The 9 Best New Shows on Netflix in October

Look alive, everyone! Fall is in the air. Leaves are changing color and gliding to the earth like crinkly, solid snowflakes. Kids are returning to school, and adults are heading back to the office. Football is on every night of the week, and the baseball playoffs are rife with drama.

But none of that matters. OK, some of it matters, but it won’t feel like it matters until we’re well into November. With barely over a month until the elections, the world is bound to go topsy-turvy for a while, but never fear: Hollywood is here — oops, sorry, I had some pumpkin spice caught in my throat. I meant to say: Hollywood is here to distract you.

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Major cities are hosting film festivals. Movie theaters are filling up again. Awards season is underway, and, yes, TV season is, too. September saw a slew of new releases, and October continues apace — piling new shows on top of the old shows you just started watching, tempting you with new series to replace the old series you once loved, giving you option after option until your brain breaks and all you end up seeing is the next season of “Bake Off.”

But if you’re watching “The Great British Baking Show” (or whatever it’s called nowadays), that means you’re a Netflix subscriber, and if you’re a Netflix subscriber, that means you can choose to watch something else without the oft-unbearable effort of opening a separate app.

Netflix’s new shows in October include a Halloween treat courtesy of Keri Russell (whose nonstop chatter won’t give you time to glance at another screen), the continued adventures of your favorite cute teen couple (who will give you all the warm and fuzzies missing from your news feed), and more sports documentaries (in case you’re thinking of watching live sports, but can’t risk seeing another political ad). There’s also two exciting (old) Showtime shows — “Yellowjackets” and “Escape at Dannemora” — that are worth rewatching if you’ve seen them (they’re too good to ignore), as well as another Paramount property that just so happens to be one of TV’s best cult comedies of the past decade.

Choices abound on Netflix, so take advantage. Break from the spell of overwhelming “content.” Put your phone away to keep from doomscrolling. Have the courage to watch live television, bad ads be damned! (If you keep the mute button close by, they’re almost bearable.) But if you have to break from reality, Netflix is here for you, no matter what type of distraction you need.

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