The It List: Amanda Seyfried transforms into Theranos founder (voice-drop and all) in 'The Dropout,' stories of murderous roommates explored in 'Worst Roommate Ever,' Dolly Parton releases new book and album and the best in pop culture the week of Feb. 28, 2022
The It List is Yahoo's weekly look at the best in pop culture, including movies, music, TV, streaming, games, books, podcasts and more. Here are our picks for Feb. 28-March 6, 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: Amanda Seyfried portrays Elizabeth Holmes — infamous voice and all — in The Dropout
Surprisingly, Oscar nominee Amanda Seyfried wasn't too worried about getting the voice of disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes just right in the dramatization of ABC News's podcast The Dropout. "I knew my voice was never going to be as deep as hers because I'm physically not capable of it," Seyfried told The Hollywood Reporter last week. "Besides, I promised I wasn't going to give myself a hard time and try to completely mimic this other human being. It'd be impossible. And just not fun." Still, Seyfried does an impressive job (check it out in the trailer above at 1:22)! The real life Holmes was convicted last month of defrauding investors, including former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, with claims that her company had invented a way to revolutionize blood tests, when it actually had not. Seyfried's co-stars include Laurie Metcalf, Naveen Andrews, Sam Waterston and William H. Macy, who looks almost unrecognizable in his role as a Holmes rival. — Raechal Shewfelt
The first three episodes of The Dropout are available Thursday, March 3 on Hulu.
STREAM IT: Amy Poehler pays tribute to iconic comedians and their lifelong love story with Lucy and Desi
‘Tis the season of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Fresh off the heels of Aaron Sorkin’s Oscar-nominated, Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem-starring biopic Being the Ricardos comes Lucy and Desi, a deep-diving look at the real stars and married couple behind the classic sitcom I Love Lucy and their subsequent entertainment empire. Better yet, it’s directed by a comedy icon in her own right, Amy Poehler, who peels the layers off the singular and collective legacies in insightful, entertaining fashion. And while Ricardos emphasized the growing schism between Hollywood’s original celebrity couple, Lucy and Desi argues their love for one another never died. Check out an exclusive clip from the doc above. — Kevin Polowy
Lucy and Desi premieres Friday, March 4 on Amazon Prime Video.
STREAM IT: Dramatic thriller Se?orita 89 rips curtains off dark and sinister world of beauty pageant preparation
“Everybody thinks that beauty is something that happens naturally, without any effort,” Concepción (Ilse Salas) announces as 32 finalists for 1989’s Miss Mexico pageant stand behind her at her glitzy estate. “Go ahead and ask these girls if that’s the case.” Those words prove chillingly prescient in Se?orita 89, a new Spanish-language dramatic thriller executive produced by Jackie and Spencer filmmaker Pablo Larraín and his brother Juan de Dios Larraín (Jackie, The 33). Like Nine Perfect Strangers for Mexican beauty pageant contenders, the series imagines the dark, ominous preparations (and procedures) the women are subjected to, ultimately banding them together just to survive. Check out an exclusive clip from the series above. — K.P.
The first two episodes of Se?orita 89 are now streaming on Pantaya, with new episodes every Sunday until April 10.
STREAM IT: Worst Roommate Ever will keep you up at night
Here's something to squeeze in between episodes of Dateline and the like: a limited series based on four terrifying true crimes. In the first, former investigators, loved ones and others who were there recount the case of Dorothea Puente. She appeared to be a kind and generous grandmother-type who ran a boarding house for the less fortunate in Sacramento, Calif., in the '80s, but she was actually a serial killer. Puente, who died in 2011, was caught poisoning her guests and burying them in her backyard, so she could collect their Social Security checks. In all, seven bodies were removed from her property. "I used to be a very good person at one time," she said in some of the footage. Future episodes focus on an international con artist, another murderer and serial squatter Jamison Bachman. — R.S.
Worst Roommate Ever is available Tuesday, March 1 on Netflix.
STREAM IT: Surprise Best Picture nominee Drive My Car parks on HBO Max
Sorry, Spider-Man: Looks like Ryusuke Hamaguchi nabbed your parking spot at the Best Picture Oscar lot. The Japanese auteur's acclaimed drama proved a surprise champ on Oscar nomination morning, and with weeks to go until the ceremony, the theatrical-only feature is getting its streaming debut on HBO Max. And don’t let the three-hour runtime — that’s only 30 minutes longer than No Way Home, for the record — deter you from riding shotgun in this justly-acclaimed character study of a Japanese dramatist (Hidetoshi Nihijima) and the young driver (Tōko Miura) he befriends. Drive My Car isn’t the director’s only 2021 cinematic home run: His exquisitely-crafted anthology feature, Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy, is available now on most VOD platforms. — Ethan Alter
Drive My Car premieres Wednesday, March 2 on HBO Max.
HEAR/READ IT: Dolly Parton is on the Run
Dolly Parton remains the hardest-working woman in show business, at age 76 adding a yet another title to her résumé: fiction writer! The multi-hyphenate’s debut novel, Run, Rose, Run, is a thriller co-written with best-selling author James Patterson about “a young singer-songwriter on the rise and on the run, and determined to do whatever it takes to survive.” In a life-imitating-art/art-imitating life moment, the book’s release coincides with an album by the same title, led by the spirited single “Big Dreams and Faded Jeans.” Is there anything Dolly can’t do? — Lyndsey Parker
Run, Rose, Run the album by Dolly Parton is available Friday, March 4 to download/stream on Apple Music; the book is out Tuesday, March 7 on Amazon.
STREAM IT: Joe vs. Carole is the newest installment of the Tiger King saga
While the 2020 docuseries Tiger King spawned memes galore, it was actually very dark. It's fitting then that this eight-episode limited series dramatizes the rivalry between big cat advocate Carole Baskin and Joseph Maldonado Passage — better known as Joe Exotic — who once owned his own zoo. In real life, of course, he infamously attempted to hire hitmen to have Baskin killed, and was later successfully prosecuted. The fantastic John Cameron Mitchell and Saturday Night Live standout Kate McKinnon star in this adaptation of, not Tiger King itself, but the second season of Wondery's Over My Dead Body podcast. Still, there's plenty that audiences will recognize from the bizarre story, including Baskin's relentless dedication to protecting cats (even the moment she first spoke the phrase, "Hey, all you cool cats and kittens!"), Exotic's complicated romantic relationships, their hatred of one another and, especially, their colorful wardrobes. — R.S.
Joe vs. Carole premieres Thursday, March 3 on Peacock.
STREAM IT: The Boys: Diabolical is a toon-tastic spinoff of the twisted Amazon hit
To help fans bide time until the June premiere of Season 3 of Amazon’s brilliant, bawdy, debauched superhero series The Boys, the good folks at Vought International have dreamed up something diabolical. This eight-episode series of R-rated cartoon shorts — each conceived by the likes of Seth Rogen, Andy Samberg, Aisha Tyler, Awkwafina (all of whom also voice characters), Ilana Glazer and original comic book creator Garth Ennis, with animation done in styles ranging from Looney Tunes-esque to anime to classic Saturday morning fare — is set in The Boys unhinged universe and features cameos from the show’s cast. Be warned: Super Friends this ain’t. —Marcus Errico
All episodes of The Boys: Diabolical begin streaming Friday, March 4 on Amazon Prime Video.
STREAM IT: Patrick Stewart boldly returns for Star Trek: Picard's time-traveling second season
From "The City on the Edge of Forever" to First Contact, Star Trek and time travel have always been two great tastes that taste great together. And Season 2 of Star Trek: Picard once again finds bold creative inspiration in messing around with the Trek timeline. Picking up after the events of the first season, the synthetically rejuvenated Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) has another close encounter with his frequent Next Generation foil, Q (John de Lancie) who has rewritten Picard's present by altering the past. It's up to the admiral and his pals — including Voyager fan favorite Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) — to set things right. Strap in: It's going to be a bumpy ride back to this future. — E.A.
Picard Season 2 premieres Thursday, March 3 on Paramount+.
WATCH IT: Outlander and Shining Vale bring the sexy back to Starz's Sunday nights
It's been two long years, but the Droughtlander is over at last. Outlander's timeless couple, Claire and Jamie Fraser (Caitriona Balfe and Sam Heughan), return for a sixth season of frontier adventures just as the American Revolution threatens to turn their world upside down. At least these red-hot lovers still have each other to cling to... in both the emotional and romantic sense. Maybe the Frasers can provide some bedroom advice to Pat and Terry Phelps (Courteney Cox and Greg Kinnear) the estranged husband-and-wife at the center of the dark comedy, Shining Vale. Having decamped to a decrepit Connecticut estate to work on their relationship after "lady porn" author, Pat, has a kinky fling, the couple discover that their new house has a literal ghost (Mira Sorvino) in its walls who seems eager to return to the real world. — E.A.
Outlander and Shining Vale premiere Sunday, March 6 on Starz at 9 p.m. and 10 p.m., respectively.
HEAR IT: Band of Horses come galloping back
Indie/Americana heroes Band of Horses return with Things Are Great, their first album since 2016, and the critics agree: It is indeed great. It’s the first Band of Horses LP to feature bassist Matt Gentling and guitarist Ian MacDougall, while idiosyncratic frontman Ben Bridwell is more hands-on than ever, producing or co-producing every track. Collaborators on the record include Dave Fridmann (Mercury Rev, Flaming Lips, MGMT, Mogwai), Dave Sardy (Spoon, Oasis, Airborne Toxic Event) and Grandaddy's Jason Lytle. — L.P.
Things Are Great by Band of Horses is available Friday, March 4 to download/stream on Apple Music.
WATCH/STREAM IT: The Independent Spirit Awards are back on the beach, and with some killer hosts
After going virtual in 2021, the Independent Spirit Awards, aka Oscars’ more casual cousin, are returning to their beloved home under a giant tent on the Santa Monica beach Sunday for what’s sure to be a celebratory step toward “normalcy” this awards season. With comedy power couple Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally as co-hosts, it’s sure to be entertaining as hell, too (here’s hoping they resurrect their Parks and Recs exes for at least one moment). One thing the Spirit Awards will not do is predict Oscar’s big winner for a second year in a row after last year’s double-Nomadland coup. In once again staying true to the, well, spirit of independent film, none of the five Best Feature contenders (A Chiara, C’mon C’mon, The Lost Daughter, The Novice and Zola) are up for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. Zola scored the most noms with seven, but our money’s on The Lost Daughter for the top prize. — K.P.
The 37th Independent Spirit Awards will air live on IFC and stream on AMC+ Sunday, March 6 at 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT.
PLAY IT: You'll want to come out and play with Funko's new Warriors-inspired tabletop game
Heck yeah, we can dig it! Walter Hill's 1979 action classic, The Warriors, gets the tabletop treatment courtesy of Funko Games. Following the plot of the film, you and up to three of your friends play as Coney Island's most bad-ass gang who have to make the perilous trip from the Bronx to Brooklyn after they're suspected of killing celebrated gang leader, Cyrus. No need for any actual bats and chains: Your weapons here are dice, tokens and cards as you strategize your route back to the Wonder Wheel, rumbling with rival warriors and dodging cops along the way. — E.A.
The Warriors: Come Out to Play is available now at Amazon.
HEAR IT: Mike Campbell’s explosive return
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell is back with External Combustion, his second album with his band the Dirty Knobs. Co-produced Campbell and George Drakoulias (Black Crowes, Jayhawks) at Campbell's Hocus Pocus Recorders home studio, the record features Margo Price, Mott the Hoople legend Ian Hunter, and Heartbreakers keyboardist Benmont Tench. Among its 11 tracks are two unreleased songs from the ‘90s that were only recently discovered in Campbell's vault. –LP
External Combustion by Mike Campbell & the Dirty Knobs is available Friday, March 4 to download/stream on Apple Music.
— Video produced by Anne Lilburn and edited by John Santo
