The Best TV Shows & Movies To Watch In October

October marks the start of spooky season, which is good news for horror fans everywhere. But here’s the thing: we’re both kind of chickens and don’t think watching anything scary counts as a good time. Thankfully, it’s not all horror all the time this month, and you can find plenty to watch whether you’re avoiding all things terrifying or need something to break up your annual Scream movie marathon. 

Abbott Elementary, for example, returns with its fourth season, finally ready to dive into the romantic relationship between school teachers Janine and Gregory. Keri Russell’s political thriller/soap opera The Diplomat is also back for a new season of international intrigue with an explosive (literally) cliffhanger to resolve. And Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh are here to make us fall in love, then break our hearts with their new romantic drama We Live in Time. As you watch whatever it is you choose, just make sure not to snack on all of the Halloween candy you buy this month before you have a chance to give it out on the 31st.

When Bravo revealed the new overhauled cast of Real Housewives Of New York in 2022, it gave the second city in the longstanding franchise what it most desperately needed: diversity. After all, New York City is one of the most culturally diverse places in the world so why we spent 15 years in the very waspy, very white Upper East Side with the same ol’ tired storylines is beyond me. RHONY 2.0 was a breath of fresh air, delivering the first Indian Housewife, the second openly gay Housewife, and a cast that’s primarily made of people of color. But the reboot cast also had a varied range of backgrounds and life experiences that provided substance to what can otherwise feel like a dull 48 minutes of glam (Beverly Hills). With all new Housewives, RHONY was also free of longtime cast members self-producing (Orange County) or recruiting newbies onto their “team” (New Jersey), and the drama didn’t devolve into unintelligible screaming matches (at least, not yet). Seriously, how often have we heard Housewives talk about their traumas struggling with poverty, being abandoned by their parents, or being outed by New York tabloids in the 2010s?

Now entering their sophomore season together, the New York women face new rumors and secrets that threaten loyalties and burgeoning relationships. Returning are Sai De Silva, Ubah Hassan, Erin Lichy, Jenna Lyons, Jessel Taank, and Brynn Whitfield, who are also joined by art curator Racquel Chevremont and fashion entrepreneur Rebecca Minkoff. If you’re looking for the realest Real Housewives, this is it.

Where: Bravo
When: October 1
Watch if you like: Anything Housewives (duh)

Four seasons in, Quinta Brunson’s Emmy-winning comedy Abbott Elementary has more than proven itself to be appointment viewing. The sitcom about Philadelphia public school teachers is consistently clever and funny, and when you sit down to watch a new episode, you can be confident you’re in for an entertaining time with characters who feel like they’re your friends. All that alone is enough to earn Abbott a spot on this list.

At the end of its third season, the show did something bold: let the two characters, Janine (Brunson) and Gregory (Tyler James Williams), who have constantly flirted with each other but refused to admit their true feelings for years, finally get together. That one act changes the entire dynamic for Season 4, which is thrilling. At once, we’re getting the same, reliable show we’ve loved for three seasons with new unknown life breathed into it. What may happen? Let’s go back to school to find out. 

Where to watch: ABC & Hulu 
When: Wednesdays starting October 9
Watch if you like:Parks & Recreation, The Office, Superstore

Romance stories — whether they’re dramatic or comedic — live and die by the chemistry between the two leads. And while it’s not exactly a huge surprise to discover that Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield ooze on-screen chemistry (fans of either or both actors will recognize they have a similar charisma and uncanny ability to convey the most nuanced of emotions with the smallest movement in their faces), but it is a relief — and delight — to see it in action in their new movie We Live in Time. 

Pugh and Garfield are *the* reason the British romantic drama is so compelling. Bouncing across different timelines, the film chronicles the heart-tugging relationship between ambitious chef Almut (Pugh) and recent divorcé Tobias (Garfield), tracking them through a memorable meet-cute (she hits him with her car, then stays with him in the hospital), falling in love, deciding to start a family, and facing a devastating medical diagnosis together. Pugh and Garfield effortlessly pull you into the intimate story — their relationship — making you fall in love as their characters do and breaking your heart as Almut and Tobias navigate their own pain. The film is tender and will resonate; Almut and Tobias could be anyone. And as the credits roll, the lights in the theater come up, and you’re trying to pretend you’re not sniffling in a room full of strangers, the next thing you’ll want to do is pick up your phone and call the people you love most. 

Where to watch: Theaters
When: October 11 in select theaters; October 18 nationwide
Watch if you like: About Time, The Fault in Our Stars, Me Before You

As a second-gen Korean American, I very much fall in the bucket of yearning to learn more about my heritage and better understand how my grandparents (and their grandparents) lived. And though I didn’t come from a line of haenyeo, or women who historically free dive to harvest shellfish like abalone and sea urchin, The Last Of The Sea Women feels personal. The A24 documentary follows various haenyeos and their fight to preserve their cultural way of life from the threats of tradition giving way to modernity, the climate crisis, or complex geopolitics. Although haenyeos were recognized by UNESCO’s Cultural Heritage List in 2016, their numbers in South Korea have dwindled from 30,000 in the 1960s to 4,000 today, most of whom are over the age of 60. As one says, "Only grandmas work in the ocean now, as if the Jeju sea itself has aged alongside them."

The Last Of The Sea Women is a poignant ballad of one slice of Korean life, an ode to the resilience and fortitude of an older generation of women, and a rally cry to mobilize and protect an important piece of Korean culture. (If you don’t know, Koreans love a good protest.) And even if you aren’t Korean, this doc will have you feeling impressed and proud.

Where to watch: Apple TV+
When: October 11
Watch if you like: Pachinko, Nai Nai & Wài Pó

If you recognize the names Robert and Michelle King, then you probably know that the husband-wife writing partners make some of the most enjoyable TV out there (legal dramas The Good Wife and The Good Fight, political satire BrainDead, and supernatural series Evil). And if you’ve never heard of these people, consider this a plea to pay attention. The Kings have earned a reputation as people who can thread the needle between romance, tense drama (both of the professional and personal variety), absurdist comedy, clever plotting, and having a clear distinct point of view. When they work in a new genre, you can expect that they will operate within it at the highest possible level. All of this is certainly true of their most recent show, Elsbeth. 

Starring Carrie Preston (True Blood, Claws, The Holdovers), Elsbeth is technically a spin off The Good Wife and The Good Fight — Preston’s titular character appeared as a frequent guest star in both series — but you can watch it without having seen them. The show follows Elsbeth, a quirky, colorful, and sharp attorney who is often underestimated because of her bubbly eccentricities. Elsbeth has recently left the courtroom to move to New York and work with the NYPD to oversee officers’ conduct and ensure they act within the law and, naturally, ends up solving mysteries in the process. Elsbeth is less experimental than some of the Kings’ past work — it isn’t reinventing the crime dramedy, but it does approach the genre with levity, sense of ease, and a protagonist like no other. It’s exactly the type of show you want to watch before bed: amusing and digestible without it consuming your every thought once you turn the TV off.

Where to watch: CBS
When: Thursdays at 10 p.m. starting on October 17
Watch if you like:The Good Wife, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Castle

Oscar season has officially started, and there’s already one name on the top of every Hollywood insider’s list: Anora. The latest from filmmaker Sean Baker (The Florida Project), the movie stars Mikey Madison (Better Things) as a sex worker in NYC named Anora. While on the job, Anora meets Vanya (Mark Eydelshteyn), the son of a Russian oligarch, the two become enraptured with each other, and they quickly elope. From there, the movie depicts their tumultuous relationship, which only gets more complicated when Vanya’s parents arrive in the city determined to end their marriage.

Anora made waves earlier this year when it won the distinguished Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival (the first American movie to do so since 2011’s The Tree Of Life), and, thanks to her star-making turn, critics are already pegging Madison as a potential Oscar frontrunner, so prepare to be hearing a lot about this one in the coming months.

Where to watch: Theaters
When: October 18
Watch if you like: The Florida Project, Red Rocket, Better Things

When The Diplomat debuted in the spring of 2023, I thought I knew what it was going to be: a political thriller that took itself way too seriously while struggling to stand out in the glut of streaming. Boy, was I wrong — which serves me right for even thinking of doubting star Keri Russell. Instead, the drama deftly blended the soap-iness of Scandal, intrigue of Bodyguard, and ambitions of The West Wing (which, to be clear, isn’t to say its politics are impeccable). It was impossible not to binge-watch the entire season, which earned Russell an Emmy nomination, so it’s safe to say that hopes for Season 2 are high. 

The Diplomat follows Russell’s Kate Wyler, the new US ambassador to the UK, as she juggles a job she’s not fully equipped for while trying to tend to her struggling marriage (her husband Hal, played by Rufus Sewell, is a former ambassador himself who finds the shift in dynamics in their marriage challenging). Oh, and she was also caught in the middle of a huge international crisis. When Season 1 ended, Kate discovered that the British prime minister was responsible for a devastating attack on a British aircraft right before a car bomb went off, possibly killing the people Kate works closest with. You can expect the show to tackle that major cliffhanger, while working to prove the PM’s crimes before even worse consequences are felt. On top of all that, Allison Janney is joining the cast as the US Vice President — who thinks Kate’s after her job. 

Where to watch: Netflix
When: October 31
Watch if you like: Scandal, The West Wing, The Night Agent