Toy Story 5, A Different World Revival and Kenny Chesney Lead This Week's Streaming Slate
Toy Story 5 hits Disney+, A Different World returns on Netflix, and Kenny Chesney drops his 21st album in a packed week of releases.
A busy week of streaming releases spans film, television, music and games, with a Pixar sequel, a revived sitcom and a veteran country star among the highlights.
"Toy Story 5" arrives on Disney+ on September 23. Co-written and directed by Andrew Stanton, the film places the toys in conflict with technology as they compete for Bonnie's attention. A review noted that while it may rank below the first three instalments, the thoughtfulness long associated with Pixar remains evident.
"Backrooms," the box-office success from then-20-year-old YouTuber-turned-filmmaker Kane Parsons, lands on HBO Max on September 25. A review described it as a fitfully unsettling nightmare whose origins are more compelling than its execution.
On Paramount+ from September 21, "Tuner" stars Leo Woodall as a piano tuner drawn into the criminal underworld, using his acute hearing to crack safes. Daniel Roher, the Oscar-winning director of "Navalny," helms the thriller, which one critic placed among the year's best.
Netflix debuts "UNABOMBER" on September 25, with Jacob Tremblay as Ted Kaczynski. Russell Crowe plays a psychologist and Shailene Woodley an FBI agent in the stacked cast.
In music, Kenny Chesney releases his 21st studio album, "Silver Sands Marina," on Friday. The record is described as full-throated stadium country with big hooks and bigger heart. Tinashe returns with "Popstar," a follow-up to 2024's "Quantum Baby" that trades viral moments for unexpected pop experiments, from the sped-up "Melatonin" to the falsetto chorus of "Too Easy."
On television, Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson play exaggerated versions of themselves in "Brothers," an eight-episode Apple TV comedy from Lee Eisenberg. After Harrelson's daughter's wedding collapses, he moves his family to McConaughey's Austin ranch, where a secret emerges suggesting the friends might be siblings. The first two episodes drop Wednesday.
Nearly 40 years after the original premiered, Netflix revives "A Different World" on September 24. Maleah Joi Moon plays Deborah Wayne, daughter of Whitley and Dwayne, beginning freshman year at Hillman College. Jasmine Guy, Kadeem Hardison, Jada Pinkett Smith and other original cast members return.
Shemar Moore reprises his role as Sgt. Daniel "Hondo" Harrelson in "S.W.A.T.: Exiles," a Starz spinoff premiering September 25. Pulled from retirement, Hondo leads an experimental unit of young recruits; a second season has already been ordered.
In gaming, Remedy Entertainment's "Control Resonant" launches September 24 on PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S and PC, moving the paranormal action from a warped Manhattan skyscraper to the city's streets. "Silent Hill: Townfall" arrives the same day on PlayStation 5 and PC, shifting the horror series to 1990s Scotland, where an amnesiac named Simon navigates a foggy seaside village.