Whichever streaming services you subscribe to, they’re delivering a bunch of treats rather than tricks this October. The lineup of fresh TV this month is hefty, with both new shows and some of your faves making a welcome return.
Even though it’s the spooky season, your screen will be filled with tantalising mystery, scathing black comedy, and more than a few legendary leading ladies…and yeah, there’s at least one creepy James Wan project in there too. Add each show to your Flicks watchlist to get notified when they arrive!
Citadel: Diana: Season 1
Citadel: Diana
Y’all remember Citadel? No? Released last year and never spoken of again, the spy series was Prime’s bid at big budget episodic action, running up a staggering $300 million price tag for Papa Bezos. We’re getting not one but two spin-offs to the dubious franchise this year, in the form of 1990s Indian chapter Honey Bunny and this sidequest, flavoured with Italian intrigue.
The show will follow a double agent with a seriously wacky, asymmetrical haircut. Diana (Matilda De Angelis) is actually working undercover for the titular good guy organisation, and when she becomes trapped behind enemy lines at evil syndicate Manticore, the head honcho’s son and heir might be her only ticket out.
Disclaimer: Limited Series
Disclaimer: Limited Series
Do we even include this prestigious Alfonso Cuarón project in our list of October’s best TV? The director has explicitly said that he doesn’t see the drama as a mere TV series, perhaps ghettoising the format in his attempts to uplift the show’s twisty cinematic appeal. Then again it did premiere at the Venice film fest…
Cate Blanchett stars as a journalist whose dark past seems to be exposed in a spicy new novel, and the more she reads between the lines the greater her fears for her reputation grow. Kevin Kline, Sacha Baron Cohen and Australia’s Kodi Smit-McPhee co-star, in a story that’ll presumably feel a little more substantial and filmic than some of the more splashy entries on this list.
The Franchise
The Franchise: Season 1
If you’re sick to death of superhero sludge in cinemas, this acerbic comedy has your back. It’s made by a supergroup of satiric talents from Succession and Veep plus executive producer Sam Mendes, and scathingly depicts the behind-the-scenes havoc of a generic blockbuster’s production. The cast is packed with oh-hey-I-love-them character actors: Daniel Brühl, Himesh Patel, Aya Cash, Lolly Adefope and Billy Magnussen have each individually been the strongest part of comic projects they’ve appeared in, so seeing them struggling on one disastrous set will be gold.
How does the cinematic sausage get made? Gather ’round for a biting BBQ of pop culture critique.
Funny Woman: Season 2
A bunch of well-liked TV shows return this month, from Netflix’s cute queer romance Heartstopper to raunchy D&D animated series The Legend of Vox Machina on Prime Video. We’re highlighting this one, though, a period comedy about comedy with Gemma Arterton as a fictionalised 1960s stand-up determined to stand on her own two, high-heeled feet.
In her column Show of the Week, Clarisse Loughrey described the series as “a reminder that, as cynical as it’s easy to be about the current state of television, so much has been achieved by the women who have worked tirelessly to be seen and heard.” If you’ve been missing Mrs Maisel or are just craving some solid giggles from the UK, make sure you’re caught up on Arterton’s rise to the top.
Joan: Season 1
Joan: Season 1
Forget murder, drug dealing, terrorism: jewel theft has to be one of the most fanciful and seductive crimes out there, the perfect profession for a desperate yet glamorous fictional crook. Game of Thrones star Sophie Turner plays one such criminal, in this brand-new British period drama. Joan takes place in the 1980s, with our titular character struggling to escape from a disastrous marriage and raise her daughter.
The opportunity to create a new life for herself comes, surprisingly, in ill-gotten gems, with Turner’s hard-scrabble heroine crafting new identities and disguises to snatch up sparkling goodies. The show’s apparently based on a true story, but don’t get any ideas from Turner’s alluring heists; we have a feeling things won’t end well.
Sweetpea: Miniseries
Sweetpea: Miniseries
“Even a worm will turn,” goes an old English expression. Ella Purnell is that worm, we suppose, in this (very) dark comedy about a meek woman pushed to the absolute brink by the callousness of every single person in her life. After an onslaught of family deaths, workplace humiliations and resurfacing grudges, Purnell’s Rhiannon totally snaps, surprising herself when it turns out that frenzied murder might be her best shot at empowerment.
The show has an addictive, acidic tone, fleshing out its dinky British setting with nagging details that’ll have you rooting for an outright serial killer to tear it all down. Episode one is one long build to Purnell’s explosive reaction, but her endless misery can be tough to witness before then, so make sure you watch on to see where her released rage will lead.
Teacup: Season 1
Teacup: Season 1
Not too much is known about this eerie new horror series, a perfect bingeable release for the year’s spookiest month. The name James Wan as executive producer should tip you off, though, that it’s gonna deliver gonzo scares a-plenty: the Australian director is behind such huge franchises as Saw and my fave Halloween rewatch Malignant.
Yvonne Strahovski leads the freakiness as a mother on a ranch in rural Georgia, where a “mysterious threat” will force her and her neighbours to band together if they want to survive. It’s based on a book by Robert McCammon, and our only hints at the terror within are images of some bloke wearing a creepy gas mask.
Territory: Season 1
Territory: Season 1
‘Bout time the Land Down Under got its own Yellowstone! Anna Torv leads this sweeping family drama as Emily Lawson, that surname being tellingly reminiscent of the country’s great bush poet Henry Lawson. When her family’s lil farm—actually the largest cattle station in the whole darn world—is left stranded without a clear successor to its fortune and foibles, the Lawsons are torn apart by backstabbing and intergenerational conflict.
It’s a thrill to see a cast of hard-working local talents get a shot at Netflix’s mega-global platform, and Australia’s most brutal and sunburned landscapes will look terrific even on your wee TV screen.
What We Do In The Shadows: Season 6
What We Do in the Shadows: Season 6
The vampires of Staten Island (and now their familiar Guillermo!) might be immortal, but TV shows aren’t meant to last forever—and so it’s with a heavy heart that we plunge the final nail into this brilliant horror-comedy’s coffin. In the sixth and final instalment of the Taika Waititi adaptation, the bloodsucking housemates from hell must arrive at some kind of happy eternity, with Guillermo and his former master Nandor hopefully finally shacking up and energy vampire Colin Robinson presumably being awful until the end of time.
As much as we’d like to tune in for the vamp family’s surreal stupidity every week until then, it makes sense for the show to end here. Vampires don’t age, obviously, and you wouldn’t want to notice Nadja and Laszlo appearing more human than they did in season one.
Where’s Wanda?: Season 1
Where's Wanda?: Season 1
In the first German series to drop on Apple TV+, a rebellious teen who disappears from a small, close-knit town can still make her voice heard, narrating the kinky and shocking secrets of her family and neighbours. As her bumbling dad and tense mum set up a neighborhood-wide surveillance network to try and find her, Wanda’s whereabouts become a tantalising mystery, peppered with a laugh-out-loud script and likeable performances.
This ain’t Gone Girl: it’s something far breezier and easier to watch, exposing just how little we might know about the people who share our streets, our pubs…even our houses.
