Most Anticipated Movies and TV Shows

Hello, hello, hello! Valerie Cherish — the iconic creation of Michael Patrick King and its star Lisa Kudrow — is returning to HBO for a third season later this month, like a beautiful comet that only occasionally circles the Earth. (We refuse to call it the final season, regardless of what the network says.) But first, it will have its Season 3 premiere at SXSW. “The Comeback” has run for two glorious stints, one in 2005, the second in 2014 — and in its third season, try-hard sitcom actress Valerie, who in the Season 2 finale actually won an Emmy, will star in comedy written by AI. Valerie, we do want to see that.

In “#SkyKing,” director Patricia E. Gillespie tells what should be a relatively straightforward story: In August 2018, Richard “Beebo” Russell, who a 28-year-old who worked at Horizon Air, stole an empty plane, took it for a ride and then crashed it into the ground, killing himself. But “#SkyKing” — which uses the audio from Russell’s conversation with air traffic control on the ground at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport as its narrative spine — is anything but straightforward, as Gillespie turns the documentary into rumination about mental health and class in America. (More people will be able to see it soon: Produced by ABC News and Fifth Season, “#SkyKing will premiere on Hulu” on April 14.

Directed by Jennifer Holness and Sidney Fussell, “#WhileBlack” — a sales title at the festival — tells the parallel stories of Darnella Frazier, who in 2020 (at age 17) filmed George Floyd’s murder, and Diamond Reynolds, who in 2016 went on Facebook Live just as her boyfriend Philandro Castile had been killed by police. While the video evidence of these deaths exposed police officers’ crimes for the world to see, the documentary simultaneously indicts the social media platforms that profit from Black pain. The ideas in “#WhileBlack” will stay with you long after the documentary ends.

From A24 and David E. Kelley comes an adaptation of Rufi Thorpe’s bestselling novel, “Margo’s Got Money Troubles.” The comedic family drama follows aspiring writer Margo, played by Dakota Fanning, who must find a way to support herself after unexpectedly getting pregnant. Leaning on her mother, an ex-Hooters waitress played by Michelle Pfeiffer, and her absentee father — Nick Offerman as a former pro wrestler — she searches for ways to pay her bills. Expect an OnlyFans storyline you never saw coming and entertaining appearances by Marcia Gay Harden, Greg Kinnear, Michael Angarano, Nicole Kidman, Rico Nasty and Lindsey Normington. The first three episodes debut on April 15 on Apple TV with weekly drops to follow.

Jonathan Glatzer, best known for writing and producing on “Succession,” “Better Call Saul” and “Bad Sisters,” created the new Silicon Valley drama, set to debut on AMC and AMC+ on April 12. Led by Billy Magnussen, Sarah Goldberg and Zach Galifianakis, the series takes a look inside “the warped dreams, outsized egos, and ethical lapses of the self-styled inventors of the future.” It sounds like the perfect time for more jaded billionaires back on TV. Lucy Punch, Simon Helberg, Rob Corddry and Meaghan Rath also star, with Randall Park in a guest role. Glatzer will debut the series at SXSW with Magnussen and director Lucy Forbes.

A toxic couple takes a trip together to a remote cabin — each believing the other is there to try and reconnect, each with their own plan: kill the other. The dark comedy thriller, filmed in Finland, comes from The Lonely Island’s Jorma Taccone; this marks his first time directing since 2016’s “Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping.” Samara Weaving and Jason Segel lead with Timothy Olyphant, Juliette Lewis, Paul Guilfoyle and Keith Jardine in supporting roles. After its March 14 debut at SXSW, “Over Your Dead Body” hits theaters April 24.

While the industry debates whether or not ballet is dead as an art form, writer-director Vicky Jewson’s “Pretty Lethal” sees a group of ballerinas fight to evade a more literal death. This headliner stars a “who’s who” of Gen Z actresses — Iris Apatow, Lana Condor, Millicent Simmonds, Avantika and Maddie Ziegler — as dancers who get stranded in a remote forest and rely on their training to make it out alive. Judging by the blood-soaked leotards and the sinister grin on Uma Thurman’s face in the first look photos, it’s the kind of thriller that SXSW lives and dies by. (And the rest of the ballet enthusiasts out there can join the party when the film is released on Amazon Prime Video on March 25.)

Dakota Fanning, Jake Johnson and Cory Michael Smith make up the corners of a messy love triangle involving divorce, kids and unexpected reunions in “The Sun Never Sets,” written and directed by SXSW darling Joe Swanberg. The 2005 edition of the festival featured Swanberg’s directorial debut, “Kissing on the Mouth,” alongside titles from Andrew Bujalski, the Duplass brothers and others who were later crowned as pioneers of American cinema’s “mumblecore” movement. Like his colleagues, Swanberg continued finessing his style over the years, returning to Austin with standouts like “Hannah Takes the Stairs” (2007), “Nights and Weekends” (2008) and more. With “The Sun Never Sets,” his 10th SXSW premiere, Swanberg is poised for a triumphant homecoming.

When Netflix debuted the documentary short film “The Dads” in 2023, viewers were touched by the five titular fathers’ deep care and affection for their transgender children. The same will be true of the feature-length version directed by Luchina Fisher, but with an unfortunately necessary change in tone. Three years later, the United States is wading through a second Trump presidency that is systematically dismantling the legal protections and social acceptance trans people rely on. This Dwyane Wade-produced doc gives an intimate, verité-style look at not only a community in pain, but the families doing their best to make it hurt less.

The family that makes scary movies together, stays together? In a very meta twist, Kevin Bacon directs and stars opposite his wife (Kyra Sedgwick) and kids (Sosie Bacon, Travis Bacon) in the story of The Smiths, who use their farm to shoot low-budget horror movies. But things “on set” get downright dysfunctional when a real dead body shows up. It’s a chance for the Bacons to become the Barrymore’s of slasher flicks.

The 2019 original was a deliciously demented riff on “The Most Dangerous Game,” one that served up searing socio-economic critique, as well as blood-drenched hide-and-seek. Grace MacCaullay (Samara Weaving) may have survived her fiancée and his family’s attempts to murder her in the first film, but she’s not out of danger yet. In the “Ready or Not” sequel, Grace is once again forced to break out her shotgun after her sister is targeted by a cabal of wealthy elite who believe that hunting the siblings for sport is the best way to preserve their riches. Let’s just hope the tech bros and one-percenters out there don’t watch this movie and get any ideas.

Boots Riley, the rapper and filmmaker behind 2018’s delightfully absurdist “Sorry to Bother You,” slides behind the camera for this satire about a group of shoplifters who keep hitting a chain of high-end stores. Keke Palmer stars as an aspiring designer who turns to crime when the fashion world shuts her out, leading a cast of heavyweights that includes Naomi Ackie, Don Cheadle, Demi Moore and Will Poulter. In a recent Variety cover story, Palmer said the film was a more hopeful riff on the 1996 crime classic “Set It Off.” We’re here for it!

When Paul Rudd was in acting school, he made a few extra bucks as a bar and bat mitzvah DJ. In “Power Ballad,” Rudd — one “Clueless” and several “Ant-Man” adventures later — draws on his experience getting the party started to play Rick, a middle-aged wedding singer. A chance encounter with struggling boy-band star, Danny (Nick Jonas, playing on his image) leads to a late-night jam session. But things get messy when Danny steals one of Rick’s songs and it becomes a chart-topper. John Carney, whose music-centered films like “Begin Again” and “Once” hit all the right notes, directs this comedy.

Get ready for your next cult horror favorite. “Forbidden Fruits” follows Apple (Lili Reinhart), a mall store employee, who leads her co-workers (Victoria Pedretti, Alexandra Shipp) in an after-hours coven. But their witchy fun is disrupted with the arrival of a new salesperson, Pumpkin (Lola Tung). The whole thing sounds like “The Craft” for Gen Z.  They need this.

After a long period of yearning, it’s been a good few years for rom-com fans, and that shows up at festivals as much as at the box office. Chloë Grace Moretz leads Joey Power’s “Love Language” in a role that might have gone to Jennifer Garner or Kate Hudson 20 years ago, playing Lou, who writes other people’s wedding vows for money. Soon, though, she realizes one of the speeches she’s penning is meant to be read to her former best friend and crush (Manny Jacinto). Let “Love Language,” with its ensemble cast that also features Anthony Ramos, Isabel May, Lukas Gage, Billie Lourd, Chloe Fineman and Bobbi Althoff, be the balm you turn to in between all those classic SXSW horrors and thrillers.