What are you going to be watching in October? The Spinoff rounds up everything that’s coming to streaming services this month, including Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, Apple TV+, Neon and TVNZ OnDemand.
The biggies
The Mandalorian (season two weekly on Disney+ from October 30)
The Mandalorian was the surprise hit of 2019 for reasons nobody expected: a mascot that outshone nearly every aspect of the show (Baby Yoda), bizarre guest stars (Werner Herzog, Amy Sedaris, Ming Na-Wen) and an episodic structure that resembled no mainstream drama at the time. Also, it was actually kind of great, netting a Primetime Emmy nomination for Best Drama, and managing to even overshadow the (quite iffy) third entry in the recent film trilogy. Season two comes with new guest stars, more Taika Waititi and most importantly, more Baby Yoda. / Sam Brooks
Emily in Paris (binge on Netflix from October 2)
Want to go to Paris but can’t? Emily in Paris probably isn’t the next best thing, or even in the top ten of the next best things, but it’s as pretty as a postcard. The new Netflix series, after some development limbo, comes from the brain of Darren Star (Sex and the City, Younger) and stars Lily Collins (Mirror Mirror, Phil Collins’ daughter) as an American social media manager who finds herself transferred to her employer’s Paris office. Expect culture clashes, technicolour hijinks, and all the jokes you’ve ever heard about French people, brushed off and revamped for 2020. / SB
The Vow (binge on Neon from October 21)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31rSR0w0z30
Alas, this is not a remake of the classic Channing Tatum tearjerker, but a new five-part HBO documentary series about American cult NXIVM. This group promoted itself as a life changing self-improvement group, but in reality was a place of emotional and physical abuse, with its leaders later convicted on charges of sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy. The Vow promises to go behind the headlines by speaking to people deeply involved in the cult, and is a must-see for true crime fans. / Tara Ward
The Undoing (weekly on Neon from October 26)
Nicole Kidman and David E. Kelley take their Big Little Lies success all the way to New York in HBO’s latest psychological drama. Kidman plays a successful therapist whose privileged world begins to unravel when her doctor husband (Hugh Grant) suddenly disappears, revealing their life together to be full of lies. Big lies, little lies, probably lots of big little lies. It’s not an original premise for a drama series, but Kidman is just a therapist standing in front of a lying oncologist, asking him to love her, and who doesn’t want to watch that? / TW
The notables
The Queen’s Gambit (binge on Netflix from October 23)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDrieqwSdgI
Anya Taylor-Joy (Peaky Blinders, The Miniaturist) smashes out another period drama in The Queen’s Gambit, an intense series set in the Cold War era about a young orphan’s rise to chess genius. Child prodigy Beth Harmon has plenty to deal with on her road to success, including an addiction to painkillers, a troubled home life, and a bunch of annoying men who don’t want to lose to a girl. If you thought chess was fun, think again. / TW
INSiDE (binge on Neon from October 31)
Filmed entirely during the first Covid-19 lockdown, local show INSiDE follows the struggles of a reclusive germaphobe forced to confront her past during a second wave of the pandemic. Originally made in 12-minute episodes, INSiDE is a tense, tight thriller lifted by dark humour, and shows how creative New Zealanders can be even during the most restrictive of times. Starring Morgana O’Reilly, Josh Thomson, Antonia Prebble and Sam Snedden, INSiDE is the lockdown drama you didn’t know you needed. / TW
The Haunting of Bly Manor (binge on Netflix from October 9)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tykS7QfTWMQ
Escape the horror of the real world for the horror of The Haunting of Bly Manor, the next chapter in Mike Flanagan’s “Haunting of” anthology series. Heavily influenced by Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw, Bly Manor follows a young American nanny hired to look after two orphaned children in England, shortly after the tragic death of an au pair. Bly Manor is creepy as hell but I’m sure everything will turn out fine, especially if you’re happy to sleep with the light on for the rest of your life. / TW
God Shave The Queens (series on TVNZ on Demand from October 24)
You might be disappointed to learn that this isn’t a show where barbers shave the matriarchs of royal families around the world. But never fear, God Shave the Queens still sounds pretty great. The doco-series starts less than a week after The Vivenne was crowned as the winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, and it follows her and the rest of the contestants as they embark on a UK tour that carries them across the pommy nation. So if you need something to fill the Drag Race hole in your heart/schedule, then look no further./ SB
The movies
The Trial of the Chicago 7 (movie on Netflix from October 16)
In the month of October, Sacha Baron Cohen will be fronting a new Borat film for Amazon and leading an ensemble cast in The Trial of the Chicago 7. The latter won’t be a bundle of laughs, but it could be the film to snag Cohen an Oscar nomination. Written and directed by the West Wing’s Aaron Sorkin, this true story follows a group of anti-Vietnam War protesters in 60s America. With a supporting cast that includes Michael Keaton, Eddie Redmayne and Mark Rylance, it’s being tipped as an awards season darling and the first trailer certainly backs that up. After being shipped to Netflix as a result of Covid-19, this is your chance to see what’s being called one of the best films of the year from your living room. / Stewart Sowman-Lund
Birds of Prey (movie on Neon from October 11)
Many of the recent DC offerings have been unwatchable (I’m looking at you, Justice League), so it came as a surprise that Birds of Prey was not only a step-up but actually… good? Despite its links to the ill-fated Suicide Squad, Birds of Prey has enough charm to make up for that film’s lack of – thanks in part to a stunning turn by Margot Robbie. It’s highly stylised, violent, funny and honestly just kicks a lot of ass. / SSL
The Forty-Year-Old Version (movie on Netflix from October 9)
I can’t describe this film better than its synopsis, and I won’t try: “Desperate for a breakthrough as she turns 40, down-on-her-luck New York playwright Radha reinvents herself as a rapper and searches for her true voice.” While it sounds potentially quite cringe, Radha Black is an absolute freaking legend and draws from her own experiences as a playwright. The film premiered at Sundance 2020 and came away with the US Dramatic Competition’s Directing Award. So put aside your qualms and get elbow-deep in what could’ve been one of the year’s festival hits, if we still had film festivals. / SB
The rest
Netflix
October 1
Oktoberfest: Beer & Blood
Bom Dia, Veronica
All Because of You (Pasal Kau)
Carmen Sandiego: Season 3
The Worst Witch: Season 4
The Amazing Spider-Man
Magnolia
50 First Dates
Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues
Robin Hood: Men in Tights
The Hangover
October 2
Song Exploder
Emily in Paris
Serious Men
Vampires vs. the Bronx
The Binding
Ahi te encargo
Òlòtūré
Dick Johnson is Dead
A Go! Go! Cory Carson Halloween
October 4
David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet
October 6
StarBeam: Halloween Hero
October 7
Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol
Private Lives
To the Lake
Hubie Halloween
October 9
Deaf U
The Haunting of Bly Manor
Ginny Weds Sunny
The Forty-Year-Old Version
Fast & Furious Spy Racers: Season 2: Rio
Super Monsters: Dia de los Monsters
October 10
Blade Runner 2049
October 12
Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts: Season 3
The Intern
October 13
The Cabin with Bert Kreischer
Octonauts & the Great Barrier Reef
October 14
BLACKPINK: Light Up the Sky
October 15
Social Distance
A Babysitter’s Guide to Monster Hunting
Love Like the Falling Rain
Rooting for Roona
October 16
La Revolution
Alguien tiene que morir
Star Trek: Discovery: Season 3
Grand Army
Dream Home Makeover
The Trial of the Chicago 7
Pup Academy: Season 2
The Last Kids on Earth: Book 3
October 19
Unsolved Mysteries: Volume 2
October 20
The Magic School Bus Rides Again: The Frizz Connection
October 21
My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman: Season 3
Rebecca
October 22
You Me Her: Season 5
The Alienist: Angel of Darkness
Cadaver
October 23
Perdida
Move
Barbarians
The Queen’s Gambit
Over the Moon
King Kong
8 Mile
Oblivion
Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang
Mr Bean’s Holiday
The Bourne Ultimatum
Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason
Definitely, Maybe
Nanny McPhee
Les Miserables
Neighbours
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Wild Child
October 24
The Mule
October 27
Sarah Cooper: Everything’s Fine
Vilas: Seras lo que debas ser o no seras nada
Chico Bon Bon: Monkey with a Tool Belt: Season 4
Blood of Zeus
October 28
Nobody Sleeps in the Woods Tonight
Holidate
October 29
You Animal!
October 30
Suburra: Season 3
Somebody Feed Phil: Season 4
Bronx
His House
The Day of the Lord
Neon
October 1
PAW Patrol: Season 5
Top Wing: Season 1
October 2
Teen Mom OG: Season 7-8A
October 3
All That: Season 1
Game Shakers: Season 1
Spies in Disguise
October 4
Warrior: Season 2
The Gentlemen
October 5
Broad City: Season 1-5
October 6
Hunter Street: Season 2
October 7
The Loud House: Season 3
October 8
Spongebob Squarepants: Season 11
October 9
Twenties
John Wick
October 10
My Spy
October 11
Birds of Prey
October 13
Fear the Walking Dead: Season 6A
October 14
Lizzie
October 15
Workaholics: Season 1-7
October 16
Pocoyo: Crazy Inventions
Ready Steady Ghost!
Sesame Street: Which Witch is Which?
Fireman Sam: Season 11
The Wiggles: Ready, Steady, Wiggle!: Season 2
What Not to Give an Ogre for his Birthday
Fast & Furious 6
October 18
Shark Tale
Doctor Sleep
October 19
Rogue Warfare
Rogue Warfare 2: The Hunt
Rogue Warfare 3: Death of a Nation
October 21
The Vow
October 22
Through the Woods
Andy’s Wild Adventures: Season 2
Bluey
October 23
Double Shot At Love with DJ Pauly D & Vinny: Season 1
Face to Face
Furious 7
October 25
Cagefighter: Worlds Collide
October 26
The Undoing
October 28
The Day Henry Met…
Marvellous Makes
Go Jetters: Season 2
Ashes in the Snow
The Guardian
Dennis the Menace
Now and Then
October 30
Zac & Mia: Season 1-2
Gremlins
October 31
INSiDE
Casper
TVNZ on Demand
October 1
A Tale of Two Coreys
No One Would Tell
Old Dog
From the Vault: Vintage TV & Garden Shows
The Desert
Rec 2
Built to Shred: Season 4
CPH Open 2018
CPH Open 2019
CPH Open: Everyone Is A Winner
Revenge of the Electric Car
Scarlet Woman: The True Story of Mary Magdalene
The Believers
Saudi Arabia Uncovered
The Watcher in the Woods
The Wrong Teacher
Desert Runners
Greedy Lying Bastards
Selling God
Back Country Rescue
Border Battles
Drag Fan
Comedy Qweens
Trasnlation
Devil’s Throat
October 5
Welcome to Cardboard City
ASB: Backing Business
October 8
Des
October 14
The Bachelorette US
October 24
God Shave The Queens
Disney+
October 2
Ford V Ferrari
Bunk’d: Season 4
October 9
The Right Stuff
October 16
Clouds
Meet the Chimps
Lost on Everest
Disney Junior’s The Rocketeer
October 23
Once Upon A Showman
The Last Secrets of the Nasca
The Big Fib
October 30
The Mandalorian: Season 2
PJ Masks
Amazon Prime Video
October 1
Soltos Em Floripa
October 2
Bug Diaries Halloween Special
Savage X Fenty Show: Season 2
The Walking Dead: The World Beyond
October 6
Welcome to the Blumhouse: Black Box
Welcome to the Blumhouse: The Lie
October 9
Carolina Marin
Sons of the Soil: Jaipur Pink Panthers
October 13
Welcome to the Blumhouse: Evil Eye
Welcome to the Blumhouse: Nocturne
October 16
What The Constitution Means To Me
Time
October 23
Mirzapur: Season 2
NOS4A2: Season 2
October 30
The Challenge: ETA
Truth Seekers
Apple TV+
October 2
Tiny World
October 23
On the Rocks
Acorn TV
October 5
Capital
Hidden
Suspects: Season 3
Goodnight Sweetheart: Seasons 1-2
Murdoch Mysteries: Season 7
October 12
Penance
Vera: Season 1-2
Worst Week of My Life
Midsomer Murders: Season 15
October 19
Endeavour: Season 1-2
Reilly: Ace of Spies
Shetland: Season 1-2
Changi
Rumple of the Bailey: Season 1-2
October 26
Anthony
Midsomer Murders: Season 16
The Mayor Casterbridge
B&B