Oct. 4 – Oct. 10
Svengoulie’s monster mash, an Oprah Elvis special & kids tackle tough politics
All times Eastern.
FRIDAY, Oct. 4
Tia Mowery: My Next Act
Eight-episode docuseries shines the spotlight on the actress (from TV’s Sister, Sister and the movie Seventeen Again) as she breaks new ground after a divorce and learns to be newly single while entering a new phase of motherhood (9:30 p.m., WeTV).
V/H/S Beyond
Sixth installment of the horror/sci-fi anthology franchise stars Justin Long, Jordan Downey and Kate Siegel in more tales of terror and the supernatural (Shudder).
SATURDAY, Oct. 5
The Girl Who Wasn’t Dead
Inspired by real events, it’s the tale of a girl who disappeared and was thought dead, only to reappear years later. Starring Lyndsy Forseca, Emma Tremblay and Kyle Clark (8 p.m., Lifetime).
Svengoolie’s Halloween Boo-Nanza
TV’s iconic ghoul kicks off the Halloween season today with a collection of spooky Loony Tunes cartoons before the evening’s double feature of Son of Frankenstein and Monster That Challenged the World—followed by more vintage schlock flicks into the wee hours! (10 a.m., MeTV).
SUNDAY, Oct. 6
The American Music Awards 50th Anniversary Special
Tribute to a half century of the fan-voted awards ceremony from Dick Clark Productions, with live performances, artist interviews, special guests and archival footage of highlights (8 p.m., CBS).
Vinyl Obsession
Pro wrestler Eric Young takes viewers deep into his collection of some 2,000 albums he’s collected over two decades (10:30 p.m., AXS).
MONDAY, Oct. 7
What Would You Do?
Host John Quiñones returns for a new season that examines how people behave when confronting with a choice of “interfering” or just minding their own business (10 p.m., ABC).
TUESDAY, Oct. 8
Citizen Nation
Documentary series follows teens across America with diverse backgrounds as they come together to compete in the nation’s premier civics competition, “We the People,” and make sense of our troubled political climate (9 p.m., PBS).
An Oprah Special: The Presleys—Elvis, Lisa Marie and Riley
Queen O sits down at fabled Graceland with Riley Keough, the granddaughter of Elvis, for a wide-ranging conversation about her late mother Lisa Marie, the grandfather she never knew, her famous family and her mother’s unfinished memoirs—which Keough completed as a co-writer (8 p.m., CBS).
The Accused
Court is in session for season two of the hit series (above), with actors in flashback recreations of real-life crimes that ultimately land them in front of a jury. Cobie Smulders, Ken Jeong, William H. Macy and Felicity Huffman are among the new cast members (8 p.m., Fox).
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 9
Scamanda
New docuseries based on a hit podcast about a blogger with cancer…and a secret she’s dying to keep (10 p.m., ABC).
La Maquina
Gael Garcia Bernal, Diego Luna and Elza Gonzalez star in this Spanish language series about a boxer staging a life-or-death rematch while struggling with personal demons in the dark side of the pugilism world (Hulu).
THURSDAY, Oct. 10
Citadel: Diana
Italian actress Matilda De Angelis as a undercover agent trapped behind enemy lines in this new addition to the Citadel franchise, a foreign-language spinoff from the 2023 series (Prime).
Teacup have art
A desperate group in rural Georgia comes together to survive in this scary new series (above) inspired by the novel Stringer, adapted for the screen by horror maestro James Wan. With Yvonne Strahovski, Scott Speedman and Chase Spencer. And as you might imply, a teacup takes on some significance (Peacock).
NOW HEAR THIS
To commemorate their induction into this year’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Foreigner has released Turning Back the Time (Rhino), a new career-spanning greatest hits collection. Turn back the time, indeed, and re-listen to the band’s radio-friendly ‘80s hits on two LPs or CDs, including “Cold as Ice,” “Hot Blooded,” “Urgent,” “Double Vision” and “Feels Like the First Time.” Plus, the all-new title track from original members Mick Jones and Lou Graham.
READ ALL ABOUT IT
In Crisis Averted: The Hidden Science of Fighting Outbreaks (Viking), scientist Dr. Caitlin Rivers looks at the oft-overlooked roles public-health initiatives play in our everyday lives, from the quality of air we breathe to the safety of food we consume, the bathrooms we use and the management of disease outbreaks. It’s a dirty world out there!
Is photography an art, a chronicle or a memento? In Looking at Photographs (Thames & Hudson) author Laurent Jullier examines what constitutes a “good” photo, how to interpret artistry in photography, how to take better pictures, and the many ways photos can intrigue, engage, inform, stimulate, stir our emotions—and instantly turn the present into the past. Now that almost everyone has a camera (on our smartphones), it’s essential reading on how we see the world.
Just in time for Halloween, find out about all kinds of movie monstrosities in The Cinematic Boogeyman (McFarland), a thorough look at the spectrum of characters that scare us in a larger context of psychology, history, cinematic study and folklore, tracing a thru-line from Bluebeard the pirate to Freddy Krueger in Nightmare on Elm Street. It’s a compelling read for anyone who wants to dig into why we’re frightened first by mythical creatures that morphed into fairy tales and finally, the silver screen.
BRING IT HOME
If you ever wondered what happened to the actors who played Otter (Tim Matheson) and Flounder (Stephen Furst) after classic college-comedy flick Animal House, well, they teamed up again in another movie—that wasn’t quite as successful as its predecessor. Still, Up The Creek, newly re-released by Kino Lorber (https://kinolorber.com/shop), is about a couple of college cutups trying to win an intercollegiate white-water raft race. And Cheap Trick sings the movie theme song!
Time to get in the Wayback Machine and get bougie! The Gilded Age: The Complete Second Season (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment) brings Carrie Coon, Christine Baranski, Cynthia Nixon, Taissa Farmiiga and the rest of the “uppercrust” cast back for more of the Gilded Age period drama. Plus, more than 20 bonus features!
The Media Tourist 