THE Billboard Family Hits of the Week brings together what's new and worth your family's time in music, movies, TV, books, games and more. Forget the annoying scrolling and searching of “what to watch for family movie night”… again. The best family entertainment every week is all in one place in this handy guide. Not satisfying to cross something off your bucket list?
Friday-Sunday (Nov. 1-3) marks the final weekend of The Eras tour in the United States, with Taylor Swift playing three shows in Indianapolis. Is not the end of Swift's tour, but it's getting closer — she only has two more cities on her schedule, Toronto and Vancouver, Canada, before it's officially over. Will Swift do something special in Indiana to celebrate the American final? Whether you're at the show or watching online, all Eras events will be a pop culture conversation for young and old. Bulletin board it will have all the updates.
In movies to watch at home this week, there's a gem recently airing on Max (and coming to HBO) that might interest parents and inner older kids: Janet Planetwritten and directed by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Annie Baker and starring Julianne Nicholson. An effortless '90s mother-daughter sketch, it masterfully depicts how summers can be long and quiet, but transformative, at age 11, around the time you start seeing your parents with different perspective.
Also geared more towards families with teenagers, but with pop tunes to keep everyone entertained, on Saturday night Chappell Roan takes to the stage as musical guest at SNL. The episode hosted by John Mulaney will be “Good Luck, Babe!” the hitmaker's debut on the show.
Learn more about this week's top picks in Billboard's Family Hits of the Week:
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Keep Up With The Eras Tour in Indianapolis
Taylor Swift takes over the city for three sold-out concerts at the 70,000-capacity Lucas Oil Stadium on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. It's sure to be a big conversation no matter what the three nights bring — #IndyTSTheErasTour was trending hours before show time on Friday — it's the only remaining US stage time Swift has scheduled for 2024. (He's headed to Canada for a handful of tour dates to come, and then Eras will be completely over.)
November 1st also marks exactly two years since Swift first announced The Eras Tour, leaving Swifties wondering how she might mark the occasion. As reported earlier in the day, the city was ready for her visit with a 34-story sticker of Swift adorning Indy's largest hotel, the temporary renaming of 32 downtown streets after her songs, local businesses offering their services to Swifties and more.
Keep your eyes peeled Bulletin boardEras coverage to see the best moments of the weekend, which surprise songs she performs and any other notable events in her final US concerts of the year.
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Watch Coming-of-Age Drama “Janet Planet”, now streaming
Don't wait Janet Planet to hold the attention of very young viewers, but the character-driven story and setting, rated PG-13, is a must-watch for adults and older kids in the family if you have a mature middle schooler or teenager, who can appreciate the kind of movie that's more about subtle observations than action.
The film, starring the always excellent Julianne Nicholson alongside newcomer Zoe Ziegler, is about a mother and daughter's slow but pivotal summer in the 90s. Playwright-turned-filmmaker Annie Baker undertook an exhaustive search for a child to portray her vision of the somewhat quirky, somewhat everyday 11-year-old whose relationship with her mother changes. It debuted at the festival in 2023 and then had a limited theatrical run in the summer of 2024. As of November 1st it is now widely available, streaming on Max and will also be on HBO the following day.
It's the details that make the film special: the way their closeness doesn't need to be explained, the ease of their quiet existence, and their home is nothing special or fancy, just comfortable. It's so '90s, and it's done well in such small ways that it doesn't feel forced. The miniature troll doll with purple hair, the dull backseat car ride, the random toys that are toys, the JCPenney sign, and the trip to the mall with no money, Clarissa explains it all theme song to a day spent sick on the couch — might as well have been my own memories.
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Watch Chappell Roan Perform on 'SNL'
It's a new episode of Saturday Night Live this weekend. Pop star Chappell Roan makes her debut on the iconic stage on November 2. Expect a performance that is all her own and a possibly unforgettable, stunning wardrobe for the artist.
For SNLHer pre-Saturday promo features host John Mulaney and cast member Ego Nwodim. Your teen will probably get the gist of the joke before viewing, but you may find yourself just as confused as Mulaney about the TikTok trend. Tune in Saturday night to find out what songs Roan brings to the show, which airs on NBC and airs on the Peacock.
