My Back Door,” “Run Through the Jungle” and “Have You Ever Seen the Rain.” It’s a family affair, produced by Fogerty’s son, Scott, with wife Julie as executive producer. 

Knock knock. Who’s there? Right! It’s The Who, with Live at the Oval 1971, a newly released live recording of the iconic British band’s robust 15-song set for a Bangla Desh famine relief effort in South London. Tracks include “Substitute,” “I Can’t Explain,” “Behind Blue Eyes,” “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” “Pinball Wizard” and, of course, “My Generation.” And you’ll also hear drummer Keith Moon and guitarist Pete Townshend smash their gear—a Who in-concert signature—at the close. 

BRING IT HOME

Pierce Brosnan and Samuel L. Jackson top the cast of The Unholy Trinity (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment), a tale of Old West revenge, secrets and buried treasure in 1870s Montana. And hey, there’s David Arquette, Tim Daly (from TV’s Wings) and Yellowstone’s Q’orianaka Kilcker, who starred as Pocahontas in The New World.

Holy moly! The Conjuring, the 2013 demons-among-us film that spawned a franchise, is now available as a 4K Ultra HD restoration (Warner Bros, Discovery Home Entertainment). Vera Farminga and Patrick Wilson star as real-life paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Newman, caught in the middle of the most terrifying case of their lives. And it’s all based on a true story! 

READ ALL ABOUT

When does science fiction become science fact? Find out in Madeline Schwartzman’s Alive (Thames & Hudson), a brisk and timely look at rebellious AI, realistic robots, synthetic biology, digital snacks and other once-implausible realities of modern life. Indeed, it will make you ponder what it means to be “alive,” and just how humankind may (or may not) fit into the future.

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