It’s the weekend, folks! And as the nights get chillier and October fades faster than the leaves are falling from the trees, kicking back with a new movie or TV series is more appealing than ever.
Well, I have you covered. The following list of shows and movies includes brand new stuff out this weekend as well as recent additions and ongoing shows that are coming out weekly. If you have any suggestions that I didn’t include, feel free to let me know on Twitter or Facebook. Let’s dive right in!
South Park: Joining The Panderverse (Paramount+)
The new South Park special Joining The Panderverse just released today on Paramount+. I have yet to watch it, only just having found this out right now (and adding to the list late—my bad!) It looks like it takes on topics like AI, race-and-gender swapping and more, in typical South Park fashion. I am a long-time fan of the show and of Trey Parker and Matt Stone, so I’m definitely excited for this one. Guess I’ll watch it tonight!
The Gilded Age Season 2 (Max)
I didn’t watch the first season of The Gilded Age, which follows characters through the high society of New York City in the 1880s. Season 2 is reviewing much better than Season 1, though critics seemed to like the first season much more than audiences, many of whom complained that it’s boring and predictable. I have no idea, but it’s back this Sunday!
Pain Hustlers (Netflix)
It wasn’t long ago that I included the Netflix movie Painkiller in this guide (early August, it looks like). At the time, I mentioned that Hulu already had a critically acclaimed series about the opioid epidemic called Dopesick (sort of like how HBO’s Love and Death was another retelling of the same thing Hulu did with Candy).
In any case, Pain Hustlers—starring Chris Evans, Catherine O’Hara, Andy Garcia and Emily Blunt—is yet another opioid pandemic story, though this time it’s a film rather than a series. Despite the stellar cast, critics are shredding this film to pieces, with a painful 22% on Rotten Tomatoes. “Pain Hustlers is one of the most predictable, uninteresting, and boring movies of the year,” writes Pramit Chatterjee at Digital Mafia Takes. Ouch.
Fellow Travelers (Paramount+ with Showtime)
Paramount’s Showtime Original miniseries Fellow Travelers is faring much better with critics, nabbing an 88% Fresh score on RT. It’s based on the Thomas Mallon novel of the same name. The story follows two closeted gay men, Hawkins Fuller (Matt Bomer) and Timothy Laughlin (Jonathan Bailey) as they lead double lives in the McCarthy era Washington D.C. Their romance must remain secret amidst a time of political tension and intense scrutiny. Political thriller, doomed romance. Sounds pretty good!
Loki Season 2 (Disney)
I’m still not caught up with the first season of Loki because the MCU burnout is real and a lot of that burnout has to do with the multiverse, which I find extremely stupid and annoying at this point. And, of course, Loki is all about the multiverse. So. Maybe I will just deal with it and watch, but I have House Of Usher and I just started Upload which is . . . okay so far. I’m not sure what to think just yet but it’s definitely piqued my interest. But yeah, are you liking Loki Season 2?
Fear The Walking Dead (AMC)
Fear The Walking Dead returns for Season 8, Episode 8 and more absolutely mind-bogglingly terrible nonsense. As I’ve pointed out more than once recently, this show seems to go out of its way to be awful. Nobody acts or talks like a real person. The plot is chock full of contrivances, wild coincidences and magical walkie-talkies. But hey, it can be fun to hate watch and I know a lot of people do just that these days. I still want them to prove me wrong and turn things around with the final few episodes, but I’m not holding my breath.
Bodies (Netflix)
I binged this show over this past week and came away with very mixed feelings. On the one hand, I was definitely drawn into the mystery and the characters and was happily watching episode after episode. On the other hand, my goodness there are a ton of plot holes and silly contrivances, even for a time-travel series. I liked it and I do recommend it, but I wish they’d been a little more careful with the plot. You can read my review here.
The Fall Of The House Of Usher (Netflix)
This has been out for a couple of weeks now but I thought I’d add it back to the guide since it’s Halloween weekend and this is one of the only new horror offerings out there. I’m starting it tonight but I really enjoyed Mike Flanagan’s previous horror series, Midnight Mass, and I have high hopes for this retelling of Edgar Allen Poe. Speaking of which, read some Edgar Allen Poe this weekend! I know this is a streaming guide, but it never hurts to throw some books into the mix!
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (Paramount+)
The critically-acclaimed return of our favorite teenage mutants is now out on Paramount+ so if you missed it in theaters—like me!—you can stream it from the comfort of your home. Cowabunga dudes!
Five Nights At Freddy’s (In Theaters / Peacock)
The new theatrical release of the week is FNAF, based on the popular jump-scare video game series and just in time for Halloween. It is . . . not faring well with critics, but audiences seem to love it so who knows? I’m not really into the games but they’re wildly popular and if audiences seem to enjoy the movie I assume many of them are gamers and I tend to trust that more than critics who probably are less familiar with the series. If you’ve seen it let me know what you thought. Edit: This is also streaming on Peacock!
Cabin In The Woods (Max)
I figured I’d offer up one scary movie suggestion for Halloween (I may write up a separate list as well, time-permitting) and Cabin In The Woods, while a comedy, remains one of my favorites. I admit, I’m just not a huge horror movie guy so my recommendations in this regard are limited, but if you haven’t seen this one, please do. It’s really great! And if you have some horror movie suggestions, please let me know on Twitter or Facebook! Have a great weekend and Happy Halloween!
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