The Best Movies, TV, Books and Music for February

Welcome to Culture Hound, InsideHook’s deep dive into the month’s most important cultural happenings, pop and otherwise.

(RE)WATCH: Survivor: Winners at War

For the 40th (!) season anniversary of the desert island reality show, previous winners will face off for a $2 million prize — and the option to use something called Fire Tokens, or coins that can be used to “purchase advantages” during the game. (Feb. 12, CBS)

Returning TV shows: Desus & Mero (Feb. 3, Showtime), Brooklyn Nine-Nine (Feb. 6, NBC), Homeland (Feb. 9, Showtime), Narcos: Mexico (Feb. 13, Showtime), Last Week Tonight With John Oliver (Feb. 16, HBO), Better Call Saul (Feb. 23, AMC) and The Walking Dead (Feb. 23, AMC)

DISCOVER: Briarpatch

If you like murder mysteries — aka half of modern prestige television — this anthology/drama from Andy Greenwald (Legion), Ana Lily Amirpour (A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night) and Sam Esmail (Mr. Robot) could be your dramatic fix. For the first year, the show follows an investigator (Rosario Dawson) trying to solve the killing of her sister in a small border town.

New TV shows: Lego Masters (Feb. 5, Fox), Locke & Key (Feb. 7, Netflix), Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet (Feb. 7, Apple+ … note, basically, this is the guys from It’s Always Sunny doing a Silicon Valley-type show), High Fidelity (Feb. 14, Hulu), and Al Pacino tracking down Nazis in Hunters (Feb. 21, Prime Video)

ENJOY: Guns Akimbo

It’s Daniel Radcliffe, with guns literally bolted to his hands, on a revenge spree that’s broadcast over the web. Normally you’d wonder if “from the director of Deathgasm” was a warning, but that 2015 flick was wickedly funny. (Feb. 28)

BUY/RENT: Color Out of Space

Nicolas Cage at his manic best in this H.P. Lovecraft adaptation, when a meteor crash begins causing strange mutations on a rural farm. The only person stranger than Cage on this flick might be enigmatic director Richard Stanley, who was essentially blacklisted from Hollywood following 1996’s The Island of Dr. Moreau. (Feb. 25)

More Blu-ray releases: Ford v Ferrari (Feb. 11), Jojo Rabbit (Feb. 18), Knives Out (Feb. 25)

READ: In the Land of Men

A memoir exploring the pre-#MeToo period at high-brow men’s magazines (GQ, Esquire) and in the literary world during the ‘90s, as seen through the eyes of a young woman. It also provides insights into author Adrienne Miller’s working relationship with David Foster Wallace. (Feb. 11)

Also: The 6 New Books You Should Be Reading This February

LISTEN: Tame Impala

In the five years since their last album, this Aussie psychedelic-pop act’s status has grown exponentially — they’re now regulars on the festival circuit, Rihanna’s covered one of their tracks and Tame Impala mastermind Kevin Parker has been busy collaborating with Lady Gaga, Kanye, Travis Scott and Mark Ronson. The Slow Rush marks the group’s welcome and familiar return to dreamy, fuzz-pop landscapes. (Feb. 14)

More new music: Green Day (Feb. 7), Nada Surf (Feb. 7), Best Coast (Feb. 21), Grimes (Feb. 21), Guided by Voices (Feb. 21), Yacht Rock Revue (Feb. 21), Soccer Mommy (Feb. 28)