’Tis the season for spooky—and the October TV premieres calendar is loaded with spectacular scares. From season 2 of Netflix’s Stranger Things to Crackle’s special SuperMansion: Drag Me to Halloween to the latest Ghost Adventures on Travel, the month has something for everyone.
Broadcast, cable and streaming networks still are rolling out their fall TV premieres, too, with many new additions for viewers. Highlights include the long-awaited return of HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” Netflix’s new FBI thriller “Mindhunter” and BBC America’s programming event “Queers.”
You’ll find the October TV premieres listed below. It’s a lot to take in, so keep coming back so you don’t miss anything.
October TV premieres calendar
All times Central
Sunday, Oct. 1
10 a.m.
- “Vampirina,” Disney Junior (series premiere; the Hauntley family, friendly vampires, move to Pennsylvania from their home in Transylvania)
6 p.m.
- “Criminal Confessions,” Oxygen (series premiere; inside actual police interrogation rooms)
6:30 p.m.
- “Bob’s Burgers,” Fox (season 8)
7 p.m.
- “The Simpsons,” Fox (season 29)
- “Shark Tank,” ABC (season 9, 2-hour premiere)
7:30 p.m.
- “Ghosted,” Fox (series premiere; skeptic and true believer are recruited to investigate unexplained phenomena in LA)
- “Wisdom of the Crowd,” CBS (series premiere; tech innovator creates a cutting-edge crowdsourcing app to solve his daughter’s murder)
- “Road to Halloween Wars,” Food (special; bts look at artists vying for a spot on “Halloween Wars”)
8 p.m.
- “Masterpiece: Poldark,” PBS (season 3)
- “Family Guy,” Fox (season 5)
- “The Toy Box,” ABC (season 2)
- “Alaska: The Last Frontier,” Discovery (season 7; episodes will include live component)
- “Parts Unknown with Anthony Bourdain,” CNN (season 10)
- “Halloween Wars,” Food (season premiere)
- “Keeping Up with the Kardashians,” E! (season 14)
8:30 p.m.
- “The Last Man on Earth,” Fox (season 4)
- “NCIS: Los Angeles,” CBS (season 9; Nia Long joins cast)
9 p.m.
- “Ten Days in the Valley,” ABC (series premiere; TV producer’s young daughter disappears)
- “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” HBO (season 9)
- “This Is Life with Lisa Ling,” CNN (season 4)
10 p.m.
- “StarTalk with Neil deGrasse Tyson,” Nat Geo (season 4)
Monday, Oct. 2
Streaming
- “Beauty and the Baker,” Amazon (U.S. premiere, season 1; Israeli romantic comedy about baker and international star falling in love)
2:30 p.m.
- “TRL,” MTV (reboot premiere)
7 p.m.
- “Lucifer,” Fox (season 3)
7:30 p.m.
- “9JKL,” CBS (series premiere; newly divorced actor moves to New York, next door to both his parents and his brother)
8 p.m.
- “The Gifted,” Fox (series premiere; family goes on the run to protect mutant kids)
- “Family Time,” Bounce (season 5)
8:30 p.m.
- “Grown Folks,” Bounce (series premiere; two blue-collar couples share duplex while navigating life, marriage and friendship)
9 p.m.
- “The Halcyon,” Ovation (series premiere; staff and guests at posh London hotel deal with life during WWII blitz)
- “Halloween Wars: Hayride of Horror,” Food (3-night special; 2 teams of master food artists use cake, sugar and carved pumpkin in display competition)
Tuesday, Oct. 3
Streaming
- “Two Sentence Horror Stories,” go90.com (series premiere; scripted horror anthology series)
- “Rodney Carrington: Here Comes the Truth,” Netflix (standup special)
7 p.m.
- “Finding Your Roots,” PBS (season 4; with Aziz Ansari, Scarlett Johansson, Ted Danson, Larry David, Ava DuVernay, Bryant Gumbel, Garrison Keillor, William H. Macy, Suzanne Malveaux, Ana Navarro, Amy Schumer, Mary Steenburgen, Christopher Walken)
- “The Middle,” ABC (season 9)
7:30 p.m.
- “Fresh Off the Boat,” ABC (season 4)
8 p.m.
- “black-ish,” ABC (season 4)
8:30 p.m.
- “The Mayor,” ABC (series premiere; rapper runs for office as publicity stunt–and wins)
9 p.m.
- “Kevin (Probably) Saves the World,” ABC (series premiere; self-absorbed man on a downward spiral gets chance to save world)
- “Ink Master: Angels,” Spike (series premiere; spinoff competition in which 4 “Ink Master” vets are challenged by other tattoo artists)
- “Queen Sugar,” OWN (season 2b, premiere part 1)
- “Cyberwar,” Viceland (season 2)
Wednesday, Oct. 4
7 p.m.
- “Nature,” PBS (season 36)
8 p.m.
- “Expedition Unknown: Hunt for Extraterrestrials,” Travel (4-part special; Josh Gates travels world looking for proof of life beyond our planet; Oct. 4, 11, 18, 25)
- “The Real Housewives of New Jersey,” Bravo (season 8)
- “Rehab Addict,” DIY (season premiere)
9 p.m.
- “Expedition Unknown: After the Hunt,” Travel (after show premiere; Oct. 4, 11, 18, 2)
- “Frontline,” PBS (season 36)
- “Queen Sugar,” OWN (season 2b, premiere part 2)
Thursday, Oct. 5
Streaming
- “Rillington Place,” Sundance Now (U.S. premiere; explores life of serial killer John Christie and murders at 10 Rillington Place, London, in 1940s and 1950s)
- “SuperMansion: Drag Me to Halloween,” Crackle (holiday special)
- “Bonus Family (Bonusfamilen),” Netflix (season 1; Swedish dramedy follow two families dealing with divorce, new relationships and blended families)
8 p.m.
- “Van Helsing,” Syfy (season 2)
- “Scandal,” ABC (season 7)
9 p.m.
- “Ghost Wars,” Syfy (series premiere; local outcast must overcome prejudices, his own personal demons to save small Alaska town from paranormal forces)
- “Real Estate Wars,” Bravo (series premiere; cut-throat world of real estate in Orange County)
- “Sex.Right.Now. with Cleo Stiller,” Fusion (docuseries premiere; health correspondent shares answer to personal questions)
9:30 p.m.
- “Shade: Queens of NYC,” Fusion (series premiere; docuseries gives intimate look inside New York’s drag community)
Friday, Oct. 6
Streaming
- “Suburra: The Series,” Netflix (season 1; fight over land in seaside town near Rome spirals into a deadly battle between organized crime, corrupt politicians and Vatican in this Italian thriller)
- “The Fashion Hero,” Amazon Prime (series premiere; model competition)
- “ID-0,” Netflix (season 1; anime follows adventures of Alliance Academy student Maya Mikuri)
- “The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson,” Netflix (doc; trans activist Victoria Cruz probes suspicious 1992 death of her friend Marsha P. Johnson)
- “Skylanders Academy,” Netflix (season 2)
- “Word Party,” Netflix (season 3)
7 p.m.
- “Once Upon a Time,” ABC (season 7)
- “Don’t Be Tardy…,” Bravo (season 6)
8 p.m.
- “Texas Flip N Move,” DIY (season premiere)
9 p.m.
- “Superstition,” Syfy (series premiere; Hastings family runs funeral home in La Rochelle, Ga., the “landing patch” for world’s darkest manifestations of fear)
10 p.m.
- “Choccywoccydoodah,” Cooking (season premiere)
Saturday, Oct. 7
7 p.m.
- “Spielberg,” HBO (doc; in depth look at director Steven Spielberg’s filmography)
8 p.m.
- “Ghost Adventures: Hauntings of Vicksburg,” Travel (4-part special; exploring lasting impact Civil War’s Siege of Vicksburg, Miss., had on city)
- “All My Heart: Inn Love,” Hallmark (movie; engaged couple face trouble when groom-to-be returns to New York for work in order to save their country bed and breakfast)
9 p.m.
- “The Graham Norton Show,” BBC America (season 22)
10 p.m.
- “Nemr: No Bombing in Beirut,” Showtime (standup special)
Sunday, Oct. 8
6 p.m.
- “Bobbi Kristina,” TV One (movie; biopic about Bobbi Kristina Brown, the only daughter of Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown)
7 p.m.
- “America’s Funniest Home Videos,” ABC (season 28)
8 p.m.
- “Xtreme Screams,” Travel (series premiere; a tour of scream-inducing rides around the world)
- “90 Day Fiance,” TLC (season 5)
- “The Last Ship,” TNT (season finale)
9 p.m.
- “Madam Secretary,” CBS (season 4)
- “Edge of Alaska,” Discovery (final season)
- “The Collection,” PBS (broadcast premiere; Sabine brothers launch fashion house in post-WW II Paris, but past treachery threatens success)
11 p.m.
- “The Robot Chicken Walking Dead Special: Look Who’s Walking,” Adult Swim (special; zombie spoof crossover)
Monday, Oct. 9
7 p.m.
- “Supergirl,” CW (season 3)
8 p.m.
- “Valor,” CW (series premiere; professional and personal lives of U.S. soldiers get complicated)
- “3 Hikers,” Showtime (doc premiere; story of 3 Americans held as political hostages by Iran for more than two years)
9 p.m.
- “A Haunting,” Destination America (season 9)
- “Southern and Hungry,” Cooking (series premiere; Southern food expert Damaris Phillips and NASCAR personality Rutledge Wood talk Southern food and culture)
10 p.m.
- “The Islands and the Whale,” PBS (“POV” premiere; on isolated Faroe Islands, longtime whale-hunting practices of the Faroese are threatened)
Tuesday, Oct. 10
Streaming
- “Christina P: Mother Inferior,” Netflix (standup special)
7 p.m.
- “The Flash,” CW (season 4)
- “MasterChef Canada,” Cooking (season premiere)
8 p.m.
- “The Big Interview with Dan Rather,” AXS (season 5)
- 9 p.m.
- “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow,” CW (season 3)
- “Undercover High,” A&E (docuseries debut; 7 young adults embed themselves for a semester in Highland Park High School in Topeka, Kansas)
- “Ed Stafford: Left For Dead,” Discovery (series premiere; explorer attempts to escape from extreme environments in under 10 days)
- “Terror in the Woods,” Destination America (series premiere; stories from real people whose wilderness retreats were cut short by paranormal encounters)
- “Chopped: Alton’s Challenge,” Food (series premiere; 16 chefs put to test in challenges that tap into science of cooking)
- “Tales,” BET (new episodes)
- “Adventure Capitalists,” CNBC (season 2)
Wednesday, Oct. 11
Streaming
- “Chance,” Hulu (season 2)
9 a.m.
- “Queers,” BBC America (all-day presentation; 8 short films curated and directed by Mark Gatiss that explore gay history in Britain)
7 p.m.
- “Riverdale,” CW (season 2)
- “Man’s Greatest Food,” Cooking (series premiere; Roger Mooking leads culinary odyssey around country)
8 p.m.
- “Dynasty,” CW (series premiere; reboot of 1980s soap about a rich family’s infighting)
9 p.m.
- “The Story of Us with Morgan Freeman,” Nat Geo (docuseries premiere; Morgan Freeman travels world looking for what connects us all)
- “Mr. Robot,” USA (season 3)
- “The Shannara Chronicles,” Spike TV (season 2)
- “Queers,” BBC America (special wrap-up)
Thursday, Oct. 12
Streaming
- “I Love You, America,” Hulu (series premiere; Sarah Silverman hosts weekly talk show)
- “Bomb Scared (Fe de Etarras),” Netflix (movie; dark comedy about dysfunctional group of wannabe Basque terrorists)
- “Red Dwarf,” BritBox (U.S. premiere, season 12; more BritBox premieres in October)
7 p.m.
- “Supernatural,” CW (season 13)
8 p.m.
- “Arrow,” CW (season 6)
9 p.m.
- “Home Alone,” ID (series premiere; stories of angry stalkers, disgruntled exes and holiday celebrations turned bloody)
10 p.m.
- “The Rundown with Robin Thede,” BET (series premiere; Second City Chicago alum satirizes the news, becoming only woman of color to host late-night show)
10:30 p.m.
- “The Comedy Get Down,” BET (series premiere; what happens behind the scenes of comedy tour featuringGeorge Lopez, DL Hughley, Cedric the Entertainer, Eddie Griffin and Charlie Murphy)
Friday, Oct. 13
Streaming
- “Lore,” Amazon (season 1; real-life tales behind pop culture’s most legendary horror myths)
- “Mindhunter,” Netflix (season 1; FBI agent develops profiling techniques as he pursues notorious serial killers and rapists)
- “Sigmund and the Sea Monsters,” Amazon (season 2)
- “The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected),” Netflix (movie; 3 adult siblings converge in New York to contend with their prickly artist father)
- “The Babysitter,” Netflix (movie; kid discovers his babysitter is part of a satanic cult)
- “Kingdom of Us,” Netflix (doc; father’s suicide stirs children’s memories)
- “El Especial de Alex Fernández, El Especial,” Netflix (standup special)
- “Voltron: Legendary Defender,” Netflix (season 4)
- “Super Monsters,” Netflix (season 1; preschool kids whose parents are monsters try to master their special powers)
7 p.m.
- “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” CW (season 3)
8 p.m.
- “Jane the Virgin,” CW (season 4)
- “Gold Rush,” Discovery (season 8)
- “Marriage Boot Camp Reality Stars,” WEtv (season 9)
8:30 p.m.
- “Entre Nos: Part 2,” HBO Latino (special; stand-up comedy)
Saturday, Oct. 14
8 a.m.
- “Elena of Avalor,“ Disney (season 2; also 10:30 a.m. on Disney Junior)
7 p.m.
- “One Voice: Somos Live! A Concert For Disaster Relief,” Telemundo & Univision (3-hour special; Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez lead Latin stars in concert telethon)
8 p.m.
- “The Sandman,” Syfy (movie; when strange things start happening around 8-year-old, bureaucrats and secret government agency come after her)
- “Love Struck Cafe,” Hallmark (movie; architect returns to her hometown for work, reconnects with her former sweetheart)
- “Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency,” BBC America (season 2)
9 p.m.
- “One Voice: Somos Live! A Concert For Disaster Relief,” NBC (special; NBC joins broadcast)
- “Tokyo Project,” HBO (short film; mysterious romance between two strangers)
Sunday, Oct. 15
7 p.m.
- “Masterpiece: The Durrells in Corfu,” PBS (season 2)
- “Air Disasters,” Smithsonian (season 9)
8 p.m.
- “Make It Out Alive,” Smithsonian (series premiere; pulse-pounding moments behind some of the world’s greatest disasters)
- “Berlin Station,” EPIX (season 2)
- “Good Behavior,” TNT (season 2)
- “How It Really Happened with Hill Harper,” HLN (season 2)
9 p.m.
- “White Famous,” Showtime (series premiere; black comedian works to maintain credibility as he starts to become “white famous”)
- “The Platinum Life,” E! (series premiere; wives a music stars living the life)
11 p.m.
- “Squidbillies,” Adult Swim (season premiere)
Monday, Oct. 16
Streaming
- “Acceptable Risk,” Acorn TV (U.S. premiere; after husband dies, woman uncovers vast conspiracy involving their workplace; more Acorn TV premieres in October)
8:30 a.m. - “Mission Force One,” Disney (season 3, formerly “Miles from Tomorrowland”)
8 p.m.
- “Star Wars Rebels,” Disney XD (4th and final season; check local listings for airings earlier in day)
9 p.m.
- “Horror at the Cecil Hotel,” ID (series premiere; exploring shocking number of deaths/tragedies associated with infamous Los Angeles hotel)
- “Martha & Snoop’s Potluck Dinner Party,” VH1 (season 2)
- “Fast ’N Loud,” Discovery (season premiere)
Tuesday, Oct. 17
Streaming
- “Slasher 2: Guilty Party,” Netflix (season 2)
- “Patton Oswalt: Annihilation,” Netflix (standup special)
8 p.m.
- “What on Earth?” Science (season 4)
9 p.m.
- “Hit the Road,” Audience (series premiere; dysfunctional family of would-be rock/pop stars traverse country in cramped tour bus)
- “Strange Evidence,” Science (series premiere; strange occurrences caught on surveillance cameras)
- “Gucci Mane & Keyshia Ka’oir,” BET (series premiere; 10-part wedding special follows twists and turns of celebrity hip-hop couple)
- “Dead Silent,” ID (season 2)
9:30 p.m.
- “Loudermilk,” Audience (series premiere; recovering alcoholic and drug counselor Sam Loudermilk navigates messes both in his life and in those around him)
- “Weediquette,” Viceland (season premiere)
Wednesday, Oct. 18
Streaming
- “Broken,” BritBox (U.S. premiere; Catholic priest in northern England battles personal demons while trying to be a rock for parishioners, including troubled mother of 3)
- “Freakish,” Hulu (season 2)
7 p.m.
- “CMT Artists of the Year,” CMT (special; honoring Chris Stapleton, Florida Georgia Line, Jason Aldean, Keith Urban, Luke Bryan)
Thursday, Oct.19
8 p.m.
- “The Eleven,” A&E (series premiere; investigators reexamine murders of 11 teenage girls)
Friday, Oct. 20
Streaming
- “Wheelman,” Netflix (movie; getaway driver thrust into race-for-survival after botched bank robbery)
- “The Day I Met El Chapo: The Kate del Castillo Story,” Netflix (doc; Mexican superstar reveals her encounter with drug lord)
- “1922,” Netflix (movie; Stephen King story about man haunted by wife he murders)
- “One of Us,” Netflix (doc; when 3 Hasidic Jews leave ultra-Orthodox community, they experience ostracism, lost relationships, danger)
- “Haters Back Off,” Netflix (season 2)
- “Red Oaks,” Amazon (season 3; final season)
8 p.m.
- “Great Performances,” PBS (season 46; opens with performance of “She Loves Me”)
10 p.m.
- “Tracey Ullman’s Show,” HBO (season 2)
Saturday, Oct. 21
Streaming
- “Too Funny To Fail,” Hulu (doc premiere; why “The Dana Carvey Show” failed)
8 p.m.
- “George Michael: Freedom,” Showtime (doc premiere; look at his career focuses on time leading up to and following his best-selling album “Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1” and battle with his record label that followed)
- “The Watcher in the Woods,” Lifetime (movie; strange occurrences in woods where a child went missing years earlier unnerve family staying at mansion nearby)
- “A Harvest Wedding,” Hallmark (movie; former sweethearts reconnect—with setbacks—when she plans his brother’s wedding)
9 p.m.
- “Most Wonderful Movies of Christmas Preview Show,” Hallmark M&M (special; introducing this year’s crop of holiday films)
Sunday, Oct. 22
8 p.m.
- “The Walking Dead,” AMC (season 8B; 100th episode)
9 p.m.
- “Countdown to Christmas Preview Show,” Hallmark (special; introducing this year’s crop of holiday films)
- “Graves,” EPIX (season 2)
- “Food: Fact or Fiction?” Cooking (season premiere)
11 p.m.
- “Comic Book Men,” AMC (season 7)
11:15 p.m.
- “The Jellies,” Adult Swim (series premiere; created by Tyler, The Creator and Lionel Boyce, animated series follows family of jellyfish, including 16-year-old human son, Cornell)
Monday, Oct. 23
8 p.m.
- “Scared Famous,” VH1 (series premiere; 10 reality stars move into “haunted” mansion to compete in scary challenges)
10:30 p.m.
- “The Untitled Action Bronson Show,” Viceland (series premiere; rapper cooks for and hangs out with guests)
Tuesday, Oct. 24
Streaming
- “Wanted,” Netflix (seasons 1 & 2; Australian series about two women on the run who are suspected of murder)
9 p.m.
- “Snoop Dogg Presents The Joker’s Wild,” TBS (series premiere; reboot of classic game show)
9:30 p.m.
- “At Home with Amy Sedaris,” truTV (series premiere; comic shows off her diverse but necessary homemaking skills in front of special guests)
- “Drop the Mic,” TBS (series premiere; Method Man and Hailey Baldwin host celebrity rap battle competition)
Wednesday, Oct. 25
Streaming
- “Him,” BritBox (U.S. premiere; 17-year-old attempts to master supernatural power inherited from his grandfather)
9 p.m.
- “The Job Interview,” CNBC (series premiere; real employer conducts real interviews with real candidates)
10 p.m.
- “Rosehaven,” SundanceTV (season 2)
Thursday, Oct. 26
8 p.m.
- “Carnival Eats,” Cooking (season premiere)
Friday, Oct. 27
Streaming
- “Fearless,” Amazon (season 1; human rights lawyer uncovers web of secrets & collusion with both personal & national repercussions)
- “Stranger Things,” Netflix (season 2)
- “Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold,” Netflix (doc; filmmaker Griffin Dunne explores life of his aunt and influential writer Didion)
7 p.m.
- “Michael Jackson’s Halloween,” CBS (animated special; two millennials and a dog have adventure in hotel located at 777 Jackson Street called This Place Hotel)
- “Blindspot,” NBC (season 3)
- “Andi Mack,” Disney (season 2)
9 p.m.
- “Life and Songs of Kris Kristofferson,” CMT (special)
Saturday, Oct. 28
7 p.m.
- “The Murder Castle,” ID (3-part miniseries; another look at serial killer H.H. Holmes & his infamous Chicago horror house)
- “Marry Me at Christmas,” Hallmark (movie; reluctant wedding planner meets her match in action movie star who has hired her to plan his sister’s Christmas nuptials)
8 p.m.
- “Flint,” Lifetime (movie; retelling of Flint, Mich., water scandal and whistleblowers who exposed it)
- “Ghost Adventures: Museum of Madness,” Travel (Halloween special, part 1; Zak Bagans asks experts to tap into energies contained in collection of artifacts at his Haunted Museum in Las Vegas)
- “Black Sabbath: The End of the End,” Showtime (special; farewell performance by Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler)
9 p.m.
- “Ghost Adventures: Annabelle’s Curse,” Travel (Halloween special, part 2; museum gains a new inhabitant, the famously haunted doll, Annabelle)
- “Secrets of the Underground,” Science (season 2)
10:30 p.m.
- “The David S. Pumpkins Halloween Special,” NBC (special; animated holiday special based on “Haunted Elevator” sketch from “SNL”)
Sunday, Oct. 29
8 p.m.
- “Helltown,” Destination America (special; Why did federal government completely evacuate small town of Boston, Ohio, in 1974?)
9 p.m.
- “Nude,” Starz (doc premiere; explores perceptions of nudity in art by chronicling creative process of fashion photographer David Bellemere)
Monday, Oct. 30
Streaming
- “Judah Friedlander: America is the Greatest Country in the United States,” Netflix (standup special)
7 p.m.
- “Kevin Can Wait,” CBS (time period premiere)
- “Love & Hip Hop,” VH1 (season 8)
8 p.m.
- “Edgar Allen Poe: Buried Alive,” PBS (“American Masters” premiere; a look at Poe, his enduring popularity and how misunderstood he is; Denis O’Hare stars as Poe
- “Superior Donuts,” CBS (season 2)
Tuesday, Oct. 31
Streaming
- “Zumbo’s Just Desserts,” Netflix (season 1; Australian baking reality competition)
8 p.m.
- “Major Crimes,” TNT (season 6)