The temperatures are finally cooler, every single store near you is putting out Halloween decorations, and fall is finally, officially here. If you don’t feel like going apple-picking or out on a hay ride, though, how can you commemorate the second weekend of October? You can watch some movies and TV shows on major streaming services.
It’s important that I clarify that all these picks are new — not just to streaming services, but in general. (That’s why this list doesn’t include “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” following its release on digital earlier this week.) They’re also all worth your time. From the return of two super-popular (and actually good!) network TV shows to a Netflix movie from a major actor-director to a high-profile horror reboot and, uh, a toy movie adaptation starring John Cena, here are five picks you should watch over the weekend that runs from October 9 to October 11, with pretty much every major streamer represented.
Animals (Netflix)
Ben Affleck has always been a solid, dependable performer, and he’s also an established director who’s worked on genuinely great projects like “Gone Baby Gone,” “The Town,” the Best Picture Oscar winner “Argo,” and the Nike biopic “Air.” Now, his latest offering, “Animals,” is coming to Netflix. Affleck stars in the film, which he directed and is credited for co-writing alongside Connor O. McIntyre and Billy Ray, as Mark Kimball, a politician in Los Angeles who’s mounting a campaign for mayor. When his son Denny (Christopher Woodley) is kidnapped during Mark’s campaign, Mark and his wife Abigail (Kerry Washington), who find themselves cash-strapped thanks to Mark’s bid to become the Los Angeles mayor, have to figure out how to come up with a high-value ransom … and delve into darkness as a result.
Affleck and Washington are reason enough to watch “Animals” — although Affleck did initially want to cast his ex-wife Jennifer Garner in a role, which never came to fruition and would have frankly been really cool — but the supporting cast additionally includes Gillian Anderson, Steven Yeun, Luis Gerardo Méndez, Adriana Paz, and Ray Fisher. “Animals” dropped on Netflix on October 9, so if you’re looking for a gripping domestic and psychological thriller to watch this weekend, look no further.
Carrie (Amazon Prime Video)
Yes, there’s already a pretty excellent adaptation of Stephen King’s debut horror novel classic “Carrie” — specifically, the Brian De Palma movie released in 1976 that stars Sissy Spacek as the titular girl with telekinesis — but modern horror king Mike Flanagan is here to present his own take on this well-trod material. Flanagan’s version of “Carrie,” which started streaming on Amazon Prime Video on October 7 to help kick off the so-called scary season, casts Summer H. Howell as Carrie White, an introvert with superpowers who ends up bullied at school and uses her telekinesis to exact revenge upon her enemies.
Flanagan regulars Samantha Sloyan, Kate Siegel, and Rahul Kohli are all back for this show as Carrie’s oppressive mother Margaret, documentary filmmaker Adelaide, and Carrie’s English teacher Seth Peist — Sloyan and Kohli have appeared in multiple Flanagan projects, while Siegel, who’s married to Flanagan, appears in basically all of them — and Howell is absolutely magnetic as Carrie. And even if you’re really attached to De Palma’s movie, you might appreciate this new retelling of Carrie’s story … despite the ending taking a very different turn.
Abbott Elementary Season 6 Premiere (Hulu)
Most network shows are … not great. One major exception? ABC’s charming, sweet, and hysterically funny “Abbott Elementary,” which returned for its sixth season on October 7, 2026 — and which you can stream on Hulu. Created by Philadelphia native Quinta Brunson (and to her, I offer our traditional Philly greeting of “Go Birds!“) and inspired by her mother’s time as an elementary school teacher in the city’s West Philly neighborhood, “Abbott Elementary” stars Brunson as Janine Teagues, an overly enthusiastic but warm-hearted and excellent elementary school teacher who often feels stressed by the issues faced by the institution. (Philadelphia public schools are notoriously underfunded and have been for decades.)
As “Abbott Elementary” heads into its sixth season, it feels as fresh and as funny as ever — I personally thought Season 5 was very funny and charming — and Brunson will be joined by her excellent main cast once again. With Sheryl Lee Ralph as veteran teacher Barbara Howard, Lisa Ann Walter as classic South Philly broad Melissa Schemmenti, Tyler James Williams as Janine’s colleague and love interest Gregory Eddie, Chris Perfetti as the lovable try-hard Jacob Hill, William Stanford Davis as the beautifully bizarre janitor Mr. Johnson, and the incomparable Janelle James as the erratic but shrewd school principal Ava Coleman, “Abbott Elementary” just keeps getting better and better, and it’s destined to become a modern sitcom classic. Tune into its sixth season on Hulu the day after the episodes air.
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 28 Premiere (Peacock)
Save your jokes: yes, “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” is still airing new episodes, which I suppose makes it the most successful spin-off series in television history (and if it’s not, it’s certainly up there). Not only is “Special Victims Unit” still on TV, it’s entering its landmark 28th season, and as always, it’s led by the incomparable Mariska Hargitay (who gave hosting the 2026 Emmys the old college try) as now-Captain Olivia Benson, who leads the New York City police department responsible for investigating sexual assaults, child abuse, and other “heinous crimes” (as the voice-over that starts every episode declares). This Dick Wolf original shows no signs of slowing down, so where does Season 28 pick up?
During Season 27, Benson and her longest-running cohort Odafin “Fin” Tutuola (Ice-T) both weigh retirement before the good captain is investigated by police chief Kathryn Tynan (Noma Dumezweni), who is eventually busted by Benson’s subordinate, Detective Jake Griffin (Corey Cott), for her own shady dealings. We can, for the most part, expect the same thing as usual (a mix of ripped-from-the-headlines stories and ones invented from whole cloth), but we also already know that Hargitay’s apparent friend (he showed up in an Emmys pre-tape) and New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson will make an appearance, and the show will celebrate its 600th episode to boot. Settle in for the start of a new season by streaming the Season 28 premiere on Peacock on Friday, October 9, the morning after it airs on NBC. (Dun dun.)
Matchbox: The Movie
After “Barbie” crushed the box office back in the summer of 2023, studio executives took the wrong message from its success, to put things lightly. With that said, John Cena can make even the most dire project at least a little fun, and he brings his typical magic to “Matchbox: The Movie,” a new film streaming on Apple TV starting on October 9. The movie, directed by Sam Hargrave and written by David Coggeshall, uses Mattel’s Matchbox toy cars to build a story surrounding Cena’s Sean Walker, a spy and military veteran who, along with a group of his long-time friends, is kidnapped and accused of possessing a nuclear warhead by enemy forces. When they find out that the CIA also thinks they stole the weapon, Sean and his friends set out to find it so they can clear their names.
Cena is joined by charismatic performers like “Game of Thrones” veteran Kristoffer Hivju, Jessica Biel, “I Think You Should Leave” standout Sam Richardson, “Broad City” veteran Arturo Castro, “Black Panther” and “The Walking Dead” alum Danai Gurira, and steadfast character actors like Corey Stoll and Bill Camp. Even if you have your doubts about a Matchbox movie, give this one a shot if you need something silly and fun.
