Here’s what’s up in the world of TV for Friday, October 28, and Saturday, October 29. All times are Eastern.
Top picks
The Fall (Netflix, 3:01 a.m., Saturday): The third season of this British copper series returns, with Gillian Anderson’s doggedly brilliant DSI Stella Gibson coping with the aftermath of the shooting that ended season two. Jamie Dornan returns as that sexy serial killer Paul Spector (imagine his Fifty Shades Of Grey character, but with a little bit less self control)—although he’s not looking too mobile these days.
Into The Inferno (Netflix, 3:01 a.m., Friday): After metaphorically dropping Into The Abyss with his 2011 documentary about the death penalty, Werner Herzog puts on a protective suit to go literally Into The Inferno as the ever-fascinating German filmmaker lowers himself into some volcanoes. As Mike D’Angelo hilariously puts it in the title to his review, “Werner Herzog goes Into The Inferno, won’t shut up about it.”
I Am The Pretty Thing That Lives In The House (Netflix, 3:01 a.m., Friday): Netflix gets the premiere of this haunted house movie starring Luther’s Ruth Wilson as a young nurse hired to care for a reclusive, elderly author (Paula Prentiss, in her first role in a long time). Being a horror movie and all, there is some… unpleasantness. In his review of this film from director Oz Perkins (son of Anthony), A.A. Dowd asks, “Can a horror movie get by on nothing but atmosphere, on the the je ne sais quoi of its unsettling mood?“ His verdict: Yeah, kind of.
7 Años (Netflix, 3:01 a.m., Friday): Another Netflix movie preview, this time from Spain. According to the busy bees over there, it’s about four friends who face some tough decisions when it looks like one of them will have to make a sacrifice in order to save their shared business.
World Series Game 3 (Fox, 7:30 p.m., Friday) and Game 4 (Fox, 7:30 p.m., Saturday): The battle between Cubs and Indians fans to see which group will go from “scrappy underdogs” to “overexposed winners everyone gets sick of.”
American Humane Association Hero Dog Awards (Hallmark, 8 p.m., Friday): Who’s a good boy?! You are!
Bill Murray: The Mark Twain Prize (PBS, 9 p.m., Friday): Recent movie choices aside, Bill Murray rightfully receives the award as the funniest person in the world. (Nothing says more about the mystery that is Murray than the reliable report that he was going to skip his big night if his Cubs hadn’t eliminated the Dodgers the night before.)
The Night Before Halloween (Syfy, 9 p.m., Saturday): Another Syfy original horror movie to keep your Halloween fires stoked. From the director of the likes of Snowmageddon and Mega Cyclone, it follows a group of teens whose Halloween Night prank goes horribly wrong—and that’s before they find out there’s some sort of ancient curse involved. Man… tough Halloween Night all around.
Austin City Limits (PBS, 11 p.m., Saturday): It’s Iggy Pop, people. What else do you need to know? (Although, if you need some more convincing, here’s Mike D’Angelo’s review of Jim Jarmusch’s new doc about Iggy.)
Pete Davidson: SMD (Comedy Central, 11 p.m., Saturday): SNL’s resident cute stoner little brother gets his own hour-long standup special, taking on topics like sex, drugs, and, well, more drugs. In his review, Dennis Perkins says that while Davidson is more invested in his standup than he appears in sketches, his “lazy charisma” can only carry a comedy set so far. (And check out Marah Eakin’s interview with Davidson while you’re at it.)
Premieres and finales
Good Girls Revolt (Amazon, 3:01 a.m., Friday): Four ambitious newsmagazine employees fight for professional and personal respect in this 1970s-set drama that’s going to get compared to Mad Men a lot. Based on the real-life efforts of female Newsweek reporters to fight the institutionalized sexism at the show’s fictional News Of The World (with the help of the newly formed Equal Employment Opportunity Commission), the series looks to do more than just raid Mad Men’s wardrobe. In her pre-air review, Esther Zuckerman suggests that raiding Mad Men’s writers’ room might have been more propitious.
Skylanders Academy (Netflix, 3:01 a.m., Friday): This animated kids’ series based on a video game might sound like the Mattel And Mars Bar Quick-Energy Choc-o-bot Hour, but it does boast a voice cast including Justin Long, Norm MacDonald, Bobcat Goldthwait, Jonathan Banks, Catherine O’Hara, and other overqualified types.
Quarry (Cinemax, 10 p.m., Friday): After a season of “mixing Rectify patience with Banshee action,” according to Les Chappell, this moody Cinemax hitman drama about morally conflicted Vietnam vet Logan Marshall-Green winds up its first season tonight.
Comedy Bang! Bang! (IFC, 11 p.m., Friday): Comedy Bang! Bang! is coming to an end after this back half of season five. (Dammit!) But the second half returns with two back-to-back episodes (Woo-hoo!), and they’re being reviewed by CB!B! expert giggle-pusses LaToya Ferguson and Emily L. Stephens. (Double woo-hoo!). LaToya gets the premiere, with Scott and Weird Al inviting The Big Bang Theory’s Kaley Cuoco and The Characters’ Kate Berlant to sit on Sir Couchley, while Emily checks in with Gillian Jacobs and James Adomian.
Tracey Ullman’s Show (HBO, 11 p.m., Friday): Tracey Ullman is clearly never going to stop throwing on makeup and doing over-the-top characters, so you might as well watch her newest sketch show. Looking at the previews, you’ve got dildos, pubic hair, comical American accents, Judi Dench—all the Ullman classics.
Regular coverage
The Vampire Diaries (CW, 8 p.m., Friday)
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (CW, 9 p.m., Friday)
Z Nation (Syfy, 9 p.m., Friday)
Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency (BBC America, 9 p.m., Saturday)
Streaming pick
Rick And Morty, “Interdimensional Cable 2: Tempting Fate” (Hulu): Sure, he’s one of the most respected documentarians in world cinema, but you really haven’t lived until you’ve heard Werner Herzog say, “Hey, look at me. I’m Mister So-And-So-Dick. I’ve got such-and-such for a penis.”