Truth Seekers: Season 1 — (Amazon Prime series) Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, The World’s End, Spaced, and several more team-ups weren’t enough for Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. They reunite once again for a British serial take on The X-Files about a ragtag group of paranormal investigators who travel the U.K. in pursuit of ghosts. No location will be left unturned (from World War 2 bunkers to abandoned insane asylums), and it’s the perfect weekend for this brand of wackiness.
The Mandalorian: Season 2 Premiere (Disney+ series) — The Baby Yoda star vehicle has made its highly anticipated return with plenty of callbacks to the first Star Wars movie and a pretty big subsequent comeback (maybe?). Also, they’ve got Timothy Olyphant now, and of course he plays a marshal, which no one would protest.
His House (Netflix film) — Wunmi Mosaku (Lovecraft Country) leads this British horror movie about a young refugee couple who flees war-torn South Sudan but finds a whole new horror in England, where evils lurk in their new home and threaten their seemingly newfound better situation.
Holidate (Netflix film) — Here we go, everyone. The holiday season has officially begun with this romcom starring Emma Roberts and Luke Bracey. Despite being strangers, they make a pact to do the “holidate” thing with each other for a full year. They will obviously vow to never have romantic feelings for each other, but you know how that always ends, right? Oh, let’s just embrace the clichés, already. It’s 2020.
The Right Stuff: Episode 5 (NatGeo series on Disney+) – It’s do or die time (not literally) as Bob declares the flight order of Mercury 7’s first three astronauts. Someone (or someones) is not gonna be happy.
Somebody Feed Phil: Season 4 (Netflix series) – You’re having some wanderlust right about now, yes? Well, Everybody Loves Raymond creator Phil Rosenthal is once again traveling the globe in search of new local cuisine, so do join him for some vicarious adventures.
Here’s the rest of this weekend’s notable programming:
The Daily Show with Trevor Noah Presents: Remembering RBG – A Nation Ugly Cries with Desi Lydic (Friday, Comedy Central 11:00 p.m.) — The terrifically funny Desi Lydic comes together with a group of whipsmart women to process the loss of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Together, they work through the stages of grief over the liberal firebrand and discuss how she changed America while giving her a proper sendoff amid our current chaos.
How To With John Wilson (Friday, HBO 11:00 p.m.) — This comedy docuseries launches with John Wilson diving into New York’s vast and sprawling scaffolding “protection,” which stretches 300 miles throughout the city. Wilson also spoke with us about capturing the intimacy and absurdity of life in New York.
Eli Roth’s History of Horror (Saturday, AMC 10:00 p.m.) — This show keeps the spooky season’s spirit intact with the Cabin Fever and Hostel director exploring chilling children characters, who often make for the scariest horror films of all.
Saturday Night Live (Saturday, NBC 11:29 p.m.) — Host John Mulaney and musical guest The Strokes are here for the Halloween edition.
Supermarket Sweep (Sunday, ABC 8:00 p.m.) — Leslie Jones and every bit of her enthusiasm will host contestants in this revival of the grocery-shopping game show.
Pandora (Sunday, CW 8:00 p.m.) — An intergalactic fight club is causing troubles, as those tend to do, while Jax is attempting to gather intel via Osborn from a beautiful princess, who finds her loyalty tested.
Good Lord Bird (Sunday, Showtime 9:00 p.m.) — Ethan Hawke stars as violent abolitionist John Brown in this series that takes place in the Kansas territory in 1856. This week, John Brown’s army advances toward Harper’s Ferry, and Onion’s struggling to make new recruits as directed.
The Undoing (Sunday, HBO 9:00 p.m.) — Hugh Grant’s fascinating turn as a possibly shady dude (and it’s about time) returns with Jonathan still missing while Nicole Kidman’s Grace is dodging detective questions.
Fear The Walking Dead (Sunday, AMC 9:00 p.m.) — A death gets written off as an accident, and John’s not buying that explanation.
Fargo (Sunday, FX 10:00 p.m.) — Oraetta’s had enough of her critics, Josto prepares to make a move, and Loy’s battling his demons.
The Walking Dead: World Beyond (Sunday, AMC 10:00 p.m.) — The next spinoff in this universe continues to feel itself out with madmen, water, and group bonding while threats gather ’round a vacant high school.
In case you missed these releases while you watched Borat last weekend:
The Queen’s Gambit (Netflix series) – This chess-centered drama is a surprisingly interesting and tightly paced show. It’s also a meditation upon addiction and danger and what it means to be a champion, all wrapped up in a coming-of-age tale about a boozy grandmaster in the making. As fictional prodigy Beth Harmon, Anya Taylor-Joy’s piercing gaze is here to demonstrate how a board game can look like a battlefield in Scott Frank’s adaptation of the Walter Tevis novel. The supporting cast (including Marielle Heller as a tragic 1950s housewife, Moses Ingram as a kickass childhood friend, and Harry Melling and Thomas Brodie-Sangster as gameplay rivals) also crushes the game
On The Rocks (Apple TV+ film) – Bill Murray’s back with his Lost in Translation director, Sofia Coppola, and this time, he plays a lifelong playboy who’s attempting to be a good dad to Rashida Jones. The movie’s a bit of a roadtrip, and it’s no Lost but still a welcome and pleasant diversion. Murray does what he does best here — lets his Murrayness shine through, even when his character’s not entirely likeable.
Secrets of the Saqqara Tomb — (Netflix documentary) Archaeologists take viewers back for millennia to the tomb of Old Kingdom priest Wahtye, whose resting space has remained undisturbed for 4,400 years. What could go wrong? This isn’t a horror movie, but it’s spooky all the same and seeks to unravel an ancient mystery that will (hopefully) lead to greater understanding.