In the Before Times, when you could just, like, go see a movie in a theater without first notifying your next of kin, October marked the start of Prestige Movie Season—that time of year when studios released the movies they thought had the best chance of garnering outsized critical attention and awards. And even though movie theaters aren’t really a thing right now (or at least, they shouldn’t be) and the timing of Oscar season is all messed up, Netflix is treating this month like it still matters, dropping several “serious” films from big name filmmakers.
The timeliest and most high-profile is probably The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Oct. 16) from writer/director Aaron Sorkin—creator of The West Wing and the screenwriter behind awards magnets like The Social Network, A Few Good Men, and Moneyball. The film explores the fallout from the protests during the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, during which demonstrators were arrested and later charged with inciting riots. (I dunno why this film might resonate today? Thinking emoji.)
The writer has been working on the project since 2006, with multiple directors in the mix over the years, including Steven Spielberg and Paul Greengrass. Sorkin took the reins himself after garnering good notice for Molly’s Game, his 2017 feature-length debut. The impressive cast includes Sacha Baron Cohen, Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Mark Rylance, Michael Keaton, and probably a few women who will nod while men recite speeches at them. Here’s the trailer:
Also worth keeping an eye on is Rebecca (Oct. 21), based on the novel by Daphne du Maurier and arguably a remake of the 1940 Alfred Hitchcock film, the suspense master’s only Best Picture Oscar winner. Directed by British filmmaker Ben Wheatley, the psychological thriller/romance stars Lily James, Armie Hammer, and Kristin Scott Thomas, and the trailer suggests it will be gorgeous to look at, if nothing else.
If you are seeking traditional October fare, there’s plenty of fresh material on offer for spooky season, including The Haunting of Bly Manor, writer/director Mike Flanagan’s followup to 2018’s The Haunting of Hill House; season two of the anthology haunted house series looks chilling AF. I’m also intrigued by A Babysitter’s Guide to Monster Hunting, a horror comedy in the Ghostbusters vein (Ivan Reitman is a producer) starring Harry Potter’s Tom Felton and Pose’s Indya Moore; and Vampires vs. the Bronx, in which a group of teens defend their borough from blood-sucking invaders (there is no way this isn’t a gentrification allegory, right?)
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Other streaming premieres of note: Season six of recent Emmy winner Schitt’s Creek; Social Distance, another in the recent string of fictional produced-in-and-about-quarantimes shows; and Song Exploder, an original series based on the popular anatomy-of-a-song podcast.
Here’s everything coming to and leaving Netflix in October.
Coming to Netflix in October 2020
Available Oct. 1
- Bom Dia, Verônica / Good Morning, Verônica — Netflix Original
- Carmen Sandiego: Season 3 — Netflix Family
- Oktoberfest: Beer & Blood — Netflix Original
- Pasal Kau / All Because of You — Netflix Film
- The Worst Witch: Season 4 — Netflix Family
- A.M.I.
- Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls
- Along Came a Spider
- Bakugan: Armored Alliance: Season 2
- Basic Instinct
- Black ‘47
- Cape Fear
- Code Lyoko: Seasons 1-4
- The Dukes of Hazzard (2005)
- Employee of the Month
- Enemy at the Gates
- Evil: Season 1
- Familiar Wife: Season 1
- Fargo
- Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma: The Second Plate
- Free State of Jones
- Ghost Rider
- Ghosts of Girlfriends Past
- Gran Torino
- Her
- House of 1,000 Corpses
- Human Nature
- Hunt for the Wilderpeople
- I’m Leaving Now
- The Longest Yard (1974)
- The Parkers: Seasons 1-5
- The Pirates! Band of Misfits
- Carlos Almaraz: Playing with Fire
- The Prince & Me
- Poseidon (2006)
- The Outpost
- Stranger than Fiction
- Superman Returns
- Sword Art Online: Alicization
- Troy
- The Unicorn: Season 1
- WarGames
- We Have Always Lived in the Castle
- Yogi Bear
- You Cannot Hide: Season 1
Available Oct. 2
Available Oct. 4
Available Oct. 6
Available Oct. 7
Available Oct. 9
Available Oct. 12
Available Oct. 13
Available Oct. 14
Available Oct. 15
Available Oct. 16
Available Oct. 18
Available Oct. 19
Available Oct. 20
Available Oct. 21
Available Oct. 22
- Bending the Arc
- Cadaver — Netflix Film
- The Hummingbird Project
- Yes, God, Yes
Available Oct. 23
Available Oct. 27
Available Oct. 28
Available Oct. 30
Available Oct. 31
Available in October (No date announced)
Leaving Netflix in October 2020
Leaving Oct. 1
- Emelie
- The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
- Sleeping with Other People
Leaving Oct. 2
- Cult of Chucky
- Truth or Dare
Leaving Oct. 6
Leaving Oct. 7
Leaving Oct. 17
Leaving Oct. 19
Leaving Oct. 22
Leaving Oct. 26
Leaving Oct. 30
Leaving Oct. 31
- Ace Ventura: Pet Detective
- Burlesque
- Charlotte’s Web
- Clash of the Titans
- District 9
- The Firm
- Fun with Dick & Jane
- The Girl with All the Gifts
- Grandmaster
- Highway to Heaven: Seasons 1-5
- The Interview
- Just Friends
- Magic Mike
- Nacho Libre
- The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!
- The NeverEnding Story
- The NeverEnding Story 2: The Next Chapter
- Nights in Rodanthe
- The Patriot
- Set Up
- The Silence of the Lambs
- Sleepless in Seattle
- Sleepy Hollow
- Spaceballs
- The Taking of Pelham 123
- The Ugly Truth
- Underworld
- Underworld: Evolution
- Underworld: Rise of the Lycans
