It’s an eerily non-spooky Halloween week of streaming releases, headlined by the VOD debut of Ridley Scott’s post-apocalyptic drama The Dog Stars, star-studded serial killer thriller series Nocturne, the return of Kiera Knightley’s spy-drama series Black Doves, and more!

SERIES

Dead-End Job S1

30 October 2026 – Netflix

When you’re drowning in debt, you will do just about anything. In Korean horror-mystery series Dead-End Job, cash-strapped Hyeok-jun is finding his commitment to that sentiment being tested in the most horrific of ways after he responds to a bizarre temp agency ad. The mysterious Spider Staffing Agency offers him a part-time job that starts at ten times the standard hourly rate and increases incrementally with each job until you hit fifty times the wages. It sounds incredible. There’s just one catch: Never reveal what happens on the job. And what happens is rather monstrous.

How to Ruin Diwali S1

30 October 2026 – Netflix

South Africa is a melting pot of different cultures. It’s one of our country’s biggest strengths. It also makes for some awkward moments around the holidays though, especially for Mmabatho (Rosemary Zimu-Mnguni) and her fiancé Varshen (Kyle Clark) in new 3-part rom-com-drama miniseries How to Ruin Diwali. While overachieving perfectionist Mmabatho hails from a proudly Zulu family, Varshen is from a traditional Indian family running a medical empire. And when the very different respective clans meet for the first time after Varshen invites Mmabatho’s family to celebrate Diwali with them, explosive sparks fly and it’s not from the Diwali fireworks!

Nocturne S1

30 October 2026 – Apple TV+

I will be the first to admit that the setup for new psychological thriller series Nocturne sounds very derivative of the iconic Silence of the Lambs. But who cares when a star-studded show looks this good? Created by Rowan “son of Roland” Joffe, Nocturne is based on the Swedish “Joona Linna” novels Lazarus and The Sandman by Lars Kepler (the pen name of husband-and-wife team Alexander Ahndoril and Alexandra Coelho Ahndoril). It stars Emmy nominee Liev Schrieber as detective Jonah Lynn who is pulled into the case of notorious serial killer Jurek Walter (recent multiple Emmy Award-winner Stephen Graham) after one of his presumed victims actually turns up alive, while more people are going missing under the same circumstances as his previous victims. There’s just one small problem. Jurek Walter is locked up in a high security psychiatric hospital and couldn’t have committed these crimes. As Lynn works the case from the outside, his protégé Saga Bauer (Emmy nominee Zazie Beets) goes undercover as an inmate at Walter’s facility in an attempt to discover how he is influencing the outside world. But just because Walter is locked up in a concrete cell doesn’t make him any less dangerous.

Bass x Machina S1

3 November 2026 – Netflix

If there was ever an awards show for the most surprising animated adaptation, Bass x Machina would take top honours. If you’re not familiar with your American history, Bass Reeves was a real-life historical figure in the late 19th century, who was born into slavery but went on to become one of the first black U.S. Marshalls ever. He spoke several Native American languages fluently and was a very skilled tracker and survivalist – all skills which helped him to make over 3 000 arrests during the 35 years he server as a lawman. He was inducted in the Texas Trail of Fame, has a statue erected in Arkansas, and there’s even a bridge named after him in Oklahoma, all in honour of incredible work he did in a time African Americans were strongly discriminated again. So, of course Netflix made a steampunk anime about him as a cyborg bounty hunter who has to team up with a superpowered shaman to stop a mad scientist and his robot army. Makes sense. Academy Award nominee Brian Tyree Henry and Grammy Award nominee Janelle Monáe lead the cast of voice actors.

Stick S2

4 November 2026 – AppleTV+

In the first season of sports dramedy Stick, we got introduced to Owen Wilson’s Pryce “the Stick” Cahill, a washed-up former professional golfer who finds an unexpected opportunity to turn his life around in the form young 17-year-old golf prodigy Santi Wheeler. Packing up his life – what little of it there was – Pryce committed to travelling on the road helping Santi achieve the dream he was never able to achieve for himself. In season two, however, Pryce is actually looking to fix that last part. Inspired by his former playing partner/rival Clark Ross (Timothy Olyphant), a revitalized Pryce sets his sights on adding his name to the record books by becoming the oldest player to ever win the US Open. To do that though, he’s going to need a lot of help, especially from brilliant new swing coach Amanda (Rhea Seehorn).

All’s Fair S2

4 November 2026 – Disney+

When the first season of Ryan Murphy’s star-studded legal drama dropped, it caused quite a stir for all the wrong reasons. With just 6% on RottenTomatoes All’s Fair was described as “existentially terrible” as it got ripped to shreds by critics. But I guess everybody loves to gawk at a car crash because it barely took three weeks before Hulu announced that it was getting renewed for a second season… and now here we are! Starring Kim Kardashian, Naomi Watts, Niecy Nash-Betts, Teyana Taylor, Sarah Paulson, and Glenn Close, the show centers on a group of high-skilled female divorce attorneys who depart a male-dominated law firm to establish their own practice, specializing in representing women in high-stakes divorce cases. Of course, there’s also all sorts of personal drama and intrigue to spice things up and it’s all getting dialed up even further in a new season when a shocking revelation threatens the very existence of the firm.

The Greatest S1

4 November 2026 – Prime Video

With exec producers that include Michael B. Jordan, Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter, and Lonnie Ali, the widow of the late Muhammad Ali, The Greatest is billed as “the first authorized scripted series” about the life of the boxing legend. Starring newcomer Jaalen Best as the young Cassius Clay (aka Muhammad Ali as he became known after converting to Islam later in life), this sports drama series had unprecedented access to Ali’s family and friends, “going beyond the amazing victories and defeats that made Ali a legend, both in and out of the ring.”

Black Doves S2

5 November 2026 – Netflix

Full disclosure: I had no idea we were even getting a second season Black Doves but I’m really glad it’s happening. The first season introduced us to Keira Knightley’s Helen Webb, on the surface she’s the devoted wife to the British Defense Secretary. In secret though, she’s an elite spy for the covert Black Doves organization. When her low-level government employee lover – not her husband – is killed as part of a political cover-up related to a Chinese ambassador’s death, Helen and longtime friend/lethal hitman Sam (Ben Wishaw) cut a deadly swathe across London to uncover the truth. Unfortunately, Helen did all of this against the wishes of her Black Doves handlers, leaving some lingering issues. Season two picks up with Helen’s husband Wallace now Prime Minister but still oblivious to his wife’s explosive double life. Access to the Prime Minister makes her a very valuable asset to the Black Doves, despite her insubordination. Her fellow spies don’t have the same protection though as they suddenly start dropping dead, leading Helen to once again team up with Sam to uncover what’s going on.

RENTALS/PURCHASES

The following movies have recently become available for digital purchase/rental:

The Dog Stars

Rental: Apple TV – R170

Purchase: Apple TV – R200

For a movie directed by the legendary Ridley Scott, and with a coast that boasts rapidly rising star Jacob Elordi alongside the likes of Josh Brolin, Margaret Qualley, Guy Pearce, Allison Janney, and Benedict Wong, The Dog Stars really flew under the radar when it was released two months ago. With earnings not even making it to the halfway mark of its production budget, it was a huge box office bomb. But that just means that you’ve probably not seen it in cinema and can now watch it in the comfort of your lounge! Based on the 2012 novel of the same name by Peter Heller, The Dog Stars is a post-apocalyptic action thriller set in the near future after a devastating flu pandemic drove humanity to the brink of extinction. The film follows Hig (Elordi), a young pilot who has managed to create an efficient but isolated homestead with the help of military survivalist, Bangley (Brolin). In this post-apocalyptic world, their lonely life isn’t great but at least they’re alive. That relatively peaceful existence will get pushed to the test though Hig receives a mysterious radio transmission and ventures into the unknown in search of the hope and humanity he still believes exist.