Welcome to Derry is not the sole vanishing children TV Recommendation this week. #SetTheVCR has lots of Happy Halloween offerings so keep that G.I. Joe nightlight handy.
Monday, October 20
R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead (Anytime / Tubi)
Happy Halloween!! Inspired by R.L. Stine’s beloved The Haunting Hour, the new young-adult horror movie blends just the right mix of chills and thrills, delivering a frightfully fun experience. A teenager, Sam thought moving to Redhaven was the worst part – until his brother Finn vanishes and no one, not even their mom, remembers he existed. With Halloween ticking down, Sam, his friend Becka, and Rusty, the town’s most eccentric outcast, must stop a harvest curse before Finn is lost forever.
~~
SAMMY SUGGESTION: I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER (ANYTIME / CRAVE & NETFLIX-US)
When five friends inadvertently cause a deadly car accident, they cover up their involvement and make a pact to keep it a secret rather than face the consequences. One year later, the past comes back to haunt them as they learn someone knows what they did last summer. Stalked by a mysterious killer, they soon seek help from two survivors of the Southport massacre of 1997.
~~~
Happy Halloween!! Back in June I declared a I Know What You Did Last Summer trailer was not gonna suddenly provide incentive to put on pants and see the movie. This was a lousy idea before they made it. Look, if you think Jenna Ortega is like the greatest actress ever then eh…it’s opening weekend money for you. For the rest of us…this is a Tubi movie. At best. Well, now it’s Crave but really it should be buried in the Tubi graveyard. To help with the trailer; 2 stars of OG I Know What You Did Last Summer back for the sequel. (Everybody knows the main star of the old school horror movie was Jennifer Love Hewitt’s White Tank Top. If the White Tank Top is back; I might be back as well.) Man, back in the day they offered us Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, Freddie Prinze, Johnny Galecki and Anne Heche. Yet this ghetto reboot has the audacity to ask audiences to invest in dollar store talents such as Madelyn Cline, Jonah Hauer-King, Tyriq Withers…kinda rude, yo. In all honesty, the new Scream movies suck mainly because the casts are wet garbage. (Plus, the writing is toothless.) And recently, I Know What You Did Last Summer was cancelled after 1 pathetic season on Prime Video. Proving yet again that not all IP is beachfront property. Clearly, I am not “hooked” on this lousy reboot. Why does it need to exist? I recommend only to confirm it’s as bad as I posit. Thus to recap: we got subpar Scream movies with Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega. Then a stinky “Final” Destination, now a sucky I Know What You Did. The next Crap Carnival is Urban Legend. These reboot horror movies are not populated with potential or even pleasure.
Tuesday, October 21
NBA Tip-Off: Doubleheader (7:30 p.m. / NBC & Peacock)
The 80th NBA regular season tips off with a doubleheader when the NBA returns to NBC and debuts on Peacock as the defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder hosts the Houston Rockets (7:30 p.m.) and the Golden State Warriors visit the Los Angeles Lakers (10 p.m.). The regular season will conclude on Sunday, April 12, 2026. The NBA Playoffs 2026, which will start on Saturday, April 18. ABC will televise the NBA Finals 2026 in June. One Shall Stand, One Shall Fall. #BallorFall
~~
SAMMY SUGGESTION: WHO KILLED THE MONTREAL EXPOS? (ANYTIME / NETFLIX)
An investigation into the downfall of the Montreal Expos, Canada’s first Major League Baseball team, and who was ultimately responsible.
~~~
The Montreal Expos relocated to Washington to become the Nationals in 2005. Eventually, the Nationals won the World Series in 2019. There’s a weird loss—a distinct grief—when a sports team leaves a city. Like when your relationship breaks up. Relationships have forward momentum, they flourish with potential and together you make plans. Let’s travel, let’s go these concerts, I’ll buy tickets, let’s get married, let’s have kids. Breaking up shatters all that potential. Exact same emotion when a sports team leaves a city. When the team sucks everybody in the city can complain together. When the team is winning everybody in the city can declare we’re No.1!! Maybe the loss gets easier after a certain point. When I visit Montreal I still see Expos gear sold in stores. A stranger will walk past me wearing an Expos baseball cap. Perhaps we hold onto that sharp loss for generations. I dunno that you could fully articulate or even define the distinct impact the Maple Leafs have had on Toronto yet there is a distinct impact. That’s the same for most professional sports teams across most cities. I appreciate that this Netflix documentary allows Montreal to grieve and to put the past into a relevant context. Shall we, play ball with this documentary?
Wednesday, October 22
Mob War: Philadelphia vs. The Mafia (Anytime / Netflix)
A True Crime docuseries that covers a brutal mob war between John Stanfa and Joey Merlino that plunges ’90s Philadelphia into chaos and bloodshed.
~~
SAMMY SUGGESTION: LAZARUS: LIMITED SERIES (ANYTIME / PRIME VIDEO)
Lazarus follows a man (Sam Claflin) who returns home after his father’s (Bill Nighy) suicide and begins to have disturbing experiences that can’t be explained. He quickly becomes entangled in a series of cold-case murders as he grapples with the mystery of his father’s death and his sister’s murder 25 years ago.
~~~
I mean I watched The Lazarus Project TV series so I may as well watch Harlan Coben’s Lazarus. This is only 6 episodes and dude sees dead people…plus there’s a series of cold-case murders. I’m always hot for a cold-case murder. I can do this.
Thursday, October 23
Michelle Wolf: The Wolf (Anytime / Netflix)
Michelle Wolf gets real about white women, serial killers, and adjusting to motherhood in this sharp, unfiltered stand-up special.
~~
SAMMY SUGGESTION: NOBODY WANTS THIS: SEASON 2 (ANYTIME / NETFLIX)
First comes love, then comes life. The last time we saw agnostic podcast host Joanne and unconventional (hot) rabbi Noah, their unmatched chemistry surprised everyone in their lives, including her sister Morgan, his brother Sasha and sister-in-law Esther and even themselves. Their spark proved stronger than all of the obstacles trying to keep them apart. Now, they’re back and fully committed to merging their lives – and loved ones – together. But their differences still exist and can’t be ignored. The challenge now is not just falling in love against all odds, but staying together in spite of them.
~~~
Like Anna Kendrick, Kristen Bell is a White People Special. She’s back with the hot rabbi and they are struggling to make it work. Part of this trailer look like those Horny Hallmark Christmas movies. Still Everybody Wants This which means Everybody Will Watch This.
Friday, October 24
Prime Sports Presents The Inaugural 2025-26 NBA on Prime (7:00 p.m. / Prime Video)
NBA on Prime tips off tonight with a season opening doubleheader: 7:30 p.m.: Boston Celtics at New York Knicks followed by Minnesota Timberwolves at Los Angeles Lakers at 10 p.m. Coverage will begin 30 minutes before every game with the NBA on Prime pregame show, live from Amazon Studios in Culver City. Every game night will be followed by NBA Nightcap, a one-hour postgame show featuring player interviews and in-depth analysis of the game. In between doubleheaders, Prime will bridge games with The Crossover, continuing live coverage from the NBA on Prime studio. NBA on Prime studio coverage will be hosted by Taylor Rooks alongside analysts and NBA legends Dirk Nowitzki, Blake Griffin and Udonis Haslem. Dwyane Wade, Steve Nash and Candace Parker will also appear in studio throughout the 2025-26 season, alternating with broadcast booth assignments.
~~
SAMMY SUGGESTION: WEAPONS (ANYTIME / HBO MAX & CRAVE)
When all but one child from the same class mysteriously vanish on the same night at 2:17 a.m., a community is left questioning who or what is behind their disappearance.
~~~
Happy Halloween!! “Those kids walked out of those homes…nobody pulled them out.” Oh, Josh Brolin as a parent has every reason to be angry. If you didn’t see Weapons at the cinema…who do you think is behind the vanishing children? Which ever character you choose, this is a horror movie so keep your Weapons handy until we arrive at Sunrise.
Saturday, October 25
Charlotte’s Web (Anytime / HBO Max)
Saturday Morning Cartoons: Bringing to life once again one of the most cherished stories of all time, this 3-part animated retelling of Charlotte’s Web is from Academy Award winner Luke Matheny and executive produced in collaboration with Sesame Workshop. Amy Adams, Elijah Wood, Cynthia Erivo, Chris Diamantopoulos, Jean Smart, Rosario Dawson, Randall Park, and More Star in the Beloved Adaptation of E.B. White’s Classic Novel.
~~
SAMMY SUGGESTION: STILLER & MEARA: NOTHING IS LOST (ANYTIME / APPLE TV+)
Comedy is hard. Marriage is harder. Jerry and Anne somehow juggled both. Stiller & Meara: Nothing is Lost features the inspiring story of comedy icons Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara aka Ben Stiller’s parents.
~~~
“Ben Stiller tells the story of his parents, comedy icons Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara, exploring their impact on both popular culture and at home, where the lines between creativity, family, life, and art often blurred. In the process, Stiller turns the camera on himself and his family to examine Jerry and Anne’s enormous influence on their lives, and the generational lessons that we can all learn from those we love.” That’s from the Apple press release. We all know, Jerry Stiller is, Frank Costanza, George’s Manzier wearing father on Seinfeld. Hah, I’m sure as a father to Ben Stiller, Jerry was radically different than he was as a father to George Costanza. (George needed a lot of help.) Though this documentary offers a bold comedy heritage, I suspect there will be tears.
Sunday, October 26
Mayor of Kingstown: Season 4 (Anytime / Paramount+)
Mike McLusky (Jeremy Renner) fights to protect his own as new forces converge on Kingstown.
~~
SAMMY SUGGESTION: IT: WELCOME TO DERRY (ANYTIME / HBO MAX & CRAVE)
In 1962, a couple with their son move to Derry, Maine just as a young boy disappears. With their arrival, very bad things begin to happen in the town.
~~~
Happy Halloween!! Welcome To Derry looks decent but I dunno what it adds to the entire mythology? What’s the value of revealing Pennywise’s origin story? Like, so what? We already know It is a trans-dimensional entity or alien. And?! Viewers are expected to just sit around and wait for people to die?? These characters only exist to perish. We know nobody takes out Pennywise…he clearly survived to consume ‘80s kids. So we know Pennywise is gonna consume these fresh Derry Losers whole like he did Georgie’s dumb arm. And just like Georgie’s stupid arm there’s no value in getting attached to these characters. This is 1962, 27 years before the events of It: Chapter One. None of that industrial post-War American ingenuity saved these kids. They’re the real Losers. Pennywise is Derry’s primary industry. Andy Muschietti and Barbara Muschietti are back and so is Bill Skarsgård as Pennywise. (That lazy eye!! Absolutely: a malevolent clown is frightening. But when you see Skarsgård’s eye start to drift like a planet dislodged from gravity…that’s horrifying.) Welcome to Derry is basically watching Stand By Me kids fail and end up floating. You know how IT goes…
-28-
Sammy Younan is the affable host of My Summer Lair: think NPR’s Fresh Air meets Kevin Smith: interviews & impressions on Pop Culture.
