With fall in full swing, the new movies and shows to watch in October 2023 are as plentiful as falling leaves. Netflix, Prime Video, Max and the other best streaming services are releasing new titles left and right.
This month’s lineup features the return of several fan-favorite series, including the time-traveling tricks of Marvel’s Loki season 2, heist hijinks of Lupin season 3 and the opulent period drama The Gilded Age season 2. And the Frasier revival brings back the good doctor for the next phase of his life.
New series are premiering, as well. Lessons in Chemistry adapts the popular novel, while The Fall of the House of Usher promises spooky thrills.
On the movie side, Emily Blunt is thrown into the opioid crisis in Pain Hustlers.
Here’s our guide on what to watch in October 2023.
Beckham (Netflix)
David Beckham is one of the most famous soccer players in history, but he’s also a global icon who shaped the pop culture landscape. For a period in the early 2000s, you couldn’t open a newspaper or magazine without seeing his face. But this docuseries looks beyond the headlines and iconic sporting moments as it explores the man behind it all, with insight from Becks himself as well as his closest friends and family.
Beckham chronicles a meteoric rise from humble beginnings to global football stardom. This glitzy biographical documentary will be a must-watch for Man Utd fans, and anybody who took a photo of Beckham to the barber shop as a kid. – RM
Premieres Oct. 4 on Netflix
Loki season 2 (Disney Plus)
Loki season 1 had massive implications for the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, essentially creating the multiverse that the Marvel TV shows and movies now operate in. Granted, Avengers Endgame did create alternate timelines, but that didn’t create nearly the same seismic shift as the conclusion of Loki season 1.
And while season 2 looks like the implications of Loki’s actions may be more contained to the show this time around, it looks like Loki plans to stick to the formula that made season 1 so great. Time travel, cool villains — in this case a Kang-variant named Victor Timely, and lots of Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and Mobius (Owen Wilson) continuing their bromance on the small screen. Make sure to check out our guide to Loki season 2 before the first episode premieres on Disney Plus. – MM
Premieres Oct. 5 on Disney Plus
Lupin season 3 (Netflix)
Gentleman thief Assane Diop (Omar Sy) is the most wanted man in France, after being framed for murder. He’s on the run from the police — when is he not? — and staying away from son Raoul (Etan Simon) and ex Claire (Ludivine Sagnier) for their own good.
Determined to reunite with them, Assane hatches a new plan: leave France and start a new life elsewhere. And to fund their escape, he comes up with his most challenging heist yet: stealing the precious Black Pearl. Unfortunately, the ghosts of the past never stay there and an unexpected return turns his plans upside down. – KW
Premieres Oct. 5 on Netflix
Our Flag Means Death season 2 (Max)
Our Flag Means Death is arguably a polarizing show. If you don’t care for the comedic styles of Rhys Darby and Taika Waititi, then you definitely won’t care for the show. But if you do find these two hilarious — as I do — then Our Flag Means Death will be a show you fall in love with fast, as it showcases both at the peak of their comedic powers.
While the first season seemed like a fish-out-of-water tale at first, it quickly became a romantic comedy about gentleman turned “Gentleman Pirate” Stede Bonnet (Darby) and dread pirate captain Blackbeard (Waititi). Think Ross and Rachel from Friends meets Pirates of the Caribbean. And season 2 looks like it’ll pick back up on this complicated romance from the outset. Spoiler warning: Our Flag Means Death is loosely based on the real-life story of Bonnet, so avoid Wikipedia if you don’t want to know what’s coming. – MM
Premieres Oct. 5 on Max
Totally Killer (Prime Video)
Horror comedies combine chills, thrills and laughs, taking the best of both genres and putting them together. The latest entry is this flick revolving around an infamous “Sweet Sixteen Killer,” who returns on Halloween night 35 years after the shocking murder of three teens to claim a fourth victim.
Jamie (Kiernan Shipka) is a 17-year-old whose overprotective mother (Julie Bowen) was friends with the original three victims. When Jamie comes face to face with the masked killer, she accidentally time-travels to 1987. While navigating the unfamiliar culture of the ‘80s, she teams up with the younger version of her mom (Olivia Holt) to catch the killer once and for all. – KW
Premieres Oct. 6 on Prime Video
The Fall of the House of Usher (Netflix)
For fans of The Haunting of Hill House, you won’t want to miss the latest miniseries from Mike Flanagan. For fans of Edgar Allen Poe’s seminal work… well as long as you like horror you’ll still have a good time. This eight-episode Netflix series borrows its name from the Poe short story and borrows elsewhere from Poe’s works — in the trailer we hear the iconic “Nevermore” from Poe’s poem The Raven. But it’s unclear just how much it borrows from the literary genius.
What is clear is that this is set up to be another quintessential Mike Flanagan horror series. The show focuses on Roderick Usher (Bruce Greenwood) and Madeline Usher (Mary McDonnell), twin heads of the Usher family and a corrupt pharmaceutical company. As the show progresses, Roderick’s children start dying off, in equally mysterious and brutal fashion. The show also stars Carla Gugino as Verna — a mysterious figure whose name is also an anagram for Raven. Regardless of how true to Poe’s work The Fall of the House of Usher is, it seems clear that it will definitely stay true to Flanagan’s beloved style of gothic, supernatural horror. – MM
Premieres Oct. 12 on Netflix
Frasier (Paramount Plus)
Nearly 20 years has passed since Frasier left the air, but the character and the show pick right back up as if two decades is a mere commercial interruption. The revival series finds Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer) returning to Boston. As you may recall, he was first introduced as a patron of Cheers.
Now, he’s older and somewhat wiser, ready to face new challenges, forge new relationships and fulfill an old dream or two. And just as he struggled to reconnect with his father when he moved to Seattle, Frasier experiences the same thing with his own son Freddy (Jack Cutmore-Scott). – KW
Premieres Oct. 12 on Paramount Plus
Lessons in Chemistry (Apple TV Plus)
The bestselling debut novel by Bonnie Garmus was a hot pick among book clubs across the country and a trending title on BookTok. Now, it’s coming to the screen, with Brie Larson playing protagonist Elizabeth Zott, a female chemist in the 1950s who encounters sexism and misogyny while pursuing her career.
When she’s fired from the lab, she stumbles into a job hosting a cooking show on local TV. But Elizabeth breaks from stereotype, choosing to teach her audience of underestimated housewives the science behind the recipes. Her approach soon sets off a cultural debate about gender roles.
Premieres Oct. 13 on Apple TV Plus
Upload season 3 (Prime Video)
The idea of a digital afterlife has powered Upload for two seasons, but it’s living, breathing reality that looms in season 3. Nathan (Robbie Amell) has been revived, with his consciousness placed in a regenerated body. Yet, a backup copy of Nathan has been activated in Lakeview. Double the Nathans, double the trouble!
Even as Real Nathan and Nora (Andy Allo) work to expose the conspiracy surrounding Freeyond, the no-cost digital afterlife, they grapple with the possibility of a life together. In Lakeview, Digital Nathan discovers ex-girlfriend Ingrid (Allegra Edwards) is determined to give them a second chance at love.
Premieres Oct. 20 on Prime Video
Pain Hustlers (Netflix)
The opioid epidemic has produced a number of fictionalized accounts, including Hulu’s award-winning miniseries Dopesick and Netflix’s Painkiller from earlier this year. Pain Hustlers is a film starring Emily Blunt as a blue-collar single mom who is drawn into the opioid crisis out of desperation.
After Liza Drake loses her job, she has a chance encounter with pharmaceutical sales rep Pete Brenner (Chris Evans). She ends up working for his start-up, which puts her on an economically favorable but morally dubious path. As she deals with her increasingly unhinged boss (Andy Garcia) and the worsening medical condition of her daughter (Chloe Coleman), Liza becomes aware of the devastation her company is causing and is forced to reexamine her choices. – KW
Premieres Oct. 27 on Netflix
The Gilded Age season 2 (HBO/Max)
No battle is as brutal as the one between old money and new upstarts in New York in the late 1800s. Bertha Russell (Carrie Coon) may have notched a victory with Mrs. Astor (Donna Murphy) attending her ball, but she still has a long way to go to gain society’s acceptance. She runs into a roadblock when her bid for a box at the Academy of Music is rejected. But Bertha isn’t one to back down from a fight.
Nor is husband George Russell (Morgan Spector), who is challenged by a growing union in his organization. As for Marian Brook (Louisa Jacobson), she continues her journey to find her way in the world secretly teaching at a girls school — of which Aunt Agnes (Christine Baranski) would thoroughly disapprove. – KW
Premieres Oct. 29 on HBO and Max
Other notable premieres to watch in October 2023
- The Simpsons season 35 (Oct. 1, Fox)
- Bob’s Burgers season 14 (Oct. 1, Fox)
- Found season 1 (Oct. 3, NBC)
- Quantum Leap season 2 (Oct. 4, NBC)
- Goosebumps (Oct. 13, Hulu and Disney Plus)
- Rick & Morty season 7 (Oct. 15, Adult Swim)
- Fboy Island season 3 (Oct. 16, The CW)
- Bosch: Legacy season 2 (Oct. 20, Freevee)
- Elite season 7 (Oct. 20, Netflix)
- American Horror Stories season 3 (Oct. 26, FX)
