“Documentary Now!”
It’s been a few years since the third season of cult favorite comedy/mockumentary series “Documentary Now!” but it’s returning this month with a bigger than ever group of players on board. Helen Mirren returns as the host of the series, as the episodes aim to tackle documentaries such as Werner Herzog’s “Burden of Dreams,” Agnès Varda’s “The Beaches of Agnès,” and recent Oscar winner “My Octopus Teacher.” The series two-parter premiere, “Soldier of Illusion,” is written by John Mulaney and stars Alexander Skarsgård. Cate Blanchett, Nicholas Braun, and Jonathan Pryce also join the cast.
Premiere Date: Season four premieres October 19 on IFC and AMC+.
“From Scratch”
Created by Attica Locke and Tembi Locke based on Tembi Locke’s memoir of the same name, “From Scratch” stars Zoe Saldaña as Amy, an American woman who falls in love with a Sicilian man while studying abroad in Italy. The eight-episode drama series also stars Eugenio Mastrandrea, Danielle Deadwyler, Keith David, and Kellita Smith.
Premiere Date: The series premieres on October 21 on Netflix.
“Guillermo del Toro’s ‘Cabinet of Curiosities”
“Nightmare Alley” director Guillermo del Toro has a big year on Netflix coming with his stop-motion adaptation of Pinocchio. First, though, is the premiere of his curated series, “Guillermo del Toro’s ‘Cabinet of Curiosities.” Each episode of the anthology series will be introduced by del Toro, as the filmmaker showcases the work of award-winning horror visionaries from around the world. Aside from del Toro himself, directors include Vincenzo Natali (“Splice,”) Ana Lily Amirpour (“A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night,”) Catherine Hardwicke (“Miss You Already,”), Jennifer Kent (“The Babadook,”) David Prior (“The Empty Man,”) Keith Thomas (“The Vigil,”) and Panos Cosmatos (“Mandy.”)
Premiere Date: The series premieres on October 25 on Netflix.
“The White Lotus”
After becoming the surprise smash sensation of summer 2021, Mike White’s “The White Lotus,” which was supposed to be a one-off, comes back for a second season as HBO convinced the writer/director/showrunner to conceive of a new season. But instead of casting the same set of characters, White discards it all aside from Jennifer Coolidge, setting the new anthology season in Italy at a new wellness resort. F. Murray Abraham, Aubrey Plaza, Haley Lu Richardson, Tom Hollander, Meghann Fahy, Michael Imperioli, and Theo James are among the principal cast.
Premiere Date: October 30 on HBO and HBO Max.
Also this month: “The Vow: Part 2” on HBO (October 17), Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy‘s “The Peripheral” for Prime Video (October 21), ABC’s “Alaska Daily” from writer/director Tom McCarthy, Apple TV+’s “The Problem With Jon Stewart,” (October 7), and Netflix’s new season of “Big Mouth” (October 28).
