Fall means pumpkin spice, preparing for the holiday season, raking leaves, searching for Halloween costumes, and of course, curling up with hot new TV shows premiering and returning with new seasons. This October is busy with the return of popular shows like The Diplomat, What We Do in the Shadows, Law & Order, Abbott Elementary, and more. But there are also exciting new shows being added to the mix that you might not even have heard about yet.
As you’re planning how to spend your much deserved downtime and, more importantly, what to watch, don’t let these three hidden October streaming TV shows fly under your radar. They’re ones you won’t want to miss.
Check out the best new shows to stream this week, as well as the best shows on Netflix, best shows on Hulu, best shows on Amazon Prime Video, and best shows on Disney+.
Sweetpea (2024)
Loved Ella Purnell in Fallout and Yellowjackets? Check out her next project, a British dark comedy drama based on the C.J. Skuse novel that many are dubbing a gender-swapped version of Dexter. She’s Rhiannon in Sweetpea, a young woman on the brink. She feels ignored and unseen. Her boss and colleagues treat her like dirt and don’t take her seriously. An old high school bully has returned to torment her. She can’t help but fantasize about murdering the people who have done her wrong. One day, Rhiannon has a full-on breakdown and actually starts doing it. When news of a sadistic serial killer starts to raise Rhiannon’s profile in indirect ways, how can she possibly stop now?
Sweetpea is a female serial killer series with dark comedic undertones about a woman who sets out to show everyone (albeit secretly), once and for all, that she’s no “sweetpea.” It’s always the quiet ones, as they say, and Rhiannon is tired of feeling invisible. With a perfect 100% Rotten Tomatoes score following its first episode, Sweetpea solidifies Purnell’s position as one of the most talented up-and-coming actors of this generation.
Stream Sweetpea on Starz.
Before (2024)
If you enjoy Billy Crystal’s comedic work in movies, you might find it difficult to see him in such a dramatic role. But he nails it in Before, as expected, alongside equally talented co-stars Judith Light, Rosie Perez, and young Jacobi Jupe. Crystal is Eli a child psychologist grieving the recent death of this wife. When he meets with a new client, a young boy named Noah (Jupe), it seems as though this boy, who suffers from violent behaviors and hallucinations, has some type of cosmic connection to Eli and wants to tell him something. But Eli can’t figure out what’s going on, and as he dives deeper, the plot gets more and more troubling.
Before is the perfect creepy, bumps-in-the-night show to watch as you gear up for Halloween. It premieres with the first two episodes a week before that spooky occasion and continues weekly through December 20.
Stream Before on Apple TV+.
The Franchise (2024)
When you hear satirical superhero show, you probably immediately think of Amazon Prime Video series The Boys. If you want something that angles more to comedy than raunch and gore, check out The Franchise. This satirical comedy from Armando Iannucci (Veep) and Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Spectre) centers around the crew that works within a superhero film franchise led by assistant director Daniel (Himesh Patel). But this isn’t Marvel; it’s a franchise that’s flailing and this crew needs a Hail Mary to save it.
Peeling back the curtain behind-the-scenes of the making of such movies, it’s like a version of 30 Rock for movie-making versus sketch comedy TV. The Franchise is the kind of show that will have you both laughing and wondering how much is inspired by real life and how much is embellished (or not). From managing actors’ eccentricities to dealing with inflated egos and being weighed down by the immense pressure to succeed, every element is covered in comedic fashion. The Franchise may just become your new favorite show for light-hearted laughs.
Stream The Franchise on Max.