What to watch, and more! Sept. 26 – Oct. 2
Family secrets, Halloween’s almost here and ‘The Simpsons’ plunge into season 37!
“Edward Scissorhands” kicks off a month of Halloween-themed fun on Freeform.
FRIDAY, Sept. 26
Hispanic Heritage Awards
38th annual event celebrates Latino history and culture with performances by some of the most talented acts in Latin music (9 p.m., PBS).
All of You
Best friends (Brent Goldstein and Imogene Poots) spend years trying to resist the urge to couple up despite the undeniable feeling that they belong together (Apple TV+).
SATURDAY, Sept. 27
Unlocked: Family Secrets
New reality series focuses on “hidden” things families find (and find out about) their loved ones in their homes (9 p.m., Own).
SUNDAY, Sept. 28
America’s Funniest Home Videos
Think you’ve had all the home-video yuks possible since this show started airing 36 years ago? Not by a long shot, as tonight’s start for the new season will show you! (7 p.m., ABC).
The Simpsons
Hear, hear: Tonight begins season 37 (!) of the iconic animated grown-up comedy series, in which Lisa gets hooked on Marge’s ‘90s wardrobe and becomes part of a fashionista bling ring (8 p.m., Fox).
MONDAY, Sept. 29
Epic Ride: The Story of Universal Theme Parks
Three-part docuseries spotlights the new theme park, Universal Epic Universe in Orlando, Fla., touted as the “theme park of the future,” and the broaders theme park legacy of Universal (Peacock).
Murder Before Evensong
Matthew Lewis (from Harry Potter and All Creatures Great and Small) stars in this new murder mystery series set in 1980s England after a dead body turns up in a church. Holy s*&%! (Acorn TV).
TUESDAY, Sept. 30
Chad Powers
Glen Powell stars in this new series (above)—with Peyton and Eli Manning among the producers—as a washed-out college football star who takes on a new identity for a struggling Southern team (Hulu).
Hard Hat Riot
Learn how a group of workers clashed with Kent State University protestors in 1970, just days after four of the students were shot dead by National Guardsmen, in a disturbance that came to define and reshape the era’s political climate for decades to come (9 p.m., PBS).Hard Hat Riot
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 1
Play Dirty
Mark Wahlberg leads the cast as an expert thief planning a mega heist who runs afoul of the New York mob this action drama that also features LaKeith Stanfeld, Nat Wolff, Keegan-Michael Key and Tony Shalhoub (Prime Video).
31 Nights of Halloween
The network’s month-long fun fest of scary movies begins tonight, with Edward Scissorhands, The Haunted Mansion (2003), Casper (1995), Beetlejuice and Hocus Pocus (Freeform).
THURSDAY, Oct. 2
Karen Pirie
Outlander’s Lauren Lyle returns for season two in this Brit series in the role of an investigator looking into a brutal high-profile 1984 kidnapping…and a murder (BritBox).
BRING IT HOME
Get ready for Halloween with the new Nightmare on Elm Street 7-Collection (Warner Bros. Discovery), a roundup of Freddy Krueger’s greatest hits from 1984 into the ‘90s. Watch for some familiar faces in between the blood spatters, including Johnny Depp, John Saxon and Ronee Blakley. Special features include closer looks at the movies and their cultural impact.
Tom Hiddleston stars in The Life of Chuck (Decal/Neon), a creatively awesome tale adapted from a Stephen King story about three chapters in the life of an ordinary man who discovers the importance of the connections he’s made in his lifetime. It’s also got a lot to chew on about art, science, music, life and death, ghosts…and dancing. With Mark Hamill, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Karen Gillan, Jacob Tremblay and Mia Sara (who played Sloan, the girlfriend, in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off).
A New York City matchmaker (Dakota Johnson) thinks she has love down to a formula when she unexpectedly falls for a dapper “unicorn” (Pedro Pascal), which throws her relationship with her boyfriend (Chris Evans) into a tailspin. It’s all part of the urban, urbane tangled-love-triangle comedy in Materialists from director Celine Strong (Past Lives).
For the living, we’ve sure thought a lot about the dead. In The Undead in World Mythology and Folklore (McFarland), author Theresa Bane digs into our long, deep fascination with the idea of zombies—and nearly 400 other kinds of creatures, from the ancient abhartach to Frankenstein’s monster—that have for centuries sparked our imaginations, shaped our stories…and fueled our nightmares.
NOW HEAR THIS
Twenty-two years after its initial release, Cher’s The Farewell Tour (Warner Bros.) makes a remastered appearance on vinyl with more than 20 songs recorded live, including “If I Could Turn Back Time,” “Believe,” “Half-Breed” and “Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me).” Cher this new with a friend who loves Cher!
Jam again to the British prog-rock of The Zombies, newly remastered in glorious mono to sound just like they did back in 1968. The retooled vinyl for Odessey and Oracle—originally released as the band’s second LP—reminds us of how it became a cult favorite and a classic of the era’s pop-psychedelic scene, largely with its iconic track “Time of the Season.” And the deep track “This Will Be Our Year” found life beyond the album with later use as a soundtrack song on Mad Men, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Schitt’s Creek.
READ ALL ABOUT IT
What makes a house a home? Get some great ideas in The Family Home (Hardie Grant Books), in which authors Courtney and Michael Adamo share how to create living spaces that address personal stylistic choices while meeting the evolving practical needs of a growing family. Packed with photos and inspiration from just about everywhere, from California houses to inner-city London pads, it shows how to make a house a home for the everyone under its roof.
Get your oom-pah-pah’s out with The Perfect Tuba (Bloomsbury), author Sam Quinones’ rousing look at musicians who play the tuba—from symphony members to high school marching bands—and how they weave a very specific musical thread into America’s cultural fabric. And, lest you think the tuba is only one kind of instrument, you’ll learn about its three varieties!
The Media Tourist 