October 2025 TV preview: HBO's It prequel, Down Cemetery Road, and Tim Robinson
Plus, Saturday Night Live returns, AMC's Anne Rice Universe expands, and Monster takes on Ed Gein.
By Tim Lowery and Saloni Gajjar. Clockwise from top left - IT: Welcome To Derry (Photo: Brooke Palmer/HBO), The Chair Company (Photo: Sarah Shatz/HBO), Saturday Night Live (Photo: Will Heath/NBC), Down Cemetery Road (Photo: Apple TV+)
Spooky season is about to hit the small screen. Next month promises two chilling true-crime dramas, Netflix’s Monster and Peacock’s Devil In Disguise: John Wayne Gacy. Plus, HBO finally unveils its much-anticipated It prequel series, in which Bill Skarsgård reprises his role as Pennywise; AMC adds Talamasca to its Anne Rice roster; and Prime Video drops a creepy show co-written by Harlan Coben. On the non-frightening front, network staples like Abbott Elementary and Law & Order: SVU return. And there are some newbies, too, including a comedy starring and co-created by Tim Robinson and Cooper Raiff’s family dramedy Hal & Harper. Here is The A.V. Club’s guide to what to watch on TV in October.
Monster: The Ed Gein Story (October 3, Netflix)
After tackling the sagas of Jeffrey Dahmer and the Menendez Brothers, Monster co-creators Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan find their next subject in serial killer Ed Gein (Charlie Hunnam), who confessed to murdering two women in the 1950s and was suspected of being a body snatcher. His crimes—depicted quite creepily in the trailer above—were an inspiration for Alfred Hitchcock’s (Tom Hollander) Psycho. And the show also features characters like Ted Bundy (John T. O’Brien) and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre director Tobe Hooper (Will Brill). [Saloni Gajjar]
Saturday Night Live season 51 (October 4, NBC)
SNL has already had a major year with massive season 50 celebrations and an exodus over the summer that included fan favorites Ego Nwodim, Michael Longfellow, and Heidi Gardner. The sketch series returns with new faces like Dropout’s Jeremy Culhane and TikTok-famous comedian Veronika Slowikowska, with Bad Bunny, show alum Amy Poehler, and Sabrina Carpenter taking on hosting duties. [Saloni Gajjar]
The Chair Company (October 12, HBO)
“I’m right about a lot of things that people have zero clue that they even know is going on,” proclaims project head William Ronald Trosper (Tim Robinson) in HBO’s conspiracy-fueled comedy. The latest collaboration between Robinson and Zach Kanin, who previously brought us the brilliant sitcom Detroiters and I Think You Should Leave, also features Lake Bell, Sophia Lillis, and Will Price and boasts writers like The Other Two‘s Sarah Schneider and MacGruber‘s John Solomon. [Tim Lowery]
DMV (October 13, CBS)
Harriet Dyer (Colin From Accounts) leads this new CBS sitcom alongside the ever-reliable Tim Meadows. Created by Friends writer Dana Klein, the comedy explores the daily eccentricities faced by employees at East Hollywood’s DMV, who, as Dyer’s character claims in the trailer, “work in a dead-end job for crappy pay and no hope of happiness.” The ensemble also includes SNL‘s Molly Kearney and The Righteous Gemstones‘ Tony Cavalero. [Saloni Gajjar]
