Most Anticipated Movies and TV Shows

Hello, hello, hello! Michael Patrick King and his star Lisa Kudrow’s iconic Valerie Cherish returns to HBO for its third season later this month, like a beautiful comet that only occasionally orbits the Earth. (No matter what the network says, we refuse to call this the final season.) But first, the season 3 premiere will take place at SXSW. “The Comeback” aired for two glorious seasons, one in 2005 and the second in 2014. In its third season, Valerie, the hard-working sitcom actress who actually won an Emmy for her season two finale, stars in the AI-written comedy. Valerie, we want to see that.

In #SkyKing, director Patricia E. Gillespie tells what should be a relatively simple tale. In August 2018, 28-year-old Richard “Bebo” Russell, who worked for Horizon Airlines, stole an empty plane, boarded it, and crashed it into the ground, killing himself. But #SkyKing, which uses audio of Russell’s conversations with air traffic controllers on the ground at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport as its narrative spine, is anything but straightforward, as Gillespie turns the documentary into a rumination on mental health and class in America. (Soon to be available to more people: Produced by ABC News and Season 5, #SkyKing premieres April 14 on Hulu.)

Directed by Jennifer Holness and Sidney Fassel, #whileBlack (the festival’s selling title) tells the parallel stories of Darnella Frazier, who filmed the murder of George Floyd in 2020 (age 17), and Diamond Reynolds, who appeared on Facebook Live in 2016 at the moment her boyfriend Philandro Castile was killed by police. While the video evidence of these deaths exposed the crimes of police officers to the world, this documentary also indicts the social media platforms that profit from the pain of Black people. The idea of ​​“#whileBlack” lingers long after the documentary ends.

A24 and David E. Kelley’s film adaptation of Luffy Thorpe’s best-selling novel Margo’s Got Money Trouble. This comedic family drama tells the story of Margo, an aspiring writer played by Dakota Fanning, who becomes unexpectedly pregnant and must find a way to support herself. She relies on her mother, a former Hooters waitress played by Michelle Pfeiffer, and her absentee father, played by former professional wrestler Nick Offerman, to find a way to pay her bills. Stay tuned for never-before-seen OnlyFans storylines and fun appearances from Marcia Gay Harden, Greg Kinnear, Michael Angarano, Nicole Kidman, Rico Nasty, and Lindsay Normington. The first three episodes will be released on Apple TV on April 15th and will be available weekly thereafter.

Jonathan Glatzer, known for writing and producing “Succession,” “Better Call Saul” and “Bad Sisters,” is producing the new Silicon Valley drama, which is set to premiere on April 12 on AMC and AMC+. The series, led by Billy Magnussen, Sarah Goldberg, and Zach Galifianakis, looks inside the “distorted dreams, gigantic egos, and moral lapses” of a self-proclaimed inventor. of the future. ” seems like the perfect time for the jaded billionaire to return to television. Lucy Punch, Simon Helberg, Rob Corddry and Megan Rath also star, with Randall Park making a guest appearance. Glatzer will debut the series at SXSW with Magnussen and director Lucy Forbes.

A toxic couple travels together to a secluded cabin. Each believes the other is there to try to reconnect, and each has their own plans. That means killing your opponent. Shot in Finland, this dark comedy-thriller is from Lonely Island director Jorma Taccone. This will be his first directorial role since 2016’s “Popstar: Never Stop Never Stop”. The film stars Samara Weaving and Jason Segel, with supporting roles from Timothy Olyphant, Juliette Lewis, Paul Guilfoyle, and Keith Jardine. After premiering at SXSW on March 14th, Over Your Dead Body will be released in theaters on April 24th.

While the industry debates whether ballet is dead as an art form, writer/director Vicki Jewison’s Pretty Lethal follows a group of ballerinas as they fight to avoid a more literal death. The headliner features a “so-and-so” cast of Gen Z actresses, including Iris Apatow, Lana Condor, Millicent Simmons, Avantika and Maddie Ziegler, as dancers stranded in a remote forest who rely on their training to survive. Judging by the bloody leotard and creepy smile on Uma Thurman’s face in the first look photo, this is the kind of thriller that will make or break SXSW. (And the rest of you ballet lovers can join the party when the movie hits Amazon Prime Video on March 25th.)

Dakota Fanning, Jake Johnson and Cory Michael Smith play one half of a messy love triangle involving divorce, children and an unexpected reunion in The Sun, written and directed by SXSW darling Joe Swanberg. The 2005 edition of the festival screened Swanberg’s directorial debut, Kissing on the Mouth, as well as films by Andrew Bujalski, the Duplass brothers, and others who were later crowned as pioneers of the “mumblecore” movement in American cinema. Like her colleagues, Swanberg continued to refine her style over the years, returning to Austin with such masterpieces as “Hannah Takes the Stairs” (2007) and “Nights and Weekends” (2008). With The Sun Never Sets, his 10th SXSW premiere, Swanberg prepares for a triumphant return home.

When Netflix released the short documentary film “The Dads” in 2023, viewers were moved by the deep care and love the five titular fathers had for their transgender children. The same goes for the feature-length version directed by Lucina Fischer, which unfortunately requires a change in tone. Three years later, the United States is in the midst of a second Trump administration that has systematically dismantled the legal protections and social acceptance that transgender people rely on. Produced by Dwyane Wade, this doc depicts in an intimate and truthful style not only a community in pain, but also a family doing their best to alleviate the pain.

Do families make scary movies together? In a very meta twist, it tells the story of the Smith family, who use their farm to shoot a low-budget horror film, directed by Kevin Bacon and starring opposite his wife (Kyla Sedgwick) and children (Soci Bacon, Travis Bacon). But things go completely dysfunctional on the “set” when a real corpse shows up. It’s a chance for the Bacon family to become the Barrymore family of slasher movies.

The original 2019 version was a deliciously deranged riff on The Most Dangerous Game, with not only bloody hide-and-seek, but also socio-economic commentary. Grace McCauley (Samara Weaving) may have survived her fiancé and his family’s attempt to murder her in the first film, but she’s still not out of danger. In the sequel to “Ready or Not,” Grace is forced to take out her shotgun again after her sister is targeted by a cabal of wealthy elites who believe hunting their siblings for sport is the best way to protect their wealth. Let’s hope some engineers and some people out there don’t get any ideas from watching this movie.

Boots Riley, the rapper and filmmaker behind 2018’s delightfully absurd “Sorry to Bother You,” slips behind the camera in this satire about a group of shoplifters who keep robbing upscale store chains. KiKi Palmer plays an ambitious designer who turns to crime after being shut out of the fashion world, and stars an all-star cast including Naomi Ackie, Don Cheadle, Demi Moore and Will Poulter. In a recent Variety cover story, Palmer said the film is a more hopeful riff on the 1996 crime classic “Set It Off.” We are here for that!

When Paul Rudd was attending drama school, he made a little money as a bar and bat mitzvah DJ. In “Power Ballad,” Rudd, who later did one “Clueless” adventure and several “Ant-Man” adventures, draws on his experience starting parties to play Rick, a middle-aged wedding singer. A chance encounter with Danny (Nick Jonas, played in his image), the star of a struggling boy band, leads to a late-night jam session. However, things get messy when Danny steals one of Rick’s songs and it goes to the top of the charts. John Carney, who has made successful music-based films such as Begin Again and Once, will direct this comedy.

Get ready for your next cult horror favorite. “Forbidden Fruit” is the story of Apple (Lili Reinhart), a shopping mall employee who leads her co-workers (Victoria Pedretti, Alexandra Shipp) in an after-hours gathering. But their witchy fun is interrupted by the arrival of new saleswoman Pumpkin (Laura Tung). The whole thing sounds like “The Craft” to Gen Z. they need this.

After years of admiration, it’s been a productive few years for romantic comedy fans, and it’s showing not just at the box office but at festivals. Chloe Grace Moretz stars in Joey Power’s Love Language as Lou, a character who writes other people’s wedding vows for money, a role that might have been played by Jennifer Garner or Kate Hudson 20 years ago. But she soon realizes that one of the speeches she is writing is meant to be read aloud to her former best friend and crush (Manny Jacinto). With an ensemble cast that also includes Anthony Ramos, Isabel May, Lucas Gage, Billie Lourd, Chloe Fineman, and Bobby Althoff, make Love Language your spiritual home between classic horrors and thrillers at SXSW.