“Interview With The Vampire” (AMC+)
A modern, unforgettable retelling of Anne Rice‘s best-selling novel, “Interview With The Vampire,” this new AMC series arrives just in time for spooky season. The series stars Jacob Anderson (“Game of Thrones“), Sam Reid (“The Newsreader“), Bailey Bass (“Avatar: The Way of the Water“), and Eric Bogosian (“Succession“).
Premiere Date: October 2 – RP
“A Friend of the Family” (Peacock)
Have you seen that crazy Netflix doc “Abducted in Plain Sight?” This is the adaptation of that remarkable true story of a man who basically kidnapped the daughter of a family friend right out in the open. Jake Lacy (“The White Lotus”) stars as Robert Berchtold, the psychopath who kidnapped Jan Broberg (Mckenna Grace), the daughter of Mary Ann (Anna Paquin) and Bob (Colin Hanks). The show is created by the talented Nick Antosca (“The Act”) and the premiere was directed by the excellent Eliza Hittman (“Never Rarely Sometimes Always”).
Premiere Date: October 6 – BT
“The Midnight Club” (Netflix)
Netflix loves Mike Flanagan. The creator of “The Haunting of Hill House” and “Midnight Mass” has several shows in the pipeline for the king of the streamers, including this adaptation of the novel of the same name by young adult writer Christopher Pike (although it will reportedly incorporate other Pike novels as well). “The Midnight Club” casts newcomers as seven terminally ill young adults who live in a place called Rotterdam Home, a residence for those in hospice. Every night, at midnight, they meet to tell scary stories, promising to communicate with one another from beyond the grave. And then it seems like one of them makes that promise come true.
Premiere Date: October 7 – BT
“The Winchesters” (The CW)
“Supernatural” was one of the longest-running dramas of all time, launching in 2005 and coming to a close over 300 episodes later in 2020. Of course, nothing that popular goes away from pop culture for too long and a spin-off has been produced only two years later in the form of this show co-developed by one of its stars, Jensen Ackles. The hook? Like so many shows this season, it’s a prequel! Meg Donnelly and Drake Rodger play the young version of the parents of Sam and Dean from the original show. Want another hook? Ackles will return as narrator, telling the story of the early days of his ancestors.
Premiere Date: October 11 – BT
“Shantaram” (Apple TV+)
Apple TV+’s “Shantaram” series, about a heroin addict and bank robber from Australia who flees the country to India, starring Charlie Hunnam, directed by Justin Kurzel (with Bharat Nalluri and Iain B. MacDonald) went through a lot of problems. Expensive, shot in various locales in South Asia in the fall of 2019 (!), production halted on the show in early 2020 (right before COVID) when series writer Eric Warren Singer (“American Hustle”), fell behind on shoots and the production had nothing to do but wait and hope he kept up (Kurzel released two whole-ass films in the interim!). Steve Lightfoot (“The Punisher“) eventually took over as showrunner and Alexander Siddig joined the cast. After all of these delays, the troubled series finally has a premiere date this Fall.
Premiere Date: October 14 – RP
“Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities” (Netflix)
Horror and the anthology format just go together, and this is the most promising such show in years. One of the reasons is that it’s being guided by the legendary Guillermo del Toro, who is not only the creator here but wrote two of the episodes himself. He’s not directing, but he handed these tales off to a murderer’s row of filmmakers that includes Jennifer Kent (“The Babadook”), David Prior (“The Empty Man”), Panos Cosmatos (“Mandy”), Ana Lily Amirpour (“A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night”), Vincenzo Natali (“Splice”), and more.
Premiere Date: October 25 – BT
“Untitled Marvel Halloween Special” (Disney+)
Remember when the TV networks used to broadcast standalone TV specials based on hit movie properties? They’re back, but exclusively on Disney+, who are the kings of mining their catalog for more nostalgia. The first one out of the gate is this potentially charming oddity that’s directed by the legendary composer Michael Giacchino and stars Gael Garcia Bernal and Laura Donnelly. If you’re hoping for an MCU variety show, this is more like a standalone short film starring Bernal as Jake, an average guy who becomes, wait for it, Werewolf by Night, a supernatural Marvel character who premiered in comic book form back in 1972.
Premiere Date: October TBD and likely announced at D23 – BT
“Blockbuster” (Netflix)
It feels like a show based on a meme, based on the constant fetishization of Blockbuster video rental store in the ‘80s and ‘90s that no longer exist online. Regardless, from creator/writer/ showrunner Vanessa Ramos (“Brooklyn Nine-Nine”), in “Blockbuster,” Randall Park stars as the manager of the last operating Blockbuster Video in America. Along with his staff employees Melissa Fumero, they fight to fight to stay analog relevant in a 5G world. JB Smoove, Tyler Alvarez, and Madeleine Arthur co-star.
Premiere Date: November 3 on Netflix. – RP
“The Missing” (Peacock)
It wouldn’t be a TV preview without at least one show by David E. Kelley, although the production on this one has been quieter than most for the living TV legend. It’s a crime drama based on a novel called “The Missing File” by Dror A. Mishiani, which tells of a detective in New York who faces a crisis of faith while investigating a new case. The cast is filled with characters actors, and performers who are largely unknown, but an interesting thing to note is that the premiere was directed by Oscar-winner Barry Levinson.
Premiere Date: November 10 – BT
“Yellowstone” Season 5 (Paramount Network)
TV’s most popular network series returns for Season 5. That’s right, Taylor Sheridan’s mega-popular Montana ranchers family dynasty series returns for a fifth season which is right on time since critics seem to be finally catching up with the series. The huge ensemble cast stars Kevin Costner, Luke Grimes, Kelly Reilly, Wes Bentley, Cole Hauser, Kelsey Asbille, and many more. Reportedly split into two parts, we may get the second half of 2023. Season five could also tease adjacent spin-off shows “The Tulsa King” and The Four Sixes Ranch series “6666.”
Premiere Date: November 13 – RP
