Every month, Netflix adds movies and TV shows to its library. Here are our picks for some of October’s most promising new titles. (Note: Streaming services occasionally change schedules without giving notice. For more recommendations on what to stream, sign up for our Watching newsletter here.)
‘Steve’
Starts streaming: Oct. 3
Cillian Murphy reunites with his “Small Things Like These” director, Tim Mielants, for this intense social drama, set over the course of one harrowing day and night at a controversial British reform school. Murphy plays the institution’s headmaster, who believes his troubled boys — and, by extension, society — benefit more from close attention and care than from being thrown into prison with hardened adult criminals. The film takes place on a day when a local news crew is on campus, investigating whether taxpayer money is being wasted on these often angry, often violent teenagers. A strong cast that includes Tracey Ullman and Emily Watson as faculty members — and a handful of talented young actors who will undoubtedly be seen on screens a lot in the coming years — bring a lot of life and energy to some heavy subject matter.
‘Boots’
Starts streaming: Oct. 9
One of the last TV series worked on by the venerable writer-producer Norman Lear, this military dramedy series is based on Greg Cope White’s memoir “The Pink Marine,” which was about how he made it through Marine boot camp in the 1990s, at a time when everything about him — his scrawniness, his anxiety, his homosexuality — should have made him a terrible recruit. Miles Heizer plays Cameron Cope, who discovers that while basic training lives up to its reputation for being physically and mentally grueling, the Corps is also full of misfits who soon become his brothers. More “An Officer and a Gentleman” than “Full Metal Jacket,” “Boots” details the hardships and the rewards that come with committing to a cause.
‘The Woman in Cabin 10’
Starts streaming: Oct. 10
Based on a Ruth Ware novel, this paranoid thriller pays homage to all those old Agatha Christie novels that featured a group of eclectic characters, a remote location and a murder. Keira Knightley plays Lo Blacklock, an investigative journalist who is invited to recover from her more traumatic recent assignments by filing a soft piece about a philanthropic billionaire’s new luxury yacht. But when Lo sees a passenger get tossed overboard and can’t get anyone to admit that the victim ever existed, she feels her sanity slipping. Directed by Simon Stone (best-known for the fine historical drama “The Dig”), the movie sets its twisty story mostly in a boat far from shore. The isolation and confined space only exacerbates the hero’s frazzled state, as she scrambles to find anyone aboard who will believe her.
‘Nobody Wants This’ Season 2
Starts streaming: Oct. 23
Season 1 of this romantic comedy series earned multiple Emmy nominations and became a big hit, thanks in large part to the winning chemistry of its two leads. Kristen Bell plays Joanne, a funny and outspoken podcaster who in Season 1 fell in love with Noah (Adam Brody), a charming rabbi whose family and congregation were not super happy with his new gentile girlfriend. After persistent struggles and a big breakup, the couple reconnected in the finale. In Season 2, they soon discover that not all of their friends, colleagues and loved ones are ready to give them their blessing. The central appeal of this show is Joanne and Noah’s easygoing rapport and affection, but as this bond is tested again, they are forced to consider what their relationship could cost them.
‘A House of Dynamite’
Starts streaming: Oct. 24
The Oscar-winning director Kathryn Bigelow (“The Hurt Locker,” “Zero Dark Thirty”) returns to the political thriller genre for a “what if” story with a terrifying premise. What if the U.S. military’s radar suddenly picked up an incoming nuclear missile, fired from an unknown location and only about 20 minutes away from hitting an American city? Idris Elba plays the President of the United States (with Renée Elise Goldsberry as his first lady), while Jared Harris, Tracy Letts, Anthony Ramos, Jason Clarke and Rebecca Ferguson play some of the people who have to figure out quickly what is happening and how to respond. These kinds of doomsday movies were fairly common in the Cold War era, but with “A House of Dynamite,” Bigelow and the screenwriter Noah Oppenheim have updated the scenario for today, reminding audiences that the threat of nuclear Armageddon remains very real.
Also arriving:
Oct. 1
“Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery”
“Beverly Hills Cop”
“Blue Crush”
“Dirty Dancing”
“The Goonies”
“Halo” Seasons 1-2
“The Hurt Locker”
“Love Is Blind” Season 9
“The Mask”
“Molly’s Game”
“Riv4lries” Season 1
“Scarface”
“Sister Act”
“Taxi Driver”
“Training Day”
“The Way Home” Seasons 1-2
Oct. 2
“Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story”
“Dudes” Season 1
“The Game: You Never Play Alone” Season 1
“The Martian”
Oct. 3
“Monster: The Ed Gein Story”
“The New Force” Season 1
“Old Dog, New Tricks” Season 1
Oct. 4
“Ranma 1/2” Season 2
Oct. 3
“Ip Man”
Oct. 6
“Dr. Seuss’s Horton!” Season 1
Oct. 7
“Nurse Jackie” Seasons 1-7
“True Haunting” Season 1
Oct. 8
“Caramelo”
“Is It Cake? Halloween”
Oct. 9
“The Maze Runner”
“The Resurrected” Season 1
“Victoria Beckham”
Oct. 10
“My Father, the BTK Killer”
“Swim to Me”
Oct. 14
“Everybody Loves Me When I’m Dead”
“Splinter Cell: Deathwatch” Season 1
Oct. 15
“Six Kings Slam 2025”
Oct. 16
“The Diplomat” Season 3
“Romantics Anonymous” Season 1
“Starting 5” Season 2
Oct. 17
“Good News”
“The Perfect Neighbor”
“She Walks in Darkness”
“Turn of the Tide” Season 2
“The Twits”
Oct. 21
“Michelle Wolf: The Well”
“Who Killed the Montreal Expos?”
Oct. 22
“Mob War: Philadelphia vs. The Mafia”
“The Monster of Florence”
Oct. 23
“The Elixir”
Oct. 28
“Mo Amer: Wild World”
“Nightmares of Nature: Lost in the Jungle”
Oct. 29
“Ballad of a Small Player”
“NOS4A2” Seasons 1-2
“Selling Sunset” Season 9
Oct. 30
“Juan Gabriel: I Must, I Can, I Will”
“The Witcher” Season 4
Oct. 31
“Breathless” Season 2
The post The Best Movies and TV Shows Coming to Netflix in October appeared first on New York Times.
