The It List: Mark Wahlberg shows off real-life entourage, Jamie Foxx and John Stamos debut TV shows, WWE legends track down memorabilia and the best in pop culture the week of April 12, 2021
The It List is Yahoo’s weekly look at the best in pop culture, including movies, music, TV, streaming, games, books, podcasts and more. During the coronavirus pandemic, when most of us are staying at home, we’re going to spotlight things you can enjoy from your couch, whether solo or in small groups, and leave out the rest. With that in mind, here are our picks for April 12-18, including the best deals we could find for each. (Yahoo Entertainment may receive a share from purchases made via links on this page.)
STREAM IT: Mark Wahlberg can't stop, won't stop pursuing fresh business opportunities in HBO Max series Wahl Street
He's been a funky rapper, an underwear model, a baller producer of HBO shows and a big, bright, shining movie star. Now Mark Wahlberg is beefing up the "entrepreneur" entry on his extensive resume. The HBO Max reality series, Wahl Street, follows the 49-year-old jack of all trades as he tries to grow his various businesses, ranging from the fast food chain, Wahlburgers, to the fitness studio, F45, and the apparel label, Municipal. In place of party-hearty personalities like Turtle and Johnny Drama, Wahlberg's new entourage includes tycoons like UFC founder Dana White, and former Disney head honcho Michael Eisner, who show up during the course of the series to provide their own insights into launching and maintaining major brands. The first few episodes take place in the heady days of 2019 when the actor and aspiring business titan bounces between shooting movies like Spenser Confidential and maintaining his business portfolio, with the help of old friends, such as former Funky Bunch collaborator Ashey Ace. Midway through the series, though, the coronavirus pandemic puts everything on immediate shutdown, forcing Wahlberg back into his lush California estate as his financing dries up and chances of success seem increasingly dim. Fortunately, he figures out a way to launch scrappy new ventures… with his kids. Can we get an "Oh yeah"? — Ethan Alter
Wahl Street premieres Thursday, April 15 on HBO Max.
WATCH IT: WWE legends track down iconic items amid a memorabilia craze
As the sports memorabilia market continues to boom, WWE has taken notice and is capitalizing on the frenzy, partnering with A&E on an all-new series, WWE's Most Wanted Treasures. Hosted by WWE's Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon and her husband, fellow WWE executive Paul "Triple H" Levesque, the new show will take viewers on a journey to find the most iconic items in professional wrestling history and explain the significance behind them. In each installment, McMahon and Levesque will lead a team of memorabilia collectors and WWE stars past and present as they search for items, such as the original Kane mask, Ric Flair's butterfly robe, and even Andre the Giant's passport.
The first episode features WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley, who's best known for his Mankind character. During WWE's heralded "Attitude Era" in the 1990s, Mankind debuted as a deranged rival of the Undertaker before becoming an overwhelming fan favorite and, years later, WWE champion. Although fans will remember Foley's ring attire being a tattered, white dress shirt, when he first joined WWE in 1996, Mankind initially wore a brown tank top with his logo. Seemingly tucked away in a wrestling memorabilia collection somewhere in the U.S., it's now up to McMahon, Levesque, Foley and their team to track down — and possibly reclaim — the original shirt. — Anthony Sulla-Heffinger
WWE's Most Wanted Treasures premieres Sunday, April 18 at 10 p.m. on A&E.
STREAM IT: Indie drama Reefa tells timely, true story of how police violence impacts an immigrant community
As the George Floyd trial plays out in a Minneapolis courtroom and on TV screens around the world, there's a renewed focus on the future of policing in America's big cities. Jessica Kavana Dornbuschs's sophomore feature dramatizes the true story of a community impacted by police violence. In 2013, 18-year-old Miami Beach graffiti artist, Israel "Reefa" Hernandez (played in the film by Falcon and the Winter Soldier co-star Tyler Dean Flores) died in police custody, days before his immigrant family received their green cards. Reefa recounts the last few months of his life, as he spread his creative wings and plotted a move to to the bright lights of New York to pursue his dreams of art-world stardom. But as this exclusive clip illustrates, he's unwittingly on a collision course with a violent police officer (Ricardo Chavira) who seems overly eager to make an example of hiFriendsm. In real life, no charges were brought against the officer accused of Hernandez's death; the City of Miami Beach paid $100,000 to settle a wrongful-death lawsuit in 2018. — E.A.
Reefa premieres Friday, April 16 on most VOD platforms, including Amazon and FandangoNOW.
WATCH: Aya Cash and William Jackson Harper head to Splitsville in winning comedy We Broke Up
Breaking up is hard to do — but very fun to watch in Jeff Rosenberg's winning anti-rom-com We Broke Up, which marks the second feature film from the veteran TV director (Veep, The League) after 2013's OJ: The Musical (Rosenberg co-wrote the script with Laura Jacqmin). Part (500) Days of Summer, part Wet Hot American Summer — but conspicuously missing "summer" in its title — the comedy co-stars Aya Cash (You're the Worst, The Boys) and William Jackson Harper (The Good Place, Midsommar) as a longtime couple who very inconveniently calls it quits just days ahead of her sister's summer camp-set wedding, where they decide to keep their split a secret until after the festivities. You can sample a taste of the awkwardness cake that presents in the exclusive clip above. — Kevin Polowy
We Broke Up opens in theaters April 16 and on digital/VOD on April 23.
STREAM IT: Sawyer Spielberg joins the family business with big-screen acting debut, Honeydew
He may belong to Hollywood royalty, but Sawyer Spielberg — son of Steven Spielberg and Kate Capshaw — gets down and dirty for his first film as a leading man. Indie horror movie Honeydew casts him as one-half of a road-tripping couple, Sam (Spielberg) and Rylie (Malin Barr), who find a prime camp-out spot. But as this exclusive clip shows, their tent turns out to be on private land, and the two are forced to seek overnight refuge in a remote farmhouse with an ultra-strange family. Before you can say Leatherface, things take a dark turn into Texas Chainsaw Massacre territory as the lovers discover their hosts, including matriarch Karen (Barbara Kingsley), have very specific appetites. Look for a surprise third act cameo from a certain HBO star that'll make you alternately scream and cheer. — E.A.
Honeydew premieres Tuesday, April 13 on digital HD, DVD and VOD services.
STREAM IT: Take your kids on a musical journey with Netflix's newest animated film, Arlo the Alligator Boy
Who said alligators can't be cuddly? The titular star of Netflix's new cartoon feature, Arlo the Alligator Boy, is a cute-as-a-button bipedal gator guaranteed to sing and dance his way into your family's hearts. Launched on a Moses-style river journey from New York to Louisiana as an infant, Arlo (voiced by Michael J. Woodard) returns to the big city as a precocious 10-year-old hoping to meet his long-missing mom and dad. Along the way, he makes a family of his own with a group of outcast friends, including tiger girl Alia (Haley Tju) and literal walking furball Furlecia (Queer Eye's Jonathan Van Ness). He also keeps his spirits up by regularly bursting into song: this exclusive clip from the film spotlights one of his toe-tapping musical numbers. And Arlo's adventures won't end when the credits roll: a spin-off series is coming to the streaming service later this year. — E.A.
Arlo the Alligator Boy premieres Friday, April 16 on Netflix.
STREAM IT: Scream queen Barbara Crampton gets a bloodsuckingly great showcase in vampire horror-comedy Jakob's Wife
Barbara Crampton's career as a horror icon stretches back 35 years to Stuart Gordon's immortal cult favorite, Re-Animator. Kudos to writer/director Travis Stevens for giving her the perfect anniversary present with Jakob's Wife, a freaky, and funny, star vehicle for the now 62-year-old star of horror. Crampton plays Anne Fedder, the wife of a small-town pastor (played by fellow genre favorite Larry Fessenden), who is tempted to stray from her marriage by the return of an old flame. But that date is interrupted by a bloodsucking party crasher who transforms Anne into a fang-baring minion. Now literally vamped up, she enlists a reluctant Jakob in fighting her would-be master — check out this exclusive clip of one of their early attempts at vampire hunting — and the two fall in love all over again. The mix of gory horror and high-concept humor brings to mind Peter Jackson's early horror favorites, like Bad Taste and Dead Alive, and Stevens gives Crampton the runway to be a scary, sassy and sexy anti-heroine. We're here for Jakob's Wife 2: Veins From a Marriage. — E.A.
Jakob's Wife premieres April 16 in theaters, and on digital and on demand services including Amazon.
STREAM IT: Jamie Foxx kinda sorta plays himself in Dad Stop Embarrassing Me!
A deeply personal project for Foxx, this comedy series about a man whose teenage daughter suddenly moves in with him, is inspired by his relationship with his own daughter. In fact, 27-year-old Corinne serves as one of his co-executive producers. The show also marks the reunion of Foxx with David Alan Grier, one of his co-stars from '90s sketch comedy classic In Living Color. Grier plays a character based loosely on the Oscar-winning Foxx's stepfather. Expect to see plenty of physical comedy, as Foxx rocks skinny jeans and busts a move, much to the dismay of his TV daughter (Kyla-Drew) — and that's just in the trailer! — Raechal Shewfelt
Dad Stop Embarrassing Me! premieres Wednesday, April 14 on Netflix.
HEAR IT: Eric Church gets to the Heart of the matter
The country superstar and pro-vaccination posterboy's latest release, Heart, is the first installment in his ambitious trilogy Heart & Soul, with the fan-club-only vinyl exclusive & and Soul following on April 20 and 23, respectively. Church recently told Entertainment Weekly that the 24-song, three-disc collection — recorded during a creative spree in the tumultuous year of 2020 when he was in desperate need of a "reset" — is his "favorite project ever." — Lyndsey Parker
Heart & Soul by Eric Church is available Friday, April 16 to download/stream on Apple Music.
BOOK IT: Friends will be there for you via a new virtual tour of the show's NYC locations
Unable to celebrate the impending Friends reunion special with a Big Apple visit with your own friends? Who says your life has to be this way? On Location Tours has devised a virtual Friends tour of 18 locations featured on the classic "Must See TV" sitcom. The 40-minute video excursion includes stops at the exterior of Monica's apartment building, Ross's stomping grounds at the Museum of Natural History and the Bloomingdale's where Rachel toiled as an assistant buyer. Your ticket comes with a box of Friends merch that'll be shipped to your home just in time to re-watch the whole series all over again on HBO Max. — E.A.
Tickets for the Friends virtual tour are available at the official On Locations Tours website.
HEAR IT: Greta Van Fleet return charging out of the Gate
Michigan's Grammy-winning but polarizing Gen Z retro-rockers follow up their 2018 full-length debut, Anthem of the Peaceful Army, with The Battle at Garden's Gate. Produced by Greg Kurstin (Foo Fighters, Beck, Paul McCartney), the sophomore effort is, according to the band, a "worldly" attempt to expand on their original Zeppelin-esque sound. — L.P.
The Battle at Garden's Gate by Greta Van Fleet is available Friday, April 16 to download/stream on Apple Music.
STREAM IT: John Stamos goes back to school in Big Shot
Think the Mighty Ducks, but make it John Stamos instead of Emilio Estevez, girls instead of boys and basketball instead of hockey. The always charming Stamos stars as a men's basketball coach booted from the NCAA for a Bobby Knight-like incident. Now his only chance at redemption is to coach at a fancy, girls-only high school, where he has to learn to connect with a very different set of players. The Full House alum is joined by Yvette Nicole Brown, Boston Public's Jessalyn Gilsig and Richard Robichaux (Ocean's Eight) on this sitcom created by Ally McBeal and Big Little Lies producer David E. Kelley. Most of the players are portrayed by up-and-coming actresses that Stamos has teased are "going to be big stars." — R.S.
Big Shot premieres Friday, April 16 on Disney+.
PLAY IT: Here's a Transformers robot that's most definitely more than meets the eye
Autobots, roll out! Hasbro has teamed up with experts Robosen Robotics to create a fully interactive version of everyone's favorite Transformer: Optimus Prime. Available for pre-order now on Hasbro Pulse, this 11-years-in-the-making consumer robot captures the Autubot commander's likeness in exacting detail. But the real innovations here are the functions you can program and execute via a voice or mobile app, up to and including Optimus's transformation from a giant bot into a giant truck. What kid — or adult, for that matter — wouldn't want to command their own Transformer? — E.A.
The Optimus Prime Auto-Converting Programmable Advanced Robot is available for pre-order on Hasbro Pulse.
HEAR IT: The Offspring are on a Roll once again
The O.C. pop-punk band's 10th album — and first album in nine years — reunites them with producer Bob Rock, the soundsmith behind the board for such massive rock opuses as the Cult's Sonic Temple, Mötley Crüe's Dr. Feelgood and multiple Metallica records. So, expect plenty good, headbanging times on Dexter Holland and company's Let the Bad Times Roll. In addition to nine brand-new tracks, the album features their 2015 WWE Elimination Chamber theme song and No. 1 on the mainstream rock chart hit, "Coming for You," and a new piano version of their 1997 power ballad "Gone Away." — L.P.
Let the Bad Times Roll by the Offspring is available Friday, April 16 to download/stream on Apple Music.
— Video produced by Jon San and edited by John Santo
