Music fans have some great new offerings on TV right now, like An Audience With Kylie (7plus), The Greatest Night In Pop (Netflix), and a batshit crazy special from Jennifer Lopez.
This Is Me … Now: A Love Story (Prime) is one cog of a three-part event to celebrate J-Lo’s new album. It’s a sequel to her 2002 This Is Me … Then album and is now an “emotional, spiritual and psychological journey” about her getting back together with Ben Affleck.
J-Lo: Batshit crazy and bonkers
Affleck plays a newsreader and This Is Me’s fantasy narrative has an all-star cast playing Zodiac signs, like Jane Fonda (Sagittarius), Trevor Noah (Libra), and Sofia Vergara (Cancer). Throw in some fabulously choreographed music videos and it’s no wonder The Guardian calls it a “therapy-musical biopic”.
With a making-of doco, The Greatest Love Story Never Told (Feb 27 on Amazon), still to come, Lopez is leaving no stone unturned to say she’s back. It’s bonkers, but at least it’s not another concert movie like Beyonce or Taylor.
Back in 2001, when J-Lo and Ben were first getting together while making Gigli, An Audience With Kylie was being taped in an ITV studio with celebs like Adam Garcia, Anne Charleston and Kermit The Frog. Now it is back but supersized into the Royal Albert Hall with stars like Andrew Scott, Ruth Wilson, and Sir Lenny Henry sitting up front.
Kylie: World-class hit music catalogue
Kylie interacts with her A-lister audience with an effortless charm, and her Pete Waterman moment is really moving. This special proves that Kylie Minogue is still a world-class entertainer with a hit music catalogue that just keeps growing. Must-see.
The Greatest Night In Pop is about the making of the hit single We Are The World, but have they peaked too early with that title? What will they now call the six-part miniseries about Live Aid, coming soon to Disney+, or the IMAX Live Aid movie from Bob Geldof?
There’s some great behind-the-scenes footage with candid moments from Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and Diana Ross. Sheila E reveals she felt she was used as bait to get Prince, while Madonna was snubbed in favour of Cyndi Lauper. Ouch, no wonder there’s never been An Audience With Madonna.
Welcome to TV Gold: Mediaweek’s weekly TV podcast
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This week: Three Women, The New Look
Betty Gilpin in Three Women (Stan)
Two major new dramas are reviewed this episode. The first is a real surprise package – Three Women (Stan, series). It features Shailene Woodley and Betty Gilpin starring in a story adapted from the book of the same name. We guarantee there are a few scenes in those first two episodes you won’t forget in a hurry.
The New Look (AppleTV+)
The other new release is The New Look (AppleTV+, series). Ben Mendelsohn stars as Christian Dior and Juliette Binoche is Coco Chanel. The series starts with the story of how the fashion designers survived the Nazi occupation of Paris and then their businesses grew after the war.
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