Best new movies and TV series on BINGE: October 2022

Each month, new films and TV shows are added to BINGE’s library. Eliza Janssen presents her picks for titles worth watching. For the full list of everything arriving on the platform, scroll down.

Top Picks: TV

The Great British Bake-Off (Seasons 1-12 October 1, Season 13 October 4)

Throughout the COVID lockdowns this gentle cooking competition show was an absolute tonic, and each new season since has only gone down more buttery-smooth. In the new season, I’m rooting for Janusz, a jolly Polish guy who helps out everyone else in the tent; Sandro, a super-buff gym bro who always wants to use barbecue flavours; and Syabira, an infectiously cheery Malaysian baker who cried while remaking her friend’s favourite red velvet cake. Matt Lucas and Noel Fielding continue to perfectly walk the fine line between hilarious and annoying.

Shrill: Seasons 1-3 (October 5)

Based on Lindy West’s outspoken memoir, its subheading being “Notes from a Loud Woman”, this Hulu comedy from a few years back stars Aidy Bryant as a woman who’s trying to change everything about herself except her body. And that tends to get on people’s nerves, as Annie (a fictionalised version of West) is a fat woman in a cruelly image-focused world. Her mum’s domineering, her dad has cancer, and her boyfriend can’t be relied upon: the only power Annie has will come from her growing self-love. Bryant is loveable and funny, but she’s often one-upped by scene-stealing supporting players John Cameron Mitchell and Patti Harrison.

The White Lotus: Blossom Circle (October 31)

Following a clueless batch of tourists at a Hawaii resort, the first season of The White Lotus was the most awarded series of the recent Emmy Awards. Creator Mike White wasn’t planning on making another season, but since he is, Jennifer Coolidge’s iconic Tanya simply had to return, alongside a new killer ensemble of oblivious white visitors. F. Murray Abraham, Michael Imperioli, Aubrey Plaza, Tom Hollander, and Theo James should expect to catch some sun and class anxiety.

Top Picks: Movies

After Yang (October 8)

What’s an ultra-modern family meant to do when their robot nanny breaks down? The android Yang (Justin H. Min) was the only cultural connection parents Colin Farrell and Jodie Turner-Smith had to offer their adopted Chinese daughter, and the trio’s unspoken tensions and ennui come bubbling to the surface at his loss. So do plenty of secrets about Yang’s identity: he had a girlfriend, painful memories and emotions, everything that we consider to be human. Director Kogonada’s serene, thought-provoking soft sci-fi will leave you entranced and melancholy.

The Northman (October 22)

Human society sucks because we let this gnarly Robert Eggers film become a box office flop. It’s got everything: Viking lacrosse, wild bacchanals in the woods, weighty Shakespearean themes, Björk…and Alexander Skarsgård gives a transformative, intimidating lead performance. The Northman is more of a blockbuster than Eggers’ previous, more niche horror films, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The budget and celeb cast have been used here to epic effect, so if you never managed to witness it all on the big screen BINGE’s small streaming screen is a highly recommended second option.

A Star Is Born (October 30)

Before Gaga and Streisand remade (or rather re-re-remade) this timeless tale of Hollywood fortunes rising and falling, Judy Garland did it best, perhaps drawing from her own torturous experience of fame to give ingenue Esther that gleaming sparkle of moisture in her eye. James Mason is her supporter, then lover, and then the anchor keeping her down, playing a terrific drunk in the terribly heartbreaking scene when he ruins Garland’s Oscar acceptance speech. Garland would be cheated out of her actual Oscar for the film by Grace Kelly, but Kelly’s similarly-themed showbiz drama The Country Girl has been long forgotten and A Star Is Born still belongs in the celluloid cosmos above us.

All titles arriving on BINGE in October

October 1

The Great British Bake Off: Seasons 1-12
Harley Quinn: Seasons 1 – 3
Love In The Jungle: Season 1
Naked & Afraid Of Love: Season 1
Jumanji: The Next Level
Us
Sorority Row

October 2

Shetland: Season 7 Premiere
Lion Spy
Last Action Hero
Little Black Book
Bloodshot

October 3

The Walking Dead, Season 11C Premiere
Saturday Night Live: Season 48 Premiere
Moonshine: Season 2 Premiere
East New York: Season 1

October 4

The Great British Bake Off: Season 13 Premiere
The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice: Season 13 Premiere
Happy Valley: Seasons 1-2
Foster’s Home For Imaginary Friends: Seasons 1-6

October 5

Shrill: Seasons 1-3
In The Footsteps Of Killers: Season 1

October 6

Wahl Street: Season 2 Premiere
Kung Fu: Season 3 Premiere
Yvonne Orji Comedy Special
Hours To Kill: Season 3
The World’s Most Scenic Railway Journeys: Season 2
My Lottery Dream Home: Season 11

October 7

Pennyworth: The Origins of Batman’s Butler: Season 3 Triple Episode Premiere
King Richard
Friday The 13th (1980)
Around The World In 80 Days
The Flight Before Christmas