My Top Choices for October TV

It’s hard to believe that October is nearly around the corner. This year has been tumultuous to say the least with no end in sight for the Coronavirus that has kept all of us cloistered a lot more than usual, meaning we are all watching more TV than usual; and, given the time of year it is, holiday programming is on its way too.

Here are my top choices for October TV, including some of the new shows that will be debuting throughout the month, shows that are finally returning to the primetime line-up and a few of the movies that will debut in October:

NEW TO THE BLOCK

Emily in Paris on Netflix on October 2. Lily Collins plays the lead character, an ambitious Chicago marketing executive, who unexpectedly lands her dream job in Paris where she embraces a new life as she juggles work, friends and romance.

NEXT will debut on FOX on October 6. John Slattery stars as a Silicon Valley pioneer, who discovers that one of his own creations – a powerful A.I. – might spell global catastrophe. He teams up with a cybercrime agent to fight a villain unlike anything we’ve ever seen – one whose greatest weapon against us is ourselves.

The Right Stuff on Disney+ on October 9. The show focuses on the incredible story of the early days of the U.S. space program. At the height of the Cold War, newly-formed NASA selects seven of the military’s best test pilots to become astronauts. Competing to be the first in space, these men achieve the extraordinary, inspiring the world to turn towards a new horizon of ambition and hope.

Tiny Pretty Things on Netflix on October 30. Set in the world of an elite ballet academy, The Archer School of Ballet, charting the rise and fall of young adults who live far from their homes, each standing on the verge of greatness or ruin.

RETURNING FOR MORE

The second season of the Canadian drama Coroner will get started on The CW on October 7 at 9 PM.

The final 7 episodes (EVER!) of Supernatural will finally get started on October 8 on The CW at 8 PM.

The two-hour season premiere of This Is Us will air on NBC on October 27 at 9 PM.

Season two of The Mandalorian will premiere on Disney+ on October 30.

GOODBYE FOR NOW

The Boys will air its second season on Amazon Prime on October 9.

CELEBRATING FALL

The following Hallmark Channel movies will air as part of the network’s Fall Harvest:

Country at Heart on October 3 at 9 PM. Jessy Schram plays Shayna Cook, a struggling Nashville singer/songwriter on the verge of giving up on her career. She returns to her small-town home of Silverado just as their local music festival is about to kick off. Everything changes when she has a chance encounter with prolific songwriter Grady Connor (Niall Matter) as he is trying to write a song for country music star Duke Sterling (Lucas Bryant) and Shayna seems like the perfect writing partner. Shayna and Grady grow close and romance blooms as they work on their love song but when she meets Duke, he begins to see her star potential and asks her to be his opening act at the upcoming festival. Although this seems like the opportunity of a lifetime for Shayna, the contentious history between Duke and Grady threatens to undermine everything she and Grady created. As her big break at the music festival approaches, Shayna feels forced to choose between love and possible stardom.

My Best Friend’s Bouquet on October 10 at 9 PM. According to Josie Hughes’ (Chaley Rose) family lore, the wedding bouquet always finds the right person. When single Josie catches her friend Emma’s (Luisa d’Oliveira) bouquet instead of their not-single friend Athena (Rebecca Olson), she fears she’s ruined Athena’s chances of getting engaged. When Josie starts dating an eligible bachelor she met at the reception, she decides the bouquet is at work. What she doesn’t know is her long-time friend Alex (Nathan Witte) secretly holds a torch for her. As Josie clings to the notion that the bouquet is always right, she’s missing real-world signs that her perfect match has been in front of her all along.

Sweet Autumn on October 17 at 9 PM. Maggie (Nikki DeLoach), a successful entrepreneur, returns home for a will reading and discovers she’s inherited half of her aunt’s famed maple candy business. What she doesn’t understand is why Aunt Dee’s maple supplier, Dex (Andrew Walker), inherited the other half. Her return also coincides with the town’s Sweet Autumn Fest, and through a series of letters Aunt Dee left, Maggie and Dex search for the reason behind her aunt’s final wishes. As she and Dex grow closer, Maggie must decide if the life she built is the one she wants.

LET THE HOLIDAY CELEBRATION START

There will be A LOT of holiday movies airing from the end of October until Christmas, and among all of those movies debuting in October, I’m interested in watching the following:

Christmas Unwrapped on Lifetime on October 24 at 8 PM. The movie follows Charity (Amber Stevens West), an ambitious reporter, who learns the true meaning of Christmas when she investigates Erik Gallagher (Marco Grazzini), a beloved member of the town who insists all the gifts he provides are from none-other than Santa himself. Cheryl Ladd also stars.

Chateau Christmas on the Hallmark Channel on October 25 at 8 PM. Margot (Merritt Patterson), a world-renowned pianist, returns to Chateau Newhaus to spend the holidays with her family and is reunited with an ex (Luke Macfarlane) who helps her rediscover her passion for music.

A Crafty Christmas Romance on Lifetime October 30 at 8 PM. Mandy (Nicola Posener), the owner of a craft and hobby store, discovers an old copy of “A Christmas Carol” among donations for a book drive. In the book is a letter to Santa from 70 years ago along with a valuable coin. Mandy sets out to find the owner of the book, letter and coin with the help of Jonah (Bradford B. Johnson), a contractor who first came upon and donated the book. Along the way, they find clues that lead them closer to the author, and to each other, but can Mandy return everything to the book owner in time for Christmas and make her own Christmas wish come true?

The full October TV calendar, featuring dramas, limited series, specials and made-for-TV movies was posted a few days ago. You can see it here.