Be on the lookout for these new entertainment offerings in the coming months, from screens to stage, from music to page.
Movies
“The Apprentice” (October 11) – In this cautionary tale set in 1970s and ’80s New York City, Jeremy Strong stars as attorney Roy Cohn who helps shape his protégé, a wet-behind-the-ears real estate figure named Donald Trump (Sebastian Stan), into a media star. Director Ali Abbasi’s examination of the young Trump, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, sparked legal threats from the Trump campaign, but that didn’t prevent a distributor from picking up the film for a pre-Election Day release.
Watch a trailer from “The Apprentice”:
“We Live in Time” (October 11) – In this romantic comedy-drama, Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield don’t exactly “meet cute” – she runs into him with her car. But the relationship that develops is truly tested when they are confronted with a medical crisis. Directed by John Crowley (the 2015 Saoirse Ronan period romance “Brooklyn”).
“The Piano Lesson” (November 8) – Denzel Washington, who starred in and directed a film adaptation of August Wilson’s “Fences,” is producing films based on the entire oeuvre of the acclaimed playwright. Following 2020’s “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” Washington has now produced his third Wilson story, the Pulitzer Prize-winning saga of a family’s fight over a cherished heirloom. Starring Samuel L. Jackson, John David Washington, Ray Fisher and Michael Potts (who appeared in the recent Broadway revival), along with Danielle Deadwyler, Skuylar Aleece Smith and Erykah Badu.
“Wicked” (November 22) – Most films being released this fall would be green with envy over the amount of audience anticipation for the big-screen adaptation of the hit Broadway musical, even though it’s only Part One. (Part Two will be released in Fall 2025.) Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo star as Galinda and Elphaba, whose youthful friendship serves as the origin story for Oz’s Wicked Witch of the West. With Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum and Jonathan Bailey.
“Gladiator II” (November 22) – “Are you not entertained?” Evidently not enough, as director Ridley Scott has returned to his Oscar-winning 2000 epic for a follow-up, set more than 20 years after the first film, in which gladiator Paul Mescal, general Pedro Pascal, power broker Denzel Washington, and Joseph Quinn and Fred Hechinger as co-emperors Geta and Caracalla fight over a 3rd century Roman Empire under siege from without and within.
Documentaries
“Will & Harper” (in theaters; streaming on Netflix September 27) – Comedian Will Ferrell and former “Saturday Night Live” head writer Harper Steele, longtime buddies, take a cross-country road trip after Steele announces she has transitioned to a woman.
“We Will Dance Again” (Streaming on Paramount+ September 24) – Survivors of the October 7 Hamas terror attack on the Nova Music Festival in Israel recount the horrors and heroism of that day.
“Blink” (October 4) – A French-Canadian couple embarks on a round-the-world trip with their family, after three of their four children are diagnosed with a rare and incurable disease that leads to loss of eyesight. From directors Daniel Roher (the Oscar-winning “Navalny”) and Edmund Stenson.
“Piece by Piece” (October 11) – The music producer and singer Pharrell tells his life story not with archive footage or talking-head interviews, but with Lego! Directed by Morgan Neville (an Oscar-winner for “20 Feet From Stardom”), it captures Pharrell’s creative process in brickfilm form.
“Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story” (Fathom Events theater screening September 25; streaming on Max November 1) – This profile of the superhero actor and activist, which debuted at Sundance earlier this year, features never-before-seen home movies of his life before and after the accident that paralyzed him.
Music
Luke Bryan: “Mind of a Country Boy” (September 27) – The country singer-songwriter, one of the world’s bestselling artists, is out with album #11.
Listen to “Mind of a Country Boy” from Luke Bryan’s new album:
Samara Joy: “Portrait” (October 11) – The Grammy-winning jazz singer’s latest.
Listen to “Autumn Nocturne,” from Samara Joy’s new album, “Portrait”:
Jelly Roll: “Beautifully Broken” (October 11) – The rapper and country artist’s follow-up to “Whitsitt Chapel.”
Listen to “Get By,” from Jelly Roll’s new album, “Beautifully Broken.”
Shawn Mendes: “Shawn” (October 18) – The Canadian singer-songwriter’s first album, “Handwritten,” debuted at #1 on the Billboard charts when Mendes was just 16 years old. “Shawn” is his fifth studio album.
Listen to “Nobody Knows,” from Shawn Mendes’ new album, “Shawn”:
Michael Kiwanuka: “Small Changes” (November 15) – The English songwriter and guitarist won Britain’s Mercury Prize for his 2019 album, “Kiwanuka.”
Listen to “Floating Parade” from Michael Kiwanuka’s new album “Small Changes”:
TV/Streaming
“Matlock” (Previews on CBS September 22) – In this reboot of the 1980s legal drama starring Andy Griffith, Kathy Bates plays Madeline Matlock, a folksy defense attorney out for justice.
“The Franchise” (premieres on HBO/Max October 6) – This comedy series (executive produced by “Veep” creator Armando Iannucci) depicts the trials of a crew trying to film a superhero movie.
“Disclaimer” (Streaming on Apple TV+ October 11) – Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Sasha Baron Cohen and Kodi Smit-McPhee star in this psychological thriller based on Renée Knight’s novel, and directed by Alfonso Cuarón, in which a woman finds a book that – surprise! – reveals the secrets of her own life.
“Dune: Prophecy” (premieres on HBO/Max in November) – Set in the universe of Frank Herbert’s sci-fi series, which has spawned two recent blockbuster films, this story of the Bene Gesserit sisterhood stars Emily Watson, Olivia Williams, Joshi May and Travis Fimmel.
“Star Wars: Skeleton Crew” (Streaming on Disney+ December 3) – What kids wouldn’t want to join an intergalactic adventure? This latest series follows a quartet of lost youngsters who must navigate their way back home with the aid of a Force user (Jude Law).
Theater
New York City:
“Our Town” (revival) (now at the Barrymore Theatre) – Thornton Wilder’s classic is staged with stars Jim Parsons, Katie Holmes, Zoey Deutch, Richard Thomas, Ephraim Sykes and Michelle Wilson.
“Yellow Face” (now at the Todd Haimes Theatre) – Tony-winning playwright David Henry Hwang (“M. Butterfly”) writes a farce about theater and racial miscasting.
“Romeo + Juliet” (previews begin September 26 at the Circle in the Square Theatre) – Kit Connor and Rachel Zegler star in the immortal romantic tragedy, this time with music by Jack Antonoff.
“Sunset Boulevard” (revival) (previews begin September 28 at the St. James Theatre) – Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musicalization of the Billy Wilder noir classic is reimagined by director Jamie Lloyd. Nicole Scherzinger, as faded film star Norma Desmond, received smashing reviews from her performance on London’s West End.
Watch a trailer featuring Nicole Scherzinger in “Sunset Boulevard”:
“Gypsy” (revival) (previews begin November 21 at the Majestic Theatre) – Audra McDonald, who has six Tony Awards on her shelf, grabs ahold of Mama Rose, one of the most celebrated roles in musical theater, created by Jule Styne, Stephen Sondheim, and Arthur Laurents. Directed by George C. Wolfe and choreographed by Camille A. Brown, will everything come up roses?
Around the country:
“Prelude to a Kiss: A Musical” (at the Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Milwaukee, Wis.) – Craig Lucas has adapted his own Tony-nominated 1988 play into a musical, a romantic comedy about souls exchanged.
“Oh Happy Day!” (at the Baltimore Center Stage, Baltimore, Md.) – Jordan E. Cooper’s “play with music” reimagines the fable of Noah’s Ark.
Latrice Pace, Courtney Monét and Tiya Askia perform an excerpt from “I See God,” from “Oh, Happy Day!”:
“My Best Friend’s Wedding” (begins September 26 at the Ogunquit Playhouse, Ogunquit, Maine) – The Julia Roberts romantic comedy is the basis of a musical with classic songs by Burt Bacharach & Hal David.
“Babbitt” (October 1, at Shakespeare Theatre Company, Washington, D.C.) – Matthew Broderick stars in this adaptation of Sinclair Lewis’ political satire.
“Primary Trust” (Multiple cities) – The Pulitzer Prize-winning drama by Eboni Booth, about a young man with an imaginary friend trying to reinvent his own life, is featured in several productions this fall, including in Pittsfield, Mass., Arlington, Va., and Chicago.
Books
Washington Post and “Sunday Morning” book critic Ron Charles offers his picks from among the season’s new titles.
“The Mighty Red” by Louise Erdrich (October 1) – The latest by the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award-winning author of “The Night Watchman” and “The Round House.”
“The Message” by Ta-Nehisi Coates (October 1) – A collection of essays by the New York Times bestselling author, in which he journeys to Senegal, South Carolina and the Palestinian Territory.
“Carson the Magnificent” by Bill Zehme and Mike Thomas (November 5) – A biography of the king of late-night television, who helped shape American entertainment and culture. Written over the course of a decade by Bill Zehme, who died of cancer in 2023, it has been completed by journalist Bill Thomas.
“Lincoln vs. Davis: The War of the Presidents” by Nigel Hamilton (November 5) – From the author of the “FDR at War” trilogy, this history tells of the fight between two presidents on opposite sides of the Civil War.
“Darkly” by Marisha Pessl (November 26) – A young-adult thriller from the author of the bestselling “Night Film.”
Arts
“Lee Krasner: Geometries of Expression,” at the Ogunquit Museum of American Art, Ogunquit, Maine (through November 17), celebrates the early work of the abstract artist, from the 1930s and ’40s.
“Paris 1874: The Impressionist Moment,” at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. (through January 19, 2025), captures the moment 100 years ago when the artistic movement that came to known as Impression made its first impression on Parisians. The exhibit presents 130 works, from paintings by Cézanne, Monet, Morisot and Pissarro, to works by lesser-known contemporaries.
“Simone Leigh,” at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (through January 20, 2025), features the artist’s ceramic and bronze works and video, as well as pieces from her 2022 Venice Biennale presentation.
“Knowing the West: Visual Legacies of the American West,” at the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Ark. (through January 27, 2025), tells the diverse stories of those who shaped the West, through their lives and their art.
“Preoccupied: Indigenizing the Museum,” at the Baltimore Museum of Art (through February 16, 2025), re-evaluates the collection and presentation of works by Native artists.
“Edges of Ailey,” at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York City (September 25, 2024-February 9, 2025), featuring live performance, visual art, music and archival materials, is the first large-scale museum exhibition dedicated to the legacy of the dancer-choreographer Alvin Ailey.
Mickalene Thomas
“Mickalene Thomas: All About Love,” at the Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia (October 20, 2024-January 12, 2025), features the artist’s mixed-media pieces – paintings, photography, collage, silk-screen, video, and a site-specific installation – that celebrate women.
“The Living End: Painting and Other Technologies, 1970-2020,” at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago (November 9, 2024-March 23, 2025), explores how the medium of painting has transformed over the last half-century, through the introduction and influence of technologies, such as video, computers and social media.
“Stanley Whitney: How High the Moon,” at the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis (November 14, 2024-March 16, 2025), is a 50-year career retrospective of the abstract artist whose travels transformed his work.
Produced by David Morgan, Robert Marston, Annie Iezzi, Sara Kugel and Julie Kracov. Editors: Chad Cardin and Carol Ross.
