Premieres Wednesday, Oct. 13:
Dopesick — Michael Keaton plays Dr. Samuel Finnix, a physician who helps jump-start the opioid epidemic by prescribing OxyContin to his patients. If I were his defense lawyer, my strategy would be to pin it on the Multiverse version of Finnix played by Ben Affleck. (Hulu)
Just Beyond — Here's an eight-episode anthology of tween-targeted scare stories inspired by R.L. Stine. Remember him? He's the J.K. Rowling you don't have to regret having grown up on. (Disney+)
Premieres Thursday, Oct. 14:
Censor — The "video nasty" controversy of Thatcher-era England is the foundation for this shocker, in which a censor lands in hot water after a movie she approved inspires a murder. Hey, that's nothing — Batman got my grandma hooked on painkillers! (Hulu)
Aquaman: King of Atlantis — Aquaman, on the other hand, just gives you a hankering for brine shrimp. Or at least I'd expect something no less wacky from this light-hearted animated series that's arriving between the character's theatrical features. None of the live-action cast provides voices, but cut Amber Heard a break: She's a busy woman with careers to destroy. (HBO Max)
The Kids Tonight Show — Imagine the pitfalls of being one of the four young co-hosts of this spinoff from the most influential talk show of all time: If you're bad, your parents take it away; if you're good, Jay Leno takes it away! (Peacock)
Little Ellen Season 1B — In contrast, you have great job security if you're the voice of a 7-year-old animated Ellen DeGeneres. You can do whatever the hell you want and know that nobody's going to send you to time-out until you're 26. (HBO Max)
Love Spells (Amarres) — Mexico offers up a supernatural comedy about a witch who searches for love while raising three kids as a single parent. Totally unfair, given that Tabitha Stevens had two whole dads to take advantage of. (HBO Max)
The Medium — Horror masters Na Hong-jin and Banjong Pisanthanakun team up to show us what kind of hell breaks loose when the powers of a shaman are passed from one generation to another. Wait ... this isn't another Jay Leno project, is it? (Shudder)
The Missing (Os Ausentes) — If you're in Brazil and someone close to you has disappeared, where do you turn for help? To the two private investigators who are the stars of this drama series. Oh, and each of them is also on the hunt for a missing loved one — which qualifies them as experts in their field if the show lasts one season, but really lousy at their jobs if it goes for five. (HBO Max)
Phoebe Robinson: Sorry, Harriet Tubman — The comic, actress and author shares her thoughts on everything from interracial relationships to Michelle Obama. "Same thing!" says Candace Owens. "Shut the hell up!" says everybody else. (HBO Max)
Premieres Friday, Oct. 15:
The Forgotten Battle — The stories of three people on different sides of World War II converge in this Dutch-made dramatization of the Battle of the Scheldt. Don't feel bad if you've never heard of it — your excuse is right there in the title. (Netflix)
The Four of Us — Comedy ensues when a quartet of hotties trade partners for a month. And when I say "comedy," I mean "easily traced STDs." (Netflix)
Good Timing With Jo Firestone — The New York comic teaches 16 senior citizens how to be funny. Hell, I'd be happy if she taught them how to use a turn signal. (Peacock)
Karma's World — From the creative imagination of Chris "Ludacris" Bridges come the animated adventures of a 10-year-old girl rapper. For a peek into the creative imagination of Lil Nas X, check out next spring's Three Men and DaBaby. (Netflix)
Little Things — The fourth and final season of the Indian romcom finds paramours Dhruv and Kayya pondering a new level of commitment after six years together. Wait a minute: six years but only four seasons? Sounds like somebody spent some time dallying with the cast of The Four of Us. (Netflix)
You — Stalker Joe Goldberg enters his third season as a married dad, but with an enticing neighbor to bring out his old habits. Must be nice; all my neighbor brings out is the homeowners' association whenever I have Ludacris over. (Netflix)
