As the nights get longer, the streaming calendar is getting a little darker, stranger and more fun. There are plenty of options for what to watch this weekend across Netflix, Paramount+, Apple TV and other streaming services, plus broadcast and cable.
As Tom’s Guide’s streaming editor, I watch TV and movies as my job, and I’ve curated and ranked this week’s biggest new releases to help you skip the scrolling and get straight to something worth watching.
This week’s lineup runs the gamut from the blockbuster superhero action of “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” and Ben Affleck's crime thriller “Animals” to “Matchbox the Movie," because apparently everything can be a movie now. For some spooky season spine tingles, “Carrie” revisits the Stephen King tale, while “Below" chases a sea monster. Here’s my weekend watchlist, ranked by must-watch factor.
Kelly is currently watching screeners of "The Diplomat" season 4 to review next week.
1. ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ (digital)
Genre: Superhero action
Runtime: 2h 25min
What it’s about: Peter Parker (Tom Holland) finds superhero life much lonelier when the whole world has forgotten you. After “No Way Home,” Peter is on his own, watching from afar as MJ (Zendaya) and Ned (Jacob Batalon) move on and spending his days protecting New York as Spider-Man. But his powers are changing in ways he can’t control, just as a mysterious, body-hopping threat emerges in the city.
Why it’s worth your time: Holland gets to play Peter as an actual grown-up, and a forlorn one at that. The result is a moodier Spider-Man movie, with less goofy banter and more existential angst, plus terrific turns from Sadie Sink, Jon Bernthal and Florence Pugh. But it’s Holland’s continued chemistry with Zendaya and Batalon that provides the emotional heart.
Where to watch: Prime Video (with purchase)
2. 'Animals' (Netflix)
Genre: Crime thriller
Runtime: 1 hr 46 min
What it's about: Ben Affleck directs and stars as Mark Kimball, a Los Angeles mayoral candidate whose carefully polished life is turned upside down when his son is kidnapped. With most of the family’s money sunk into Mark’s campaign, he and his wife Abigail (Kerry Washington) have just hours to scrape together the ransom. Enter a mysterious fixer (Gillian Anderson) as they race desperately against the clock, even as a whole lot of marital baggage threatens to blow up.
Why it's worth your time: Affleck returns to his darker side both in front of and behind the camera, in the vein of “Gone Baby Gone” and “The Town.” More than just a kidnapping thriller, it’s also a harsh examination of marriage, morality and the curated images we present to the world.
Where to watch: Netflix
3. ‘Carrie’ (Prime Video)
Genre: Supernatural horror
Available now: All 8 episodes (about 50 min each)
What it's about: Mike Flanagan gives Stephen King’s "Carrie" the prestige TV treatment, expanding the story of sheltered teen Carrie White (Summer H. Howell) after her father’s death sends her into the nightmare of public high school. There’s bullying, social-media humiliation, a deeply unsettling mother (Samantha Sloyan) and, naturally, telekinetic powers.
Why it’s worth your time: Flanagan isn’t exactly breaking new ground by returning to "Carrie," but he does have a knack for making King feel contemporary. This version further explores the cruelties of high school, beyond one horrific prom. It makes the title character's eventual transformation hit even harder.
Where to watch: Prime Video
4. ‘Below’ (Netflix)
Genre: Horror thriller
Available now: All 6 episodes (around 45 min each)
What it's about: When a mysterious creatures starts terrorizing the waters off a small Newfoundland town, fisherman Calvin Penney (Josh Hartnett) is understandably worried and ticked off. Calvin teams up with marine researcher Fonda Howander (Mackenzie Davis) to protect his family, including his son Wade (Charlie Heaton), while digging into the secrets behind his father’s death.
Why it’s worth your time: "Jaws" meets "The Terror" in a rugged rural setting, with a little family drama and local folklore stirred into the mix. The chilly atmosphere and mounting dread do plenty of heavy lifting. If you like your small-town mysteries with some supernatural danger, this should float your boat.
Where to watch: Netflix
5. ‘Matchbox: The Movie’ (Apple TV)
Genre: Action comedy
Runtime: 2 hr 6 min
What it's about: John Cena stars as Sean Walker, a former soldier and undercover CIA agent who returns home and promptly gets his childhood friends caught up in an international conspiracy involving a stolen nuclear warhead. Now they have to clear their names, save the world and drive some very expensive cars very, very fast.
Why it's worth your time: Hollywood looked at a box of Matchbox cars and thought, "Yep, that's a movie." This is where we’re at in a post-”Barbie” world. The result is a fairly standard globe-trotting action flick, with John Cena doing his John Cena thing: kicking ass, taking names, cracking jokes.
Where to watch: Apple TV
6. ‘Treasure Island’ (MGM+)
Genre: Action adventure
Premiere date: Episode 1 on Sunday, Oct. 11 at 10 p.m. ET
What it's about: Robert Louis Stevenson's book gets another reboot; this time, Jim Hawkins (Tom Sweet) has his mother Bess (Hayley Atwell) along for the ride. After they get their hands on a legendary map, they sail into a dangerous showdown between the pirate Long John Silver (David Oyelowo) and British agent Aaron Graham (Jack Huston).
Why it's worth your time: Apparently, we hadn't found that treasure enough times already. But this adaptation actually shakes up the familiar story, giving Bess a much bigger role and making Silver a more complicated, historically grounded character.
Where to watch: MGM+
7. ‘NCIS: New York’ (CBS)
Genre: Crime procedural drama
Available now: 1 episode (about 42 min)
What it's about: After years of globe-trotting assignments, NCIS agent Sam Hanna (LL Cool J) is back in his native New York, where a personal case gives him a reason to stick around. When his Navy reservist friend turns up dead, Sam teams with the roguish Nick Schaeffer (Scott Caan) and a fresh-faced crew to figure out who killed him.
Why it's worth your time: The "NCIS "franchise has finally reached New York,; it's a little shocking it's taken this long. The show shoots on location, letting the actual streets, bridges and waterfronts do a lot of the talking.
Where to watch: Paramount+
8. ‘Eternally Yours’ (CBS)
Genre: Supernatural sitcom
Available now: 1 episode (about 22 min)
What it's about: Charles (Ed Weeks) and Liz (Allegra Edwards) have been married for 500 years, which is plenty of time for eternal love to become painfully routine. The vampire couple lives in Seattle with their eccentric coven until their daughter Emma (Helen J. Shen) brings home Max (Jaren Lewison), her very human boyfriend. Suddenly, the family has a mortal problem.
Why it's worth your time: If "What We Do in the Shadows" made you realize vampires can be very funny when they’re mostly dealing with mundane nonsense, "Eternally Yours" takes that idea into family life. The premise has plenty of room for humor with a bite.
Where to watch: Paramount+
9. ‘Avatar: Seven Havens’ (Paramount+)
Genre: Animated fantasy adventure
Available now: 3 episodes (about 22 min each)
What it’s about: After a devastating cataclysm, young Earthbender Pavi discovers she’s the new Avatar after Korra, only now the title comes with a nasty reputation: Humanity sees her as a destroyer. Hunted by humans and spirits, Pavi teams up with her long-lost twin, Nisha, to uncover their origins and save the Seven Havens, the last scraps of civilization.
Why it’s worth your time: The original "Avatar: The Last Airbender" creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko are back, but they’re not simply dusting off the old formula. "Seven Havens" jumps centuries into the future and gives the franchise a world that feels genuinely new.
Where to watch: Paramount+
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