This Week's Streaming Picks: Alabama Shakes Return, 'The Whisper Man' Lands on Netflix

By The Associated Press

It's a loaded week across streaming, and a few of these releases have been years in the making. On the film side, Netflix debuts "The Whisper Man" this Friday, adapting Alex North's bestselling novel. Adam Scott plays a widowed crime writer whose young son goes missing, forcing him to turn to his estranged father — a retired detective played by Robert De Niro — for help. The search pulls both men into an old, unsolved serial killer case. Michelle Monaghan also stars. Separately, PBS's "American Masters" premieres a documentary tribute to the late poet Mary Oliver on Tuesday, featuring poetry readings from Oprah Winfrey, Stephen Colbert, and Steve Buscemi, among others. Music-wise, the big story is Alabama Shakes. <cite index="23-1">"I Must Be Dreaming" arrives Friday as the band's third studio album and first in more than eleven years, following 2015's "Sound & Color."</cite> <cite index="23-1">It's also their first record as a trio, with Brittany Howard, Heath Fogg, and Zac Cockrell now the core lineup, produced by Shawn Everett and recorded at Nashville's Sound Emporium and Blackbird Studio.</cite> The 11-track record leans into a heavier, more atmospheric strain of psychedelic soul — a welcome return for a band that's been mostly quiet since Howard pursued other projects. Elsewhere, Mike D of the Beastie Boys releases "Thank You" under the name Mike D 5D, joined by his sons Skyler and Davis Diamond along with Eddie Ruscha, Will Graefe, and Milo Ruscha. The 13 tracks bounce between old-school hip-hop, punk energy carried over from the Beastie Boys days, and unexpected detours into acid rock. Fans of scrappy indie-pop should look out for Velocity Girl's "1989-1992," a Slumberland Records collection digging into the D.C. band's earliest, pre-Sub Pop material — twelve tracks of the fuzzy, hook-heavy guitar pop they were known for. And Dinosaur Jr., four decades removed from their debut, return with "There Near," featuring J Mascis' unmistakable guitar work throughout. On television, Netflix drops Season 2 of "Leanne" on Thursday. Comedian Leanne Morgan stars as a woman rebuilding her life after the end of a thirty-year marriage; she co-created the show with Chuck Lorre, the mind behind "The Big Bang Theory" and "Two and a Half Men." Gamers have two big releases to watch. "Star Wars Zero Company" launches Thursday on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. It's a team-based tactical game set during the Clone Wars, built by Bit Reactor — a new studio staffed with veterans from "XCOM" and "Marvel's Midnight Suns." Players assemble a ragtag squad of soldiers, scoundrels, droids, and possibly a Jedi to fight back an emerging galactic threat. The same day brings "Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy" from France's Asobo Studio, introducing a new lead character named Sophia, a plunderer chasing an ancient myth on Minotaur Island. Unlike the stealth-heavy earlier entries in the series, this installment pushes players toward direct confrontation rather than pure evasion. And if you can't wait three more months for "Grand Theft Auto VI," Rockstar is giving fans a preview: "Grand Theft Auto VI: An Extended Look" streams on Netflix Thursday at 3 p.m. EDT, with the footage hitting YouTube and Rockstar's own site six hours later for anyone without a Netflix subscription.