What to Watch in October 2017

Who knows if androids dream of electric sheep, but sci-fi cinephiles have definitely been dreaming of Blade Runner 2049 for quite some time. Fortunately, its trailers give every indication the new Blade Runner has the goods to match Ridley Scott’s original 1982 landmark: cerebro-hunk Ryan Gosling steps into Harrison Ford’s leading man shoes, Hollywood’s new favorite director Denis Villeneuve picks up from Ridley Scott, and of course, Harrison Ford returns as cinema’s most ontologically confused gumshoe, Rick Deckard. (And just for good measure, legendary DP Roger Deakins has crafted the new film’s sinister, golden-hued look.) If you see one film this October, it should probably be Blade Runner 2049. Let’s just hope it lives up to our electric dreams. In theaters October 6; bladerunnermovie.com.

It can take a while for Sundance films to make it to local theaters, but usually they save the best for last. Maggie Betts earned rave reviews at this year’s festival for her debut feature’s unique blend of feminism, spirituality, and style. Set amid the social tumult caused by Vatican II as the Catholic Church caught up to modern times and mores, Betts’ film follows an idealistic young school girl (Margaret Qualley) as she seeks to enter the novitiate but must first pass muster with Melissa Leo’s arch-conservative, unforgiving Mother Superior. Lauded as complex, thoughtful, and yes, even sexy, Novitiate apparently mines a lot of drama from a quiet life devoted to God. In theaters October 27; sonyclassics.com.

Sean Baker made headlines for shooting Tangerine, his touching low-budget opus about transgender prostitutes on an iPhone. He’s upgraded to a proper camera for his new film and may be well rewarded with Oscar nominations for it. With joyful neo-realist verve, The Florida Project follows a stripper and her young daughter living out of an Orlando motel room that’s geographically close to Disney World, but spiritually, worlds away. The Oscar buzz has centered on Willem Dafoe as the gruff, kind-hearted hotel manager who runs herd on them, but if Tangerine is any indication, every character in Baker’s film may be as rich and heartbreakingly realized. In theaters October 6; a24films.com.

After all those heartrending performances in harrowing Oscar hopefuls, it’s nice to have some acidic snark to burst your prestige bubble. Fortunately, Larry David’s here to rescue us from all of our most self-serious impulses. After a long hiatus, Curb Your Enthusiasm returns for a 9th season of Larry’s signature, petty-minded misanthropy. Honestly, given a world that seems constantly on the precipice of God-knows-what, it’s nice to have someone cut all of our biggest fears down to size and remind us what’s really important: complaining relentlessly about life’s smallest problems. Premieres Oct. 1 on HBO; hbo.com.

After the break out successes of Dogtooth and The Lobster, Yorgos Lanthimos continues his run as a cinema’s current auteur darling with an unsettling psychological thriller that won best screenplay at this year’s Cannes film festival. Although he reteams with Lobster star Colin Farrell, Lanthimos foregoes that film’s charming absurdism for a story that mines Greek tragedy: Farrell plays a cardiologist reckoning with a grave sin in his past, and Nicole Kidman is his wife—and mother of the children who may well pay the real, horrifying price. In theaters October 20; a24films.com.

Remember Network T.V.? It’s been a while since the old-school networks have merited much attention, and reviews for the majority of the fall’s new shows haven’t been kind. However, The Mayor on ABC, produced by Hamilton star Daveed Diggs, appears to be the exception: an aspiring rapper launches a political campaign for city mayor as a marketing ploy simply to sell more CDs and accidentally ends up winning. If that sounds too close to home after the 2016 election, The Mayor apparently seeks to unite with good humor and offers up that rarest of creatures: a politician people can believe in. Premieres Oct. 3 on ABC; abc.go.com.

Although Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale took home the big Best Drama Emmy this year, one could still argue Stranger Things was TV’s knockout hit of 2016. While plot details have been more jealously guarded than nuclear launch codes, the trailer for its second season just about blew off the roof at Comic-Con. What we do know is that season two picks up a year after the original and starts on Halloween, when it looks like the Upside Down is far from done with Hawkins, Indiana and its adorable 80s kid heroes. Suffice to say, half of America is ready to binge like a 10-year-old with a full bag of candy. Premieres on Netflix October 27; netflix.com.

The bard of New York intellectual dysfunction, Noah Baumbauch returns with a star-studded cast thanks presumably to the largesse of Netflix. And what largesse it is: Baumbauch reteams with his Greenberg star Ben Stiller and adds the mega-wattage of Dustin Hoffman, Emma Thompson, and Adam Sandler (in serious actor mode) to his tale of a New York art world icon whose sons reunite for his latest exhibition at MoMA only for the simmering family drama to erupt with dry wit and screwball pathos. In other words, vintage Baumbauch. The film apparently earned a four-minute standing ovation at Cannes, which would seemingly earn it a high slot on anyone’s Netflix-and-chill list. Premieres October 13 on Netflix; netflix.com.

Considering David Fincher helped launch Netflix’s first Zeitgeist-dominating hit House of Cards, it’s no surprise he’s coming back for more. This time Fincher directs and executive produces a look inside the FBI’s serial crime unit. Hamilton’s Jonathon Groff and Holt McCallany play the real-life FBI agents who coined the term “serial killer” and pioneer the then novel, if deeply disturbing, technique of actually interviewing mass murderers already behind bars to learn how they think. Given Fincher’s penchant for clinically disquieting filmmaking, this could well surpass Stranger Things as the scariest show to watch this Halloween. Premieres on Netflix October 13; netflix.com.