Elite / Image by Netflix
Just in time for the Halloween season, October brings with it a slew of thrillers and horrors to binge on Netflix, along with the anticipated return of old favorites.
Elite – October 5
Elite is a Spanish language Netflix original crime fiction series about three working-class kids who are given scholarships to the most prestigious high school in Spain and are quickly embroiled in a high profile murder investigation.
Elite almost looks like it belongs on the CW alongside Riverdale — trashy, campy, and soapy in all the best ways, with a dark and deviant underbelly and plenty of juicy lies and secrets to uncover.
It’s a rat’s nest of who is sleeping with who, who are holding grudges, who’s in and who’s out, and where people fit into the social hierarchy of school politics.
Just based on the trailer, it looks like there will be more than enough shocking revelations and devious dealings to go around.
Dancing Queen / Image by Netflix
Dancing Queen – October 5
Dancing Queen is a docu-series about a drag queen and dancer named Alyssa Edwards aka. Justin Johnson.
The former RuPaul’s Drag Race star runs a dance studio for young girls in Mesquite, Texas called Beyond Belief Dance Company through which he helps empower young women and encourage confidence.
The Netflix original series follows Johnson through the many facets of his life, from running his dance company, interacting with parents, negotiating his private life, and life as his stage persona.
Dancing Queen looks fun, thoughtful, emotional, and entertaining as it documents both Johnson’s unique personality as well as his inspiring influence on others.
Big Mouth / Image by Netflix
Big Mouth: Season 2 – October 5
Big Mouth is an animated coming-of-age comedy created by Nick Kroll, Andrew Goldberg, Jennifer Flackett, and Mark Levin.
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The series is equal parts crude and clever, which can often be awkward and disconcerting, but is difficult to avoid given the sometimes grotesque nature of puberty.
In fact, that visceral awkwardness is exactly what the series intends to evoke as it takes viewers back to those tumultuous and confusing days of adolescence.
Big Mouth features an amazing voice cast, including Fred Armisen, John Mulaney, Maya Rudolph, Jenny Slate, Jordan Peele, and creator Nick Kroll along with frequent celebrity guest stars.
Season 2 of this Netflix original series will also feature newcomers Gina Rodriguez (Jane the Virgin) and David Thewlis (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Wonder Woman).
The Haunting of Hill House / Image by Netflix
The Haunting of Hill House – October 12
The Haunting of Hill House is a supernatural horror series based on the classic novel of the same name that Stephen King describes as one of the most important horror novels of the 20th century.
Author Shirley Jackson was an unlikely pioneer of horror fiction, flawlessly blending supernatural horror with psychological elements in this definitive haunted house story.
The series was created by Mike Flanagan who directed films like Oculus, Hush, Gerald’s Game, and the upcoming adaptation of Stephen King’s Doctor Sleep (the sequel to The Shining). Flanagan knows his genre and if the trailer is anything like the rest of the series, it is going to be terrifying.
The trailer also features a creepy instrumental version of Crosby, Stills, & Nash’s “Our House” as a backdrop, which once recognized is no less effective but has an added depth of humor.
Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat / Image by Netflix
Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat – October 19
Based on the New York Times bestselling and James Beard Award-winning book of the same name, Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat sees chef and author Samin Nosrat traveling the world to explore how different cultures incorporate these four essential components of great cooking.
During the four-part series, Nosrat will visit Japan, Italy, Mexico, and the restaurant Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California.
Along with being a fun culinary travel show, the series has the potential to be deeply educational for those interested in both good cooking and different cultures.
As an avid home cook, I hope to take away some essential tips, hints, and methods for improving the depth of flavor in my food.
Daredevil / Image by Netflix
Daredevil: Season 3 – October 19
It has felt like a long time coming, but these Marvel Netflix original series have a way of sneaking up on you. Matt Murdock is back in Daredevil season 3, but the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen has decided to go full dark after his dramatic brush with near certain death.
Matt has come to the conclusion that the only way to banish evil for good is “to let the devil out” and will spend the season struggling with his bad self.
The season seems to be partly based on the acclaimed Born Again comic series, in which Matt is nursed back to health by his long-lost mother Maggie (Joanne Whalley) who has been living as a nun in a convent.
Viewers can look forward to the return of the Kingpin Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) and maybe even the (rumored) introduction of the iconic villain Bullseye. Wilson Bethel and Jay Ali have also joined the cast as FBI agents who are involved in the clash between Daredevil and the Kingpin.
And don’t worry, Matt’s BFF Foggy Nelson (Elden Hensen) is back too.
Wanderlust / Image by Netflix
Wanderlust – October 19
Toni Collette stars in this emotional dramedy about a husband and wife who try to reignite their marriage by agreeing to see other people.
The series is meant to explore the concept of monogamy, whether its possible to maintain or even particularly necessary. The trailer makes it look like a heartfelt, uplifting, and emotional family drama.
It’s hard to tell whether it’s really as mainstream and generic as it looks, but I’ll give anything starring Toni Collette a chance. The issue of the socially constructed standard of monogamy is also worth exploring, given the possibly destructive emphasis our society places on it and the moral judgment passed on those not practicing it.
Hopefully, Wanderlust has something useful to say on the subject.
Castlevania / Image by Netflix
Castlevania: Season 2 – October 26
Castlevania is an American anime-style adaptation of the 1989 video game Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse.
The series is about disgraced monster hunter Trevor Belmont (Richard Armitage) and his fight to protect humanity from Dracula (Graham McTavish), who is waging war against the people of Wallachia after they falsely accuse his wife of witchcraft and burn her at the stake.
The series is gory, violent, atmospheric, beautifully animated and has a talented voice cast (which also includes Battlestar Galactica’s James Callis as Dracula’s son Alucard).
While it is a compelling and entertaining show any time of year, its supernatural elements and dark tone is perfect viewing just in time for the Halloween season.
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina / Image by Netflix
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina – October 26
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is another supernatural thriller whose release is perfectly timed for Halloween.
While this is technically a reboot of Sabrina the Teenage Witch, it definitely isn’t the campy, family-friendly teenage witch you remember.
Sabrina began as an Archie comics spin-off and while Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is very much its own entity, the series is created by the same people behind CW’s Archie adaptation Riverdale.
Netflix describes the show as being “tonally in the vein of Rosemary’s Baby and The Exorcist” — and if the phenomenal Riverdale is anything to judge by, Sabrina is going to be one heck of a wickedly fun show.
Apparently, Netflix thinks so too, considering this Netflix original series has already been picked up for season 2.
What are you most looking forward to in October from the Netflix original series? Keep the conversation going in the comments section below and don’t forget to follow us on Facebook & Twitter for more on your favorite shows!