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This week, there's a major MCU show out and a prequel to an iconic horror franchise
Happy weekend! It’s a good time to be a TV fan. Over the past weeks, Mike Flanagan's Carrie remix and an anime based on an Anthony Bourdain manga have made their long-awaited debuts, offering something that suits everyone's interests. Avatar is also back, inspiring numerous Polygon articles about Seven Havens and what the new series means for the franchise's future — and past.
This week, there are some exciting shows for genre fans. VisionQuest is out, representing an end of sorts for Marvel’s streaming era. There’s also Crystal Lake, a Friday the 13th prequel starring Linda Cardellini. Treasure Island, based on the Robert Louis Stevenson classic tale of pirates, is also out, starring Hayley Atwell and David Oyelowo.
If you’re looking for standard dramas, Keri Russell is back with a new season of The Diplomat. Ethan Hawke is also back with the second season of The Lowdown. For reality TV lovers, there’s Tyson, a four-part documentary series exploring the life and career of the controversial boxer, and the new season of Love Is Blind. We're not judging. Happy watching.
1 VisionQuest
- Available on Disney Plus
- Genre: Sci-fi
- Episode count: 8
- Cast: Paul Bettany, James Spader, Ruaridh Molica
VisionQuest concludes a saga that began many, many years ago. It follows the newly rebuilt White Vision (Paul Bettany), who’s in hiding and keeping a low profile by working in a pub in Scotland. Internally, he’s spending a lot of time in his mindspace, interacting with the different AI personas in his brain, like J.A.R.V.I.S. and Ultron (James Spader). Vision’s quiet existence is disrupted after someone places a bounty on his head, forcing him to go on the run and reunite with his long-lost son.
Per our Polygon review:
VisionQuest picks up the many threads left dangling by WandaVision (and unspooled a bit more by Agatha All Along) and weaves together all that plot into an unexpected and mostly satisfying conclusion. While the new series from showrunner Terry Matalas (Star Trek: Picard) is definitively its own thing, it's also a clever continuation of several major moments that prove Matalas might just understand this corner of the MCU better than anyone. (Hey Kevin Feige, if you're reading this, please give Matalas a movie to direct.
2 Crystal Lake
- Available on Peacock
- Genre: Horror
- Episode count: 8
- Cast: Linda Cardellini, William Catlett, Devin Kessler
Ever think about Pamela Voorhees? You know, Jason Voorhees' mom? No? Well, there’s a TV show about her, exploring her life during the years before the events of the original Friday the 13th, when the ghost of her son seemingly terrorized a group of teenage camp counselors at Camp Crystal Lake. The prequel series depicts Jason’s tragic death and the impact it had on his mother, who ends up becoming a vicious killer.
Per our Polygon review:
Crystal Lake begins on the day Jason dies, which Kane shifts from 1957 to 1971. We're quickly introduced to the young boy (Callum Vinson) covered in prosthetics that give him a bulging, bald head meant to match the terrifying design from the original film's final scene. The next few scenes go pretty much as you might expect. Jason drowns while the camp counselors who were supposed to be watching him are busy hooking up in a supply shed. Pamela, who lived alone with her son and worked as a cook for the camp, quickly dissolves into a puddle of tears and trauma.
3 The Diplomat
- Available on Netflix
- Genre: Drama
- Episode count: 8
- Cast: Keri Russell, Rufus Sewell, Allison Janney
The Diplomat is back with a fourth season, following US Ambassador Kate Wyler (Keri Russell) on new stressful political adventures abroad. This time around, Kate discovers that the US President and the Vice President (also her husband) orchestrated a dangerous covert operation to steal a superweapon from Russia.
4 The Lowdown
- Available on Hulu
- Genre: Drama
- Episode count: 8
- Cast: Ethan Hawke, Tommy Lee Jones, Ryan Kiera Armstrong
The Lowdown follows Ethan Hawke at his most charming. He plays Lee Raybon, a Tulsa journalist who frequently gets dragged into local conspiracies involving corruption and other dangerous situations as he tries to find the truth at all costs.
5 Tulsa King
- Available on Paramount Plus
- Genre: Drama
- Episode count: 10
- Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Frank Grillo, Andrea Savage
There’s always a Taylor Sheridan show on air. Tulsa King is his take on the mob drama, following Sylvester Stallone as Dwight Manfredi, an ex-con exiled to Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he slowly begins to build his own mob empire. The fourth season follows Dwight trying to get involved in more legitimate businesses, finding some trouble on the way.
Per our Polygon recommendation:
Tulsa King is equal parts mafia drama and mafia action, with an additional bonus of mafia-driven comedy. The show opens with Dwight Manfredi (Sylvester Stallone, like that's not a good enough reason to watch), a former mafia boss who is sent to Tulsa, Oklahoma to build a new empire from the ground up. That mission comes with everything you'd expect from the mafia — gang violence, turf wars, and shootouts, and that's just the beginning.
6 Treasure Island
- Available on Paramount Plus
- Genre: Adventure
- Episode count: 6
- Cast: Hayley Atwell, Tom Sweet, David Oyelowo
Treasure Island is a reimagining of Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic novel, following teen Jim (Tom Sweet) and his mother Bess (Hayley Atwell), who end up in possession of a pirate map. The discovery sends them on an adventure aboard the Hispaniola ship, encountering pirates, treasure, and dangers on the way.
7 Tyson
- Available on Netflix
- Genre: Documentary
- Episode count: 4
- Cast: Mike Tyson, Miguel Tyson, Morocco Tyson
Tyson is a four-episode documentary directed by Floyd Russ, following the rise of Mike Tyson's career as a boxer. The series provides a thorough exploration of his life, tracking his rough childhood, his years as one of the biggest athletes and stars in the country, and the many controversies that have plagued him.
8 Love is Blind
- Available on Netflix
- Genre: Reality
- Episode count: 13
- Cast: Nick & Vanessa Lachey
Love Is Blind is back for its 11th season, premiering in batches from October 14 through the end of the month, with the finale and reunion special airing in November. One of Netflix’s biggest dating shows, the series follows singles who connect with potential partners in pods, without ever seeing them. They then get engaged and head off on their honeymoon, preparing themselves for the altar, where they might marry or leave each other forever.