The It List: Kaley Cuoco stars in zany murder mystery 'The Flight Attendant,' Miley Cyrus drops 'Plastic Hearts,' 'Saved by the Bell' reboot premieres and the best in pop culture the week of Nov. 23, 2020
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 Nov. 23-29, 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: Kaley Cuoco flies high in HBO Max’s sexy, funny new miniseries The Flight Attendant
Since saying goodbye to Apartment 4A, former Big Bang Theory star Kaley Cuoco has found new places to explore, starting with Gotham City on the hit DC Comics-inspired cartoon Harley Quinn. Now, the actress is going global in The Flight Attendant, her first live-action vehicle since the CBS sitcom closed up shop last year. Based on the 2018 bestseller by Chris Bohjalian, the eight-episode miniseries casts Cuoco as Cassie Bowden, a flight attendant who leads a wild life both in the air and on the ground. But the fun times screech to a halt after a night out in Bangkok, when she goes home with a handsome stranger (Game of Thrones heartthrob Michiel Huisman) only to wake up next to his bloody corpse. Now Cassie has to stay one step ahead of the law, while trying to piece together the events of that night Hangover-style. The Flight Attendant is a great showcase for Cuoco, taking full advantage of her always-sharp comedy chops while she’s at the center of a murder mystery with plenty of twists and turns. And don’t worry Daario Naharis stans: Huisman’s early death doesn’t mean he’s out of the picture entirely. The show finds inventive ways to keep its high-flying stars in the same frame… and the same bed. — Ethan Alter
The Flight Attendant premieres Thursday, Nov. 26 on HBO Max.
HEAR IT: Miley Cyrus’s fantastic Plastic
Finally blessing us with the rock ‘n’ roll album she was born to make, the rebel girl lets it all hang out on her seventh album. A departure from 2017’s mellow, folksy Younger Now, the horned-handed Plastic Hearts features an iconic Cyrus portrait by renowned Bowie photographer Mick Rock on its shocking-pink sleeve art, and collaborations with Stevie Nicks, Joan Jett, Billy Idol and Dua Lipa (plus Cyrus’s already-viral Blondie and Cranberries covers) within. — Lyndsey Parker
Plastic Hearts by Miley Cyrus arrives Friday, Nov. 27; download/stream it on Apple Music.
STREAM IT: Happiest Season doesn’t just make history, it could be an instant holiday classic
Originally planned as a Sony Pictures theatrical release before moving to Hulu amid the coronavirus pandemic, Happiest Season is the first lesbian romantic comedy and also the first same-sex holiday rom-com to be produced by a major movie studio. But beyond its cultural significance, it also just might be an instant holiday classic. Kristen Stewart and Mackenzie Davis play a Pittsburgh couple visiting the latter’s parents for the first time over Christmas, where they’re forced to hide the nature of their relationship because of the conservative father’s political aspirations. The hilarious and heartfelt film, directed by Clea Duvall, feels groundbreaking yet timeless at the same time, like Meet the Parents over Christmas, with a long overdue gay twist on the broad rom-com. Stewart and Davis lead a stellar cast, but it’s Mary Holland (who co-wrote the script with her Veep costar Duvall) who delivers the year’s funniest performance as Davis’s lovable oddball sister Jane. — Kevin Polowy
Happiest Season premieres Wednesday, Nov. 25 on Hulu.
STREAM IT: Get excited! It’s time to go back to Bayside with Peacock’s Saved by the Bell reboot
It’s a new day at Bayside High, as the iconic ‘90s teen sitcom returns with a new class of students, plus a few familiar faces. Created by 30 Rock veteran, Tracey Wigfield, the new Saved by the Bell follows some of the lessons laid down by the hit Karate Kid update, Cobra Kai, populating the student body with direct descendants of the old school crew. Zack and Kelly’s son, Mac (Mitchell Hogg), and Jessie’s kid, Jamie (Belmont Cameli), are best buddies, alongside transgender cheerleader Lexi (Josie Totah, giving the show’s breakout performance) and recent transfers Daisy (Haskiri Velazquez) and Aisha (Alycia Pascual-Pena). Jessie and Slater are still at Bayside as the guidance counselor and gym teacher respectively, while Zack and Kelly have failed upwards to become California’s first family. In its first few episodes, the show finds the right balance between pushing nostalgia buttons and moving the story forward, with fresh complications and love triangles. But some things never change — expect those notorious caffeine pills to make life… um, exciting all over again. — E.A.
Saved by the Bell premieres Wednesday, Nov. 25 on Peacock.
READ IT: Feed your barbarian horde this Thanksgiving with D&D-licious recipes from the Heroes' Feast cookbook
Ditch the canned cranberries and embrace your wizardly culinary skills to concoct a Dungeons & Dragons-approved repast this holiday season. Wash down your Hommlet golden brown roasted turkey, Elven bread, Drow mushroom steaks and Otik’s spiced potatoes with a brain-busting Mindflayer cocktail followed by a hearty potion of restoration. Top it all off with some Trolltide candied apples and Heartlands rose apple and blackberry pie. Lovingly assembled by D&D diehards and professional chefs, the 80 role-playing recipes in this lavishly illustrated tome will add adventure to your next sojourn into the depths of the kitchen… and transport you to realms beyond. — Marcus Errico
Heroes' Feast: The Official D&D Cookbook is available at Amazon.
STREAM IT: The Christmas Chronicles 2 follows in flight path of winning original
Released on Netflix two years ago this month, The Christmas Chronicles might be the most underrated contemporary holiday movie around. The delightful action-comedy imagines Santa Claus (Kurt Russell, chewing up the scenery) moving around Chicago in the wee hours of the morning as he tries to convince various cynics that he is in fact St. Nick (most just assume he’s insane), while trying to save Christmas with the help of two troubled kids. It’s basically Adventures in Babysitting on Christmas, producer Chris Columbus told us recently, which is not at all a bad thing. Columbus, the Home Alone director who knows a thing or two about contemporary holiday classics, was so enamored with Russell in the first film that he stepped behind the camera for the follow-up, which viewers should be eating up over the next month. This time we’re in the North Pole, where Santa, Mrs. Claus (Goldie Hawn, natch) and their human kid helpers must fend off a spiteful elf’s plot to steal Christmas, and the follow-up is just as sublimely entertaining as the first. Does Netflix have a bona fide Christmas comedy franchise on their hands? — K.P.
The Christmas Chronicles 2 premieres Wednesday, Nov. 25 on Netflix.
HEAR IT: Billie Joe Armstrong’s blue Mondays
It’s almost December — well past September — and we are still in the middle of a pandemic. But Green Day’s “Wake Me Up When September Ends” singer has been entertaining us from quarantine all year long with his "No Fun Mondays" YouTube cover-song series, and now he has compiled 14 of those home performances on No Fun Mondays. The well-curated collection includes tunes by Johnny Thunders, John Lennon, Wreckless Eric, Billy Bragg, That Thing You Do! movie band the Wonders, Kim Wilde… and, of course, the Bangles’s “Manic Monday,” featuring actual Bangle Susanna Hoffs. — L.P.
No Fun Mondays by Billie Joe Armstrong arrives Friday, Nov. 27; buy it on CD/vinyl on Amazon.
WATCH IT: End your Thanksgiving with Disney — without leaving your couch
While an outing to one of the company’s theme parks isn’t a possibility for many of us right now, Disney will come to us via The Wonderful World of Disney: Magical Holiday Celebration. The 2020 edition of the special — the fifth time its aired — highlights performances from years past, including: Frozen stars Kristen Bell and Idina Menzel on “When We’re Together” from 2017, Kelly Clarkson’s 2016 rendition of “Underneath the Tree,” the Pentatonix’s version of “Deck the Halls” from last year and many others. Musical siblings Julianne and Derek Hough will host the show, opening with a brand new musical number featuring a medley of favorites. Trevor Jackson, from Freeform’s Grown-ish, will anchor coverage from Walt Disney World in Florida. All you need to bring is the hot chocolate. — Raechal Shewfelt
The Wonderful World of Disney: Magical Holiday Celebration airs Thursday, Nov. 26 at 9 p.m. on ABC.
WATCH IT: The Resident Evil collection looks to take residence on your Blu-ray shelves
Zombie movies can be tough to watch right now, what with a deadly pandemic sweeping the globe for what’s now been a trying eight months. But maybe there’s some therapy to be exercised in the ways of Alice, the gun-toting zombie hunter so memorably played by Milla Jovovich in six Resident Evil movies spanning 14 years, all of course based on the popular video game. Evil fans can now relish in a new complete collection that features all six installments upgraded to 4K Ultra HD. This limited-edition gift set includes cast and filmmaker commentaries, featurettes, alternate endings, deleted scenes, outtakes and an extended cut of Resident Evil: Apocalypse. — K.P.
The Resident Evil 4K Ultra HD Collection is available on Amazon.
WATCH IT: My Psychedelic Love Story explores why Timothy Leary, a leading advocate of LSD in the 1960s, decided to become an informant
Timothy Leary — the "turn on, tune in and drop out" LSD guru of the ‘60s — was big on messages about stickin’ it to the man. But turns out he was the man, at least as of 1974. That’s when, according to shocking FBI documents released three years after his 1996 death from prostate cancer, he had become a government informant in order to shorten his own prison time. This Errol Morris documentary examines his period of exile, reimprisonment and, finally, cooperation with the government through the eyes of his lover from that time, Joanna Harcourt-Smith, who still doesn't know if she was truly his soul mate or simply a government pawn. Should be quite a trip. — Beth Greenfield
My Psychedelic Love Story premieres Sunday, Nov. 29 at 9 p.m. on Showtime.
WATCH IT: Welcome Starfighter: The ‘80s arcade classic gets a Blu-ray release with out-of-this-world extras
Tron may have been the first name in video game-inspired ‘80s movies, but it certainly wasn’t the last. Two years after Disney’s cutting-edge experiment, Universal tried to capitalize on the arcade fad with The Last Starfighter, about a pixel warrior (Lance Guest) whose high-scoring ways results in a trip to outer space to play the game for real. Like its predecessor, the movie premiered to mixed critical and commercial success, but it’s had remarkable staying power in the ensuing decades. A new Blu-ray edition overseen by Arrow Video makes the case for The Last Starfighter’s replay value. In addition to a digitally restored version of the movie, this release includes a new commentary track with Guest and his son; fresh interviews with other members of the cast and crew; featurettes dedicated to the movie’s then-groundbreaking special effects; and, best of all, an interview with a fan who has built a playable Last Starfighter arcade cabinet. — E.A.
The Last Starfighter on Blu-ray is available on Amazon.
HEAR IT: The Smashing Pumpkins’s infinite sadness
CYR, the Pumpkins’s 11th album (and second since founding member James Iha’s return, along with original drummer Jimmy Chamberlin) is a 20-track, double-disc magnum opus that will thrill fans of the alt-rock legends’ other classic double-LP, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. Dystopian, gothic tracks on the Billy Corgan-produced CYR include “Confessions of a Dopamine Addict,” “Wrath,” “Wyttch,” “Starrcraft,” “Purple Blood” and “Adrennalynne”; the project is accompanied by a five-part animated series written by Corgan, In Ashes. — L.P.
CYR by The Smashing Pumpkins arrives Friday, Nov. 27; download/stream it on Apple Music.
STREAM IT: 12 Dates Of Christmas is a dating show on ice
If you’re all caught up on episodes of The Bachelor franchise — or have given up on it entirely — meet this handsome new series from Sam Dean, an executive producer of Love Is Blind and Married at First Sight. Think of it as a dating reality show with the polish of Selling Sunset or The Hills. It features six people, living together in an Austrian castle, looking for someone to bring home for the holidays and, ultimately, co-star in their fairy tale romance. And, oh yes, the juicy parts of more familiar dating shows are all here: Love triangles! Hot tubs! Tears! It’s the perfect binge for those glorious hours of viewing time after the turkey’s been put away. — R.S.
12 Dates Of Christmas premieres Thursday, Nov. 26 on HBO Max.
PLAY IT: At last, here are classic arcade cabinets you can fit on your bookshelf
If you’ve got Pac-Man fever, but can’t fit a full-size arcade cabinet in your home, here’s a space-friendly alternative. In honor of the pellet-chomper’s 40th birthday, Arcade Classics has unveiled a gold-plated Pac-Man entry in their Mini Arcade line of retro games. It’s offers all the fun of dodging ghosts and chasing fruit without any of the full-sized arcade bulk. And if you want more tiny arcade cabinets as playable bookshelf accessories, Super Impulse has added the classic ‘90s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles beat ‘em up to its Tiny Arcades line that includes Mappy, Burger Time and a Hello Kitty-themed version of Pac-Man. If Tiny Arcades aren’t tiny enough for you, the Micro Arcades line makes pocket-sized ports of Ms. Pac-Man, Oregon Trail and Frogger. — E.A.
Arcade Classics 40th Anniversary Pac-Man game is available at Walmart; Super Impulse’s Tiny Arcades and Micro Arcades games are available on Amazon.
— Video produced by Jon San and edited by John Santo
