That's Entertainment

TV: Little House on the Prairie

(Season 1 - Netflix from 9th July) 

Based on Laura Ingalls Wilder’s enduring, almost 100-year-old book series about growing up in the American West in the 1800s. Netflix's upcoming ‘Little House on the Prairie’ reboot aims to honour the beloved classic while offering a more expansive view of the American frontier. Showrunner Rebecca Sonnenshine has assembled a cast led by Alice Halsey as a strong-willed Laura Ingalls and Luke Bracey as Pa. The series retains the Ingalls family's hopeful struggle for a new life but crucially adds the perspective of the Osage people, telling both sides of the story. Already renewed for a second season, this adaptation promises to be more than a simple nostalgia trip, potentially offering a layered and emotionally authentic drama for a new generation.

Film: The Odyssey 

(dir. Christopher Nolan, cinemas from 17th July)

Christopher Nolan adapts Homer's epic, following Odysseus (Matt Damon), king of Ithaca, on a decade-long journey home after the Trojan War. Having blinded the Cyclops Polyphemus, Odysseus incurs the wrath of Poseidon, who unleashes horrors at every turn. He faces the deadly Sirens, the sorceress Circe (Charlize Theron), and the monstrous strait of Scylla and Charybdis.

Meanwhile, in Ithaca, Odysseus's faithful wife Penelope (Anne Hathaway) is besieged by unruly suitors. Their son, Telemachus (Tom Holland), searches for news of his father, guided by the goddess Athena (Zendaya).

As Odysseus remains held captive by the nymph Calypso for seven years, the star studded film weaves twin narratives: a man battling mythical monsters to return home, and a family fighting to survive until he arrives. Shot with groundbreaking IMAX technology, Nolan's ‘The Odyssey’ is a mythic action epic exploring timeless themes of perseverance, vengeance, and the powerful pull of home.

Music: Kelela, New Avatar

(Warp Records, out 10^th July)

Kelela's ‘New Avatar’ marks a stunning return to her indie roots, trading club beats for a guitar-driven sound that feels both fresh and deeply personal. Across the 12 tracks, she creates space for older ideas, confronting chaos with solace rather than escape. Recent single 'idea 1' opens the album with spacey, '80s rock-inflected textures, while 'linknb' showcases her continued evolution. Guest spots from PinkPantheress, A. K. Paul and Foushée add colour without overshadowing Kelela's commanding presence. Her statement that the music should "make sense in this crazy moment" rings true, these songs don't distract from reality, they help listeners find beauty within it. The Warp Records release feels less like a reinvention and more like an artist fully claiming her past to shape her future. Dense, melancholic yet strangely joyful, ‘New Avatar’ confirms Kelela remains one of the most adventurous voices in contemporary R&B, effortlessly bridging underground experimentation with arresting pop sensibility.