In the Before Times, when you could just, like, go see a movie in a theater without first notifying your next of kin, October marked the start of Prestige Movie Season—that time of year when studios released the movies they thought had the best chance of garnering outsized critical attention and awards. And even though movie theaters aren’t really a thing right now (or at least, they shouldn’t be) and the timing of Oscar season is all messed up, Netflix is treating this month like it still matters, dropping several “serious” films from big name filmmakers.
The timeliest and most high-profile is probably The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Oct. 16) from writer/director Aaron Sorkin—creator of The West Wing and the screenwriter behind awards magnets like The Social Network, A Few Good Men, and Moneyball. The film explores the fallout from the protests during the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, during which demonstrators were arrested and later charged with inciting riots. (I dunno why this film might resonate today? Thinking emoji.)
The writer has been working on the project since 2006, with multiple directors in the mix over the years, including Steven Spielberg and Paul Greengrass. Sorkin took the reins himself after garnering good notice for Molly’s Game, his 2017 feature-length debut. The impressive cast includes Sacha Baron Cohen, Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Mark Rylance, Michael Keaton, and probably a few women who will nod while men recite speeches at them. Here’s the trailer:
Also worth keeping an eye on is Rebecca (Oct. 21), based on the novel by Daphne du Maurier and arguably a remake of the 1940 Alfred Hitchcock film, the suspense master’s only Best Picture Oscar winner. Directed by British filmmaker Ben Wheatley, the psychological thriller/romance stars Lily James, Armie Hammer, and Kristin Scott Thomas, and the trailer suggests it will be gorgeous to look at, if nothing else.
If you are seeking traditional October fare, there’s plenty of fresh material on offer for spooky season, including The Haunting of Bly Manor, writer/director Mike Flanagan’s followup to 2018's The Haunting of Hill House; season two of the anthology haunted house series looks chilling AF. I’m also intrigued by A Babysitter’s Guide to Monster Hunting, a horror comedy in the Ghostbusters vein (Ivan Reitman is a producer) starring Harry Potter’s Tom Felton and Pose’s Indya Moore; and Vampires vs. the Bronx, in which a group of teens defend their borough from blood-sucking invaders (there is no way this isn’t a gentrification allegory, right?)
Other streaming premieres of note: Season six of recent Emmy winner Schitt’s Creek; Social Distance, another in the recent string of fictional produced-in-and-about-quarantimes shows; and Song Exploder, an original series based on the popular anatomy-of-a-song podcast.
Here’s everything coming to and leaving Netflix in October.
Coming to Netflix in October 2020
Available Oct. 1
Bom Dia, Verônica / Good Morning, Verônica — Netflix Original
Carmen Sandiego: Season 3 — Netflix Family
Oktoberfest: Beer & Blood — Netflix Original
Pasal Kau / All Because of You — Netflix Film
The Worst Witch: Season 4 — Netflix Family
A.M.I.
Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls
Along Came a Spider
Bakugan: Armored Alliance: Season 2
Basic Instinct
Black ‘47
Cape Fear
Code Lyoko: Seasons 1-4
The Dukes of Hazzard (2005)
Employee of the Month
Enemy at the Gates
Evil: Season 1
Familiar Wife: Season 1
Fargo
Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma: The Second Plate
Free State of Jones
Ghost Rider
Ghosts of Girlfriends Past
Gran Torino
Her
House of 1,000 Corpses
Human Nature
Hunt for the Wilderpeople
I’m Leaving Now
The Longest Yard (1974)
The Parkers: Seasons 1-5
The Pirates! Band of Misfits
Carlos Almaraz: Playing with Fire
The Prince & Me
Poseidon (2006)
The Outpost
Stranger than Fiction
Superman Returns
Sword Art Online: Alicization
Troy
The Unicorn: Season 1
WarGames
We Have Always Lived in the Castle
Yogi Bear
You Cannot Hide: Season 1
Available Oct. 2
A Go! Go! Cory Carson Halloween — Netflix Family
Ahí te encargo / You’ve Got This — Netflix Film
The Binding — Netflix Film
Dick Johnson Is Dead — Netflix Documentary
Emily in Paris — Netflix Original
Òlòtūré — Netflix Film
Serious Men — Netflix Film
Song Exploder — Netflix Original
Vampires vs. the Bronx — Netflix Film
Available Oct. 4
Colombiana
David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet — Netflix Documentary
Available Oct. 6
Dolly Parton: Here I Am
Saturday Church
StarBeam: Halloween Hero — Netflix Family
Walk Away from Love
Available Oct. 7
Hubie Halloween — Netflix Film
Schitt’s Creek: Season 6
To the Lake — Netflix Original
Available Oct. 9
Deaf U — Netflix Original
Fast & Furious Spy Racers: Season 2: Rio — Netflix Family
The Forty-Year-Old Version — Netflix Film
Ginny Weds Sunny — Netflix Film
The Haunting of Bly Manor — Netflix Original
Super Monsters: Dia de los Monsters — Netflix Family
Available Oct. 12
Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts: Season 3 — Netflix Family
Available Oct. 13
The Cabin with Bert Kreischer — Netflix Comedy Special
Octonauts & the Great Barrier Reef — Netflix Family
Available Oct. 14
Alice Junior
BLACKPINK: Light Up the Sky — Netflix Documentary
Moneyball
Available Oct. 15
A Babysitter’s Guide to Monster Hunting — Netflix Film
Batman: The Killing Joke
Half & Half: Seasons 1-4
Love Like the Falling Rain — Netflix Film
One on One: Seasons 1-5
Power Rangers Beast Morphers: Season 2, Part 1
Rooting for Roona — Netflix Documentary
Social Distance — Netflix Original
Available Oct. 16
Alguien tiene que morir / Someone Has to Die — Netflix Original
Dream Home Makeover — Netflix Original
Grand Army — Netflix Original
In a Valley of Violence
La Révolution — Netflix Original
The Last Kids on Earth: Book 3 — Netflix Family
The Trial of the Chicago 7 — Netflix Film
Unfriended
Available Oct. 18
ParaNorman
Available Oct. 19
Unsolved Mysteries: Volume 2 — Netflix Documentary
Available Oct. 20
Carol
The Magic School Bus Rides Again The Frizz Connection — Netflix Family
Available Oct. 21
My Next Guest Needs No Introduction With David Letterman: Season 3 — Netflix Original
Rebecca — Netflix Film
Available Oct. 22
Bending the Arc
Cadaver — Netflix Film
The Hummingbird Project
Yes, God, Yes
Available Oct. 23
Barbarians — Netflix Original
Move — Netflix Original
Over the Moon — Netflix Film
Perdida — Netflix Original
The Queen’s Gambit — Netflix Original
Available Oct. 27
Blood of Zeus — Netflix Anime
Chico Bon Bon: Monkey with a Tool Belt: Season 4 — Netflix Family
Vilas: Serás lo que debas ser o no serás nada / Guillermo Vilas: Settling the Score — Netflix Documentary
Available Oct. 28
Holidate — Netflix Film
Metallica Through The Never
Nobody Sleeps in the Woods Tonight — Netflix Film
Secrets of the Saqqara Tomb — Netflix Documentary
Available Oct. 30
Bronx — Netflix Film
The Day of the Lord — Netflix Film
His House — Netflix Film
Somebody Feed Phil: Season 4 — Netflix Original
Suburra: Season 3 — Netflix Original
Available Oct. 31
The 12th Man
Available in October (No date announced)
ARASHI’s Diary -Voyage- ep 13 & 14 — Netflix Documentary
Brave Blue World
Start-Up — Netflix Original
Leaving Netflix in October 2020
Leaving Oct. 1
Emelie
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Sleeping with Other People
Leaving Oct. 2
Cult of Chucky
Truth or Dare
Leaving Oct. 6
The Water Diviner
Leaving Oct. 7
The Last Airbender
Leaving Oct. 17
The Green Hornet
Leaving Oct. 19
Paper Year
Leaving Oct. 22
While We’re Young
Leaving Oct. 26
Battle: Los Angeles
Leaving Oct. 30
Kristy
Leaving Oct. 31
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective
Burlesque
Charlotte’s Web
Clash of the Titans
District 9
The Firm
Fun with Dick & Jane
The Girl with All the Gifts
Grandmaster
Highway to Heaven: Seasons 1-5
The Interview
Just Friends
Magic Mike
Nacho Libre
The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!
The NeverEnding Story
The NeverEnding Story 2: The Next Chapter
Nights in Rodanthe
The Patriot
Set Up
The Silence of the Lambs
Sleepless in Seattle
Sleepy Hollow
Spaceballs
The Taking of Pelham 123
The Ugly Truth
Underworld
Underworld: Evolution
Underworld: Rise of the Lycans
Zathura
