What to Stream: 'Wuthering Heights,' Kacey Musgraves, Tori Amos and a
double dose of Matthew Rhys
[April 27, 2026]
Michael B. Jordan voicing a tiny woodland creature who switches
bodies with a majestic bird in the animated movie “Swapped” and Kacey
Musgraves' seventh studio album, “Dry Spell,” are some of the new
television, films, music and games headed to a device near you.
Also among the streaming offerings worth your time this week, as
selected by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists: a TV
adaptation of Isabel Allende’s beloved novel “The House of the Spirits”
on Prime Video, the anime hit “Chainsaw Man — The Movie: Reze Arc” on
Crunchyroll and two Matthew Rhys projects — the movie thriller “Hallow
Road” and the Apple TV horror comedy “Widow’s Bay.”
New movies to stream from April 27-May 3
— Emerald Fennell’s loose adaptation of Emily Brontë’s“Wuthering
Heights” is on its way to heat up the small screen, streaming on HBO Max
on May 1. Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi play Catherine and Heathcliff
in the hyper stylized film which lets its tortured characters do
something about all that pent up lust. In my review for The Associated
Press, I wrote “There are myriad pleasures to be had in the bold, absurd
pageantry and devilish scheming. Yet for all the big swings, Fennell’s
‘Wuthering Heights’ amounts to something oddly shallow and blunt: garish
and stylized fan fiction with the scope and budget of an old-school
Hollywood epic.”
— Newly minted Oscar winner Michael B. Jordan voices a tiny woodland
creature who switches bodies with his sworn enemy, a majestic bird
(voiced by Juno Temple) in “Swapped,” streaming on Netflix on Friday,
May 1. “Tangled” filmmaker Nathan Greno directs the movie, which also
features the voices of Cedric the Entertainer and Tracy Morgan. If it
sounds a bit like “Hoppers,” remember, that was an “Avatar” situation.
This is “Freaky Friday.”
— The anime hit “Chainsaw Man — The Movie: Reze Arc” will be streaming
on Crunchyroll on Thursday. Tatsuya Yoshihara directed the film, based
on the manga series by Tatsuki Fujimoto about a teenager who was
murdered by the Yakuza and reborn with a unique ability: transforming
body parts into chainsaws, which he uses to help fight devils now. It’s
also a romance! And rated R.
— “Conbody vs Everybody,” about an ex-con attempting to rebuild his life
in New York, might not technically be a movie (OK, it’s a five-part
docuseries), but it’s from the great Debra Granik (“Winter’s Bone” and
“Leave No Trace” ) and it’s debuting exclusive on the Criterion Channel
on Friday, May 1. Filmed over eight years, Granik chronicles Coss
Marte’s journey to building a New York gym that employs formerly
incarcerated people.
—And finally, in the eerie “Hallow Road,” streaming on Hulu on Saturday,
May 2, Rosamund Pike and Matthew Rhys play parents rushing to help their
daughter after an accident late one night. I wrote in my review for The
Associated Press that “it’s an effectively minimalistic thriller that
leaves much room for interpretation and debate.”
— AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr
New music to stream from April 27-May 3
— Hold her beer, Sabrina Carpenter. It’s time. Kacey Musgraves has
returned to corner the market on too-clever, comedic country-pop songs
about arousal. Such is the case of Musgraves’ “Dry Spell,” the first
single from her highly-anticipated seventh studio album, “Middle of
Nowhere,” out Friday, May 1. But a one trick pony she is not. The
release was inspired by her home state of Texas, as evidenced by a song
she premiered at Coachella earlier this month: “Uncertain, TX,” which on
the album features the patron saint of the Lone Star State, Willie
Nelson. Yeehaw and carry on.
— Many might know the Irish-language, Belfast-based hip-hop trio Kneecap
from the headlines they inspire: From criticism for their political
statements, which previously saw them banned in Canada and Hungary —
they’ve accused critics of trying to silence them because of their
support for the Palestinian cause throughout the war in Gaza — to their
BAFTA award-winning self-titled biopic. But Kneecap is a hip-hop group
with a DIY ethos, and a hip-hop group with a DIY ethos they remain. On
Friday, May 1, listeners will be able to form their own opinions:
They’ll release another new album, titled “FENIAN,” a reference to the
19th-century Irish revolutionaries dedicated to independence from
British colonial rule. It opens with “Éire go Deo,” a rallying cry for
the protection of the Irish language, and builds in intensity from
there.
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This combination of images shows promotional art for "Widow's Bay,"
from left, "Zillow Gone Wild," and "The House of the Spirits."
(Apple TV/HGTV/Prime via AP)
 — Even if you haven’t heard of them,
you’ve heard them — or the results of their legacy. American
Football, like the cult classic film version of a rock band, have
been undeniably influential in independent music circles for the
last three decades. That’s namely for their role as progenitors of a
very distinct guitar sound often referred to as “twinkly,” or with
the genre term “Midwest emo.” It is an immediately recognizable
sound, defined by it's characteristics: An unusual, complex time
signature, intricate fingerpicking and tapping but with a clean
tone, no distortion, generous reverb and so on. If that’s too
technical an explanation, just press play on their latest album,
“LP4.” It’s not too late to become obsessed. And “No Feeling,” which
features Brendan Yates of the Grammy-award winning Turnstile, is not
a bad place to begin.
— A new high-concept album from Tori Amos? Why not! On Friday, May
1, she’ll release “In Times of Dragons,” a 17-track release that
sees the singer performing an alternative universe version of
herself as she “continues her flight from a dangerous and powerful
billionaire husband,” according to the record’s official press
materials. It’s allegorical and political, to be sure, and she’s not
going it alone. She’s joined by the “Gasoline Girls” — there’s power
in numbers — which is also a jaunty piano number about not giving up
the good fight.
— AP Music Writer Maria Sherman
New series to stream from April 27-May 3
— Roku has a new program for younger first time home buyers. “This
First House ” follows millennial and Gen Z families as they go
through the daunting process of buying a home. They’re guided by
renovation experts Zack and Camille Dettmore. The show is a spinoff
of the PBS staple “This Old House.” It hits The Roku Channel on
Monday.
— The TV adaptation of Isabel Allende’ s beloved novel “The House of
the Spirits” debuts on Prime Video on Wednesday. The
Spanish-language series follows the trials and tribulations of a
multi-generational Latin family. The cast includes Alfonso Herrera,
Dolores Fonzi and Nicole Wallace with Allende and Eva Longoria among
executive producers.
— Matthew Rhys plays the mayor of a small coastal town that’s more
creepy than charming in a new horror comedy for Apple TV called
“Widow’s Bay.” He wants to make the island a tourist destination but
the locals aren’t on board. The reason? They think it’s haunted. The
series launches Wednesday.
— If you don’t scroll through real estate websites fantasizing about
your dream home then what do you do with your downtime? HGTV’s
“Zillow Gone Wild” is hosted by Jack McBrayer and takes you on a
tour of some of these outrageous houses. A new season begins
streaming Saturday, May 2 on HBO Max.
— Alicia Rancilio
New video games to play from April 27-May 3
— Artemis II made space travel look fun, but things get scarier the
farther you get from Earth. Take Carcosa, the setting of Sony’s
Saros. Not only is it filled with hostile life-forms, but the planet
itself is a shape-shifter — meaning its geography changes with each
new mission. Fortunately, you have an arsenal of high-tech weapons
as well as a nifty shield that absorbs alien projectiles and sends
them back as missiles. Housemarque, the Finnish studio that helped
launch the PlayStation 5 with 2021’s Returnal, calls it “bullet
ballet, evolved.” Start dancing Thursday on PS5.
— Aphelion hits a little closer to home. It takes place on
Persephone, a frozen planet on the edge of our solar system. Two
astronauts are separated after their spacecraft crashes, and they
have to use their exploratory skills and sharp observation to figure
out what went wrong and find each other. French developer Don’t Nod
says it collaborated with the European Space Agency to create “a
realistic depiction of near-future space exploration” — but don’t
relax too much, because there’s a hostile life form on your trail
here too. Break the ice Tuesday on PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S or PC.
— Lou Kesten
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