All The Great Stuff Coming To Netflix In October 2022
October sees Netflix truly getting into the Halloween spirit. There are new horror series from directors Mike Flanagan and Guillermo del Toro. Animator Henry Selick teams up with Jordan Peele for a new film. Even “Nailed It” makes a nod to this spooky month.
For those who want something more mundane, Netflix viewers can take in a hardboiled detective series set in 1970s Mexico City, an unusual Korean variety show challenge, or even follow a Chinese teen’s sojourn to Romania.
Remember kids, stay away from the tricks and enjoy the month’s treats.
Point Break
TBD
Inside Man–Steven Moffat’s (“Doctor Who,” “Sherlock”) new drama involves the intersecting paths of two apparently unrelated men. Jefferson Grieff (Stanley Tucci) is an ultraintelligent death row prisoner who amuses himself acting as an informal armchair detective for visitors desperate to solve stalled investigations. Harry (David Tennant) is a village vicar whose accidental acquisition of a flash drive containing pedophilic images leads to an encounter with local math tutor Janice that has unfortunate consequences. As these two story strands intertwine, how true is Grieff’s assertion that we are all murderers but we just haven’t met the right person yet?
October 1
Labyrinth–The last film Jim Henson directed may have been a commercial flop on initial release. But it’s since gone on to become a beloved cult classic. Spoiled Sarah Williams (Jennifer Connelly) accidentally wishes her baby brother away to a fantastic magical realm. Undoing the harm she has done requires braving the hardships of this strange realm. But her biggest challenge involves freeing the child from the clutches of Jareth the Goblin King (an unforgettable David Bowie). Sarah had better hurry as the clock is literally ticking.
Point Break (1991)–This Kathryn Bigelow-directed crime actioner has been directly referenced in “Hot Fuzz” and parodied live on stage. Rookie FBI agent Johnny Utah (Keanu Reeves) goes undercover in the local surfing community to find and bring down the Ex-Presidents. They’re a bank robbing gang who commit their crimes wearing masks of former U.S. presidents. Utah eventually meets Bodhi (Patrick Swayze), the charismatic head of a gang of surfers. As the former football player turned cop becomes swept up in Bodhi’s adrenaline-charged lifestyle, a bromance soon blooms between the cop and the crook.
October 5
Mr. Harrigan’s Phone–In this adaptation of a Stephen King story, bullied teen Craig’s friendship with the reclusive billionaire Mr. Harrigan (Donald Sutherland) provides his life’s only joy as the two discuss books and the state of the world. To help his friend stay a little current with technology and be in touch more often, Craig gives the older man an iPhone. When Mr. Harrigan dies suddenly, the teen is devastated. But why have iPhone calls from the dead billionaire’s phone suddenly started appearing on Craig’s phone?
The Trapped 13: How We Survived The Thai Cave–Thailand’s first Emmy Award winner Pailin Wedel helms this documentary about the Thai Cave Rescue. It lets the boys of the Wild Boars soccer team tell the story of their world-famous ordeal from their perspective. The anecdotes they relate contain elements of hope, perseverance, and even humor.
Nailed It!
October 6
The Joys And Sorrows Of Young Yunguo–In this amazing short documentary, Young Yuguo happens to be a 16-year-old with a passion for Eastern European romantic poetry. To fulfill that passion, he travels from his Chinese village to the small Romanian town of Bacau, located at the foot of the Carpathian Mountains. His stay of a few months would lead to his becoming nearly fluent in Romanian, being able to recite the works of national poet Mihai Eminescu by heart, and even gaining nationwide fame for attending public ceremonies wrapped in the Romanian flag.
October 7
Derry Girls Season 3–At long last, it’s the final season of this popular comedy set in 1990s Northern Ireland during The Troubles. This semi-autobiographical series from Lisa McGee follows the misadventures of five teens clashing with their Catholic girls’ secondary school’s traditional ways. Expect this last season to reference the IRA ceasefire and President Clinton’s Northern Ireland visit. Viewers will even get a flashback to the days when the parents of the main characters were themselves teens.
Glitch Season 1–What do you do when your boyfriend gets bathed in a mysterious light and then suddenly disappears in the blink of an eye? For Hong Ji Hyo, the protagonist of this Korean comedy-thriller, the answer is obvious. Start looking for help in solving this mystery from the members of a UFO club.
The Midnight Club Season 1–Director Mike Flanagan’s (“The Haunting Of Hill House”) new series adapts Christopher Pike’s YA horror novel. At Brightcliffe Hospice, eight terminally ill teens secretly gather in the hospice library at midnight to tell horror stories to each other. (The stories are adaptations of other Pike tales.) An unusual pact also binds these teens: whichever of them dies first will do whatever it takes to make contact with the other club members from beyond the grave.
Nailed it! Season 7–The bad news about the new season of this comic reality baking competition show is that there will only be four episodes. The good news is that these episodes will be 45 minutes each. What’s more, the desserts to be made this time around all have a Halloween theme and are inspired by such Netflix shows as “The Witcher,” “Umbrella Academy,” and “Cobra Kai.” So join host Nicole Byer for another season of unintentional baking disasters.
The Midnight Club
The Redeem Team—The US Mens’ Olympics Basketball Team is considered an All-Star team of America’s best basketball players. By those elevated standards, the team’s taking the Bronze at the 2004 Olympics (after taking the Gold in the three previous Olympics) could be considered a major embarrassment. For the 2008 Olympics, LeBron James and the other US team members made it their mission to reclaim the Gold and demonstrate once again to the world US dominance of basketball. Jon Weinbach’s (producer, “The Last Dance”) documentary account shows how James and the US team accomplished their goals.
October 8
Bad Guys–In this South Korean thriller, the rising number of violent crimes in a police district results in the Police Chief signing off on creating a team of “bad guys” to hunt down other criminals. Disgraced Police Detective Oh Gu-tak (who has excessive force issues) gathers three convicts for his team. They are: Lee Jung-moon (a young math and philosophy genius who’s also a psycho serial killer), Park Woong-Cheol (mob boss who became top gangster in 25 days), and Jung Tae-soo (hired hit-man with a flawless reputation).
October 11
Island Of The Sea Wolves–This new nature docuseries narrated by Will Arnett immerses viewers in a year in the life of Vancouver Island. Here on this outpost of volcanic rock surrounded by the North Pacific Ocean, bald eagles fish for food and sea wolves swim in the Pacific’s frigid waters.
October 12
Belascoaran, P.I.–Hector Belascoaran Shayne leaves both his dull marriage and his corporate job to become an independent private detective. In 1970s Mexico City, there’s no shortage of scandalous criminal cases for a private detective to solve, especially ones which stump the police. Based on the books written by Paco Ignacio Tabo II.
Easy-Bake Battle: The Home Cooking Competition–Antoni Porowski of “Queer Eye” hosts this cooking competition where home cooks create simple and delicious dishes under time pressure. Using tricks and other kitchen hacks to win count more than fancy flourishes here.
Belascoaran, P.I.
The Nutty Boy–Netflix’s first Brazilian animated series brings Ziraldo’s popular children’s book character to life for a new generation of fans. Meet Menino Maluquinho, a troublemaker with a heart of gold. He has a sweet tooth, fast feet, and regularly wears a saucepan on his head. Think of him as an out-of-the-box type of kid with a gift for involving others in putting his big ideas into action. Whether things go as Maluquinho planned is a different story.
October 13
Exception–This new science fiction horror series is written by noted genre writer Hirotaka Adachi and features character designs by the legendary Yoshitaka Amano (“Final Fantasy,” “The Sandman: The Dream Hunters”). It’s set in a distant future where humanity has been forced to leave Earth and emigrate to another galaxy. The plan is to terraform a planet to make a new home for humanity. To get the ship across space, a biological 3D printer creates the ship’s crew. But what happens when a fatal glitch in the printer turns one of the crew members into a monster?
October 14
Take 1 Season 1–Netflix’s first South Korean musical reality series challenges some of South Korea’s best musical acts. Each guest artist featured is asked to make a presentation envisioning their dream final concert. They can choose the stage, the invitees, the songs to be performed, and even the staging for the performance of their chosen songs. However, each presentation needs to be done in a single take. Among the artists accepting this challenge are Rain, MAMAMOO, Park Jung-hyun, and Lena Park.
October 16
Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am–In Timothy Greenfield-Sanders’ documentary, the Pulitzer- and Nobel Prize-winning writer talks about her life and career. The film’s subjects include the importance of literary fiction, addressing the Black experience without pandering to whites, and imagining the lives of others. This film was completed before Morrison’s death.
October 17
Waffles And Mochi’s Restaurant–It’s the second season of one of Netflix’s most charming kids shows. This season, the titular duo decide to be chefs at their very own casual family-friendly restaurant. Helping the two would-be chefs out are actual famous chefs and friends introducing them to different foods. Michelle Obama returns to offer access to her magical grocery store.
Waffles & Mochi’s Restaurant
October 19
The Green Glove Gang–In this dark Polish comedy series, Zuza, Kinga, and Alicja are a trio of older female burglars. When their latest heist goes wrong, the trio are forced to hide out in a nursing home to evade the cops. The good news is the nursing home makes a great base for the gang to continue their operations and for providing excitement to the home’s residents. The bad news is the home contains a very nasty secret.
October 21
Barbarians Season 2–Back at last is this historic actioner about the war between the Germanic tribes and the Roman Empire. The new season begins a year after the Varus Battle, with the Roman Empire mounting a new attempt to conquer Germania. Among the Romans is Arminius’ brother, who wants to punish Arminius for betraying Rome. Meanwhile, Arminius and Thusnelda’s likelihood of becoming King and Queen of the tribes is threatened by betrayal by Thusnelda’s father and/or Arminius’ former best friend.
October 25
Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet Of Curiosities–Veteran horror director del Toro presents an anthology of eight different horror stories from eight different creative teams. Directors include Jennifer Kent (“The Nightingale”), Panos Cosmatos (“Mandy”), and Ana Lily Amirpour (“A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night”). The series includes adaptations of stories by Michael Shea, H.P. Lovecraft, and del Toro. Appearing in the episodes will be such actors as F. Murray Abraham, Essie Davis, Rupert Grint, and Tim Blake Nelson.
October 26
The Good Nurse–In this true crime drama set in 2003, Amy (Jessica Chastain) is a nurse at New Jersey’s Somerset Medical Center. She genuinely cares for the patients under her care. But thanks to health insurance rules, the heart transplant surgery that could save Amy’s life is unaffordable since she hasn’t been employed at Somerset long enough for the insurance to kick in. Into the nurses life comes the new ICU nurse Charlie Cullen (Eddie Redmayne), whose kindness and thoughtfulness leads to his becoming friends with Amy. However, a number of unexplained deaths at Somerset soon point to the possibility that Charlie has been murdering patients…and has been doing so for some time.
October 27
Romantic Killer–In this anime adaptation of Wataru Momose’s manga, high schooler Anzu Hoshino feels she’s living her best life. Her days are filled with video game playing, scarfing snacks, and petting her cat. Then a magical creature transports her to a world where she can’t play video games, pig out on snacks, or even have a furry. Until Anzu can find a way back, she’s stuck playing along with this altered life. Does making friends with the incredibly hot and popular Tsukasa Kazuki make up for the loss of her old life? (This writer’s answer: Not if the new life has no space for a cat.)
October 28
All Quiet On The Western Front—Erich Maria Remarque’s famed anti-war novel gets its first German-language cinematic adaptation. Spurred by dreams of military glory against the French, 17-year-old high-schooler Paul Baumer signs up to join the German Army during World War One. But the boy’s soul soon shrivels after witnessing all the carnage resulting from being on the front line. Can realistic liberal politician Erzberger (Daniel Bruhl) convince his superiors to sign a ceasefire agreement to end the war? Or will the warmongering Gen. Friedrich succeed in having the Germans fight to the bitter end regardless of the human cost?
Wendell & Wild
Big Mouth Season 6—Will this be the last season for Nick Kroll’s semi-autobiographical animated comedy about growing up and dealing with puberty’s emotional changes? Nothing’s been said yet about a renewal. But viewers can expect to see young Nick trying to rebuild bridges after lots of destructive anger aimed at friends and family. Or they can watch Jessi trying to make a relationship with Ali work despite her bedroom inexperience. Or they can hope Missy continues growing emotionally after torching her friendships last season.
Drink Masters Season 1–The new reality competition series from the creators of “Blown Away” now enters the world of mixologists. The series will show that making a great cocktail is about more than putting together the right amounts of liquor. It also involves finding the right flavors, balancing the strengths of various spirits, and even finding the best way to present the cocktail to the drinker.
If Only–The Spanish title translates to “If I Had Known,” but this is still Ece Yorenc’s Turkish drama of second chances. The production got moved to Spain when the Turkish government refused to permit filming once it learned Yorenc had a gay character in the story. 30-year-old Emma feels unhappy with her marriage to Nano and her routine life. She believes that if she were 20 again, she’d never have married Nano. Thanks to a lunar eclipse, a rare supernatural event sends Emma back into her 20-year-old body but with knowledge of what happens over the next decade. Will this second chance lead to her making better choices?
Wendell & Wild–It’s a new stop-motion animated film directed by Henry Selick (“Coraline”) and with a script co-written by Jordan Peele. Orphaned Kat has a hardened heart thanks in part to her parents’ death in a car accident. She’s stuck at a boarding school that’s being targeted by a company trying to buy up land for a new prison. Most relevantly, the orphan has been assigned literal personal demons named Wendell (Keegan-Michael Key) and Wild (Peele). When the demons discover the magic cream they regularly work with can bring things back to life, they have something to offer Kat in exchange for her agreeing to become a Hellmaiden.
October 29
Deadwind Season 3–It’s the final season of this Nordic Noir series from Finland. Homicide detective Sofia Karppi is a widow in her 30s struggling to raise two daughters alone. With her partner Sakari Nurmi, she investigates cases that usually involve powerful and secretive businesses. Yet the cases cause conflicts between her roles as a cop and a mother. In the new season, Karppi returns from her forced sabbatical to a healed partnership with Nurmi. The new case takes Karppi and Nurmi into the pharmaceutical industry, where a serial killer is on the loose. At the same time, questions start arising about the death of Karppi’s husband.
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