What to Stream: 'Outer Banks,' Anthony Hopkins' classical album and Anne
Hathaway's 1st 2026 movie
[August 17, 2026]
The final season of “Outer Banks” and a new album from Anthony Hopkins
(yes, Sir Anthony Hopkins) 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: Weezer's
20th album, the survival horror game “The Sinking City 2” and “Mother
Mary,” which kicked off Anne Hathaway's incredibly prolific year in
theaters.
New movies to stream from Aug. 17-23
— Anne Hathaway’s epic year at the movies (which is still going at full
throttle with “The End of Oak Street” and the upcoming “Verity”) didn’t
start with “The Devil Wears Prada 2” or “The Odyssey,” but with “Mother
Mary,” David Lowery’s experimental film about a pop star (Hathaway) and
her estranged designer (Michaela Coel). In his review for the AP, Film
Writer Jake Coyle called it “a fitfully spellbinding chamber drama that
grows more operatic with every stitch,” adding that “Hathaway makes not
just a believable pop star but an indelible portrait of an artist’s ego
in extremes.” But, Coyle wrote, “the movie belongs to Coel … ‘Mother
Mary’ is the story of an exorcism, and she’s the exorcist.” It debuts on
HBO Max on Friday.
— Coel also stars in one of the year’s best two-handers, “The
Christophers,” which arrives on Hulu on Saturday. Written by Ed Solomon
and directed by Steven Soderbergh, the film is a kind of heist movie in
disguise, in which a pair of wannabe heirs (James Corden and Jessica
Gunning) hire a restoration specialist and sometimes forger (Coel) to
covertly finish a series of paintings by their famous father Julian
Sklar (Ian McKellen). In my review, I wrote that it was “a meditation on
art, legacy, creativity and the oh-so-touchy subject of who has the
right to critique,” with sharp performances from all.
— And finally, it’s a Zahn family affair in “She Dances,” starring Steve
Zahn and his daughter Audrey as a father and daughter reconnecting after
tragedy on the way to a dance competition. It’s also a “Reality Bites”
reunion with Ethan Hawke. Directed by Rick Gomez, the film received warm
reviews out of the Tribeca Film Festival and is set to debut on Peacock
on Friday.
— AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr
New music to stream from Aug. 17-23
— Academy Award winner Anthony Hopkins will release his debut album,
“Life Is a Dream,” Friday via Decca Records. Conducted by Gustavo
Dudamel, performed by the Philharmonia Orchestra and recorded at
London’s Alexandra Palace in April, the album is a 12-track collection
of classical compositions crafted over six decades. “My first love, or
vocation really, is music,” the 88-year-old actor told the AP earlier
this month. The generational talent picked up piano at 4 and wrote his
first piece, a waltz, in 1960. He was 22 at the time. “Life Is a Dream”
reflects his life and childhood in Wales — possessing what he describes
as a “melancholy and sadness,” but ultimately, beauty.
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This combination of images show promotional art for the films
"Mother Mary," left, and "The Christophers." (A24 via AP, left, and
Neon via AP)
 — Power pop-punk band Weezer will
release their landmark 20th album on Friday. It’s self-titled, but
no doubt fans will refer to it as “the Gold Album,” continuing in
their tradition of color-identified records. The single “We Might as
Well Be Strangers” is a standout, featuring the idiosyncratic vocals
of Karly Hartzman, lead singer of the indie rock group Wednesday.
— Also on Friday: English singer-songwriter Sam
Smith will release their fifth album, “Hazel Eyes.” It’s a follow-up
to 2023’s “Gloria” — which features the sexy and sacrilegious
“Unholy” collaboration with Kim Petras, the track that gave Smith
their most recent Grammy win. This time around, Smith offers warm
love songs. It's a welcome change of pace from their previous
heartbreak material.
— AP Music Writer Maria Sherman
New series to stream from Aug. 17-23
— The first two episodes of Season 2 of “Average Joe” drop Wednesday
on Paramount+. The action-comedy stars Deon Cole as a plumber in
Pittsburgh whose life becomes complicated — and dangerous — when he
learns that his dad, who recently died, owes $10 million and a car
to the Russian mob. Joe can't catch a break in the new season
either. Now in Cape Town, Joe once again finds himself over his
head.
— “Outer Banks” kicks off its fifth and final season Thursday on
Netflix. The show follows a group of friends from working-class
families in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. They call themselves
“Pogues,” a nod to the pogy, a small baitfish at the bottom of the
food chain with strong survival instincts. We begin the season with
the Pogues grieving the death of one of their own. They set out on
both a treasure hunt and a quest for revenge.
— AP Writer Alicia Rancilio
New video games to play from Aug. 17-23
— It has taken longer than expected for “The Sinking City 2” to make
it out of development. Then again, it comes from Ukraine’s Frogwares
studio, and it isn’t easy to get a game out the door with a war
going on. The new survival horror game is based on H.P. Lovecraft’s
fiction, so be prepared to fight plenty of scaly, squishy, many-tentacled
monsters as you explore a flooded Massachusetts town in the 1920s.
Frogwares found a cult audience with 2019’s “The Sinking City” after
building a reputation for more cerebral challenges with its Sherlock
Holmes games. If you like your horror cosmic, the portal opens
Tuesday on PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S and PC.
— Lou Kesten
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