The Media Tourist

What to watch, and more! Oct. 17 – Oct. 23

A new ‘Sheriff’ comes to town, country music hits ‘The Road’ and Charlie Brown re-discovers the Great Pumpkin!

Morena Baccarin stars in ‘Sheriff Country.’

FRIDAY, Oct. 17
Mr. Scorsese
Documentary explores the life, career and movie masterpieces of the acclaimed filmmaker, whose decade-spanning works include Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Goodfellas, Cape Fear and The Last Temptation of Christ (Apple TV+).

Sheriff Country
Fire Country spinoff stars Morena Baccarin as a straight-shootin’ sheriff in California balancing crime fighting, competition for her job and motherhood (9 p.m., CBS).

SATURDAY, Oct. 18
It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
It’s time again for the timeless adventure as Charlie Brown preps for a party, Snoopy sets his sights on the Red Baron and Linus awaits a pumpkin patch miracle (Apple TV+).

Anything But Gray|
New Southern-fried series follows designer Gray Benko as she transforms homes in Charleston, S.C., to bring out their character through color, whimsy and imaginative touches (1 p.m., Magnolia Network).

SUNDAY, Oct. 19
The Road
New singing competition is hosted by country stars Keith Urban, Blake Shelton and Gretchen Wilson (9 p.m., CBS).

Hal & Carter
Lili Reinhart, Betty Gilpin and Mark Ruffalo star in this drama about siblings whose closeness is both a blessing and a curse of co-dependence (Mubi).

MONDAY, Oct. 20
Ratified
Explore the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) through Virginia’s pivotal ratification battle led by Black women and a multi-racial, multi-generational coalition, which enshrined gender equality in America nearly a century after it was proposed (10 p.m., PBS).

Summertide
Drama about a marine biologist (Frank Rautenbach) who loses his wife to tragedy and moves with his rebellious teens back to his childhood home to begin again. But can the calm coastal waters hide the painful secrets roiling just beneath their surface? (Acorn TV).

TUESDAY, Oct. 21
Armed Only With a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud
Documentary about the first American journalist to die while reporting on the war in Ukraine, and how the Arkansas native covered some of the world’s most dangerous conflicts (9 p.m., HBO).

The Rise of RFK Jr.
Learn about the dramatic and controversial rise of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and how this son of a storied dynasty broke with the Democratic party and his family, stoked conspiracy theories and is now reshaping government and public health as the U.S. secretary of health (10 p.m., PBS).

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 22
Riot Women
Joana Scanlan, Rosalie Craig and Tamsin Greig star in this episodic drama about menopausal British women who form a punk band to enter a talent contest, but then find out they have a lot more to shout about than they imagined (BritBox).

Lazarus
Sam Clafin and Bill Nighy star in this new series about a man who becomes entangled in the mysteries surrounding the deaths of two family members (Prime).

THURSDAY, Oct. 23
Nobody Wants This
Season two begins of the romcom about a gentile podcaster (Kristen Bell) who falls in love with a Jewish rabbi (Adam Brody) (Netflix).

The Red King
New series about a police sergeant (Anjli Mohindra) reassigned to an isolated island with an eerie past, strange rituals and unexplained deaths (AMC+).

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You know her as lead singer of The Pretenders. Now Chrissy Hyde is singing a new tune, and she’s got a bunch of musical friends with her. On Duets Special (Rhino), her fourth album under her own name, she’s harmonizing with k.d. lang, Blondie’s Deborah Harry, Julian Lennon, Lucinda Williams, Rufus Wainwright and more in 13 stripped-down arrangements with minimal instrumentation on tunes like “(You’re My) Soul and Inspiration,” “It’s Only Love,” “Always on my Mind” and “Can’t Help Falling in Love.”

How kool is this? Re-live all the smooth funky groovery of Kool & The Gang on the new reissue of the band’s Greatest Hits (Umusic), available on limited-edition vinyl as well as CD. You’ll get “Jungle Boogie,” “Hollywood Swinging,” “Ladies Night,” “Too Hot,” “Celebration,” “Get Down On It” and more!

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Find out all sorts of inventive do-ers in Lives of the Great Makers (Thames & Hudson), with 40 biographies of people like furniture magnate Thomas Chippendale, painters and glass artists, goldsmiths, sculptors, designers and many more men and women who’ve made our world a better place through the craftiness of their hands. It’s a testament to the creativity and artistry all around us.

How do Bob Dylan’s song lyrics reveal his story? If the answer, my friend, isn’t “Blowin’ in the Wind,” you may find it in Bob Dylan: Things Have Changed (Melville House). Read as former Village Voice reporter Ron Rosenbaum takes an intriguing dive into the life of the enigmatic, shape-shifting Nobel-Prize-winning music-maker via the words of his songs, tracing his trajectory from hippie folkster to Greenwich Village cultural revolutionary, countrified crooner and proselytizing Christian.

In Wild Ocean, acclaimed wildlife photogs Peter and Beverly Pickford highlight the eye-popping, pristine beauties of our planet’s seas, inhabitants and coastal areas, at a time when overfishing, pollution and global warming have plunged their futures into question. (Thames & Hudson)

Named Vogue Living‘s Designer of the Year in 2024 and recognized by Architectural Digest (Germany) as one of the world’s true design influencers, author Fiona Lynch is renowned for her mastery of mood. Her bold style and intuitive ideas are on full display in Material Wonder (Thames & Hudson), a stunningly illustrated book in which she explores new materials and techniques for her brand of “spirited minimalism” to make spaces look like…well, like they should be in a book!

Curb Your Enthusiasm fans will love No Lessons Learned (Black Dog & Leventhal), with first-person interviews from cast members (Larry David, Cheryl Hines, Jeff Garlin, Richard Lewis and many more), directors, producers and others (guests like Jerry Seinfeld, Richard Kind and Ben Stiller) who helped make it a huge hit on its HBO run, all the way back to 2000.  Plus it’s packed with plot outlines, scripts, sketches, quotes and gads of never-before-seen behind-the-scenes pics.

Can you name the Black family who founded one of the country’s most durable construction dynasties?  You’ll find the answer in The Black Family Who Built America (Black Privilege Publishing), about Moses McKissak, a former slave who became an exceptional craftsman and launched a family business now its fifth generation.  It’s written by Cheryl MicKissack, a fifth-generation descendant of Moses who now leads the company.

Perfect bedtime reading the Halloween season, The Screen Chills Companion (McFarland) by Chris Fellner is a treasure trove for fans of scary movies during Hollywood’s “second wave” of horror in the 1940s, when monsters (Frankenstein, the Invisible Man, Dracula, the Wolf Man and more) were spawning all sorts of movie sequels.

BRING IT HOME

Re-bask in the opulence and intrigue of a bygone New York in The Guilded Age: The Complete Third Season (Warner Bros. Discovery), with all eight episodes of the HBO period drama starring Carrie Coon, Christine Baranski, Cynthia Nixon, Nathan Lane and Andrea Martin.

If you’re of an, ahem, certain age, you might remember Shari Lewis, the Peabody Award-winning ventriloquist, puppeteer and TV show host. Shari and Lamb Chop (kinolarber.com) tells her wide-ranging story—and how she created a puppet, Lamb Chop, for TV’s Captain Kangaroo in the mid-1950s, then parlayed that into success as a well-known children’s-TV icon through the decades to come.

Tom Cruise is back, baby, in Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning (Paramount), starring again as special agent Ethan Hunt in all kinds of perilous spy stuff, including escaping from a sunken submarine and hanging outside a biplane. Oh yeah, and trying to save the world! All in a day’s work!

What to watch and more, Oct. 10- 16

Why we love John Candy, the horrors of John Wayne Gacy & a whole night of ‘NCIS’

FRIDAY, Oct. 10
John Candy: I Like Me
Heartfelt documentary tribute to the legendary and much-loved Canadian comedy icon, with stories and memories from Candy’s family, friends, collaborators and admirers—including Tom Hanks, whose son, Colin, directed (Prime Video).

Vicious
Dakota Fanning stars as a young woman who receives a mysterious gift from a late-night visitor, drawing her into a waking nightmare (Paramount+).

The Woman in Cabin 10
While on a luxury yacht for a travel assignment, a journalist (Kiera Knightly) witnesses a passenger thrown overboard, only to be told it didn’t happen. With Guy Pearce and Hannah Waddington (Netflix).

SATURDAY, Oct. 11
Monster in the Family: The Stacy Kananen Story
Based on a true story, this drama follows a young woman (Elisha Cuthbert) who finds herself entangled in a web of buried bodies and manipulation (8 p.m., Lifetime).

SUNDAY, Oct. 12
Matlock
In tonight’s “sneak peek” of season two, Kathy Bates returns to the TV role of lawyer Madeline Matlock (above) for the revived series that gender-flipped the 1980s original, which starred Andy Griffith (8:30 p.m., CBS).

The Chair Company
New comedy series debut about a man who finds himself investigating a far-reaching conspiracy after witnessing an embarrassing incident at work. Starring Tim Robinson, Lake Bell and Sophia Lillis (10 p.m., HBO Max).

MONDAY, Oct. 13
DMV
New workplace comedy starring Harriet Dyer and Tim Meadows, about a crew of lovable misfits (above) tackling bureaucracy, bad attitudes and busted printers—with minimum wage and maximum sarcasm (8:30 p.m., CBS).

Solar Opposites
Sixth and final season of the animated series about space aliens trying to live on a budget. Dan Stevens and Thomas Middleditch provide voices (Hulu).

TUESDAY, Oct. 14
NCIS Night
It’s all NCIS, all night, with season premieres of the flagship drama’s 23^rd season, plus spinoffs NCIS: Origins and NCIS: Sydney (begins 8 p.m., CBS).

Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore
An intimate look at the life of the actress, the first deaf performer to win an Academy Award, as she shares her story in her native America Sign Language (9. p.m., PBS).

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 15
From Rails to Trails
Documentary narrated by actor Edward Norton about the movement, which began 60 years ago, to convert abandoned railroad trackways to public trails for cycling and walking (check local listings, PBS).

Murdaugh: Death in the Family
Series based on the real-life family drama of Maggie and Alex Murdaugh and the murder of the fourth-generation scion of a local legal dynasty. Starring Jason Clarke and Patricia Arquette (Hulu).

THURSDAY, Oct. 16
Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy
Limited series (above) dramatizes the evils of the notorious Gacy, who was convicted of kidnapping and murdering 33 young men in the 1970s. Starring Michael Chernus (from Severance), Gabriel Luna (The Last of Us) and James Dale Badge (1923) (Peacock).

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The political New York City activism of John Lennon and wife Yoko One is celebrated in Power to the People (Capitol/UME), a 12-disc boxed set with more than 100 tracks, a new remix of Lennon’s only full-length concert appearances after the Beatles, outtakes, home recordings, jam sessions and much more. Son Sean Lennon produced the project.

Get a big dose of downhome Texas Blues with The Last Real Texas Blues Album (Antone’s Records), part of the 50^th anniversary celebration of the iconic Austin nightclub Antone’s. Fittingly, the album is filled with artists who’ve performed there, including The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Jimmie Vaughn, Charlie Sexton, Lil’ Ed Wilson and McKinley James, performing classics like “You’ll Lose a Good Thing,” “The Sky is Crying,” “Flip, Flop and Fly” and “Going Down.” Put it on, turn it up, and dig it.

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Fans of the British supergroup led by brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher will dig Oasis: Trying to Find a Way Out of Nowhere (Thames & Hudson), a photo-packed visual chronicle by acclaimed rock photog Jill Furmanovsky—who was given unparalleled access to countless worldwide performances, recording sessions and offstage moments, beginning in the band’s early ‘90s heyday.  With written commentary and insights by Noel about the wild ride of being in one of the top-selling groups of all time. 

Wanna look like a million bucks? Author Natalie Hammond tells (and shows) you how in Style Codes: Cher (Abrams), a guide to looking your best based on the singing star’s own “reinvention” to become an icon of class, glamor, success sand style. From gowns to jackets, boots, bell bottoms and hairstyles, you’ll find out what worked for Cher, and how to find inspiration for your own assets.

Look! Up in the sky! No, it’s not superman, but rather Aviary: The Bird in Contemporary Photography (Thames & Hudson), a stunning look at how more than 50 modern photographers artistically “captured” winged splendor, illustrating not only the eye-popping spectrum of color and “design” in the aerial world, but also the ways it’s always inspired us down here on the ground.

How do borders define our world? In Atlas of Borders (Thames & Hudson), geopolitical experts Delphine Papin and Bruno Tertrais reflect on the world through the lens of the seen and unseen things that split it up and separate it. Filled with maps and infographics, it’s a fascinating crash course in the ways, and the whys, the Earth has been subdivided and sliced up, leading to walls, migrations and wars.

As foodies know, there’s something special about good ol’ Southern cookin’. Author and food historian Michael J. Twitty’s Recipes From the American South (Phaidon) is a lip-smackin’ guide to more than 260 yummies of all sorts from our country’s Southland, from bread and biscuits, stews, sauces, sweets to main courses like chicken and dumplings, red-eye gravy and mint julips.

Do you believe in magic? Well, you might, after reading podcaster Pam Grossman’s Magic Maker (Penguin Random House), about how magic and spiritualism have been long associated with creativity—and how you can make the most of those same “supernatural” vibes. It’s trippy and cool and a combination of guidebook and history of spells, magic and witchery, and how they’ve been channeled for centuries to fuel creative arts of all kinds.

What’s in a word? In Unabridged: The Thrill of (and Threat to) the Modern Dictionary (Grove Atlantic), author Stefan Fatsis dives into the exotic world of America’s most famous publisher of dictionaries, Merriam-Webster, at a time when words are changing in many ways, including how we create, define, use and consume language. It’s a vibrant, colorful history of dictionaries and the company that made them household items, how spoken language makes winds its way into our lexicon, and who decides what those words mean. Word up!

Michael Jackson insiders reveal the high-stakes battle to revive the superstar’s reputation and sales mojo in the mid-‘90s after tabloids had started calling him “Wacko Jacko” and his personal life was widely known for its eccentricities. You’ve Got Michael (Trouser Press) avoids the controversies but goes right for the nuts ‘n’ bolts of keeping an outsized supersized career alive, as told by author Dan Beck, the Epic Records exec who worked for five years with the troubled superstar.

It’s been a while for most of us, likely, since we unfolded a paper map and used it for navigation. But such orienteering tools used to be the language essential to exploring and getting around—and they often had to be redrawn and rejiggered, as civilization advanced the geography morphed. The Library of Lost Maps (Bloomsbury) by geographer James Cheshire offers a scholarly tour, across the 19^th and 20^th centuries, of how maps remind us of our past…and provide gateways to the future for an ever-changing world in progress.

Dig into The Maya Myths: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes and Ancestors (Thames & Hudson), in which author Mallory E. Matsumoto presents a richly detailed look at the legends, beliefs and culture that over previous centuries built a thriving, complex society in what is now Mexico and Central America—before mysteriously collapsing and vanishing.

A spinoff of the popular TikTok series, F*cked Up Fairy Tales (W.W. Norton) by Liz Gotauco offers “grown-up” tellings of classic folktales from around the world, with gritty details that the “Disney-fied versions” conveniently omitted—of homicidal royals, cursed commoners, carnal couplings and all manner of beasts…and beastly behavior. For anyone who likes their mythology refreshingly bawdy, dig in!

Don’t ever tell anybody they’re “irreplaceable,” especially after you read Mary Roach’s Replaceable You (W.W. Norton), a sprightly exploration of the human body. You’ll better understand the many ways science and technology have risen to the challenges of altering (or outright replacing) our skin, our hair, our organs, our breasts and bones and teeth and just about everything else. (W.W. Norton)

BRING IT HOME

Ready for a good scare? Weapons, one of the year’s best supernatural horror flicks, depicts an unsettling scenario about a town in a panic when all the children from a classroom mysteriously disappear—all, that is, except one. Starring Josh Brolin and Julia Garner. Bonus features take you inside the making of the flick (Warner Bros. Discovery).

Joaquin Phoenix, Austin Butler, Emma Stone and Pedro Pascal star in director Ari Aster’s Eddington (A24), a dark comedy set in a small town during the COVID-19 pandemic where disagreements cause political and social turmoil.

What to watch, and more! Sept. 12 – 18

A new morning for ‘The Morning Show,’ honoring TV’s top performers & meet the real ‘Top Guns’

Reese Witherspoon & Jennifer Aniston return to ‘The Morning Show.’

FRIDAY, Sept. 12
Lost in the Jungle
True story about a deadly plane crash that stranded four young siblings deep in the Columbia rain forest, sparking a dramatic rescue mission in a race against time (9 p.m., National Geographic).

Vampirina: Teenage Vampire
New series about a tween bloodsucker (Mykal-Michelle Harris) who leaves the safety of Transylvania to attend an arts boarding school and cultivate her passion for music (8 p.m., Disney Channel). 

SATURDAY, Sept. 13
A Husband to Die For
The horrifying story of a pregnant woman who is savagely attacked in her home and left for dead, only to discover it was all orchestrated by her very own husband. Starring Keana Lyn Bastidas and Marilu Henner (Lifetime).

Grace for the World
Live performances from Pharrell Williams, Jennifer Hudson, Andrea Bocelli, John Legend, Jelly Roll and more will air from St. Peter’s Square, marking the first time such a musical televised event has ever occurred from the heart of Vatican City (streaming on Disney+, Hulu and ABC News Live) 

SUNDAY, Sept. 14
The Ride With Norman Reedus
Climb aboard for season seven with motorcycle enthusiast and Walking Dead star Norman Reedus on more epic road trips around the world (AMC and AMC+).

The Emmy Awards
Comedian Nate Bargatze hosts tonight’s 77^th annual presentation honoring the year’s top TV shows and talent (8 p.m., CBS).

MONDAY, Sept. 15
Celebrity Weakest Link
Jane Lynch returns as host of the cutthroat game show with stars from TV, sports and standup comedy (8 p.m., Fox). 

Antiques Roadshow
The durable docuseries continues its 29^th season with all-new “vintage” episodes, looking back at memorable objects from 15 years ago and accessing what they’re worth today (8 p.m., PBS).

TUESDAY, Sept. 16

The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City
Season six begins with a supersized crossover episode as the girls prepare to charter the boat and crew of Below Deck Down Under for a glamorous cruise (8 p.m., Bravo).

Top Guns: The Next Generation
There’s no Tom Cruise, but this new six-part series does take you inside the U.S. Navy’s elite aviation program to meet the student pilots and go inside their rigorous  training program (8 p.m., National Geographic).

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 17
Academy of Country Music Honors
Carly Pearce hosts this celebration of country superstars, including Clint Black, Tim McGraw, K.T. Oslin, Mary Chapin Carpenter (8 p.m., Fox).

Electric Bloom
New music-themed comedy mockumentary series about the young women (above) who make up the “world’s biggest band” (Disney +).

The Morning Show
Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston return to lead the star-stuffed cast for season four of the award-winning drama about goings-on (AI, love triangles, coverups, cutthroat competition, corporate meddling and ghosts of the past) at a NYC TV network in a highly polarized America (Apple TV+).

THURSDAY, Sept. 18
Sounds of Summer
Feel-good true story about Swedish pop sensation Gyllene Tilder, one of the most successful bands in Sweden ever, led by Pat Gessle, who would go on to co-found the group Roxette (Viaplay).

Black Rabbit
A rising-star restaurateur (Jude Law) is forced into New York’s criminal underworld in this limited thriller series when his chaotic brother (Jason Bateman) returns to town with loan sharks on his trail (Netflix).

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Since the beginning of time, humans have wondered what it would be like to fly above the earth, like birds. The new 25^th anniversary edition of Earth from Above, by Yann Arthus-Bertrand, combines original images with new photography and contemporary insights from environmental experts to show worldwide, bird’s-eye-view splendors of our planet while gauging our progress as caretakes over the past three decades.

Here, kitty kitty. Feline fanciers will love City Cats of Instanbul (Thames & Hudson), a photographic journey by photographer Marcel Heijnen into the lives of the felines that live on the streets of Turkey’s largest metropolis, one of civilization’s oldest outposts.

Take an eye-popping tour of some prize-winning buildings in Assemble: Building Collective (Thames & Hudson), a look at some 40 major works from a design group that’s been called the future of architecture for its emphasis on community-based, collaborative projects in Great Britain, rural Japan and France.

You’ve no doubt hear about “making a deal with the Devil.” Devil’s Contract (Melville House) by Ed Simon takes a deep dive into the history of the Faustian bargain—from ancient times to bluesman Robert Johnson, into modern day—illustrating how sacrificing our principles in pursuit of power can invite all kinds of social ills. It’s a fascinating plunge into the many twists of the enduring mythology of selling our souls.   

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Celebrate the 40^th anniversary of Phil Collins’ hit 1985 album No Jacket Required (Atlantic) with this newly remastered 4-LP box set. In addition to the hits repressed on 180-gram hi-fidelity vinyl (“Sussido,” “One More Night,” “Don’t Lose My Number,” “Only You Know and I Know”), there are additional live tracks, including demos and a recording from Collin’s appearance at Live Aid.

Get a taste of down-home Texas Blues with The Last Real Texas Blues Album (Antone’s Records), honoring the 50^th anniversary of the iconic Austin nightclub Antone’s. Fittingly, the album is filled with artists who’ve performed there, including The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Jimmie Vaughn, Charlie Sexton, Lil’ Ed Wilson and McKinley James, performing classics like “You’ll Lose a Good Thing,” “The Sky is Crying,” “Flip, Flop and Fly” and “Going Down.” Put it on, turn it up, and dig it.