Sam Fender's new album drops, and The White Lotus is back: What to stream this week

Sam Fender’s new album People Watching is released on Friday, a follow-up to 2021’s chart-topping Seventeen Going Under.

But that's not all the week has in store.

The next season of The White Lotus is here, EastEnders turns 40, video games Avowed and Lost Records: Bloom and Rage are released, and Tate McRae’s new album is also coming out.

Read on for this week's biggest releases...

Sam Fender is People Watching

By Mark Savage, Music correspondent

Sam Fender made me cry twice last week.

The first time, it was with the video for his single People Watching, starring Sherlock's Andrew Scott as a man trying and failing to grapple with the loss of his mother.

He followed that up with another heart-tugging video, for Remember My Name, in which Dave Johns (from I, Daniel Blake) plays an elderly man caring for his wife as her health fails. Beautifully shot and delicately told, these stories would bring a lump to anyone's throat.

Death and loss loom large over Fender's new album, which is released Friday and is also called People Watching. He says it was inspired by his trips to and from a palliative care home to visit his friend and mentor, Annie Orwin, who he's described as being like "a surrogate mother" to him.

"She was the one that gave me the confidence to go on stage, and always used to be like 'why haven't you mentioned my name in your acceptance speech'," he wrote on Instagram last year. "But now an entire song (and album) connects to her. I hope that wherever she is now she's looking down saying 'about time kid'."

If that leaves you expecting mawkish sentiment and introspective wallowing, you've not been paying attention. Fender is one of our finest songwriters, with a sharp eye for detail and a heartland rock style that turn even the bleakest observations into rousing stadium anthems.

Standout tracks on his new album (which is produced by The War On Drugs' Adam Granduciel) include the chiming riffs of Nostalgia's Lie, which explores the false allure of living in the past; and Crumbling Empire, whose lyrics draw parallels between the de-industrialisation and urban decay of Detroit and Fender's hometown of North Shields.

Pensive, melodic, uplifting, and heartrending – it's his best album yet.

The White Lotus is back

Obnoxious guests, secrets and lies: that's right, The White Lotus is back.

The third series of the comedy-drama that satirises the super rich is available for UK viewers to watch on Sky from Monday.

While the first season focused on privilege, and the second season on sex, the show's creator Mike White has said this latest offering will look at spirituality - or what passes for it - at a wellness retreat in Thailand.

"The kind of stories that these characters are facing are a little bit more existential and tragic. It has a little bit more of an operatic, dramatic dimension," he said.

For me, the big question is whether the show can deliver the same punch without needy heiress Tanya McQuoid (Jennifer Coolidge).

She became the breakout character from the previous two seasons, and the source of many of the best memes from the show.

EastEnders turns 40

It's a huge week for EastEnders as the soap celebrates its 40th birthday.

To mark the moment, a special hour-long episode will air on Wednesday, the anniversary date itself.

That will be followed by a full live episode on Thursday where audiences will get to decide whether Denise Fox reunites with estranged husband Jack or picks secret lover Ravi Gulati instead.

My colleague Colin Paterson has been speaking to some of the cast ahead of the big day, including Shane Richie, who's played Alfie Moon on and off for years.

Richie said there was "an air of anticipation and nerves" ahead of the live episode.

"My biggest fear [is] that people will tune in to see something go wrong. And over the years, there's some famous ones, you can go and check them out, where there have been some bloopers," he said.

"It's a big, big story we are dealing with on the live there," he added. "All the cast is involved and we're very excited and nervous."

You can watch Colin's interviews in full on BBC Breakfast on Wednesday.

Avowed and Lost Records are here at last

By Tom Richardson, Newsbeat reporter

If the return of thriller series Yellowjackets hasn't satisfied your hunger for time-hopping narratives about a group of female friends bonded by a dark secret, read on.

Adding to this month's busy video games release calendar is the cinematic Lost Records: Bloom & Rage Part 1 (PlayStation, Xbox, PC) from Don't Nod, the original makers of the popular Life is Strange series.

The choose-your-own-adventure gameplay sees the studio returning to its roots after forays into other genres proved less commercially successful.

This time, expect nostalgia and a dream-pop soundtrack as players flit between the present day and the sun-kissed Michigan summer of 1995, unravelling the mystery at the heart of the game.

Choice is also at the heart of fantasy role-playing game Avowed, this week's other major game release and the first big title of the year from one of Microsoft's in-house studios.

Director Carrie Patel, of Fallout New Vegas and Outer Worlds developer Obsidian, recently told BBC Newsbeat the game was designed to accommodate players who want a quicker play-through as well as those who like to spend hours exploring.

Both are released on Tuesday.

Tate McRae's new album

Canadian pop star Tate McRae is releasing her third studio album, So Close to What, on Friday.

It kicks off a massive year for the singer, who is also embarking on a global "Miss Possessive Tour" taking in North America, South America, Europe, and the UK.

We've been told the album represents "the journey of growing up when the road ahead feels infinite and the destination increasingly elusive".

You can expect the 21-year-old to explore themes including self-discovery, love, and searching for balance in moments of uncertainty.

Other highlights this week...

• Donald Sutherland's memoir, Made Up, But Still True, is published posthumously on Monday

• Sharon Horgan is on Louis Theroux's podcast on Tuesday

• London Fashion Week starts on Thursday

• The Face Magazine: Culture Shift exhibition opens on Thursday at London's National Portrait Gallery

• Zero Day starring Robert De Niro and Angela Bassett is released on Thursday

• The Murder Capital's album, Blindness, drops on Friday