Streaming this week: Julia Garner is 'The Assistant,' out on Hulu
Here's a collection curated by The Associated Press' entertainment journalists of what's arriving on TV, streaming services and music platforms this week.
Movies
“The Assistant”: Julia Garner stars in writer-director Kitty Green's film about the day in the life of a young assistant to a bigwig in the entertainment industry, available on Hulu now. What seems like a dream job devolves into a searing indictment of the subtle and outward abuses that are tolerated or ignored in the business of Hollywood. AP National Writer Jocelyn Noveck wrote in her review that Garner, “Does a lot with a little. She has no big speeches, no tantrums, no floods of tears. It's the ultimate unshowy part.”
“Radioactive”: As if you needed another reminder that you haven't been as productive as you'd wished during quarantine, you can dive deep into the life of overachiever Marie Curie in the new film from director Marjane Satrapi available Friday on Amazon Prime. Rosamund Pike plays the Nobel Prize-winner.
French director Jacques Demy's only American film, “Model Shop,” is playing on TCM Saturday night. The 1969 film follows an uninspired architect and a French woman (Anouk Aimee, reprising her role in Demy's “Lola”) across one day in Los Angeles. Demy wanted Harrison Ford to play the architect and even drove around the city location scouting with him, but the studio insisted on a bigger name: “2001: A Space Odyssey's” Gary Lockwood.
- AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr
Television
Jim Gaffigan's observational stand-up is wryly funny and hugely successful but falls well short of groundbreaking. That changes with “Jim Gaffigan: The Pale Tourist,” which is downright daring in its approach if not content. The comedian, a former Elgin and Barrington resident, set himself the challenge of parachuting into a country, sampling its culture, history and food and, based on the one visit, writing and performing a new routine. The two-part Amazon Prime Video special, taped in Spain and Canada and debuting Friday, captures part of the comedian-actor's 2019-2020 worldwide tour that's been stalled by the pandemic.
What better distraction than a psychological thriller? In Acorn TV's “The Nest,” Dan and Emily are a happily married Glasgow couple longing for the parenthood that's eluded them - and 18-year-old Kaya enters their lives. Is her offer to act as a surrogate in exchange for helping her get on the right path an answered prayer or something less benevolent? Martin Compston (“Line of Duty”), Sophie Rundle (“Bodyguard”) and Mirren Mack lead a cast that includes Shirley Henderson (“Bridget Jones”). Two episodes are out on Acorn TV, with weekly episodes debuting Mondays through Aug. 3.
Bring out the peanuts and Cracker Jacks, baseball is back! The season is short and fans will be missing from the stands but, let's face it, any semblance of traditional life is welcome amid the pandemic. The planned 60-game schedule kicked off Thursday night on ESPN. Other Major League Baseball teams jump in Friday, with nationally televised games carried by ESPN, TBS, Fox, FS1 or the MLB Network.
- AP Television Writer Lynn Elber
Music
A songwriter who has won Grammys for penning hits for Tim McGraw and Little Big Town, Lori McKenna steps back into the forefront with her 11th album “The Balladeer.” It will be released Friday and features 10 songs that are personal, focusing on her relationships with her husband, children and family. Little Big Town's Karen Fairchild and Kimberly Schlapman return the favor to McKenna, who co-wrote their hit “Girl Crush” and other tunes for the country group, by singing on album opener “This Town Is a Woman.”
- AP Music Editor Mesfin Fekadu