Stay at home. Your ultimate entertainment guide to make it fun
Home, an escape from the outside world until the sudden onset of social distancing, is for so many of us our whole world now. With movie theaters, stages, clubs, museums and bookshops shuttered, we risk losing our links to culture. But we can still remain connected to the artistic voices who help us make sense of our times.
We know. We know. You want to look away, but you can’t.
May 18, 2020
Docs about Kobe Bryant, Formula One racing and even rock climbing will fill the void left by ESPN’s series about Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls.
May 17, 2020
Hear interviews with TV stars in the new L.A. Times podcast ‘Can’t Stop Watching.’
May 18, 2020
See young cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason in conversations and in concert with his sister in L.A. Chamber Orchestra’s free online series.
May 16, 2020
Jack in the Box’s virtual prom needed DJs. Enter Diplo and Dillon Francis, two of the artists hoping livestream paychecks can replace concert revenue.
May 15, 2020
We asked networks and streaming platforms of all stripes to tell us what we can expect to see on TV during our coronavirus summer. Here’s what they told us.
May 14, 2020
Some people look for comfort reads in isolation; David Ulin finds deeper solace in stories of struggle by Faulkner, Jenny Diski and Natalia Ginzburg.
May 14, 2020
Disney announced that a filmed version of ‘Hamilton,’ Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Broadway smash, will be coming to its Disney+ streaming service July 3.
May 12, 2020
Billie Eilish will co-host an Apple Music radio program with her father, Patrick O’Connell, called “me & dad radio.”
May 7, 2020
Justin Chang’s Ultimate Summer Movie Showdown invited readers to vote on films for 16 weeks to reveal an all-time line-up for the season, and one all-time winner.
Aug. 20, 2020
ABC’s “The Wonderful World of Disney” summer movie programming includes “Moana,” “Thor: The Dark World,” “Up” and “Big Hero 6.”
May 7, 2020
A 1974 “King Lear” will be streamed for free. The amazing cast led by James Earl Jones also includes Raul Julia, Rosalind Cash and Paul Sorvino.
May 6, 2020
Your Zoom or Skype meetings don’t have to look like hostage videos. Here’s what some experts advise.
May 6, 2020
David Beckham, Dakota Fanning, Eddie Redmayne and “Harry Potter” himself, Daniel Radcliffe, have all signed on to read chapters of “The Sorcerer’s Stone.”
May 5, 2020
Coronavirus has people fighting over beach access. “Beyond Blue,” a docu-game made with BBC Earth’s “Blue Planet II” team, takes the science further.
May 5, 2020
We asked game developers: What’s your go-to game in coronavirus quarantine? Makers behind ‘Doom Eternal,’ ‘The Last of Us’ ‘Watch Dogs,’ more answer
May 5, 2020
The Times TV team recommends the five TV shows we’re watching this week — and that you should be watching too.
May 4, 2020
L.A. Opera streams the musical drama “Angel’s Bone,” filmed last year in Beijing. It’s your quarantine must-watch of the day.
May 1, 2020
You can stream for free the Martha Graham Dance Company program “CunningGraham” and join a live chat with the creative team.
April 29, 2020
COVID-19 fears kept me home and on the way to gaining back the 30 pounds I lost last year. Then I picked up my VR headset and got moving.
April 26, 2020
Travis Scott just headlined ‘Fortnite’ instead of Coachella, debuting a new song with Kid Cudi. It was trippy. There were flaming microphone stands.
April 23, 2020
Emily St. John Mandel chronicles a global pandemic and financial crisis in her novels, ‘Station Eleven’ and ‘The Glass Hotel.’
April 23, 2020
Glenn Gould’s “Solitude Trilogy” uses dialogue as though it were musical counterpoint and explores a kind of isolation familiar in our coronavirus era.
April 22, 2020
Warner Bros.’s animated Scooby Doo movie is going straight to home viewing platforms amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
April 21, 2020
Toshi Reagon and her mother, Sweet Honey in the Rock’s Bernice Johnson Reagon, adapt Octavia E. Butler’s acclaimed novel “Parable of the Sower.”
April 22, 2020
The HBO Max service, which will be offered to consumers for $14.99 a month, will be among the most expensive of video-on-demand streaming services.
April 21, 2020
The Times TV team recommends the five TV shows we’re watching this week — and that you should be watching too.
April 20, 2020
They may not be classics, but people are watching and talking about ‘Trolls World Tour,’ ‘The Platform’ and ‘Onward.’
April 15, 2020
Read “Attack on Titan,” “Somali & the Forest Spirit,” “Fire Force,” “Arte” and more with Mangamo, a new mobile manga subscription service.
April 15, 2020
The coronavirus canceled the Hollywood event that was expected to draw about 33,000 admissions. The “Special Home Edition” can reach millions.
April 15, 2020
It’s no accident that “Animal Crossing: New Horizons” is resonating now. Built to ward off loneliness in 2001, the franchise is made for the pandemic moment.
April 11, 2020
As quarantine and stay-at-home orders trap people indoors, the olds are infiltrating the youth-driven world of the TikTok dance challenge.
April 10, 2020
Apple TV+ has joined a list of streaming sites that are offering free programs without a subscription. Watch ‘Dickinson’ or the thriller ‘Servant’ from M. Night Shyamalan.
April 10, 2020
Across the nation, art-house theaters are setting up ‘virtual cinema’ experiences to stay alive during the coronavirus closures.
April 8, 2020
If you love opera or “Star Trek,” have we got a show for you.
April 8, 2020
If the coronavirus quarantine has you tired of your usual cinematic menu, here’s our guide to watching more adventurous films at home.
April 7, 2020
The bestselling crime novelist plans a virtual book tour for his new title, “Broken,” as the coronavirus keeps him home in Southern California.
April 7, 2020
The DJ, actor, writer and former frontman for Black Flag has released the first episode of “The Cool Quarantine,” a new four-hour show on KCRW.
April 7, 2020
California Sounds: Father John Misty shares ‘Off-Key in Hamburg,’ Oh Sees perform with no mosh pit and Best Coast’s Bethany Cosentino goes acoustic.
April 7, 2020
Beyond business meetings and quarantine cocktail parties Zoom turns out to be an excellent video game platform. Students at the USC Game School have been leading the way in creating games.
April 4, 2020
From slapstick comedy to snooty stoicism, British television is a soothing escape from troubled times. Plus all those great accents.
Dec. 9, 2021
HBO is providing complimentary binge-watching options, including “The Sopranos,” “Succession,” “Veep” and “Barry,” during the coronavirus shut-in.
April 3, 2020
“Spaceteam” was originally designed to only work if you were in the same room together. Now you can play with distant friends in coronavirus quarantine.
April 2, 2020
James Corden in “One Man, Two Guvnors,” stories with Dolly, Cirque du Soleil, Nadia Sirota with Anthony Roth Costanzo, L.A. Chamber Orchestra and more.
April 2, 2020
Authors Steph Cha and Joe Ide swapped crimes stories and favorite books during the L.A. Times Book Club’s first virtual event.
April 1, 2020
From “Vanderpump Rules” and “Real Housewives” to “Love Is Blind” on Netflix, our guide to the reality TV to stream in quarantine has something for everyone.
April 1, 2020
In this coronavirus moment, I love “Animal Crossing: New Horizons.” But I’m starting to wonder if I should devote my weekly Zoom sessions with my therapist to my “Animal Crossing” habits.
April 1, 2020
Kicking off our stay-at-home series of critical re-assessments of classic albums recorded in California: Fiona Apple’s ‘Extraordinary Machine.’
April 1, 2020
We’ve selected nine things to watch online today — all of them free — including performances by Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and violinist Johnny Gandelsman
March 31, 2020
Family game nights are going virtual under COVID-19 stay-at-home rules. A few simple selections for playing online with children
March 27, 2020
Already binge-watched “Tiger King” and FaceTimed all your friends? Time to learn some handy skills, from cutting your own hair to training your cat to use the toilet.
March 26, 2020
Movie critics Justin Chang and Kenneth Turan recommend the best movies available for viewing at home.
March 26, 2020
Five simple and thoughtful games that won’t make you feel bad for not having sharp reflexes.
March 25, 2020
Narrow escapes and righteous heroines in these works of crime fiction help you survive this strange season
March 26, 2020
We polled more than 30 music critics, inside and outside The Times, on the best albums to listen to while you’re stuck at home (and kind of freaking out).
March 25, 2020
Here’s how to access the new wealth of free e-books and audiobooks during the coronavirus crisis.
March 25, 2020
Games are a playground, a place to see what happens when we do what we aren’t told, and a world in which failure is embraced — welcomed, even — as a way to learn. Why play matters in times of stress.
March 26, 2020
Join author Steph Cha and Joe Ide for a streaming conversation about new L.A. noir. The March 30 event will be live.
March 25, 2020
Classes are moving to YouTube, Instagram and Zoom, and some classes are free. How about a Beyoncé tribute workout from Ailey Extension?
March 24, 2020
The Times TV team recommends the five TV shows we’re watching this week — and that you should be too.
March 23, 2020
It’s no Catalina Wine Mixer, but a Google Chrome extension enables Netflix users to sync viewing and chat while they watch from social isolation
March 19, 2020
From apocalyptic despair to restorative joy, here are just a few titles for your at-home viewing marathon chosen by film critic Justin Chang.
March 18, 2020
Looking for ways to keep the kids occupied while you’re stuck at home? Take some tips from these families who are baking, gaming, hiking and more.
March 18, 2020
Coping with coronavirus fears? Make a Spotify playlist of your favorite songs and belt them out — and open a window so others can hear.
March 18, 2020
In an attempt to slow the coronavirus, pretty much everything from the Louvre to the NBA has been closed, canceled or postponed. But it takes more than that to really cancel culture. Because if you can’t visit art, you can still make it.
March 17, 2020
From ‘Storybots’ to ‘Octonauts,’ we round up a dozen TV shows that will keep your kids occupied — without making you pull your hair out in the process.
March 17, 2020
Ready to watch that Pulitzer-winning play you meant to catch years ago? Want to time-travel to see Angela Lansbury do “Sweeney Todd” in 1982? Here’s how.
March 16, 2020
Do you file De Chirico under D or C? Times art critic Christopher Knight works out answers — and finds the process can bring a flood of memories.
March 17, 2020
With audiences stuck at home due to the coronavirus, streaming services are offering longer free trials and other deals. We round them up in this guide.
March 26, 2020
11 authors, from Laila Lalami to Jonathan Lethem, on the books they might finally read in quarantine
Including Lawrence Block, E.M. Forster, Dostoyevsky and lots of “Middlemarch”
March 17, 2020
Is it possible to use the pandemic as a way of experiencing the fruits of boredom? Why and how a theater critic is telling himself to do nothing.
March 17, 2020
Hanging at home to slow coronavirus’ spread, 24 stars, writers, directors, musicians and artists reveal their high and low culture plans.
March 18, 2020
Eight great very long books you finally have time to read if you’re under coronavirus self-quarantine or just embracing social distancing.
March 18, 2020
Social distancing doesn’t mean not being social. These games, an inherently social medium, can help you stay calm and keep in touch with other people.
March 18, 2020
How to keep Coronavirus stress at bay: Listen, really listen, to your favorite albums, front to back, without distraction.
March 17, 2020
With museums closed, the best way to see art from home is right under your nose: Google Arts & Culture. See art in Amsterdam, Bilbao, Mexico City.
March 18, 2020
Coronavirus is changing the way we see movies, but it’s a necessary step
March 18, 2020
Critic Mikael Wood has always despised L.A. rock heroes the Doors. With coronavirus time on his hands, a thought experiment: Can he teach himself to like them?
March 18, 2020
We polled more than 40 TV critics and journalists, inside and outside The Times, on the best TV show to binge while stuck at home.
March 19, 2020
As exhibitions close over coronavirus fears, no one is able to see art up close right now. These gorgeous books will help keep art in your life.
March 19, 2020
As Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime and others jostle for our self-quarantined attention, Times TV critic Robert Lloyd suggests it’s time to put down the remote.
March 19, 2020
Just because you’re staying home doesn’t mean you have to be lonely. How to set up video chats for a dinner party, game night, karaoke session and more.
March 19, 2020