October is here, and with it comes a lineup of TV shows and films as spooky and chilling as the season itself. From white-knuckle survival dramas and neon-drenched sci-fi to unsettling true-crime tales and heart-fluttering romcoms, there’s plenty to keep you entertained and glued to the screen. Expect to see Hollywood heavyweights such as Maya Rudolph, Cillian Murphy, and Matthew McConaughey. Whether you’re looking to be scared or swept away by romance, this month’s watchlist is brimming with reasons to cancel your plans, grab a blanket, and settle in.
Play Dirty
Premieres 1 October on Prime Video
This action thriller follows Parker, a thief forced into an alliance with the very woman who once betrayed him. Together, they assemble a crew for an audacious heist that pits them against the New York mob. Mark Wahlberg brings Parker’s ruthless pragmatism to life, while LaKeith Stanfield and Rosa Salazar add edge to the volatile team dynamic. What makes it gripping isn’t just the shootouts or robberies, but the tension of watching Parker weigh revenge against ambition. It’s a clever caper that proves sometimes the dirtiest game is the only one worth playing.
Watch the trailer here.
The Lost Bus
Premieres 3 October on Apple TV+
Flames rage across the screen in this epic survival drama. Caught in one of America’s deadliest wildfires, a school bus driver and devoted teacher must battle panic, exhaustion, and impossible odds to shepherd 22 children to safety. Matthew McConaughey takes the wheel as a flawed but determined man, while America Ferrera grounds the chaos with heart and resolve. Each mile of their desperate escape is thick with dread and fleeting hope, turning ordinary people into unsung heroes. It’s a tense, emotional ride that proves courage burns brightest in the darkest moments.
Watch the trailer here.
Monster: The Ed Gein Story
Premieres 3 October on Netflix
Ryan Murphy’s acclaimed anthology series Monster turns its unflinching gaze on Ed Gein, whose gruesome crimes in 1950s Wisconsin still haunt America’s nightmares. The shocking tale of the infamous murderer showcases how isolation, grief, and obsession spiralled into acts so macabre they would inspire films such as Psycho and The Silence of the Lambs. Murphy descends into the banality of evil to highlight how monsters are not born, but shaped by the shadows around them. It’s a disturbing yet fascinating study that lingers long after the TV screen goes dark.
Watch the trailer here.
Steve
Premieres 3 October on Netflix
At a last-chance reform school, a single day nosedives into a tense drama of defiance and survival. Cillian Murphy plays the titular head teacher as he juggles discipline, and his own crumbling resolve. As the rebellious students wreak havoc, the school becomes an arena of conflict, where patience and authority collide in ways that test his breaking point. The compressed timeline intensifies every decision, turning small confrontations into life-changing battles. Murphy captures a man torn between duty and the resilience required to hold fractured lives together.
Watch the trailer here.
Tron: Ares
Premieres 9 October in Cinemas
Digital landscapes explode in this sci-fi spectacle, propelling the franchise into a bold new chapter. Jared Leto steps into the role of Ares, a sophisticated AI program who crosses into the human world for the very first time. Director Joachim Rønning delivers on neon-drenched visuals, where glowing light cycles weave through epic cityscapes. Yet, beneath the futuristic action, lie timely questions about humanity’s fraught relationship with artificial intelligence. Equal parts blockbuster and cerebral thrill, this third instalment promises to revive the Tron universe for fans.
Watch the trailer here.
Would You Marry Me?
Premieres 10 October on Disney+ Hotstar
Choi Woo-Sik and Jung So-Min star in this absurd romantic setup: a fake 90-day marriage with a luxury home as the prize. Kim Woo-Joo, a marketing manager of his family’s bakery, prides himself on being rational. That is, until a subcontractor designer, Yoo Me-Ri, proposes out of the blue. Me-Ri, still reeling from a cheating ex-fiancé and a fraudulent lease, sees the contest as both a fresh start and a desperate gamble. Their partnership begins as pure convenience, but eventually sparks fly between them. It’s a romcom that turns fake love into something dangerously real.
Watch the teaser here.
Murdaugh: Death in the Family
Premieres 15 October on Disney+ Hotstar
South Carolina’s most notorious family crumbles in this dramatisation of the Murdaugh dynasty, where privilege, corruption, and tragedy collide. Inspired by Mandy Matney’s explosive Murdaugh Murders Podcast, the gripping miniseries unravels a saga stranger than fiction, drawing on years of investigative reporting by Matney herself. The narrative unfolds much like a Southern Gothic, complete with courtroom clashes, whispered conspiracies, and reputations collapsing under the weight of lies. It’s true crime at its most riveting—dark, dramatic, and uncomfortably real.
Watch the trailer here.
Culpa Nuestra (Our Fault)
Premieres 16 October on Prime Video
The turbulent love story of Nick and Noah reaches its final chapter in this adaptation of Mercedes Ron’s bestselling trilogy. The former couple reunite at a wedding nearly a year after their breakup. Nick struggles with his duty as the heir to his grandfather’s empire, while Noah protects herself by focusing on her career. Their unresolved chemistry simmers beneath every glance, making their reunion as volatile as it is inevitable. It’s a messy conclusion that embraces young love and passion, inviting fans to see whether old flames can burn bright or finally burn out.
Watch the trailer here.
Loot, Season 3
Premieres 17 October on Apple TV+
Molly Wells is back, and chaos follows closely behind. Maya Rudolph shines once again as billionaire divorcee Molly Wells, while Adam Scott returns as her tech mogul ex-husband, along with a supporting cast of lovable colleagues. The season picks up with Molly thriving as head of the Wells Foundation, but the path to meaningful philanthropy is never as simple as it sounds. Each subplot explores Molly’s yearning for a sense of purpose as well as the absurdity of immense wealth. The series proves that money doesn’t buy happiness, but it sure can buy ridiculous moments.
Watch the trailer here.
Drop
Premieres 18 October on HBO Max
A first date turns into a sinister one in this nerve-shredding thriller. Meghan Fahy stars as Violet, a widowed mother who finds herself trapped when her romantic evening is hijacked by a sadistic threat. Anonymous messages demand she kill her charming companion, Henry, or risk her family’s lives. The suspense builds with suffocating intensity, making it impossible to tell whether Henry is a victim, villain, or something in between. Violet is forced to question every flicker of doubt in her own judgment. This film weaponises intimacy itself, leaving trust shattered in its wake.
Watch the trailer here.
Regretting You
Premieres 23 October in Cinemas
Family bonds fracture and heal in this adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s bestselling novel. Allison Williams and Mckenna Grace play a mother and daughter whose strained relationship shatters under the weight of grief. When a tragic accident exposes devastating secrets, both women are forced to navigate life together. As they uncover truths that challenge their understanding of love and loyalty, the film captures the brutality of loss and the beauty of reconciliation. It’s a devastating, yet cathartic story about family, forgiveness, and finding hope when everything feels lost.
Watch the trailer here.
Nobody Wants This, Season 2
Premieres 23 October on Netflix
Love isn’t the hard part; staying together is. Kristen Bell and Adam Brody return in this unconventional romcom series. It finds podcaster, Joanne, and hot rabbi, Noah, blending two very different worlds together. Having fallen for each other against all odds, they attempt to merge families, friends, and faiths. Bell’s dry humour and Brody’s wry charm anchor the show, with guest appearances from Brody’s wife, Leighton Meester, as well as Seth Rogen. This season tackles the messy reality of love, proof that the real story begins after happily-ever-after.
Watch the trailer here.
IT: Welcome to Derry
Premieres 27 October on HBO Max
Set in 1962, this prequel follows a young couple played by Taylour Paige and Jovan Adepo. As they move into a small town, they find their dreams of a fresh start poisoned by dread. Children vanish, whispers ripple through the community, and the streets come alive with menace. Fog-choked nights, flickering lights, and the lurking suggestion that evil has always lived here. By expanding the It franchise, the series deepens the mythology of Pennywise’s reign. It shows how fear can fester for generations, infecting a town’s soul long before the killer clown shows his face.
Watch the trailer here.
Hedda
Premieres 29 October on Prime Video
Tessa Thompson takes on the titular role of Hedda Gabler in this bold reimagining of Henrik Ibsen’s classic play. Set over one charged night, Hedda’s repressed desires are unleashed, dragging her marriage, friendships, and reputation into turmoil. Thompson embodies the restless spirit of a woman trapped by convention, a heroine caught between yearning and destruction. She commands the screen with a performance that’s magnetic, yet unsettling. The film sharpens Ibsen’s themes for a modern audience without losing the sting of its original source.
Watch the trailer here.
Caught Stealing
Premieres 30 October in Cinemas
What begins as pet-sitting quickly spirals into chaos in Darren Aronofsky’s darkly comic crime thriller. Austin Butler trades his Elvis swagger for raw desperation as Hank Thompson, a washed-up baseball player turned bartender. Matt Smith co-stars as his punk-rock neighbour, Russ, whose cat inadvertently drags Hank into New York’s criminal underworld. He stumbles through gangsters and cons, scrambling to stay alive in a game he doesn’t fully understand. The result is a wild, unpredictable ride filled with next-level bad luck and the desperate hustle to survive.
Watch the trailer here.
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