📺 Ghosts, Disclaimer, The Franchise...

the English Teacher season finale, plus 3 streaming movies & 7 new series to watch this week

Happy Thursday! You might feel a bit of deja vu for a moment, because it’s my turn to go rogue in this intro paragraph and wish Jess a happy wedding weekend! With true Double Take grit and commitment, she valiantly knocked out two reviews (plus some for later) in the midst of pre-wedding chaos. What a champ. Can’t wait to celebrate with you my dear friend; next week, we’ll have two Sadies on the byline. <3

In today’s edition:
Weekly Watchlist
Ghosts - S4 (CBS/Paramount+)
The Franchise (HBO/Max)
Disclaimer (Apple TV+)
English Teacher (FX/Hulu)

— Jess Spoll and Jenni Cullen

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Below is an abridged selection of new shows and movies premiering this week. Our full list of October releases, including theatrical releases and streaming debuts, is available here and published monthly for our premium subscribers.

• Brothers (Movie) — Josh Brolin and Peter Dinklage star in this action comedy as criminal twin brothers who embark on a dangerous heist road trip.
  Watch on Prime Video: October 17

• The Lincoln Lawyer (Season 3) — Manuel Garcia-Rulfo returns as Mickey Haller in the legal drama’s new season based on The Gods of Guilt, the fifth book in The Lincoln Lawyer series by Michael Connelly.
  Watch on Netflix: October 17 (all 10 episodes)

• Ghosts (Season 4) — The charming comedy about a woman who can see the ghosts in her old upstate mansion gets a little spookier with this season’s addition of a new ghost, Patience (Mary Holland).
  Watch on CBS/Paramount+: October 17 (1 episode, then weekly)

• Elsbeth (Season 2) — In this “howcatchem” procedural based on the character from The Good Wife/The Good Fight, Elsbeth Tascioni is an astute but unconventional attorney working with the NYPD to catch New York’s criminals.
  Watch on CBS/Paramount+: October 17 (1 episode, then weekly)

• Hysteria! (Season 1) — Set during the Satanic panic of the 1980s, a beloved varsity quarterback's disappearance causes whispers of occult activity and Satanic influence throughout the town. Julie Bowen stars.
  Watch on Peacock: October 18 (all 8 episodes)

• Rivals (Limited Series) — Set against the backdrop of the drama, excess, and shocking antics of the power-grabbing social elite of 1980s England, Rivals delves headfirst into the ruthless world of independent television in 1986. Alex Hassell and David Tennant star.
  Watch on Hulu: October 18 (all 8 episodes)

• The Devil’s Hour (Season 2) — This genre-bending thriller follows the story of a social worker who is drawn into a mystery surrounding serial killer Gideon (Peter Capaldi) as she finds herself haunted by strange events and visions at the so-called Devil’s Hour, 3:33am.
  Watch on Prime Video: October 18 (all 6 episodes)

• Woman of the Hour (Movie) — Anna Kendrick’s directorial debut dramatizes the true story of an aspiring actor in 1970s Los Angeles whose life intersects with a serial killer in the midst of a years-long murder spree when they’re both cast on an episode of The Dating Game.
  Watch on Netflix: October 18

• MaXXXine* (Movie) — The third installment in Ti West’s X horror film series sees Mia Goth’s Maxine Minx seeking fame and success in the 80s in Hollywood while being targeted by a serial killer. Elizabeth Debicki, Halsey, Kevin Bacon, and Giancarlo Esposito also star.
  Watch on Max: October 18 (*Streaming Premiere)

• What We Do in the Shadows (Season 6) — The final season of this horror-fantasy-comedy series airs this month.
  Watch on FX/Hulu: October 21 (3 of 11 episodes, then weekly)

Note: Premium subscribers have access to the 5 other TV shows and 1 other movie premiering this week that aren’t listed above via our “October Preview” edition.

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These popular shows came back with new episodes. Here’s what we thought and where you can watch them.

Ghosts

Photo: CBS

Keywords: ensemble comedy, wholesome, paranormal
Watch if you like: Abbott Elementary, Superstore, The Good Place
Jess’s Rating: A-

I’ve been beating this drum for a while now, but if you’re a fan of heartwarming sitcoms and you are not yet watching Ghosts — which returns for its fourth season today — then you’re missing out.

The series is an adaptation of a British comedy of the same name, which means it’s a less dry and more upbeat version of the same premise. (I haven’t seen the British version, but such is normally the case for American remakes of British comedies.) It’s a network comedy, which might have been a deterrent when it premiered four years ago, but its popularity and longevity — and my recommendation — should help assuage your fears.

Ghosts is about a young married couple, Sam (Rose McIver of iZombie) and Jay (Utkarsh Ambudkar), who move upstate from Manhattan upon learning that they’ve inherited a large family estate. After Sam gets into an accident wherein her heart briefly stops beating, she wakes up to discover that she can now see and talk to the friendly horde of ghosts inhabiting their new home.

Ensemble comedies rely on an interesting group of characters with diverse perspectives, and this show certainly delivers that. The ghoulish inhabitants of the house include a centuries-old Viking, a 1920s jazz singer, a wolf-of-wall-street frat bro from the 90s, and a strict Victorian-era woman, amongst others. The type of humor in Ghosts is straightforward, lighthearted, and easy to laugh at, and the premise — that Sam can interact with the ghosts but her husband can’t — is the setup for endless amusement. There’s no real edge here, which can sometimes feel like a drawback, but nevertheless, it’s a perfect comfort watch.

— Jess

Length: 30-min runtime, 3 seasons / 50 episodes
Watch on: CBS / Paramount+

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Our thoughts on brand new streaming content, and where you can watch.

The Franchise

Photo: HBO

Keywords: comedy, satire, showbiz
Watch if you like: Avenue 5, Veep, Extras
Jenni’s Rating: C+

The Franchise is a satirical comedy series created by Jon Brown (Succession, Veep) that plunges viewers behind the scenes and into the chaos of a movie set in a massive superhero cinematic universe. Instead of capes and heroics, however, we’re met with a disaster-prone production team complete with petulant stars, a head-in-the-clouds director, and a crew teetering on the edge of various breakdowns. While the first few episodes hit the ground running, they leave something to be desired in terms of depth and point-of-view. It’s a bit of a rocky start for the latest show to sit in HBO's coveted Sunday night slot.

So far, The Franchise reads like a facsimile of a Sorkin drama blended with a whisper of Veep: they kept the fast-paced walk-and-talks but left the witty monologues and any earnestness at the door. Instead of any character that feels truly invested in what they’re doing, the show delivers a group of coworkers trapped in a hellscape of dysfunction. While dry and darkly funny at times, the satire of The Franchise lacks the razor-sharp edge of a show like Veep. Instead, it leans heavily on cynicism and meanness, leaving viewers with a sense of soul-crushing malaise rather than biting critique.

A few bright spots in the early episodes are Billy Magnussen (Made for Love) as Adam, a clueless and insecure movie star, and Lolly Adefope (Ghosts) as the sunny new third assistant director. While the show hasn’t found its footing quite yet, there’s potential in the cast and their relationships. Right now though, this series is floating somewhere between the sensibilities of a British comedy and a cynical American satire and doesn’t seem to know where to land. Whether The Franchise will rise to the occasion or sink deeper into its darkly chaotic abyss remains to be seen.

— Jenni

Length: 30-min runtime, 1 season / 2 of 8 episodes out, new on Sundays
Watch on: HBO/Max

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Disclaimer

Photo: Apple TV+

Keywords: family drama, psychological thriller, suspense
Watch if you like: Gone Girl, Expats, The Night Of