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Decider Lists
When the list of new releases on Netflix comes out every month, it sometimes feels like the leading streamer has opened up a firehose of content of all types: scripted, unscripted, international, and more. With everyone’s limited time, it’s hard to figure out which shows you want to sit down and binge.
The crew at Decider know how tough it is to figure what to watch… and we do this for a living. So let us be your guide. Below are quick previews of what we think the ten hottest, most intriguing series to debut on the service in October will be. They aren’t all Netflix Originals (though most are because of that firehose); just shows we know people will want to watch. Which shows will make it into the Netflix Top 10? Only time will tell!
'Song Exploder'
PREMIERE DATE: October 2
CAST: Hrishikesh Hirway, Alicia Keys, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Ty Dolla Sign, Michael Stipe
RATING: TV-MA
DESCRIPTION: Based on the hit podcast, a number of top songwriters discuss how they brought a particular song, whether it be a huge hit or one close to their hearts, into being. Songs will be broken down line by line to show where the songwriter made their decisions and what their influences were. One we’re looking forward to is LMM talking about “Wait For It,” one of our favorite songs from Hamilton.
'Emily In Paris'
PREMIERE DATE: October 2
CAST: Lily Collins, Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu, Lucas Bravo, Kate Walsh, Ashley Park
RATING: TV-MA
DESCRIPTION: Created by Darren Star (Sex and the City), the dramedy revolves around a 20-something woman named Emily (Collins), who moves to Paris when her company is acquired by a French corporation. As she tries to figure out the French company’s social media strategy, she meets all sorts of new people, tries to fit in with her new coworkers, and (of course) has whirlwind romances.
'Schitt's Creek' Season 6
PREMIERE DATE: October 7
CAST: Eugene Levy, Catherine O’Hara, Dan Levy, Annie Murphy
RATING: TV-MA
DESCRIPTION: Remember back when Schitt’s Creek won almost every comedy Emmy that the Academy gave out on the primetime awardscast? The final season, the one that won all those Emmys, debuts on Netflix on October 7. So if you’ve been eagerly waiting to watch it — either you missed it when it was on Pop or just didn’t want to deal with ads — now’s your chance. Or if you’ve been wondering what all the hubbub is about, now’s your chance to watch the whole damn thing in one swoop.
'Deaf U'
PREMIERE DATE: October 9
CAST: Daequan Taylor, Cheyanna Clearbrook, Renate Rose, Rodney Buford
RATING: TV-MA
DESCRIPTION: A new docuseries follows a group of four friends at Washington, DC’s Gallaudet University, a well-regarded university for the hearing impaired. The series is supposed to show that a) deaf college students drink as much and have as much sex as the rest of us (duh) and 2) there are identity issues among members of the deaf community, just like every other subset of the population (interesting!).
'The Haunting Of Bly Manor'
PREMIERE DATE: October 9
CAST: Victoria Pedretti, Henry Thomas, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Kate Siegel
RATING: TV-MA
DESCRIPTION: A follow-up of sorts to The Haunting Of Hill House — much of the cast, but a new story based on the writings of Henry James — involving an American nanny (Pedretti) hired by a man (Thomas) to take care of his niece and nephew after their au pair suddenly dies. But Bly Manor is full of ghosts and secrets that seem to haunt the nanny as she tries to protect her charges from all the spooky stuff.
'Social Distance'
PREMIERE DATE: October 15
CAST: Danielle Brooks, Oscar Nuñez, Mike Colter, Steven Weber
RATING: TV-MA
DESCRIPTION: Created by Hilary Weisman, with Jenji Kohan as one of the executive producers, Social Distance is a remotely-produced anthology set during the early stages of the pandemic. As we’ve seen in other series produced like this, the stories in this anthology are about how people stay connected while they’re supposed to be physically separated. Some of the stories will be heartfelt, others funny. But there will be a lot of Zoom rectangles, we know that for sure.
'Grand Army'
PREMIERE DATE: October 16
CAST: Odessa A’zion, Amalia Yoo, Maliq Johnson, Amir Bageria, Odley Jean
RATING: TV-MA
DESCRIPTION: This series, from executive producers Joshua Donen, Beau Willimon and Katie Cappiello, takes place at Grand Army, Brooklyn’s largest public high school. It follows five students as they deal with racism, economic politics and sexual politics as they try to get one step ahead and set themselves up for their adult lives.
'Unsolved Mysteries' Volume 2
PREMIERE DATE: October 19
CAST: N/A
RATING: TV-MA
DESCRIPTION: After a successful relaunch over the summer, six new episodes of the rebooted (and hostless) Unsolved Mysteries debut in October. Some of the cases covered in this new set of episodes include the case of former White House aide Jack Wheeler, a convict that disappeared after being furloughed in 1973, a mysterious shooting death in an Oslo hotel and stories about the spirits people encountered after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
'My Next Guest Needs No Introduction With David Letterman' Season 3
PREMIERE DATE: October 21
CAST: David Letterman, Lizzo, Dave Chappelle, Kim Kardashian, Robert Downey Jr.
RATING: TV-MA
DESCRIPTION: David Letterman is back with the third season of his mostly serious (really) interview series, where he goes in-depth with one star he’s curious about, and we see segments where Letterman does something on the road that’s related to the main guest. The four episodes of Season 3 feature Dave Chappelle, Lizzo, Robert Downey Jr., and Kim Kardashian.
Stream My Next Guest Needs No Introduction With David Letterman On Netflix
'The Queen's Gambit'
PREMIERE DATE: October 23
CAST: Anya Taylor-Joy, Bill Camp, Moses Ingram, Marielle Heller
RATING: TV-MA
DESCRIPTION: Based on the novel by Walter Tevis, The Queen’s Gambit is about Beth Harmon (Taylor-Joy), who was found in an orphanage and showed an affinity for chess; as she gets older and competes in chess tournaments, she also fights her addictions. Which will win out?
