What to Stream: Taylor Swift, Matthew McConaughey, Jacinda Ardern, Glen
Powell and Ghost of Yotei
[September 29, 2025]
By The Associated Press
Taylor Swift's highly anticipated 12th studio album, “The Life of a
Showgirl,” and Matthew McConaughey playing the real-life bus driver who
saved elementary school students during California's deadliest wildfire
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: The classic
children’s story “Charlotte’s Web” by E.B. White turned into an animated
series for HBO Max, the documentary “Prime Minister” chronicling the
five-year tenure of former New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern and some
katana-swinging mayhem with the video game Ghost of Yotei.
New movies to stream from Sept. 29-Oct. 5
— Matthew McConaughey plays the real bus driver who drove 22 elementary
school students to safety during 2018's Camp Fire that engulfed
Paradise, California, in the new film “The Lost Bus,” streaming Friday,
Oct. 3 on Apple TV+. America Ferrera co-stars as the teacher who went
along for the ride, expecting it to be a straightforward drop off at a
nearby school. Paul Greengrass directed the film like an old-fashioned
disaster movie, I wrote in my review, adding, “it’s impossible to take
your eyes off the screen, away from the inferno and the sense of our own
smallness and helplessness to ‘battle it.’”
—— Cillian Murphy is the headmaster of a reform school in “Steve,” a
taut drama about mental health and a broken education system. The film,
which hits Netflix on Friday, Oct. 3, is based on Max Porter’s novella
“Shy.” “Steve” was directed by Belgian filmmaker Tim Mielants who also
directed Murphy in the terrific Claire Keegan adaptation “Small Things
Like These,” (currently streaming on Hulu and Disney+) which focused on
the Magdalene laundries in Ireland. Together they could make for a
moving double feature.
— The new documentary “Prime Minister,” streaming on HBO Max on Tuesday,
chronicles the five-year tenure of former New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern.
Just 37 when she took over, and only the second elected world leader to
give birth while holding office, Ardern was praised around the world for
her handling of the nation’s worst-ever mass shooting and the early
stages of the coronavirus pandemic. But she faced mounting political
pressures at home and a level of vitriol from some that hadn’t been
experienced by previous New Zealand leaders. In 2023, she shocked the
world with her announcement that she was stepping down.
— AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr
New music to stream from Sept. 29-Oct. 5
— It’s her, hi: Taylor Swift returns with her highly anticipated 12th
studio album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” out Friday, Oct. 3. The record
was completed in Sweden with producers Max Martin and Shellback during
the Eras Tour and while details of the album have been limited, Swift
did appear on the “New Heights” podcast in August to tease it. Swift
promised infectious melodies and vivid lyrics across “The Life of a
Showgirl,” an album that will be much more “upbeat” than 2024’s “The
Tortured Poets Department.”
— If cheery-sounding post-punk (or “egg punk” for the very online crowd)
is an interest area, look no further than Nashville’s Snooper, a
good-time group known for their ebullient live performances and penchant
of paper mâché puppetry. Their latest release, “Worldwide,” arrives via
Jack White’s Third Man Records on Friday, Oct. 3. It’s 12 tracks of
catchy fun.
— AP Music Writer Maria Sherman
[to top of second column]
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This combination of album cover images shows "The Life of a
Showgirl" by Taylor Swift, left, and “Worldwide” by Snooper.
(Republic Records via AP, left, and Third Man Records via AP)
 New series to stream from Sept.
29-Oct. 5
— Superman only had to put on a pair of glasses to disguise himself
as Clark Kent but in the new Hulu series “Chad Powers,” Glen Powell
wears prosthetics and a wig to masquerade himself — all in the name
of football. Powell plays Russ Holliday, a college football
quarterback at the top of his game, until he makes an embarrassing
mistake that ruins his career. Instead of giving up, Holliday
decides to transform himself into an alter ego named Chad Powers,
who is a walk-on player at a different school. The show is based on
a character created by Eli Manning for his 2022 ESPN docuseries
“Eli's Places,” where he changed his look to take part in walk-on
tryouts at Penn State. It streams beginning Tuesday.
— The classic children's story “Charlotte's Web” by E.B. White is
now an animated series for HBO Max. All three episodes drop Friday,
Oct. 3. The show's voice cast includes Amy Adams as Charlotte,
Elijah Wood as adult Wilbur, Cynthia Erivo as goose and Jean Smart
as the narrator.
— Charlie Hunnam also transforms himself for Netflix's true crime
dramatization called “Monster: The Ed Gein Story.” Hunnam plays Gein,
a convicted murderer and suspected serial killer from the 1950s.
Cocreated by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan, the “Monster” anthologies
tend to illustrate the impact of true crime on pop culture. In this
“Monster,” Tom Hollander plays Alfred Hitchcock, whose movie
“Psycho” was inspired by Gein. Olivia Williams and Laurie Metcalf
also star. It debuts Friday, Oct. 3.
— PBS has two interesting offers for the weekend. On Friday, Oct. 3
it will air “Great Performances: The Magic of Grace Bumbry ” about
the real-life opera singer from Missouri who made history as the
first Black mezzo-soprano to perform at Germany’s Bayreuth Festival.
It also shows her impact on musicians today including Beyoncé, who
is mentioned in the doc. It premieres on Friday, Oct. 3 on PBS and
streams on pbs.org and the PBS App.
— On Sunday, Oct. 5, we're introduced to Jules Maigret, a detective
created by author Georges Simenon. His first Maigret novel was
published in 1931 but a new PBS Masterpiece series about the
investigator takes place in modern day. Benjamin Wainwright stars as
the titular character who — along with his team — use unorthodox
methods to solve crimes. “Maigret” will also will be available on
pbs.org and the PBS App.
— The second season of the biblical drama “House of David” premieres
Sunday, Oct. 5. Available with a Wonder Project subscription on
Prime Video, the show details the rise of David, a biblical figure
who became the most celebrated king of Israel.
— Alicia Rancilio
New video games to play from Sept. 29-Oct. 5
— Atsu, the protagonist of Ghost of Yotei, was just a girl when the
renegade Lord Saito killed the rest of her family. Sixteen years
later, she’s returned to northern Japan to exact vengeance against
Saito and his minions. She’s learned some mad samurai skills in the
meantime, so expect plenty of katana-swinging mayhem. This new
adventure from Sony’s Sucker Punch studio is the follow-up to 2020’s
Ghost of Tsushima, and it builds on that game’s sprawling scope and
lush graphics while blending 1600s history with Japanese folklore.
Atsu’s mission begins Thursday on PlayStation 5.
— Lou Kesten
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