What to Stream: October 2–8, 2026
A decision-ready guide to the October 2–8 Netflix, HBO Max, Apple TV+, and Hulu arrivals, led by Below, The Torment, Doing Life and Small Prophets, with current Rotten Tomatoes signals and explicit watch-or-skip verdicts.
Friday, October 2 carries most of this week's arrivals: HBO Max premieres a Polish crime drama, Netflix puts up a Tyler Perry romance and a Formula 1 documentary, and Apple TV+ releases a six-episode animated fantasy season and a mountaineering film on the same day. The window then closes on October 8, when Netflix's six-part Newfoundland thriller arrives all at once.
This guide covers US arrivals from October 2 through October 8, 2026. The Rotten Tomatoes figures below are a live snapshot checked on October 1, 2026. "Not yet scored" means the title page displayed no percentage at that moment, which is the ordinary state for something that has not aired or opened yet.
The week at a glance
| Title | Service and date | Format and time commitment | Rotten Tomatoes | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Below | Netflix, Oct. 8 | Limited series; six episodes; TV-MA | Not yet scored; 0 critic reviews 1 | Watch It |
| The Torment | HBO Max, Oct. 2 | Season 1; Polish; crime drama | No Rotten Tomatoes page yet | Watch It for crime-drama viewers |
| Doing Life | Netflix, Oct. 2 | Feature film; 1h 46m | Not yet scored; 0 critic reviews 2 | Watch It for Perry's audience |
| Lorne | Netflix, Oct. 5 | Feature documentary; 1h 41m; R; second-window arrival | 74% critics (50 reviews); 93% audience (50+ verified ratings) 3 | Watch It |
| The Last First: Winter K2 | Apple TV+, Oct. 2 | Feature documentary; 1h 38m; TV-MA | 100% critics (19 reviews); no audience rating yet 4 | Watch It |
| The Sisters Grimm Season 2 | Apple TV+, Oct. 2 | Six episodes; TV-G | Season 1: 100% critics (5 reviews); season 2 not yet scored 5 | Watch It for families |
| Small Prophets | Apple TV+, Oct. 7 | Six episodes; TV-MA; UK series | 100% critics (10 reviews); 94% audience (100+ verified ratings) 6 | Watch It |
| Get Jiro! | HBO Max, Oct. 4 | Animated series; Adult Swim; half-hour | 80% critics (5 reviews); no audience rating yet 7 | Watch It |
| Reasonable Doubt Season 4 | Hulu, Oct. 6 | Ten episodes; three at launch, then weekly; TV-MA | Season 1: 100% critics; series audience 78%; season 4 not yet scored 8 | Watch It for legal-drama viewers |
| Jamie Foxx: Take Care of Yourself | Hulu, Oct. 7 | Stand-up special | Not yet scored; 0 critic reviews 9 | Watch It for Foxx fans |
Netflix: a sea creature in Newfoundland, a Tyler Perry romance, and SNL's architect
Below — October 8
Calvin Penney is a stubborn fisherman in a small Newfoundland town, still carrying the death of his father decades earlier, when something unidentified in the water starts terrorizing the community. He teams up with Fonda Howander, a visiting marine researcher, to hold the town together and find out what is down there. Josh Hartnett plays Calvin, Mackenzie Davis plays Fonda, and Charlie Heaton plays Calvin's son Wade. Willow Kean, Ruby Stokes, Rohan Campbell, Kaleb Horn, Natasha Henstridge and Mary Walsh round out the cast. 10
The six-part limited series was created by Jesse McKeown, a writer on The Umbrella Academy and 19-2, and written with Karen Walton, Perry Chafe and Natty Zavitz. 10 Jamie Childs, Helen Shaver and Stephen Dunn directed the episodes, and the series was filmed in Newfoundland, the setting McKeown came from. Hartnett told Netflix that the first two scripts took him less than an hour to read. 10
All six episodes arrive on October 8, and the series is rated TV-MA. Rotten Tomatoes shows no score and records zero critic reviews. 1
A boat passes an iceberg off the Newfoundland coast in Below, a six-part limited series that Netflix releases in full on October 8. Image: Jan Thijs/Netflix.
Verdict: Watch It. This is the week's biggest single swing: a full limited series, a strong cast, and a premise that a description can already make someone want to see. One caveat on the reception signal — nobody has published a verdict yet, so the case here rests on the material, not on a score.
Doing Life — October 2
A single mother fighting to survive and a reformed ex-con with untapped talent form an unexpected bond and an unlikely second chance. Naomi Baker plays Anika, the mother, and Jay Reeves plays the ex-con; Tamberla Perry, Karen Obilom, Jasmine Sargent, Danielle Moné Truitt and Cornell Young IV are also in the cast. Tyler Perry wrote, directed and produced the film, with Angi Bones and Tony L. Strickland producing. 11
The film runs 106 minutes and reaches Netflix on October 2. 11 Rotten Tomatoes shows no Tomatometer and records zero critic reviews and zero audience ratings. 2
Naomi Baker and Jay Reeves lead Tyler Perry's Doing Life, a 106-minute romance-drama that reaches Netflix on October 2. Image: Netflix.
Verdict: Watch It for Perry's audience. A 106-minute runtime is one evening, and the story is a straight romance rather than the thrillers Perry has lately made for the service. As with the rest of the week's premieres, no critic has published a verdict yet.
Lorne — October 5
Morgan Neville, the Academy Award-winning director of 20 Feet from Stardom and Won't You Be My Neighbor?, turns to the man who built Saturday Night Live. The documentary uses archival footage and interviews with Tina Fey, Maya Rudolph, John Mulaney, Andy Samberg, Conan O'Brien and Chris Rock, and Chris Parnell narrates. 3
The film opened in theaters in April 2026, so Netflix's October 5 addition is a home-video window rather than a premiere. It runs 1 hour 41 minutes and is rated R. Rotten Tomatoes records a 74% Tomatometer from 50 reviews and a 93% Popcornmeter from more than 50 verified ratings. The critics' consensus, as the site prints it, is that the famously guarded Michaels "escapes closer scrutiny yet again," but that the tour "is packed with plenty of amusing and worthwhile anecdotes." 3
Verdict: Watch It. The audience score of 93% sitting well above the critics' 74% is the tell: this is a warm tribute rather than a revealing profile, and it works on that footing. If the reader wants the harder interrogation, the reviews say plainly that it is not here.
HBO Max: a Polish crime drama and an Anthony Bourdain comic
The Torment — October 2
A disgraced journalist returns to her hometown and sets out to investigate the unsolved disappearance of a childhood friend. 12 The journalist is Kama Kossowska, played by Magdalena Cielecka, who comes back to Toruń; when police commissioner Tomasz Korcz reopens the case of Piotrek, a friend of Kama's from childhood, she joins the investigation. The story moves between the present day and the 1980s and 1990s, and it adapts Robert Małecki's novel of the same name. 13
The supporting cast includes Piotr Żurawski, Łukasz Simlat, Piotr Głowacki, Aleksander Krupa, Maria Pakulnis, Katarzyna Bujakiewicz, Piotr Jankowski, Dorota Kolak and Robert Gulaczyk. Łukasz Jaworski directed, and Kacper Wysocki is among the writers. 13 Warner Bros. Discovery lists the series as an HBO Original whose first season begins on HBO Max on October 2. 14
Rotten Tomatoes has no page for the series yet, so there is no critics' figure to quote, and Warner Bros. Discovery's announcement did not publish an episode count. 12
Verdict: Watch It for crime-drama viewers. A homecoming, a thirty-year-old disappearance and a story that keeps sliding between decades is a recognizable shape, and the novel it comes from was a bestseller in Poland. The cost is subtitles and an unfixed time commitment.
Get Jiro! — October 4
In a near-future Los Angeles where master chefs run the city, a sushi master named Jiro works his way through a culinary war. The animated series comes from the graphic novel written by Anthony Bourdain and Joel Rose, and it was created for television by Brian Gatewood and Alessandro Tanaka. Brian Tee voices Jiro, with Titus Welliver and Alison Pill also in the voice cast. 15
It is an Adult Swim series, and HBO Max carries the season from October 4. 14 Rotten Tomatoes records an 80% Tomatometer from five reviews and no audience rating yet. 7
Verdict: Watch It. The 80% rests on five reviews, so treat it as a first impression rather than a settled score. Adult Swim's half-hour format is the point: a viewer can sample one episode and stop without having committed a series' worth of evenings.
Apple TV+: a K2 documentary, a fairy-tale season, and a British comedy
The Last First: Winter K2 — October 2
In 2021, a party of mountaineers set out to do what nobody had done — summit K2 in winter. Amir Bar-Lev's documentary follows Icelander John Snorri Sigurjónsson and the Pakistani father-and-son team of Ali and Sajid Sadpara up a mountain at its cruelest, sharing the route with commercial clients, influencer climbers and their film crews, and a Nepalese team no longer content to help Westerners reach the top. 16
The film runs 1 hour 38 minutes and is rated TV-MA. 4 Rotten Tomatoes records a 100% Tomatometer from 19 reviews and no audience ratings yet. 4
Verdict: Watch It. This is the best-verified title of the week: 19 reviews at 100%, a 98-minute runtime, and a subject — who gets to be first, and who pays for it — that the reviews say the film meets head-on rather than dodges.
The Sisters Grimm Season 2 — October 2
A year after their parents' mysterious disappearance, sisters Sabrina and Daphne Grimm keep working out the secrets of Ferryport Landing, a town where fairy tales and their characters are real. Ariel Winter voices Sabrina, Leah Newman voices Daphne, Laraine Newman voices Relda, Abubakar Salim voices Charming and Billy Harris voices Puck. Amy Higgins developed the series and showruns it, from Michael Buckley's books. 17
All six episodes of season 2 arrive on October 2, and the series is rated TV-G. 17 Season 1 holds a 100% Tomatometer from five reviews, while season 2 shows no score and zero critic reviews. 518
Verdict: Watch It for families. A full-season drop of six short episodes and a TV-G rating make this the easiest thing on the list to start with children, and the first season's small review base is thin but unanimous.
Small Prophets — October 7
Michael Sleep lives an ordinary life in and around Manchester: he works in a DIY store, visits his father Brian, and waits for his partner Clea, who disappeared seven years ago. Then Brian hands him an old recipe involving rainwater, horse manure and a good deal of alchemy, and Michael sets out to grow homunculi — spirits that can predict the future — to answer one question: will he see Clea again? Pearce Quigley plays Michael, Sir Michael Palin plays Brian, and Lauren Patel plays his young co-worker Kacey. Mackenzie Crook, who created, wrote and directed the six-episode comedy, plays the store manager Gordon. 19
The series premiered on BBC iPlayer and BBC Two in the UK earlier in 2026 and reaches Apple TV on October 7. 19 It won the Best Series award in the International Panorama section at Series Mania in March 2026, and Rotten Tomatoes records a 100% Tomatometer from 10 reviews and a 94% Popcornmeter from more than 100 verified ratings. 619
Verdict: Watch It. Two independent signals agree here — a 100% critics' score and a 94% audience score — and both rest on enough ratings to mean something. Six episodes of a comedy that already aired in Britain in February makes this a low-risk pick, and the caveat is simply that most US viewers will be meeting it for the first time.
Hulu: a returning legal drama and a Jamie Foxx special
Reasonable Doubt Season 4 — October 6
Jax Stewart is a Los Angeles defense attorney who bends the system and is judged for it until she is needed. Emayatzy Corinealdi plays Jax, with Joseph Sikora, McKinley Freeman, Tim Jo and Angela Grovey also in the cast. Raamla Mohamed created the series and executive produces it; Kerry Washington is among the executive producers. 20
Season 4 opens with three episodes on October 6, then one a week through November 24. The series is rated TV-MA. 8 Rotten Tomatoes records a 100% Tomatometer for season 1 and a series-wide audience average of 78%, while season 4 shows no score and zero critic reviews of its own. 20
Verdict: Watch It for legal-drama viewers. The three-episode launch gives a new viewer room to decide, and the weekly rollout means the season is a commitment to a habit rather than a weekend.
Jamie Foxx: Take Care of Yourself — October 7
Jamie Foxx returns with a new stand-up hour, directed by Troy Miller. 9 It arrives on Hulu on October 7 as a Hulu Original. 21 Rotten Tomatoes shows no score and zero critic reviews. 9
Verdict: Watch It for Foxx fans. A stand-up special is the shortest commitment on this list — one sitting, no episodes to keep up with — and the only thing to weigh is whether the comic is to your taste.
Also new this week
- Schumacher '94 — The Birth of a Legend (Netflix, Oct. 2) — A documentary on Michael Schumacher's first Formula 1 world championship, in the 1994 season that turned him from underdog into champion. Christin Freitag directed; LEONINE Documentaries produced it, and it is Netflix's second Schumacher documentary. Dashes a personal interest: unscored and in German. Watch It for F1 viewers. 2223
- Strange: Junji Ito's Tales for Sleepless Nights (HBO Max, Oct. 2) — A live-action Japanese horror series drawn from Junji Ito's stories, directed by Yûta Shimotsu, arriving internationally on HBO Max the same day as The Torment. Unscored. Watch It for horror viewers. 24
- Inside the Circle (Netflix, Oct. 7) — A Spanish-language thriller in which four lifelong friends are caught in a web of blackmail when a leaked video threatens to expose the secrets that could destroy the friendship. Alejandro Lozano created it; Michel Brown, Zuria Vega, Raúl Briones and Osvaldo Benavides star. Unscored. Watch It for thriller viewers. 25
- Less of a Stranger (Netflix, Oct. 7) — A Polish biographical drama about the rock musician Jan Borysewicz, following his rise and the personal cost of it. Unscored. Watch It for music-biopic viewers. 26
- Who Is Martin Mull? (Netflix, Oct. 7) — A documentary on the actor and comedian Martin Mull, made by the late Bob Saget and Neil Berkeley. Unscored. Watch It for comedy-history viewers. 26
- Clown Panic (Hulu, Oct. 7) — Ed Perkins directs this documentary on the 2016 wave of clown sightings that began with children in a small South Carolina town and spiraled into school lockdowns and a national media frenzy. Unscored. Watch It for documentary viewers. 2127
- Mojo Brookzz: I Know You Lying (Netflix, Oct. 6) — A Netflix stand-up special from the comedian. Unscored. Skip It unless the comic is already on your list. 26
What else the week brings
Beyond the premieres, the services fill out their libraries on the same days.
- Netflix adds Mayor of Kingstown and The Boogeyman on October 5, the final season of All American on October 6, and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies on October 6. 26
- Hulu adds season 2 of Adventure Time: Side Quests and Mafia Mamma on October 2, and seasons 20 and 21 of The Bachelorette on October 4. 21
- HBO Max adds Crazy Rich Asians on October 6, alongside new seasons of Sister Wives and 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way on October 5. 14
Bottom line
- For the week's biggest swing: Below on Netflix — six episodes, all on October 8, unscored.
- For the surest bet: Small Prophets on Apple TV+ — 100% critics and 94% audience, six episodes.
- For the best-scored film: The Last First: Winter K2 on Apple TV+ — 100% from 19 reviews, 1 hour 38 minutes.
- For a Friday double bill: Doing Life, then Schumacher '94, both on Netflix on October 2.
- For a legal drama: Reasonable Doubt Season 4 on Hulu — three episodes from October 6.
- For subtitled crime: The Torment on HBO Max — a Polish missing-person case from October 2.
- For animation with the family: The Sisters Grimm Season 2 on Apple TV+ — all six episodes on October 2.
- For a documentary with a number on it: Lorne on Netflix — 74% critics, 93% audience, 1 hour 41 minutes.
- For the shortest commitment: Jamie Foxx: Take Care of Yourself on Hulu — one sitting, October 7.
The Rotten Tomatoes metrics above reflect live scores recorded on October 1, 2026, and may move as further reviews and ratings arrive. Availability dates come from the platforms' own schedules and press announcements.
References
- 1Rotten Tomatoes — Below
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- 2Rotten Tomatoes — Doing Life
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- 3Rotten Tomatoes — Lorne
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- 4Rotten Tomatoes — The Last First: Winter K2
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- 5Rotten Tomatoes — The Sisters Grimm: Season 2
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- 6Rotten Tomatoes — Small Prophets
rottentomatoes.com
- 7Rotten Tomatoes — Get Jiro!
rottentomatoes.com
- 8Rotten Tomatoes — Reasonable Doubt: Season 4
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- 9Rotten Tomatoes — Jamie Foxx: Take Care of Yourself
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- 10
- 11What's on Netflix — First look at Tyler Perry's Doing Life
whats-on-netflix.com
- 12TheFutonCritic — Torment, The (HBO Max) showatch
thefutoncritic.com
- 13
- 14
- 15
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- 17Apple TV Press — The Sisters Grimm
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- 18Rotten Tomatoes — The Sisters Grimm: Season 1
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- 19
- 20Rotten Tomatoes — Reasonable Doubt (2022)
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- 21Hulu Press — October 2026 schedule
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- 22Rotten Tomatoes — Schumacher '94 - The Birth of a Legend
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- 23LEONINE Studios — Schumacher '94 for Netflix from 2 October 2026
leoninestudios.com
- 24
- 25Rotten Tomatoes — Inside the Circle
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- 26What's on Netflix — What's coming to Netflix in October 2026
whats-on-netflix.com
- 27Rotten Tomatoes — Clown Panic
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