The Culture

TELEVISION

Close Quarters

Move over, Jack Sparrow. Set on a tropical island in the year 1729, NBC’s new Friday-night drama Crossbones (premiering May 30) stars Emmy winner John Malkovich as the treacherous pirate king Blackbeard, whose quest for a powerful treasure is complicated by the arrival of an undercover English spy (Richard Coyle) on a mission to assassinate him. Dark, twisted characters with swashbuckling accents? Sounds like the perfect job for creator Neil Cross, who previously helmed the acclaimed British crime drama Luther and has also written for Spooks and Doctor Who.

BOOKS

American Dream

Cristina Henríquez’s novel The Book of Unknown Americans, out June 3, follows a Mexican family–and the fellow immigrants they meet–as they give up everything to move to the U.S. and care for their injured daughter.

MOVIES

Edge of Glory

Tom Cruise just can’t stop dying in Edge of Tomorrow, an ambitious summer blockbuster about a soldier who mysteriously keeps reliving his fatal battle against an alien race. See it June 6.

MUSIC

Hands Up

Only Run, which will be released June 3, is the keyboard-heavy fourth album from indie rockers Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. The LP features an appearance by the National’s Matt Berninger.

‘I REALLY DON’T CRY THAT OFTEN. BUT I DO CRY EVERY DAY WHEN I’M ON THE SET.’

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THE WEEK

HALT AND CATCH FIRE IGNITES AMC