Netflix
Lupin: Part 3
TV, France, 2023 – out 5 October
When it comes to moreish crime thrillers, Lupin is hard to beat. It deftly combines the slick action of a heist drama with the cosy charms of the gentleman thief – think Ocean’s Eleven but French and with more social awareness. Omar Sy plays Assane Diop, a clever thief and the son of a Senegalese immigrant whose five-finger discount proclivities are grounded in justice and redress. Heavily inspired by Maurice Leblanc’s century-old novels, Lupin has pulse-racing set pieces, twisty puzzles and a Parisian backdrop to entice any holdout. In this third part, Assane is on the run but returns to Paris for a derring-do quest.
Fair Play
Film, US, 2023 – out 6 October
A throwback to sexual thrillers such as Basic Instinct and Fatal Attraction, Fair Play is a cautionary tale of workplace romances. Starring an against-type Phoebe Dynevor (Bridgerton) and Star Wars’ Alden Ehrenreich, the duo are Emily and Luke, two madly-in-love analysts working at a vicious hedge fund (as an aside, I’ve never heard of a warm and fuzzy hedge fund – maybe late-stage capitalism is bad?) whose secret relationship unravels in nasty accusations and paranoia when Emily is promoted to Luke’s boss. He says he’s supportive but he’s really not coping, and the games they start to play with each other in this corrupt and putrid work culture would give any half-ethical HR person a total breakdown.
Honourable mentions: Pain Hustlers (film, 20 October), Reptile (film, 6 October), Big Mouth season seven (TV, 20 October), Bodies (TV, 19 October), The Fall of the House of Usher (TV, 12 October), Ballerina (film, 6 October), Beckham (TV, 4 October)
Stan
Wolf Like Me, season two
TV, Australia, 2023 – out 19 October
A dramedy that balances absurdity and laughs with the emotional weight of grief and trauma, Wolf Like Me was a surprise hit when the first season dropped in early 2022. The courtship of two unlikely romantic prospects, Gary (Josh Gad) and Mary (Isla Fisher), had some hairy complications, literally. Season two picks up after their coupling up, but there are no easy happily-ever-afters in this magical realism tale, and challenges anew arrive in the form of Mary’s old professor, played by Édgar Ramirez, and a pregnancy that pushes into the unknown.
Ad Astra
Film, US, 2019 – out 18 October
Ad Astra is a divisive film and has as many detractors as it does cheerleaders, but I am firmly in the latter camp. Its patient pacing requires the same of its audience, but if you give yourself over, it richly rewards with its poignant and visually striking story about an astronaut (Brad Pitt) who embarks on a mission to stop a destructive force that may be his heretofore assumed dead father (Tommy Lee Jones). Director James Gray contrasts the boundary-pushing exploration of physical space with the emotional limits we place on ourselves, and in the process, elicited one of Pitt’s most accomplished performances.
ABC iView
Empire Records
Film, US, 1995 – out 27 October
Along with the likes of Reality Bites, Slacker, Clerks and Dazed and Confused, Empire Records was one of the defining coming-of-age stories for gen Xers disillusioned with the social and economic expectations placed upon them in a post-Wall Street crash era. The dreams of their suburban parents didn’t hold allure, and they have yet to find a place for themselves and their nonchalant idealism. A hangout movie, the story is centred on a group of employees (Rory Cochrane, Liv Tyler, Ethan Embry, Renée Zellweger) at a music store who contrive to save their indie shop from being sold to a soulless chain.
Honourable mentions: Old People’s Home for Teenagers season two (TV, 3 October), Take 5 with Zan Rowe season two (TV, 10 October), Question Everything season three (TV, 18 October), Australia After War (TV, 3 October), Joanna Lumley’s Spice Trail Adventure (TV, 29 October)
Apple TV+
Lessons in Chemistry
TV, US, 2023 – out 13 October
Bonnie Garmus’s novel has sold millions of copies, so it’s no exaggeration to say the streaming adaptation is one of this year’s most anticipated releases. Starring Brie Larson and Lewis Pullman, Lessons in Chemistry is the story of 1950s scientist Elizabeth Zott who refuses to buckle to social expectations and finds herself in a constant headlock with the patriarchal academic establishment. Gaining access to the male world of science is near-impossible and she ends up with the unlikely job of hosting a TV cooking program using the same commitment to chemistry and balance. The series shares similar themes and tone with The Queen’s Gambit (as well as the same composer in Carlos Rafael Rivera) and any fans of that lush period drama will find much to like here.
Honourable mentions: The Pigeon Tunnel (film, 20 October), The Enfield Poltergeist (TV, 27 October), Curses! (TV, 27 October)
Disney+
Loki, season two
TV, US, 2023 – out 6 October
In the glut of Disney’s Marvel streaming shows, Loki was one of the standouts thanks to Tom Hiddleston’s charismatic portrayal of the semi-reformed trickster god and the visual delights of its modernist sci-fi production design. After a two-year break, the cheeky comic book hero is back for more sometimes-misguided adventures in the time-breaking multiverse where the stakes are as high as free will, destiny and the continued existence of all life. Owen Wilson reprises his role as Loki ally Mobius M Mobius while Oscar winner Ke Huy Quan joins the cast as a quirky repairman in the Time Variance Authority.
Coco Reo Māori
Film, US, 2017 – out 30 October
If you’ve seen Pixar’s Coco and didn’t cry, you’re lying. The vivid animation about a young Mexican boy’s journey through the underworld on the Day of the Dead in search of answers to a family mystery is so emotionally wrenching (in the best way), dry eyes might be a sign of psychopathy. The film has been available on Disney+ since its launch but releasing this month is a version with a Māori-language dub, featuring the voices of Manuera Manihera, Troy Kingi, Justin Rogers and Rachel House as Mama Coco. The Māori dub adds another dimension, uniting two cultures with a strong focus on family foundations.
Honourable mentions: Goosebumps (TV, 13 October), The Boogeyman (film, 5 October), Aaron Carter: The Little Prince of Pop (film, 6 October), Sound of the Police (film, 13 October), Werewolf by Night in Colour (film, 20 October)
Paramount+
Frasier, the reboot
TV, US, 2023 – out 13 October
You can’t argue that Frasier Crane was shortchanged. Between Cheers, Frasier and an episode of Wings, Kelsey Grammer portrayed Frasier on 468 episodes of TV. But you can’t deny there is still something commanding about the toffy but ultimately good-hearted psychiatrist whose pretensions and airs were part of his charm, especially when he was the butt of the cutting jokes. Going against trend, the revival series follows the same format of a live taping in front of a studio audience, but Frasier wouldn’t be Frasier without it – and the legendary sitcom director James Burrows (Friends, Will & Grace) is helming the first two episodes. The revival takes Frasier back to Boston and the ensemble includes his now adult son Freddy (Jack Cutmore-Scott), but expect a pop-in or two from old faves Roz (Peri Gilpin) and Lilith (Bebe Neuwirth).
Milli Vanilli
Film, US, 2023 – out 25 October
Long before Britney Spears and Ashlee Simpson were caught lip-syncing, French-German pop duo Milli Vanilli was synonymous with the creative crime. Formed in the 1980s, Milli Vanilli became a global sensation with earworms including Blame it on the Rain and Girl I’m Gonna Miss You, but a disastrous MTV performance in 1989 exposed the pair for lip-syncing and that they hadn’t even sung the songs on the album. This new music documentary examines the pillorying that made frontmen Rob Pilatus and Fabrice Morvan become a cultural punchline. But who really masterminded the deception, and who knew all along?
Honourable mentions: SpongeBob SquarePants (TV, 4 October), Bargain (TV, 5 October), Pet Sematary (film, 7 October), Anything for Fame (film, 11 October), The Burning Girls (TV, 19 October), Scream VI (film, 26 October), Fellow Travellers (TV, 28 October)
SBS on Demand
The Mission
TV, Australia, 2023 – out 24 October
A spiritual follow-up to his documentary Framed, Marc Fennell takes on another mystery in the art heist world with The Mission. The journalist delves into the enigma of Western Australia’s New Norcia monastery where, in 1986, 26 European masterpieces were slashed out of their frames. The religious artworks were thought to be worth millions, and what followed was the discovery of bumbling thieves and a confounding plot to smuggle the paintings out of the country.
Night Bloomers
TV, Australia, 2023 – out 28 October
There’s always a rush of spooky programming around Halloween and Night Bloomers brings a Korean Australian edge to the tradition. The horror anthology series was filmed across western Sydney and is set in the Korean diaspora community, evoking old-country folklores to tell modern multigenerational stories of immigration and identity. The series will also screen at SXSW Sydney as part of its TV premieres program. It was created, written and directed by Andrew Undi Lee and features an ensemble cast including Ra Chapman, Joshua Park, Deborah An and Helen Kim.
Honourable mentions: Rough Cut (TV, 5 October), The Architect (TV, 5 October), Piste Noire (TV, 12 October), Shoresy (TV, 27 October), Evil Under the Sun (film, 6 October), Quo Vadis, Aida? (film, 6 October), Saint Maud (film, 6 October)
Amazon Prime Video
Hot Potato: The Story of the Wiggles
Film, Australia, 2023 – out 24 October
Bluey may be the Australian export du jour, but never forget four men in skivvies, a dinosaur and a big red car conquered the world of children’s entertainment first. Hot Potato: The Story of the Wiggles is the first feature documentary to explore the backstory of how a band of education students (Anthony Field, Murray Cook, Greg Page and Jeff Fatt) became global superstars who went on to sell out New York’s Madison Square Garden and mountains of merch. The film, written and directed by Sally Aitken, promises intimate access and behind-the-scenes moments with the core four.
Upload, season three
TV, US, 2023 – out 20 October
TV fans may be hanging out for that rumoured reboot of The Office US, but creator and showrunner Greg Daniels was already busy with another smart comedy – the underappreciated Upload, which returns for its third season. When it launched in 2020, its story about Nathan (Robbie Amell), a computer programmer whose consciousness is digitally uploaded into a virtual afterlife when he dies suddenly, was tapping into a subject that was gaining momentum in the real world. Three years on, ideas around what makes humans distinct from artificial intelligence is even more urgent. And if you’re terrified about being replaced by AI or how technology entrenches income equality, at least try to get some laughs out of all the murky ethics of it.
Honourable mentions: Totally Killer (film, 6 October), The Burial (film, 13 October), Nandor Fodor and the Talking Mongoose (film, 27 October), Pantheon season two (TV, 15 October), Silver Dollar Road (film, 20 October), The Fabelmans (film, 5 October)
Binge
The Real Housewives of Sydney, season two
TV, Australia, 2023 – out 10 October
The Sydney spin-off of reality franchise Real Housewives made its ignominious debut in 2017 and it was so widely derided, the series was cancelled not long after. Even in a brand universe where drama is mandatory, the Sydney version was seen as too nasty. After a six-year pause – and what one assumes is either considerable soul-searching or audience testing – the cashed-up and sparkly Real Housewives of Sydney has been resurrected to once again cast side-eyes and judge table ornaments. The promise of renewal and a different vibe means most of the cast has been changed over, with newcomers including the shoe designer Terry Biviano and former TV presenter Sally Obermeder.
Honourable mentions: Pearl (film, 7 October), Krapopolis (TV, 16 October), Our Flag Means Death season two (TV, 5 October), Shining Vale season two (TV, 14 October), Celebrity Gogglebox season two (TV, 25 October)
