Eddie Murphy reprises his role as Axel Foley in Beverly Hills Cop 4: Axel Foley, country music star Zach Bryan releases a new studio album, and more are some of the new TV shows, movies, music, and games coming to a device near you.
Also among the streaming services picks by Associated Press entertainment journalists that are worth your time are “Space Cadet,” which tells the story of Emma Roberts’ acceptance into NASA’s competitive training program; Discovery Channel’s annual “Shark Week” hoping to grab a big primetime audience; and “Zenless Zone Zero,” a video game set in an urban wasteland filled with intriguing creatures.
New movies available to stream
— After nearly three decades of on-and-off production, the fourth Beverly Hills Cop is finally here. Eddie Murphy reprises his role as Axel Foley in Axel F, which debuts on Netflix on Wednesday. Judge Reinhold and John Ashton also return, but new faces include a detective played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt and a police inspector played by Kevin Bacon. Taylour Paige also stars as Axel’s daughter. The original 1984 Beverly Hills Cop, which launched Murphy to stardom, is also now streaming on Netflix.
— Emma Roberts is “living her best life in Florida” but revisits her lifelong dream of becoming an astronaut in the film “Space Cadet.” Unbeknownst to her, a friend (her “Hucks” co-star Poppy Liu) helps her polish her resume and gets her accepted into a highly competitive NASA training program that aims to be a cross between “Legally Blonde” and “Private Benjamin” (who doesn’t dream of those heights?), available to stream on Prime Video starting Thursday.
— The Criterion Channel continues to offer a library of the best and most thoughtful films, thoughtfully curated and grouped into fun themes that are updated on the first of each month. On Mondays, the channel will air neo-noir series (including Out of Sight, L.A. Confidential and two Bad Lieutenants), pop Shakespeare including Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet starring Claire Danes and Leonardo DiCaprio, Michael Almereyda’s Hamlet starring Ethan Hawke, and select films from Nicolas Roeg, including the Donald Sutherland classic Don’t Look Now. The channel will also host the streaming premiere of the animated film Chicken for Linda!
—AP Film Writer Lindsay Barr
New music to stream
— Country music star Zach Bryan will release a new studio album, “The Great American Bar Scene,” on July 4. We don’t know much about it yet. It features 18 songs (17 songs and one poem), which will be previewed in bars across the U.S. and Canada before being made available for streaming on Independence Day. (Look, it’s foolish to expect a traditional release from a sometimes irreverent musician who only released a live album called “All My Homies Hate Ticketmaster” two years ago.) The album will feature “Purple Gas,” a duet with Canadian up-and-comer Noeline Hoffman, and “Pink Skies,” a folk-tinged tear-jerker recently named one of the Associated Press’ songs of the summer. The song is typical of Bryan’s special skills, little more than acoustic guitar and harmonica and his husky, idiosyncratic storytelling that reveals a universal truth. “The kids are gathering in town for a funeral,” he sings. “So, load your cars and wipe your eyes.” Be prepared to take notes, because he’s a master of short, wordy novels.
— AP Music Writer Maria Sherman
New shows available to stream
“Bluey,” a popular animated children’s series about a dog family, will premiere ultra-short episodes ranging from one to three minutes this summer. The first seven mini-episodes will air on Disney+ starting Wednesday, with the second set scheduled to premiere later this year.
— NBC’s “Macy’s Fourth of July Fireworks Show” is celebrating its 48th year. This Independence Day, the skies over New York’s Hudson River will be lit up with patriotic colors and fireworks. Country singer Mickey Guyton will co-host with media personality Zuri Hall. The event will air live on NBC and Peacock on Wednesday at 8 pm ET.
— Summer is shark season. Discovery Channel’s annual “Shark Week” kicks off on Sunday, July 7 with John Cena as host. Discovery Channel will feature 21 hours of original programming hosted by John Cena. “Shark Week” will also be streaming on Max.
— Former reality TV star Hannah Berner, who was a cast member of Bravo’s “Summer House,” is gearing up to debut her first comedy special. “We Ride At Dawn” will be available on Netflix on Sunday, July 7. Berner also co-hosts the popular podcast “Giggly Squad” with former “Summer House” cast member Paige DeSorbo.
Alicia Rancilio
New video games to play
While TikTok grabs most of the headlines, Chinese video games have been gaining a growing Western audience over the past few years. At the crest of that wave is Shanghai-based MiHoYo, developer of fantasy role-playing game Genshin and sci-fi epic Honkai Impact 3. The studio’s new adventure, Zenless Zone Zero, is set in an urban wasteland under attack by extra-dimensional creatures. Like MiHoYo’s previous hits, ZZZ is free to play, but players are encouraged to spend money on collectibles found around the city. You can start your hunt for Zen Thursday on PlayStation 5, PC, iOS, and Android.
Lou Kesten
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