Discover what’s coming to Netflix, HBO Max, Disney+, Prime Video and others in October, including an Anthony Bourdain biopic, a new show from Mike Schur and an Australian take on ET
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Netflix
Possible Love
Film, South Korea, 2026 – out 6 November
My colleague Peter Bradshaw is among many critics who have championed this South Korean drama from Lee Chang-dong, which snagged the Silver Lion grand jury prize at this year’s Venice film festival. Inspired by mass layoffs and the subsequent protests that reshaped Korea’s labour movement, the film follows two married couples from opposite ends of the economic spectrum. Lee Ye-ji (Cho Yeo-jeong), a documentarian, and her husband, Sang-woo (Zo In-sung), are well-off, while Mi-ok (Jeon Do-yeon) and her husband, Ho-seok (Sul Kyung-gu), a jobless factory worker with a drinking problem, are doing it tough. Ye-ji approaches Mi-ok to feature in her documentary about workers who have lost their jobs.
The film uses the uneven relationship between them to chip away at themes including class division, privilege and exploitation. Bradshaw calls it a “finely judged, beautifully acted” work; “sombre, bittersweet, elegant”.
Allen
Film, Australia, 2026 – out 12 November
Ludo Studio, the Australian production company behind Bluey, pivots to live-action film-making with this family-oriented comedy, which finds a quirky path into a storyline about extraterrestrials and formative experiences. The protagonist is Petey (TJ Power), who’s like a grown-up Elliott from ET the Extra-Terrestrial, and who has never moved on from having an alien pal during childhood (“The best thing that happened to me already happened,” he says). Then one day … guess who returns to say hello?
Its creator and co-director, Daley Pearson, has described Allen as “a story about love, family and all those big and small moments from childhood that end up shaping who we are when we grow up”.
Honourable mentions: The Hobbit 1-3 (film, out now), A Dog’s Perfect Christmas (film, 4 November), Interstellar (film, 5 November), It Ends With Us (film, 6 November, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (film, 8 November), The Body (TV, 11 November), How the Grinch Stole Christmas (film, 10 November), The Polar Express (film, 12 November), A League of Their Own (film, 13 November), Guiding Stars (film, 18 November), The Altruists (TV, 19 November), Smile (film, 20 November), The Hangover (film, 19 November), Smile (film, 20 November), Steps (film, 20 November), The Mosquito Bowl (film, 25 November), Sonic the Hedgehog (film, 27 November), Michael (film, 29 November).
Stan
Storm Bird
Film, Australia, 2026 – out 4 November
From the outset, the beats of this Australian indie are soft and contemplative, making the most of a small cast and modest settings. The protagonist is Jack (James Ivor), a construction worker soon to go to prison. His neighbour is Richard (Anthony Phelan), a well-known cellist whom Jack comes to the aid of when he suffers a heart attack. The pair don’t get along but this event profoundly changes their relationship, which deepens during the days leading up to Jack’s stint in the slammer.
It doesn’t take long to feel as though you’re in good hands, with co-directors James Ivor and Eryk Lenartowicz chipping away at their characters patiently and thoughtfully. The drama has a pleasingly unhurried quality, ultimately feeling a tad open-ended – remaining sincere and quietly affecting throughout.
The Death of Robin Hood
Film, USA, 2026 – out 13 November
The latest Robin Hood adventure sure ain’t Men in Tights. The modus operandi embraced by the writer/director Michael Sarnoski seems to have been: “Let’s take the story of that dude who stole from the rich to give to the poor, and make it unrelentingly dark and morose.” Billed with the poster tagline “He was no hero,” Hugh Jackman – sporting his most prodigiously bushy beard yet – plays the eponymous character, who, in this version of the story, is a violent scumbag who has murdered many people, including children.
Yeah … it’s dark. As I wrote earlier this year, it “feels like we’re being asked to emotionally invest in a character who is irredeemably awful”. Aesthetically, though, the film “has ugly bravado, with a savage, burnt-out, bleached kind of beauty”.
Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret
Film, USA, 2023 – out 22 November
Kelly Fremon Craig’s adaptation of Judy Blume’s classic coming-of-age novel is delightfully staged, with top-notch writing and direction. Abby Ryder Fortson delivers a wonderful leading performance as the eponymous Margaret, who’s desperate to grow up, grow breasts and get her period. As an adult, you feel like saying, “Slow down and enjoy your youth – it’ll be gone soon.”
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The film is interspersed with memorable voiceover narration in the form of prayers to the big dude upstairs, though the tone is indeed more “are you there?” than religious reverence, with the protagonist ultimately describing herself as an atheist.
Honourable mentions: Unskilled Adult (TV, out now), The Notebook (film, out now), Mr Deeds (film, 10 November), The Good Daughter (TV, 13 November), Smile (film, 20 November), Big Daddy (film, 24 November), The Craft (film, 26 November), Another Simple Favour (film, 27 November), Gnomeo & Juliet (film, 27 November), The Departed (film, 28 November), Blade Runner 2049 (film, 28 November).
SBS on Demand
Tangerine
Film, USA, 2015 – out 13 November
My favourite Christmas movie of all time is Sean Baker’s micro-budget, iPhone-shot comedy-drama about transgender sex workers in Los Angeles. It comes on like a clap of thunder, with a frenetic pace and hyper-stylised aesthetic, while maintaining an airtight sense of verisimilitude. “Merry Christmas Eve, bitch!” is the opening line, delivered by Sin-Dee Rella (Kitana Kiki Rodriguez), who has just been released from prison and is catching up with her best friend, Alexandra (Mya Taylor), in a doughnut shop.
When Sin-Dee hears that her beau has been cheating on her “with some white fish”, she tears through the city like a wrecking ball, hunting down the woman. When I spoke to Baker – who subsequently directed the best picture winner Anora – he told me that Tangerine was originally conceived in a social-realist style. But he “pumped saturation through the roof” because “these women’s personalities were just so colourful”.
Russian Ark
Film, Russia, 2002 – out 20 November
It might sound like a tired turn of phrase but there really is nothing like Alexander Sokurov’s majestically staged single-shot film, which turns St Petersburg’s Hermitage Museum into a time machine, capturing the space splendidly while drifting dream-like across three centuries of Russian history. The camera glides around like a dancer, and, in fact, dances along with the human performers, in an extraordinary ballroom sequence late in the runtime, depicting a 1913 ball held to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty. Russian Ark is a dazzling mixture of opulence, beauty and cinematic daring.
Honourable mentions: Grand Torino (film, out now), City on a Hill seasons 1-3 (TV, out now), Deli Boys (TV, 5 November), The Sapphires (film, 6 November), Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence (film, 6 November), 2.6 Seconds: Death in the Outback (TV, 10 November), Practical Magic (film, 13 November), Boiling Point (film, 13 November), Cardinal seasons 1-4 (TV, 19 November), A Hard Day’s Night (film, 20 November), Universal Soldier (film, 20 November), Dying for Sex (TV, 26 November).
HBO Max
Goodfellas
Film, USA, 1990 – out 7 November
Certain things in life go together brilliantly – like horses and carts, wine and cheese, and Martin Scorsese and gangster movies. Goodfellas follows Ray Liotta’s protagonist Henry Hill, who opens the film with that immortal declaration: “As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster.” And he certainly gets his gangster game on, climbing the criminal ranks and fraternising with some rather iffy company, including his mentor, Jimmy (Robert De Niro), and the frighteningly volatile Tommy (Joe Pesci, bringing the house down with his signature brand of combustible menace).
The story springs to life like a frog in a sock and the staging is superb. Scorsese deploys audacious directorial flourishes, including the iconic Copacabana tracking shot – a single take that follows Henry and his wife, Karen (Lorraine Bracco, who later played Tony Soprano’s psychiatrist in The Sopranos), through a nightclub’s back corridors and into its dining room.
George Carlin’s American Dream
TV, USA, 2022 – out 20 November
There’s no doubt that George Carlin ranks among the all-time greatest US comedians, though he was perhaps more like a mad prophet of the airways than a joke-maker. Judd Apatow and Michael Bonfiglio’s two-part documentary about his life is fairly conventional in structure, mixing talking heads with archival footage and, naturally, plenty of choice bits from Carlin’s standup routines. But as they say, conventions are conventions for a reason: the film hangs together nicely, with a brisk pace and interesting insights.
Honourable mentions: Adultery (TV, out now), Hunting Season (film, 6 November), The Many Saints of Newark (film, 7 November) Deep Water (film, 13 November), City of God: The Fight Rages On season 2 (TV, 8 November), 4 Blocks Zero (TV, 13 November), Inherent Vice (film, 14 November), When a Witness Recants (film, 18 November), I, Object (film, 20 November), The Slightest Touch (film, 26 November).
Prime Video
Tony
Film, USA, 2026 – out now
Matt Johnson wisely went into his Anthony Bourdain biopic thinking that any film about the late author, presenter and food critic should have a whole lotta sass. Set in 1975, when Bourdain was a 19-year-old student working in a seafood restaurant, the story has coming-of-age-esque vibes – early love, bad decisions, hot emotions. But it’s the central character – played by Dominic Sessa with an appealing blend of charm and prickliness – that really makes it pop. The film is tightly directed by Johnson, who also helmed the clever and charming tech origins drama BlackBerry.
Blade Runner 2099
TV, USA, 2026 – out 25 November
Great-looking cyberpunk productions have a complex kind of beauty, marrying eye-watering compositions with a feeling that something has gone terribly wrong. The two Blade Runner movies are brilliant examples of this and the trailer for the franchise’s first television series suggests it may match them visually.
Narrative-wise, we’ll have to wait and see; we do know that replicants are now the most powerful beings on Earth, supplanting smelly old humans. Michelle Yeoh plays Olwen, a replicant whose time is nearly up and whose story will presumably serve as a launchpad – as Rick Deckard’s did in the original movie and K’s in the sequel – to explore meaty themes surrounding consciousness, mortality and that oldie but a goodie: what makes us human?
Honourable mentions: Now You See Me 1 and 2 (film, out now), Desperate Housewives seasons 1-8 (TV, out now), Sing 2 (film, out now), The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (film, out now), The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (film, out now), The Greatest (TV, 4 November), The Mongoose (film, 4 November), The Lord of The Rings: The Rings of Power season 3 (TV, 11 November), Twilight 1-5 (film, 18 November), Hokum (film, 26 November).
Disney+
Rivals – season 2, part 2
TV, UK, 2026 – 11 November
If you’ve never seen this racy period comedy set in the British TV industry during the 80s, it’s certainly worth a watch, with its sly humour, chaotic pace and outrageously colourful characters. The title refers to the ongoing war between David Tennant’s media mogul, Tony Baddingham, and Alex Hassell’s sex-obsessed aristocrat, Rupert Campbell-Black, their feud turning the industry into a war zone. “Revenge is a dish best served on television,” Tennant says early in the first season, that whiff of delicious menace in his voice reflecting the show’s gleefully wicked spirit, delivered with a knowing wink.
Honourable mentions: Meet the Parents (film, 1 November), Meet the Fockers (film, 1 November), Tropic Thunder (film, 1 November), A Quiet Place (film, 1 November), Dr Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas (film, 1 November), The Grinch (film, 1 November), All’s Fair season 2 (TV, 4 November), Time and Water (film, 5 November), The Polar Express (film, 15 November), Percy Jackson and the Olympians (TV, 20 November).
Binge
Dig
TV, USA, 2026 – out 23 November
Mike Schur has form when it comes to launching quality comedy series, having created The Good Place and co-created Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Parks and Recreation. Amy Poehler, star of the latter, reunites with Schur for this workplace comedy set in the world of archaeology. She plays Elise, an ambitious archaeologist chomping at the bit for a promotion. So when she makes a major discovery at an excavation site in Greece, temptation beckons: why not keep it under wraps for now, so she can claim all the credit later?
The trailer suggests a more narrative-driven affair than Parks and Recreation. If it’s even half as funny, it’ll be worth a watch.
Honourable mentions: Michael Jackson’s This Is It (film, out now), It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley (film, out now), The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (film, 8 November), JFK: 24 Hours That Changed the World (film, 22 November), Catch Me If You Can season 1 (TV, 26 November).
AppleTV+
12 12 12
TV, USA, 2026 – out 13 November
The title of this heist drama starring Anthony Mackie and Jamie Dornan refers to the three timelines the series oscillates between as it chronicles an elaborate bank robbery in Zurich. There are the 12 months it took to plan, the 12 hours it took to execute and the 12 days immediately after it. But why stop there? What about 12 seconds when the characters think: “Shit, can we really do this?” Or the previous 12 centuries, charting the evolution of Switzerland and the development of its banking system?
Anyway … the trailer certainly promises juicy spectacle, with overturned vehicles, explosions, sex and puffed-up dialogue like: “Only one of us should get to walk away from this thing.”
Honourable mentions: Stick season 2 (TV, 4 November), Awkwafina: The Unlikely Cook (TV, 6 November), Being Heumann (film, 13 November), Way of the Warrior Kid (film, 25 November).
