Welcome to Monsterland
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.
Look for appearances from Kaitlyn Dever, Bill Camp, Kelly Marie Tran, Mike Colter, Trieu Tran, Nicole Beharie, Taylor Schilling, Hamish Linklater, Adepero Oduye, and many others. Read Katie Rife’s thoughtful review.
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.