Looking for something new to watch on Netflix? You’ve come to the right place. Here are the best new shows and movies releasing on Netflix the week of Oct. 16-22, 2020.
This week, the number of new releases on Netflix aren’t very robust, but the titles themselves are pretty potent. Give me quality over quantity any day of the week! I am already drowning in a backlog of mediocre television to watch, so please Netflix, don’t release another meh show like Bloodline. Give me another season of a pretty decent watch like Teenage Bounty Hunters. That said, most of the selections this week are in the “worth a look” category, and not the “OMG drop your kid RIGHT now and watch this.”
All titles debut on Friday, Oct. 16 unless otherwise noted. Here’s what came out on Netflix last week.
If you’re looking for even more hand-picked recommendations, we have plenty. If you’d like to see the best of what’s coming out on Netflix in October, here are our Editors’ Picks for Netflix’s October releases and everything that’s coming to the service in the month.
The Biggest Releases
Unsolved Mysteries, Volume 2
The popular Netflix continuation of the true crime series returns with more grisly details of murder. This time around, episodes cover the unsolved mystery of former white house aide Jack Wheeler, who was found dead in a landfill; the yet-to-be-solved case of an unidentified woman who died of a gunshot in a luxury hotel; the unanswered question of a killer who ditched authorities while on furlough; and the not-quite-figured-out conundrum of ghostly spirits from Japan’s 2011 tsunami. (Monday, Oct. 19)
Grand Army, Season 1
Hey fellow kids, being a teenager is hard. But being a teenager in a gritty teen drama is even harder. Grand Army, adapted by playwright Katie Cappiello from her play Slut, follows five youths from different social circles at a Brooklyn High School as they deal, man. Following a major catastrophe in the city, their lives are sent into disarray as they confront racial and social issues, sexuality and sexual assault, and their totally bummer parents. It’s pretty hardcore, like an R-rated Degrassi, so make sure no actual teens in your house watch it. (Trailer)
The Trial of the Chicago 7
Aaron Sorkin takes his shot at a movie showing how messed up our precious democracy is with this retelling of the 1968 collective of Vietnam War protesters known as the Chicago 7 who were charged with inciting a riot. It’s got a loaded cast, with Sacha Baron Cohen, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Eddie Redmayne, Michael Keaton, and more. It’s already getting great reviews. (Trailer)
The Best New Shows to Watch This Fall
Everything Else
Rebecca
You need a lot of chutzpah to redo an Alfred Hitchcock film. Like, why would you even try? “Let me take this slice of perfection from the master of suspense and make it worse for a new audience instead of directing that same audience to the superior original.” Anyway, a newlywed (Lily James) finds herself in the shadow of her husband’s (Armie Hammer) dead ex-wife, and apparently this version isn’t that good. (Wednesday, Oct. 21)
My Next Guest Needs No Introduction
Everyone’s favorite grandpa David Letterman sits down with a new roster of guests — Robert Downey Jr., Lizzo, Kim Kardashian West, Dave Chappelle — to chit the chat. (Trailer / Wednesday, Oct. 21)
Dream Home Makeover, Season 1
In a time of social unrest, political discord, and health uncertainty, why not watch a suburban white couple help other suburban white couples redo their already pretty nice homes in what amounts to an infomercial for their business? (Trailer)
La Révolution, Season 1
The French Revolution gets a do-over in this French series in which the aristocracy is infected with a disease that literally gives them blue blood and makes them kill peasants. How do you say, “not very subtle?” (Trailer)
The Last Kids on Earth, Season 3
Remember Fox’s The Last Man on Earth? That took only most of one episode to get to the point that Will Forte was not the last “man” (human being, in this case) on Earth. Looks like this animated series went two whole seasons letting viewers believe these were the last kids on the Earth, according to the trailer. (Trailer)
The Best New TV Shows of 2020 to Binge-Watch
Someone Has to Die
The House of Flowers‘ Manolo Caro returns with this limited series set in the 1950s about a Spanish family with secrets so earth-shaking, that SOMEONE HAS TO DIE. (Trailer)
The Magic Bus Rides Again: The Frizz Connection
The Magic Bus hits a time-space anomaly, splitting it and Mrs. Frizz, into three, making this one-off special the most psychedelic adventure the franchise has ever been on. (Trailer / Tuesday, Oct. 20)
Cadaver
This Norwegian Netflix film looks wild! Following nuclear disaster, a family looking for food and shelter is invited into a hotel that provides room and board for free, but it’s also hosting an immersive never-ending theatrical experience within the hotel, too, that leads to missing children and, no doubt, murder. (Trailer / Thursday, Oct. 22)
Stop searching, start watching! TV Guide’s Watch This Now! page has even more TV recommendations. And check out our picks for the best Netflix shows and movies to watch in October.
Lucifer, The Baby-Sitters Club, Love Is Blind