What’s New in Pop Culture: April 14-20, 2025
Releases this week in TV, Music, Movies & Games
New This Week: Devil May Cry arrives on Netflix; Jack Black digs into A Minecraft Movie; Brandi Carlile and Elton John duet on Angels.
TELEVISION
Tuesday 4/15: The Valley (Bravo; Reality)
Bravo’s ultra-messy spinoff of Vanderpump Rules returns, with major drama from certified nightmare person Jax Taylor, ultimately leading to his divorce; Kristen Doute getting engaged; as well as cameos from several VPR refugees, including Scheana and Lala.
Tuesday 4/15: The Dark Money Game (HBO; Documentary)
Academy Award-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney offers two films investigating the web of untraceable donations that are dramatically impacting American politics in the 21st Century. Tuesday sees Ohio Confidential, about a lobbyist murder and a $61 million slush fund; Wednesday offers Wealth of the Wicked, peeling back campaign-finance laws in America and how weakened they have become.
Thursday 4/17: Ransom Canyon (Netflix; Drama, Soap)
Inspired by the success of the Yellowstone franchise, Netflix gets into the Southern soap business. Minka Kelly (Friday Night Lights), Josh Duhamel (Vegas), and Eoin Macken (La Brea) star as the scions of three ranching dynasties vying for power. With Mr. Barbra Streisand, James Brolin.
Thursday 4/17: Law & Order: Organized Crime (Peacock; Police Drama)
The struggle-bus spinoff starring Chris Meloni’s Elliot Stabler returns for its fifth season, and the second episode of the two-episode premiere will see him reuniting with his SVU partner Det. Olivia Benson, as Mariska Hargitay makes an appearance.
Sunday 4/20: The Rehearsal (Max; Comedy, Documentary)
Oddball comedian Nathan Fielder’s experimental series returns for Season 2, this one seemingly focusing on the FAA and airplane crashes as he creates elaborate role-playing scenarios for regular people to interact within.
MUSIC
Friday 4/18: Julien Baker & Torres Send a Prayer My Way (Country)
Friday 4/18: Keri Hilson We Need to Talk (R&B)
Friday 4/18: Melvins Thunderball (Experimental Rock)
Friday 4/18: Wiz Kahlifa Kush + Orange Juice 2 (Hip-Hop/Rap)
MOVIES
Friday 4/18: Sinners (Wide; Drama, Thriller)
Black Panther and Creed director Ryan Coogler reunites with Michael B. Jordan, who plays twins in this mysterious, Southern Gothic film.
Friday 4/18: Sneaks (Wide; Animated, Family)
Somehow yet another movie about sneakers, in this one a pair of anthropomorphized shoes voiced by Anthony Mackie and Chloe Bailey are separated after being stolen by The Collector. With Laurence Fishburne and Martin Lawrence.
Friday 4/18: The Wedding Banquet (Wide; Comedy, LGBTQ)
Fire Island director Andrew Ahn remakes the 1993 Ang Lee film, this time with Bowen Yang, Lily Gladstone, Kelly Marie Tran, and Joan Chen, as a gay man agrees to a sham marriage with a lesbian in exchange for covering their expensive IVF, only for grandma to throw them a traditional Korean wedding celebration.
Friday 4/18: The Ugly Stepsister (Shudder; Horror, Comedy)
This Norwegian body-horror film played both the Berlin and Sundance film festivals, and now premieres in the States on horror streamer Shudder. It’s a twisted reinterpretation of the Cinderella story focusing on the ghastliest interpretations of the fairy tale.
GAMES
Thursday 4/17: Mandragora: Whispers of the Witch Tree (PS5, Steam, Switch, Xbox S|X; Action RPG)
This post-apocalyptic action game sees the world overrun by monsters, with you playing a character trying to survive against the forces of entropy.
Thursday 4/17: Rusty Rabbit (PS5, Steam, Switch; Platformer)
After humanity abandons Earth due to a new Ice Age, rabbits take over. You play Stamp, a bunny who pilots a huge mech through crumbling, abandoned cities.
