October’s best TV shows
James Croot looks at this month’s TV offerings and finds David Tennant as you’ve never seen him before, and Temuera Morrison finally gets his Star Wars wish.
October offers plenty of new and returning viewing highlights. In the world of freeto-air television, TVNZ1 takes a look at the career of New Zealand defence lawyer Greg King in Friend of the Friendless (October 15), Matt Chisholm investigates men’s mental health in
Man Enough and British comedian Sue Perkins heads Along the Us-mexico border.
On Three, Ultimate Tag ( on now) turns the childhood game into an adult competition, Mega Zoo (tomorrow) goes behind the scenes of Melbourne Zoo and in Match Fit Sir Graham Henry and Buck Shelford try to get a group of former All Blacks back into shape for one last match.
Netflix’s lineup includes Lily Collins-starring comedy Emily in Paris (today), Russian dystopian thriller To The Lake (October 7), the third season of
Star Trek: Discovery (October 16) and a second instalment of period horror The Alienist, this time subtitled Angel of Darkness (October 22).
Elsewhere, Apple TV+ has the Paul Ruddnarrated nature series Tiny World (today), Amazon Prime Video boasts new Walking Dead spin-off
World Beyond (today), TVNZ Ondemand delivers a new season of local animated series Welcome to Cardboard City (Monday) and Acorn TV drops British psychological thriller Penance on October 12.
However, after looking at the schedules, Stuff has picked out the 10 shows we’re most excited to check out this month.
Des
(October 8, TVNZ Ondemand)
David Tennant stars in this three-part drama based on the 1983 arrest of Scottish serial killer Dennis Nilsen. Police had discovered human remains were causing the blockage of a drain near his home.
‘‘A pitch-perfect masterclass in narcissistic psychopathy that deserves a rung on the ladder up there with Robert Carlyle’s Albie Kinsella from Cracker and Anthony Hopkins’ Lecter,’’ wrote The Guardian’s Euan Ferguson about Tennant’s performance.
The Haunting of Bly Manor
(October 9, Netflix)
The success of 2018’s The Haunting of Hill House has prompted Netflix to enlist writer-director Mike Flanagan to create another similarly-themed, horror-infused series. Inspired by Henry James’ 1898 novella The Turn of the Screw, it follows the fortunes of a young governess hired by the owner of a country estate to look after his niece and nephew. Among the returning Hill House stars are Victoria Pedretti and Henry Thomas.
Late Night Big Breakfast
(October 11, Duke)
After a five-year hiatus, New Zealand’s most entertaining, soft-furnishings department based lifestyle show is back. Returning Hosts Leigh Hart and Jason Hoyte will be joined by an eclectic bunch of guest presenters for a promised mix of ‘‘awkward interviews, fake infomercials and cheeky banter’’.
Filmed at Auckland’s Target store on Dominion Rd, you can fully expect a bevvy of bemused guests.
911: Lone Star
(TBC, Three)
A spin-off of the popular firehouse drama, this shifts the action from Los Angeles to Austin, Texas, as the members of ‘‘the 126’’ battle a range of mishaps, criminal activities and natural disasters. Rob Lowe and Liv Tyler star.
‘‘Primarily a fun/thrilling escape. I was most amused by the way it uses Lowe, an actor who has become iconic for his handsomeness and his awareness of his own handsomeness. That’s taken to an extreme that’s comical and hardly unintentional,’’ wrote The Hollywood Reporter’s Dan Flenberg.
Themandalorian
(October 30, Disney+)
Michael Biehn, Rosario Dawson, Katee Sackhoff, Timothy Olyphant and our own Temuera Morrison join the cast for the second season of this hit Star Wars Universe- set show. It promises to reveal more about the mystery of ‘‘the child’’ (aka Baby Yoda), with the first trailer letting slip that he needs to somehow link up with what remains of the Jedi.
The Queen’s Gambit
(October 23, Netflix)
Emma’s Anya Taylor-joy stars in this six-part drama based on Walter Tevis’ 1983 novel of the same name.
It’s the story of orphan chess prodigy Beth Harmon, who struggled with addiction from an early age in trying to achieve her quest to become a Grandmaster. The cast also includes Bill Camp and Thomas Brodie-sangster.
The Right Stuff
(October 9, Disney+)
Tom Wolfe’s 1979 book (previously adapted into a critically acclaimed 1983 movie) about the men involved in Nasa’s Project Mercury gets the full eight-episode treatment by National Geographic.
Billed as the first of many seasons, it follows their fortunes from the Mojave Desert to the edges of space.
Taskmaster NZ
(October 21, TVNZ2)
Jeremy Wells and Paul Williams host this Kiwi version of the popular British game show.
As with the original, each week, a group of five comedians are tasked with completing a series of weird and wacky challenges. The quintet this time around are Leigh Hart, Guy Williams, Angella Dravid, Brynley Stent and Madeleine Sami.
Truth Seekers
(Amazon Prime Video, October 30)
Nick Frost, Malcolm Mcdowell and Simon Pegg star in this eight-part series that revolves around a group of part-time paranormal investigators who team up to uncover and film ghost sightings across the UK, sharing their adventures for all to see.
However, as they stake out haunted churches, underground bunkers and abandoned hospitals with their array of homemade ghost-detecting gizmos, their supernatural experiences grow more frequent, more terrifying and even deadly.
The Undoing
(October 26, Neon/soho)
Hugh Grant and Nicole Kidman team up for this six-part drama that focuses on successful New York therapist Grace Frazer, her devoted husband Jonathan and their young son.
A violent death, amissing person and a chain of terrible revelations threatens to turn their lives upside down.
Also starring Donald Sutherland, Edgar Ramirez and Lily Rabe, the show was written by Big Little Lies’ David E Kelly and directed by The Night Manager’s Susanne Bier.