Welcome to Monsterland

By Allison Shoemaker | October 2, 2020 | 5:00am

TV Lists What's On Tonight

Nicole Beharie and Anthony Harvey in Monsterland Photo: Barbara Nitke/Hulu

Here’s what’s happening in the world of television for Friday, October 2, and Saturday, October 3. All times are Eastern.

Top pick

Monsterland (Hulu, Friday, 3:01 a.m., complete first season): North American Lake Monsters, Nathan Ballingrud’s excellent collection of short horror stories, gets the anthology treatment from Hulu—and the network brought a hell of a cast along for the ride.

Regular coverage

The Boys (HBO Max, Friday, 3:01 a.m.)
The Great British Baking Show (Netflix, Friday, 3:01 a.m.)
Saturday Night Live (NBC, Saturday, 11:29 p.m.): Host Chris Rock, musical guest Megan Thee Stallion; 46th-season premiere

More from TV Club

Emily In Paris (Netflix, Friday, 3:01 a.m., series premiere): “Once upon a time, TV creator Darren Star specialized in frothy soap operas featuring a plethora of people not yet old enough to rent a car (Beverly Hills 90210, Grosse Pointe, Melrose Place). But then he seemed to tire of his large ensemble dramas, zeroing in instead on plucky, stylish urban heroines ready to take life by the horns (Sex And The City, Younger). In his latest creation, Emily In Paris, Star continues along that bent, featuring his pluckiest heroine yet, for both good and ill.” Read the rest of Gwen Ihnat’s pre-air review.

From Film Club

Dick Johnson Is Dead (Netflix, Friday, 3:01 a.m.): “Kirsten Johnson’s Cameraperson was an autobiographical portrait that allowed a career to speak for itself […] Johnson is an active presence in her new feature, Dick Johnson Is Dead, in which she films her father, the title character, in the months and years following his dementia diagnosis. To help both of them process his impending demise, Johnson stages multiple visions of his sudden accidental death. We watch as she and her father plan, rehearse, and then film scenes of him tripping down the stairs, having a sudden heart attack, or being hit by a falling air conditioner on a Manhattan sidewalk. The finished death scenes are comically abrupt while the rehearsals demonstrate Johnson’s meticulous approach to a tragedy in the making. Dick Johnson Is Dead plays like a living tribute to the man, a record of a time right before he inevitably fails to recognize his own daughter. It just happens to take the form of killing him over and over again.” Read the rest of Vikram Murthi’s film review.

For kids

Bug Diaries Halloween Special (Amazon, Friday, 3:01 a.m.): They are bugs! They are friends! They get mummified by a grandpa spider, and it’s not supposed to be terrifying!

A Go! Go! Cory Carson Halloween (Netflix, Friday, 3:01 a.m.): They are vehicles and also children! They are siblings! They want candy from a creepy house!

Wild cards

Time for another wild card lightning round.

Savage X Fenty Show, Vol. 2 (Amazon, Friday, 3:01 a.m.): Rihanna assembles a bunch of famous faces—Lizzo; Normani; Drag Race alums Shea Coulée, Jaida Essence Hall, and Gigi Goode; and Pose standout Indya Moore, among many others—for the second “runway” show for her lingerie line.

Vampires Vs. The Bronx (Netflix, Friday, 3:01 a.m.): It’s scrappy kids versus vampires (not the ones from Staten Island, no worries) and scrappy kids versus gentrification in this horror film, which boasts a cast that includes Sarah Gadon, Chris Redd, The Kid Mero, Method Man, and Shea Whigham.

Song Exploder (Netflix, Friday, 3:01 a.m., complete first season): Hrishikesh Hirway’s hit podcast becomes TV with this series, which includes an in-depth look at songs by Alicia Keys, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and others.

Ted Lasso (Apple TV+, Friday, 3:01 a.m., first-season finale): Say farewell to Ted, but only for now; the show’s already been renewed for a second season.

Tiny World (Apple TV+, Friday, 3:01 a.m., first half of first season): Narrator Paul Rudd opens this trailer with, “Meet the smallest monkey in the world,” so we’re guessing this one will sell itself.

New to streaming

Evil (Netflix): One of 2019’s best, creepiest, funniest surprises arrives on Netflix right at the top of the spookiest month of the year.