The Ultimate Guide to What to Watch on Netflix, Hulu, Prime Video, Max, and More in October 2024

In the words of a wise woman, oh, honey, we are well into October. You’re going to need something to watch while you’re trying to decide what to go as for Halloween, and luckily this month’s new and returning shows can provide a lot of inspiration. The extremely sweet Heartstopper boys would make a good couples costume, while The Franchise‘s overworked cast and crew would make for a niche but excellent group costume. You could dress up as The Diplomat‘s titular diplomat Kate Wyler, or any of the vampires from What We Do in the Shadows. Pick something from this list and be prepared to receive endless compliments on your ingenuity.

Our guide to the best TV in October is divided into three sections: the best shows and movies to watch this month, the best shows to watch by streaming service, and a calendar of TV highlights. Whatever you’re looking for, you’ll find it below. 

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The best shows and movies to watch in October

Heartstopper Season 3 (Oct. 3, Netflix)

Watching the first two seasons of Heartstopper felt like being wrapped in a warm blanket. There’s just something so comforting about the rom-com series based on Alice Oseman’s graphic novels of the same name. In Heartstopper Season 2, Charlie (Joe Locke) and Nick’s (Kit Connor) relationship was tested in new ways. But through every stormy test, they remained the anchor in each other’s lives. Oseman has said that “Season 2 ended with Nick beginning to understand the extent of Charlie’s mental health issues, and it’s this that will drive the story through Season 3.” What else should we expect for Season 3? A cameo by Bridgerton‘s Jonathan Bailey as Charlie’s celebrity crush, Jack Maddox. –Kat Moon [Trailer]

The Franchise (Oct. 6, HBO)

Created by Veep‘s Armando Iannucci, Succession‘s Jon Brown, and Oscar-winning director Sam Mendes, The Franchise is going to do for superhero movie franchises what Veep did for the government. The showbiz satire follows the cast and crew of a blockbuster film as it faces challenges getting made, and with Iannucci on board, hopefully we’ll get a lot of creative curses about spandex and capes. The excellent cast includes Himesh Patel, Aya Cash, Jessica Hynes, and Billy Magnussen. –Tim Surette [Trailer] 

Sweetpea (Oct. 10, Starz)

Ella Purnell, star of Prime Video’s Fallout, Netflix’s Arcane, and Showtime’s Yellowjackets, continues her string of great — and twisted — role choices with this dark British comedy-drama that is tonally the polar opposite of its “sweet” title. Purnell plays Rhiannon, a woman who’s constantly overlooked by society and hurt from being the victim of high school bullying. So, one day, she snaps and starts killing people. It’s Dexter gender-swapped for today’s crowd, as she gets more and more comfortable getting rid of human scum, but how far will she go? I hope you don’t mind the sight of Purnell drenched in blood. –Tim Surette [Trailer]

Teacup (Oct. 10, Peacock)

Saw‘s James Wan uses Robert McCammon’s 1988 sci-fi/horror novel Stinger as inspiration for this series about a group in rural Georgia facing something very, very scary. Peacock isn’t telling us what that is, so we’ll just have to watch to find out. Don’t worry, you’ll know why it’s called Teacup by the end of the season. I hope. Yvonne Strahovski, Scott Speedman, Chaske Spencer, and Kathy Baker star. –Tim Surette [Trailer]

Disclaimer (Oct. 11, Apple TV+)

Here’s a disclaimer: Just because a show has a bunch of famous people involved in it, it doesn’t mean it’s automatically going to be good — just ask Apple TV+, which has a knack for stuffing mediocre shows with big-name talent. (See: The Morning Show.) But the cast and crew for the streamer’s new limited series Disclaimer is ridiculous: Cate Blanchett, Sacha Baron Cohen, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville, and Kodi Smit-McPhee in front of the camera and Roma‘s Alfonso Cuarón behind it? That’s too good. It’s based on Renée Knight’s 2015 novel and follows a female journalist (Blanchett) who built a career on exposing the transgressions of others and discovers she’s the main character in a book that threatens to expose a long-held secret of hers. Plus, it has one of the coolest teaser trailers of the year. –Tim Surette [Trailer]

The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh (Oct. 17, Prime Video)

This charming sitcom in the vein of Fresh Off the Boat follows a family from India that immigrates to Pittsburgh, where American culture hits them like a big ol’ pickup truck. The whole series is anchored by somewhat mysterious interrogation sessions of the Pradeeps at the U.S. immigration office — we don’t know why they are there — where we see how their lives have been in the two years they’ve spent in America through flashbacks, each embellished by the family member telling the story. Naveen Andrews and Sindhu Vee star. –Tim Surette [Trailer]

Rivals (Oct. 18, Hulu)

It’ll be the horniest show of the season! Rivals, based on the steamy novel by Dame Jilly Cooper, charts the rise of independent television in 1980s England, and all the romance, power-grabbing, and sex that followed. Think Bridgerton, but more than a century later. It’s just the type of soapy TV that will keep you warm this fall. Alex Hassell, David Tennant, Aidan Turner, Nafessa Williams, and Katherine Parkinson star. –Tim Surette [Trailer]  

Territory (Oct. 24, Netflix)

G’day, Yellowstone! This Australian drama sounds a lot like America’s big neo-Western hit: When the world’s largest cattle station is left without a clear successor, everyone scrambles for a piece of the pasture, including rival cattle barons, Indigenous neighbors, developers, and more. Anna Torv, Michael Dorman, Sam Corlett, and Robert Taylor star. –Tim Surette [Trailer]

Somebody Somewhere (Oct. 27, HBO)

Somebody Somewhere flies far enough under the radar that every renewal has hit like an underdog victory. We’ve been celebrating the news of a third season ever since it was announced in June 2023, but it looks like our luck has run out: Season 3 will be the last for this terrific show. It’s hard not to want more time with Sam (Bridget Everett), Joel (Jeff Hiller), and the rest of their Kansas community, but Somebody Somewhere is sure to go out with flair, balancing biting humor with heartfelt examinations of friendship and grief. The official description for the final season comes with a big promise: “In Season 3, we see growth against all odds.” –Kelly Connolly [Teaser]

The Diplomat Season 2 (Oct. 31, Netflix)

For some, Oct. 31 is known as Halloween. For others, it’s known as The Diplomat Season 2 day. In the first season finale, Kate Wyler (Keri Russell) — the titular diplomat — realized that British Prime Minister Nicol Trowbridge (Rory Kinnear) was responsible for an attack on a British aircraft carrier off the coast of Iran. The season ended on a cliffhanger when she learned that Trowbridge had ordered a second attack, which put the lives of Kate’s husband Hal (Rufus Sewell), embassy deputy chief Stuart Hayford (Ato Essandoh), office clerk Ronnie (Jess Chanliau), and MP Merritt Grove (Simon Chandler) at risk. Season 2 is set to pick up in the aftermath of that bombshell discovery. If that wasn’t enough, Allison Janney is joining the cast. –Allison Picurro [Teaser]

What’s on Netflix, Max, Hulu, Amazon, and more in October

Netflix’s best new shows and movies in October

If you’re looking for scares on Netflix this Halloween season, movies are your best bet. Two of the buzziest new films hitting the streamer in October — the body-swapping horror comedy It’s What’s Inside and the tense, based-on-a-true-story Woman of the Hour — promise to be unsettling. But if that’s not your vibe, TV has you covered. You can watch Heartstopper Season 3 for sweetness and romance, Outer Banks Season 4 for treasure-hunting thrills, and The Diplomat Season 2 for international crises and black tie events (which, actually, can also be scary). Plus, we have to give it up for the beloved Comedy Central sitcom Detroiters, which all the cool kids will be telling you to check out as soon as it’s on Netflix. Here’s our list of the best shows and movies on Netflix in October, plus everything coming to and leaving Netflix in October.

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HBO and Max’s best new shows and movies in October

Welcome to spooky season! The two HBO original series we’re most excited about for October — the new comedy The Franchise and the third and final season of the excellent Somebody Somewhere — aren’t particularly scary, but not everything has to be on theme. Besides, the new movie offerings make up for it: The new Stephen King adaptation Salem’s Lot hits Max on at the beginning of the month, the Mia Goth-starring horror film MaXXXine arrives in the middle of the month, and M. Night Shyamalan’s psychological thriller Trap will show up just in time for Halloween. Additionally, HBO will premiere a new Seth Meyers stand-up special and the new two-part true crime docuseries I Am Not a Monster: The Lois Riess Murders. There’s a lot of variety to work with. Here’s our list of the best shows and movies on HBO and Max in October, plus everything coming to HBO and Max in October.

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Hulu’s best new shows and movies in October

Hulu loves to promote its new shows and movies in October as “Huluween,” but perhaps a better description, given the streamer’s biggest title of the month, would be “Hahaween.” (Sorry.) FX’s What We Do in the Shadows returns for its final season just over a week before the end of October, adding a little blood-sucking Halloween humor to the otherwise spooky month as vampires Laszlo, Nadja, Nandor, and Colin Robinson prepare to stay in their coffins for good. But if it’s bona fide frights you’re looking for, then check out Hold Your Breath, which stars Sarah Paulson as a Dust Bowl-era woman trying to protect her family from a dusty boogeyman; the twisted scary movie Mr. Crocket, in which a kids TV host kidnaps children; or Carved, which follows a group of youngsters who fight off a vengeful pumpkin. OK, maybe that last one is more funny than frightening. Here’s our list of the best shows and movies on Hulu in October, plus everything coming to Hulu in October.

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Amazon Prime Video’s best new shows and movies in October

Amazon’s continued efforts to take over the world extend to its streaming service, Prime Video, especially this October. All four of the shows we’re highlighting this month are of some international flavor, starting with the Italian spin-off of the spy thriller Citadel, Citadel: Diana. The most noteworthy new series this month is an Australian version of The Office, which I’m sure American audiences won’t have a problem with at all. Ahem. There’s also The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh, a sitcom about an Indian family that moves to America, and Like a Dragon: Yakuza, a Japanese action series based on the video game franchise. Here’s our list of the best shows and movies on Amazon Prime Video in October, plus everything coming to Prime Video in October.

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Peacock’s new shows and movies in October

Peacock is a pretty good place to be in October if you’re looking to get in the mood for Halloween. In addition to some Halloween classics, like Rob Zombie’s films The Devil’s Rejects and Halloween, as well as Jennifer’s Body, It Follows, Drag Me to Hell (my personal recommendation), and the kid-friendly Casper movies, Peacock is debuting a couple of original horror series. Teacup, produced by James Wan, follows a group in rural Georgia trying to survive a deadly presence, and Hysteria is an ’80s-set horror-comedy about a high school metal band that leans into the Satanic Panic to get more popular. Here’s our list of everything coming to Peacock in October.

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The best new shows and movies everywhere else in October

Just in time for spooky season, Ella Purnell stars in the new dramedy Sweetpea as a woman who, after a lifetime of being mistreated by society, decides to start killing people. Sweetpea premieres Oct. 10 on Starz, and just one day later (on Oct. 11), the star-studded Disclaimer will land on Apple TV+. Other highlights the second seasons of Jason Segel’s Apple TV+ comedy Shrinking on Oct. 16 and the delightfully kooky Good Wife spin-off Elsbeth, which returns on CBS on Oct. 17, as well as Billy Crystal’s new psychological thriller series Before, the first two episodes of which drop on Apple TV+ on Oct. 25.

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October TV calendar highlights

Tuesday, Oct. 1
The Real Housewives of New York City (Season 15, Bravo)
Vice Presidential Debate (Special Event, CBS)

Wednesday, Oct. 2
Chef’s Table: Noodles (Season 1, Netflix)
Joan (Season 1, The CW)
Last Days of the Space Age (Limited Series, Hulu)
Love Is Blind (Season 7, Netflix)
Sullivan’s Crossing (Season 2, The CW)
Where’s Wanda? (Season 1, Apple TV+)

Thursday, Oct. 3
Found (Season 2, NBC)
Heartstopper (Season 3, Netflix)
Hold Your Breath (Film, Hulu)
House of Spoils (Film, Prime Video)
Law & Order (Season 24, NBC)
Law & Order: SVU (Season 26, NBC)
The Legend of Vox Machina (Season 3, Prime Video)
Reggaeton: The Sound that Conquered the World (Docuseries, Peacock)
Salem’s Lot (Film, Max)
Scrabble (Season 1, The CW)
Trivial Pursuit (Season 1, The CW)
Velma: This Halloween Needs to Be More Special! (Special, Max)

Friday, Oct. 4
The Charlie Puth Show (Season 1, The Roku Channel)
Faceoff: Inside the NHL (Docuseries, Prime Video)
It’s What’s Inside (Film, Netflix)
The Platform 2 (Film, Netflix)
Scare Tactics (Season 1, USA)
Scariest House in America (Season 1, HGTV)

Sunday, Oct. 6
The Franchise (Season 1, HBO)
Queens Court (Season 2, Peacock)
The Real Housewives of Potomac (Season 9, Bravo)

Monday, Oct. 7
Below Deck Sailing Yacht (Season 5, Bravo)
The Menendez Brothers (Documentary, Netflix)
Solar Opposites Halloween Special (Special, Hulu)
Superman & Lois (Season 4, The CW)

Tuesday, Oct. 8
Accused (Season 2, Fox)
Ali Wong: Single Lady (Comedy Special, Netflix)
Dinner Time Live With David Chang (Season 2, Netflix)
The Irrational (Season 2, NBC)
Killer Cakes (Limited Series, Prime Video)
An Oprah Special: The Presleys – Elvis, Lisa Marie and Riley (Special, CBS)

Wednesday, Oct. 9
Abbott Elementary (Season 4, ABC)
The Inheritance (Season 1, BritBox)
La Máquina (Season 1, Hulu)
Scamanda (Limited Series, ABC)
Starting 5 (Docuseries, Netflix)

Thursday, Oct. 10
Caddo Lake (Film, Max)
Citadel: Diana (Season 1, Prime Video)
Love Is Blind, Habibi (Season 1, Netflix)
Outer Banks (Season 4 Part 1, Netflix)
Roller Jam (Season 1, Max)
Sweetpea (Limited Series, Starz)
Teacup (Season 1, Peacock)
Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft (Season 1, Netflix)

Friday, Oct. 11
The Confidante (Limited Series, Max)
Daddy’s Head (Film, Shudder)
Disclaimer (Limited Series, Apple TV+)
The Last of the Sea Women (Documentary, Apple TV+)
Lonely Planet (Film, Netflix)

Sunday, Oct. 13
Tracker (Season 2, CBS)

Monday, Oct. 14
Barney’s World (Season 1, Max)
Family Guy Halloween Special (Special, Hulu)
NCIS: Origins (Season 1, CBS)
The Wranglers (Season 1, The CW)

Tuesday, Oct. 15
American Horror Stories (Season 3, Hulu)
Anatomy of Lies (Docuseries, Peacock)
Beyond Black Beauty (Season 1, Prime Video)
FBI (Season 7, CBS)
FBI: International (Season 4, CBS)
FBI: Most Wanted (Season 6, CBS)
Rachel Bloom: Death, Let Me Do My Special (Comedy Special, Netflix)

Wednesday, Oct. 16
I Am a Killer (Season 5, Netflix)
Shrinking (Season 2, Apple TV+)
Sistas (Season 8, BET)

Thursday, Oct. 17
Brothers (Film, Prime Video)
Elsbeth (Season 2, CBS)
Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage (Season 1, CBS)
Ghosts (Season 4, CBS)
The Lincoln Lawyer (Season 3, Netflix)
Passenger (Limited Series, BritBox)
The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh (Season 1, Prime Video)

Friday, Oct. 18
Fire Country (Season 3, CBS)
Happy’s Place (Season 1, NBC)
Hysteria!, (Season 1, Peacock)
Rivals (Season 1, Hulu)
Woman of the Hour (Film, Netflix)

Saturday, Oct. 19
2024 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony (Special, Disney+)

Sunday, Oct. 20
The Equalizer (Season 5, CBS)

Monday, Oct. 21
Poppa’s House (Season 1, CBS)
What We Do in the Shadows (Season 6, FX)

Tuesday, Oct. 22
Hasan Minhaj: Off With His Head (Comedy Special, Netflix)

Wednesday, Oct. 23
Breath of Fire (Limited Series, HBO)

Thursday, Oct. 24
Beauty in Black (Season 1, Netflix)
Canary Black (Film, Prime Video)
Territory (Season 1, Netflix)

Friday, Oct. 25
Before (Limited Series, Apple TV+)
The Remarkable Life of Ibelin (Documentary, Netflix)
Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band (Documentary, Hulu/Disney+)

Sunday, Oct. 27
Lioness (Season 2, Prime Video)Somebody Somewhere (Season 3, HBO)

Tuesday, Oct. 29
Olivia Rodrigo: GUTS World Tour (Music Special, Netflix)
Wizards Beyond Waverly Place (Season 1, Disney+)

Thursday, Oct. 31
The Diplomat (Season 2, Netflix)