The Rise of Beckham, Fall of the House of Usher, and More of Netflix's Best October Premieres

Spooky season is upon us, and Netflix has put together a lineup full of chills, thrills, and spills for October. Mike Flanagan’s latest (and last) horror series for the streamer, The Fall of the House of Usher, provides the frights — and yet another riff on the Sacklers — while Omar Sy turns up the tension in a new installment of Lupin. Elsewhere, the sci-fi crime series Bodies, based on the graphic novel by Si Spencer and starring Stephen Graham, traverses multiple time periods to solve a murder.

While we wait for more Bridgerton, Phoebe Dynevor heats up the small screen opposite Alden Ehrenreich in Fair Play, and then it’s Chris Evans and Emily Blunt’s turn to star in an opioid crime drama. This one’s titled Pain Hustlers, not to be confused with Painkiller (or even Dopesick), and is a film directed by David Yates. October is also a time for disclosures in docuseries, as David Beckham looks back on his ascent to sports stardom and director R.J. Cutler tracks the Rise of Juul, while one brave set of documentary makers put The Devil on Trial.

Beckham (October 4)

This four-part docuseries follows David Beckham from his working-class beginnings, to his great success as a midfielder, to now being the subject of a documentary. Netflix teases a story of “immense ups and downs” — plaudits and scrutiny have been heaped upon Beckham in equal measure over the years.

Lupin Part 3 (October 5)

Assane Diop (Omar Sy) returns for another daring heist in Part 3 of George Kay and François Uzan’s crime thriller. The gentleman thief had to go into hiding after the events of Part 2 (in which he was framed for murder!), but he won’t stay out of sight for long — not when he has a chance to change his fortune and that of his family for good.

Fair Play (October 6)

Chloe Domont’s debut feature premiered at Sundance, after which Netflix scooped it up for $20 million to bring this cautionary tale to the masses. Phoebe Dynevor and Alden Ehrenreich play a couple whose work and personal lives are entangled — they’re employed as financial analysts by the same hedge fund. Their sizzling chemistry is an entry point to an exploration of wealth and social status, and how men and women are conditioned to strive for them. TV remains light on erotic thrillers, so we’ll have to stick with features for now.

Big Vape: The Rise and Fall of Juul (October 11)

Though it doesn’t have nearly as fun of a title as its documentary predecessor, Move Fast and Vape Things (part of FX’s The New York Times Presents series), The Rise and Fall of Juul still offers damning evidence against Pax Labs, the nicotine e-cigarette company that had, by 2018, reached a valuation of $38 billion. This four-part docuseries is based on Jamie Ducharme’s book Big Vape: The Incendiary Rise of Juul, and is directed by R.J. Cutler.

The Fall of the House of Usher (October 12)

We’ve been counting down the days for this one, the same way that a certain nefarious figure (played by Mike Flanagan repertory member Carla Gugino) has been lying in wait to wreak havoc over the lives of the Usher family. Consider watching the first four episodes on premiere day, and saving the back half of the season for some seasonal viewing on Friday the 13th.

The Devil on Trial (October 17)

Arne Cheyenne Johnson’s claim of demonic possession has been dramatized for TV and film — you may have learned about the "Devil Made Me Do It" case from the 2021 Conjuring movie — but this documentary goes in search of new information from a murder that happened more than 40 years ago.

Bodies (October 19)

The Great’s Jacob Fortune-Lloyd teams up with Stephen Graham (of too many crime series to count) and Shira Haas (Unorthodox) to solve the murder of a man whose death has ramifications for all of London. Adding an extra layer or 10 of difficulty is the fact that they all exist in different time periods. That’s one way to spice up a murder mystery!

Pain Hustlers (October 27)

This fictionalized take on the opioid epidemic starts with a denial — “We’re not Purdue Pharma. We didn’t kill America” — and keeps skewering from there. Employees of Zanna Therapeutics (a Purdue stand-in) are interviewed from behind bars for a documentary within the film. Their revelations are peppered throughout the main story, which follows Liza (Emily Blunt) as she makes her way from working mom struggling to pay the rent to the company’s savior. Chris Evans stars as the shady pharma rep who gives Liza her big “break.”

Look for more promising premieres from Netflix and other programmers in our monthly preview, running on September 29. You can check out a complete list of Netflix’s comings and goings here.