New entertainment releases this week include new music from Jakob Dylan and the Wallflowers and a Gossip Girl reboot less than 10 years after the series ended on the CW.

Black Widow, Jakob Dylan and 'Gossip Girl'

Here’s a compilation, compiled by Associated Press reporters, of what’s coming to TV, streaming services and music platforms this week.

MOVIES

— It’s not free, but the much-anticipated standalone Marvel film Black Widow hits theaters on Disney+ on Friday for $29.99 (it’s released simultaneously in theatres nationwide). Not quite an origin story, not quite goodbye, this film directed by Kate Shortland takes its cue from the middle with Natasha Romanoff played by Scarlett Johansson. Set after the events of Captain America: Civil War, she reunites with her superspy sister (a witty and funny Florence Pugh) to take down the organisation that robbed them both of their childhood. The film also stars David Harbour and Rachel Weisz from Stranger Things.

— And if you’re looking for something infinitely more silly and tropical with a few truly catchy tunes, Barb and Star Goes to Vista Del Mar is finally free to watch on Hulu from Friday. This absurdist and good-natured comedy of the year may have been a breakthrough, featuring two middle-aged, culotte-loving women from Soft Rock, Nebraska, played by Bridesmaids writers and writers Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo, taking a much-needed holiday to Florida. There they meet a henchman in love, played by the stunning Jamie Dornan. Barb and Star is a movie best watched with a coconut-flavoured drink on hand.

-AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr

MUSIC

— Dylan is back, at least the younger one is. Jacob Dylan brings back his band the Wallflowers to record their first new album since 2012’s Glad All Over. The striking new 10-track compilation, called Exit Wounds and due out July 9, includes the singles “Who’s That Man Walking ‘Round My Garden” and “Roots and Wings”. Dylan explained that the album title refers to personal baggage: “Wherever you go, even if it’s the best place, you leave people and things behind, and you think about those people and those things, and you carry them with you. These are your weekend wounds.”

— If coolness is what you want this summer, look out for an artist whose name sounds like snow. Snoh Aalegra (pronounced ‘snowy Allegra’) is set to release her third album, Temporary Highs in the Violet Skies, on 7 July. Born in Sweden to Iranian parents and now living in Los Angeles, Aalegra is known for her cold, visceral and loose compositions with elements of R&B, soul and EDM – think Sade mixed with the Alicia Keys. Her fans include Drake, who used her song ‘Time’ for his More Life track ‘Do Not Disturb’, and the late Prince, who was her mentor in the years before his death. Tyler, The Creator also helped on the new album.

— Writer Mark Kennedy

TELEVISION

— The PBS series The Hispanic Experience takes a creative approach to the diverse experiences of an ethnic group that makes up nearly a fifth of Americans. The three-part anthology offers 13 short fiction and non-fiction films, each setting a different theme, style and tone. The first hour-long episode (Tuesday, watch local TV channels for times) includes Death and Mortality: A Period Piece, in which a girl (Blanca Ordaz) is confused by her transition into adolescence, decides death is near, and makes a to-do list, and Blue Cape, set in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria. The remaining episodes air on Tuesdays, 13 and 20 July.

— Is it ever too early for a reboot of the series? “Gossip Girl” says it’s not. Less than 10 years after the series ended on the CW, what is being described as a “sequel” is coming to streaming and airing. The chic setting is familiar – New York’s Upper East Side – but a new generation of privileged teens are facing a more complex world of social media. The new version of the series stars Jordan Alexander, Eli Brown and Thomas Doherty. The series debuts Thursday on HBO Max and will be available Friday at 8pm EDT on the CW and its online platforms.

— Viewers with fond memories of the short-lived HBO series The Enlightened will look forward to White Lotus, the channel’s new project from creator Mike White. The six-part limited series, which debuts on Sunday at 9pm EDT, is a satirical look at life in an exclusive Hawaiian resort. For those unfamiliar with White’s work, the cast may be enough to draw you in: Connie Britton and Steve Zahn will play an executive and a spouse with low self-esteem, respectively; Jennifer Coolidge will play a rich but unhappy woman; and Molly Shannon will play a honeymoon thief.

— AP Television Writer Lynn Elber

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