We go deep into the October 2020 Netflix Canada schedule to unearth the most interesting titles. This month, we’re looking forward to the latest adaptation of Rebecca, Radha Blank’s Sundance winner, the TV version of music podcast Song Exploder, and the Vancouver-shot series The Haunting of Bly Manor.  

What we can’t wait to watch

Rebecca

Who would dare adapt Daphne du Maurier’s 1938 psychological thriller, after Alfred Hitchcock did it so memorably in his classic film? Well, Ben Wheatley (Sightseers, Kill List) has tried, and from the trailer his cast seems every bit as exciting as Hitchcock’s. Armie Hammer plays the handsome widower, Maxim, Lily James his new wife, and Kristin Scott Thomas the brooding housekeeper who’s still obsessed with Maxim’s dead first wife, Rebecca. Expect gorgeous, classy thrills. October 21

Dick Johnson Is Dead

In her brilliant 2016 docu-memoir Cameraperson, cinematographer Kristen Johnson used her father as a reassuring presence in her busy life; this more experimental follow-up finds him in declining health, so dad and daughter embark on a project to imagine his passing in a number of different ways. Expect to laugh and weep in roughly the same amounts, and possibly even at the same time. October 2

Song Exploder

Hrishikesh Hirway’s popular music podcast is getting the docu-series treatment. Launched in 2014, Song Exploder delves deep into the making of songs. The series goes even further than the 20-minute podcast episodes, sitting with artists in their studios as they retell the songwriting and production stories behind their hits. The first season features grammy-award winning singer-songwriter Alicia Keys, king of Broadway Lin-Manuel Miranda, the busiest man in hip hop Ty Dolla $ign, and Michael Stipe of rock group R.E.M. Considering the range of artists Hirway has featured on the podcast in the past—from Grimes to Fleetwood Mac to Ghostface Killah—it will be interesting to see where the show could go if picked up for another season. October 2

The Forty-Year-Old Version

A struggling playwright whose promising career expectations never materialized decides to become a rapper—at the ripe age of 40. Writer, director, and actor Radha Blank won best director at Sundance for this black-and-white comedy that explores the fickleness of an industry that treats creators as disposable once they’ve passed their sell-by date. Hip-hop becomes an outlet for her frustration as she reinvents herself and finds a new voice as RadhaMUSPrime (the name Blank used when she was a comedy rapper earlier on in her career). Both flippantly humorous and genuinely earnest, The Forty-Year-Old Version is an underdog story we can all get behind. October 9

Vampires Vs. The Bronx

“Attack The Block, but in New York City” is such a simple, perfect idea we’re amazed it took almost a decade to happen. But that’s the pitch for this horror-comedy, which finds a bunch of kids (among them Wonderstruck’s Jaden Martin and In The Heights’ Gregory Diaz IV) fending off the dual scourges of gentrification and the undead. Chris Redd, Shea Whigham, Method Man, The Kid Mero, and Sarah Gadon (!) co-star. October 2

The Haunting Of Bly Manor

Director Mike Flanagan knows horror. He’s helmed classy creepers like Oculus and Ouija: Origin Of Evil, and a couple of acclaimed Stephen King adaptations. His scary yet oddly moving Netflix miniseries The Haunting Of Hill House spooked us a couple of Halloweens ago. Now he’s back with another miniseries, this time filmed in Vancouver and inspired by Henry James’s much-adapted novella, The Turn Of The Screw. The material—about a nanny who takes care of two children—is endlessly fascinating. Is there a ghost? Is the nanny mad? Count on Flanagan to provide some frightening answers. October 9

The Trial Of The Chicago 7

Aaron Sorkin reimagines the counterculture lynchpin of the '60s with an all-star cast including Sacha Baron Cohen (as Abbie Hoffman!), Eddie Redmayne, Mark Rylance, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and brand-new Emmy winners Jeremy Strong and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. Expect period-accurate fashions and hairstyles and at least one impassioned monologue about the right to protest that just happens to be relevant to the present-day political situation. Actually, probably two or three. October 16

Unsolved Mysteries: Volume 2

As fans of the first volume know, this reboot of the classic documentary series focusing on cold cases and paranormal phenomena should make great viewing leading up to Halloween. Even without overly serious narrator Robert Stack and cheesy recreations, there will be a lot to chew on and theorize about in these six new cases. And as always, there’s the possibility that some viewer will hold the key to finally crack open the case. October 19

Here's a list of new titles available on Netflix Canada in September 2020 by date:

TV

Coming soon

Arashi’s Diary: Voyage (episodes 13-14)

Brave Blue World

Start-Up

October 1

Good Morning, Verônica

Carmen Sandiego (season 3)

Oktoberfest: Beer & Blood

The Worst Witch (season 4)

Cody Lyoko (seasons 1-4)

Creeped Out (season 2)

Kim’s Convenience (season 4)

PAW Patrol (season 7)

Sword Art Online: Alicization

The 100 (season 7)

October 2

Song Exploder

October 7

Hubie Halloween

Schitt’s Creek (season 6)

October 9

Deaf U

Fast & Furious Spy Racers: Rio (season 2)

The Haunting Of Bly Manor

Super Monsters: Dia de los Monsters

October 12

Kipo And The Age Of Wonderbeasts (season 3)

October 13

The Cabin with Bert Kreischer

Octonauts & The Great Barrier Reef

October 15

Social Distance

October 16

Dream Home Makeover

Grand Army

The Last Kids On Earth: Book 3

La Revolution

Someone Has To Die

October 19

Unsolved Mysteries: Volume 2

October 21

My Next Guest Needs No Introduction With David Letterman (season 3)

October 22

The Alienist: Angel Of Darkness

October 23

Barbarians

Move

Perdida

The Queen’s Gambit

October 27

Blood Of Zeus

Chico Bon Bon: Monkey With A Tool Belt (season 4)

Sarah Cooper: Everything’s Fine

October 30

Somebody Feed Phil (season 4)

Suburra (season 3)

Movies

October 1

A.M.I.

All Because Of You

Beirut

BlacKkKlansman

Boogie Nights

Christine

Easy Rider

Footloose (2011)

Insidious

Insidious: Chapter 2

Insidious: Chapter 3

Kick-Ass

Never Back Down

Pacific Rim

Riddick

Rudy

Scooby-Doo

The Silence Of The Lambs

Starship Troopers

The Switch

The To Do List

Unfriended: Dark Web

V For Vendetta

Valkyrie

The Wizard Of Oz

October 2

A Go! Go! Cory Carson Halloween

You’ve Got This

The Binding

Dick Johnson Is Dead

Emily In Paris

Òlòtūré

Serious Men

Vampires vs. The Bronx

October 3

Truth Or Dare

October 4

David Attenborough: A Life On Our Planet

October 5

Thor: The Dark World

October 7

12 Monkeys

Billy Elliot

Elizabeth: The Golden Age

Funny People

Happy Gilmore

The Jackal

Kick-Ass 2

Kindergarten Cop

Knocked Up

Les Misérables

To The Lake

October 9

The Forty-Year-Old Version

Ginny Weds Sunny

October 13

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald

October 14

BLACKPINK: Light Up The Sky

October 15

A Babysitter’s Guide To Monster Hunting

Love Like The Falling Rain

Rooting For Roona

October 16

The Trial Of The Chicago 7

October 20

The Magic School Bus Rides Again: The Frizz Connection

October 21

Rebecca

October 22

Cadaver

October 23

Over The Moon

October 27

Guillermo Villas: Settling The Score

October 28

Holidate

Nobody Sleeps In The Woods Tonight

Secrets Of The Saqqara Tomb

October 30

Bronx

The Day Of The Lord

His House

Last call

Here's a list ofTV series and movies leaving Netflix Canada this month.

October 19

Scary Movie

Scary Movie 2

Scary Movie 3

Scary Movie 4

Scary Movie 5

October 31

Back To The Future

Back To The Future Part II

Charlie And The Chocolate Factory

Deadpool 2

The Matrix

Superbad