The B*tch Watch: October 2017 TV preview

Ready for an extremely top heavy month of new and returning TV? October is upon us!

Let’s bitch it out…

Top Pick: New

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gZCfRD_zWE&t=1s

With so much terrible network content premiering in the last few months, it doesn’t take much for new Netflix series Mindhunter (Oct 13) to take the cake as the most anticipated new show for October. The series, executive produced by David Fincher and actress Charlize Theron, is set in the late 70s when criminal profiling is in its infancy. The cast is filled with talent, including Jonathan Groff and Anna Torv, while the period setting looks intriguing and the premise – based on the non-fiction novel Mind Hunter: Inside The FBI’s Elite Serial Crime Unit – has tons of potential. As usual Netflix seems to agree: the series has already been renewed for S2.

• Honourable Mentions:
  • I haven’t seen a show set in a Parisian fashion house, so here’s hoping The Collection (Oct 8) finds some intriguing stories to tell.
  • Loudermilk (Oct 17) looks like a spirit companion to Hank Azaria’s  fantastic Brockmire, so I’m intrigued to see if the series can find a compelling comedic redemption arc for Ron Livingston’s prickly protagonist.

Top Pick: Returning

All eyes will undoubtedly be on Stranger Things (Oct 27) when the summer sensation of 2016 returns for its second season later this month. The 1980s-set series is still riding high after last year’s warm reception, a busy awards season and a continued appetite for all things nostalgia, particularly Stephen King-related. Despite all of these pros, it will be difficult for Stranger Things to live up to fans’ unrealistic expectations for the next round of Eleven and the other residents of Hawkins, Indiana.

• Honourable Mentions:
  • Speaking of high expectations, after many years off, Larry David returns on Oct 1 for more uncomfortable humour with S9 of Curb Your Enthusiasm.
  • Female empowerment double bill Jane the Virgin S4 and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend S3 (Oct 13) move to Friday nights, despite both shows showing no signs of creative fatigue. Fingers crossed this isn’t the end of the road for either.
  • Both Berlin Station and Good Behavior (Oct 15) proved surprisingly entertaining in their first years, so I’m intrigued to see if they can keep up the quality going in S2.

Top Pick: Wildcard

Syfy’s Ghost Wars (Oct 5) sounds ludicrous and looks like a bizarre genre mash-up, but could fill the recent void left by CBS summer staple Zoo. As always with Syfy’s bizarre programming choices, this will come down to execution, though D’Onofrio’s inclusion means it’s more likely to fall into the category of “hot mess.”

• Honourable Mentions:
  • Dynasty (Oct 11) has big high heels to live up to considering the historical antics of its 80s predecessor.
  • S3 of Mr. Robot (also Oct 11) has a lot of goodwill to win back after the hacker drama’s rocky sophomore effort last year.
  • Lore (Oct 13) could be an intriguing entry in the recent boom of horror anthologies, although the stories it tells may be too familiar.
  • Staying in the realm of horror, I’m considerably less excited for Hulu’s atrocious Freakish, which was one of 2016’s very worst shows. S2 drops Oct 18.

Complete October 2017 Schedule. I’m watching shows marked with an asterix (*)

Sunday, Oct 1

• Bob’s Burgers S8 (FOX – 7:30pm EST)

• The Simpsons S29 (FOX – 8pm EST)

• Ghosted S1 (FOX – 8:30pm EST): A skeptic (Craig Robinson) is paired with a brilliant true believer (Adam Scott) by a secret government agency to investigate paranormal activity in Los Angeles, uncovering a much larger, world-threatening mystery in the process.

• Wisdom of the Crowd S1 (CBS – 8:30pm EST): Jeremy Piven stars in this adaptation of an Israeli series as a Bay Area tech innovator who creates a cutting-edge crowdsourcing app to solve his daughter’s murder, and finds out that it can be used to solve other crimes as well.

• Family Guy S16 (FOX – 9pm EST)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlVU-lYzl5Q

• Poldark S3 (PBC – 9pm EST)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6wODNHi4qE

• The Last Man on Earth S4 (FOX – 9:30pm EST): Kristen Wiig joins the show.

• NCIS: Los Angeles S9 (CBS – 9:30pm EST)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbQLFRVuDk8

• 10 Days in the Valley S1 (ABC – 10pm EST):  Kyra Sedgwick stars as an overworked producer of a controversial TV show and mother in the middle of separating from her husband. When her young daughter goes missing in the middle of the night, her work and personal lives implode.

• Curb Your Enthusiasm S9 (HBO – 10pm EST): The Larry David comedy returns with its first new episodes since 2011. Expect guest appearances from Bryan Cranston, Nick Offerman, Jimmy Kimmel, Lauren Graham, Elizabeth Banks, Carrie Brownstein, Elizabeth Perkins, Ed Begley, Jr., and Nasim Pedrad

Monday, Oct 2

• Lucifer S3 (FOX – 8pm EST): Where in the world is Lucifer and how did he get his wings back?

• 9JKL S1 (CBS – 8:30pm EST): Semi-autobiographical sitcom about a man who finds himself living in an apartment adjacent to one occupied by his parents (on one side) and another by his brother, sister-in-law, and their baby (on the other side).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyScVAJxKYc

• The Gifted S1* (FOX – 9pm EST): Amy Acker and Stephen Moyer star as suburban parents who discover that their children possess unusual powers and must go on the run to protect them from the government with the help of an underground network of mutants

• The Halycon S1 (Ovation – 10pm EST): Period drama set at a hotel during WWII

Tuesday, Oct 3

• The Middle S9 (ABC – 8pm EST): Final Season

• Fresh Off The Boat S4 (ABC – 8:30pm EST)

• black-ish S4 (ABC – 9pm EST)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtbzQi6c9mM

• The Mayor S1 (ABC – 9:30pm EST): What happens when a young, aspiring rapper runs for the office of mayor of his hometown as a publicity stunt—and wins?

• Kevin (Probably) Saves The World S1 (ABC – 10pm EST): In this lighthearted drama from the duo of Michele Fazekas and Tara Butters (Agent Carter, Reaper), Ritter plays a clueless, self-serving man caught in a downward spiral until a messenger from god gives him a mission to save the world.
• Queen Sugar S2B* (OWN – 10pm EST): The show returns to wrap up S2

Thursday, Oct 5

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCsEv9TRlug

• Bonus Family S1 (Netflix – 3am EST): American debut of Swedish dramedy series from the writer-director of The 100 Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window And Disappeared. At the centre are Lisa (Vera Vitali) and Patrik (Erik Johansson), their children from previous relationships, and their exes (Petra Mede and Fredrik Hallgren). All episodes available today.

• Rillington Place (Sundance Now): Three-part British miniseries (about a real-life serial killer in London in the 1940s and ’50s) starring Tim Roth and Samantha Morton

• Scandal S7 (ABC – 9pm EST): Final Season

• Van Helsing S2 (Syfy – 9pm EST): The world is over and so is the wait. Slay. All Day

• Ghost Wars S1* (Syfy – 10pm EST): A remote Alaskan town is overrun by paranormal forces in this new series starring Avan Jogia, Vincent D’Onofrio, Kim Coates, and Meat Loaf.

Friday, Oct 6

• Suburra S1 (Netflix – 3am EST): Netflix’s first Italian original series is a crime thriller based on a real-life political scandal

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cHN1K_BlWY

• Once Upon A Time S7 (ABC – 8pm EST): The series moves to a new timeslot and gets a major cast shake-up for its seventh season that centers on characters played by Lana Parrilla, Robert Carlyle, and Colin O’Donoghue. New cast members include Gabrielle Anwar, Andrew J. West, and Alison Fernandez.
• Superstition S1 (Syfy – 10pm EST): A new series from Mario Van Peebles set in a small, haunted Georgian town

Sunday, Oct 8

• The Collection S1 (PBS – 10pm EST): New Masterpiece series set in the fashion world in post-war Paris stars Richard Coyle, Michael Kitchen, Tom Riley, Frances de la Tour, Sarah Parish, and Mamie Gummer.
• Madam Secretary S4 (CBS – 10pm EST)

Monday, Oct 9

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irH6gtcR4Dk

• Supergirl S3 (The CW – 8pm EST)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMYd4XV9kQQ

• Valor S1 (The CW – 9pm EST): Valor is set at an Army base where an elite group of helicopter pilots are trained for clandestine missions. The serialized story, told partially through flashback, traces a failed clandestine mission in Somalia and a new plan to rescue the soldiers who were stranded there as a result.

Tuesday, Oct 10

• The Flash S4 (The CW – 8pm EST)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kg2T51tA8Vc

• Legends of Tomorrow S3 (The CW – 9pm EST)

• Tales (BET – 10pm EST): An anthology of hip hop legends

Wednesday, Oct 11

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwkKS3mMlzQ&feature=em-uploademail

• Chance S2 (Hulu)

• Riverdale S2* (The CW – 8pm EST): Mark Consuelos joins the cats as Hiram Lodge

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uxacuu_vg8Y

• Dynasty S1* (The CW – 9pm EST): A remake of successful 80s primetime Spelling soap, this modernized, more diverse saga about two of America’s wealthiest families is relocated to Atlanta. Grant Show, Elizabeth Gillies, Nathalie Kelley, James Mackay, and Alan Dale star

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_y07JUUQ9oA

• Mr. Robot S3* (USA – 10pm EST): Bobby Cannavale joins the cast

• The Shannara Chronicles S2 (Spike – 10pm EST): The show jumps from MTV to Spike for S2

Thursday, Oct 12

• Arrow S6 (The CW – 8pm EST)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXj6c7bmxII

• Supernatural S126 S13 (The CW – 9pm EST)

Friday, Oct 13

• Lore S1 (Amazon – 12am EST): Based on the podcast of the same name, each of the six episodes tells a frightening but fact-based story—many of which served as the inspirations for classic works in the history of the horror genre

• Mindhunter S1* (Netflix – 3am EST): Holt McCallany and Jonathan Groff star as FBI agents who solve murders with advice gleaned from interviews of imprisoned serial killers. The 1979-set series also stars Anna Torv, and is based on the real-life work of FBI veteran John Douglas, who served as the inspiration for the Jack Crawford character in the various Hannibal Lecter books, as well as for Jason Gideon on Criminal Minds.

• Crazy Ex-Girlfriend S3* (The CW – 8pm EST)

• Jane The Virgin S4* (The CW – 9pm EST): Tyler Posey (of Teen Wolf fame) joins the cast

Saturday, Oct 14

• Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency S2 (BBC America – 9pm EST): Alan Tudyk, John Hannah, and Tyler Labine join the cast.

Sunday, Oct 15

• The Durrells in Corfu S2 (PBS – 8pm EST): An intrepid widow decamps from dreary England to a sun-dappled Greek island with her four recalcitrant children, ages 11 to 21, in the adaptation of Gerald Durrell’s My Family and Other Animals and its two sequels

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNmy2vbdTFA

• Berlin Station S2* (Epix – 9pm EST): Ashley Judd and Keke Palmer join the cast

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaH1whf5gM0

• Good Behavior S2* (TNT – 10pm EST)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuhLVZ22mi0

• White Famous S1 (Showtime – 10pm EST): Jay Pharoah stars as a black comedian on the verge of major fame in a series loosely based on the early career of Jamie Foxx (who will have a recurring guest role).

Monday, Oct 16

• Acceptable Risk S1* (Acorn TV): When Lee Manning, is found dead in Montreal, his wife Sarah’s world is thrown into a tailspin. With the ensuing investigation revealing more questions than answers, she suddenly finds herself under suspicion, and her life under surveillance.

Tuesday, Oct 17

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soHhYqXyUlY

• Loudermilk S1 (DirecTV/AT&T – 8:30pm EST): Peter Farrelly co-created and directs this 10-episode Audience Network original starring Ron Livingston as an extremely grumpy substance abuse counselor (and recovering alcoholic himself).

Wednesday, Oct 18

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rS3ltmDDUfo

• Freakish S2 (Hulu): Jake Busey joins the cast

Friday, Oct 20

• Red Oaks S3 (Amazon – 12am EST): It’s the end of an era. Return to Red Oaks for one last summer with David, Wheeler, Misty, Nash, and the rest of the crew. Final season
• Haters Back Off s2 (Netflix – 3am EST)

Sunday, Oct 22

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3l82kiUvnKM

• The Walking Dead S8 (AMC – 9pm EST)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhioFcNk74E

• Graves S2 (Epix – 10pm EST)

Tuesday, Oct 24

• Wanted S1 & 2* (Netflix – 3am EST): Two women are falsely accused of murder, and go on the run across Australia in a car filled with stolen money.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hm_JdAGN5w

• The Last O.G. S1 (TBS – 10pm EST): Tracy Morgan playS an ex-con attempting to readjust to the outside world after spending 15 years in prison. 2 episode premiere

Friday, Oct 27

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgS2L7WPIO4

• Stranger Things S2* (Netflix – 3am EST): The second season will take place around Halloween 1984, a year after the events of the first season, and will explore the “bigger mythology” of Will’s disappearance.
• Blindspot S3 (NBC – 8pm EST)

Monday, Oct 30

• Superior Donuts S2 (NBC – 9:30pm EST)

Tuesday, Oct 31

• Major Crimes S6 (TNT – 9pm EST)

———-

That’s it for October (phew!) Coming in November: a stray network series or two (S.W.A.T) and a few intriguing looking cable series (SMILF, Damnation, S2 of Search Party). Netflix continues to dominate the schedule with the debuts of Soderbergh’s Godless and Spike Lee’s She’s Gotta Have it, plus the return of Lady Dynamite S2, and the US debut of Alias Grace. Coming on strong, however, will be Hulu’s Future Man and Marvel’s Runaways. Plus: the return of my Best New Series of 2016: S2 of The Girlfriend Experience. Throw in enough Hallmark holiday movies to make you think it’s December and it’s another crazy month!