September in Review

Hello hello! We have finally entered the holiday season, easily the best time of the year. The air is getting chillier (not really), our homes are feeling cozier (hopefully), and media consumption is at an all-time high (always). October is arguably the best of these final three months and I for one am hoping to get into some spooky activities in the next few weeks.

Today’s feeling: ghoulish 👻

The people’s choice

Since summer is officially over, I thought it’d be fun to go back and see what the most popular shows and movies of the season were. According to Google, the official season of summer was from June 21 to September 23, so starting in the 3rd week of June, I tallied up the total number of weeks (consecutive or not) each show and movie spent on the charts until the last week of September. I wanted to give a succinct top 5 for each category, but there were just way too many ties, so here are the shows and movies that had the longest shelf life this summer:

I wish I could give you the actual total hours watched for these titles to really know who was watching what and for how long, but streamers would rather chew their legs off than share actual streaming data so we’re making do.

I know Sex and the City used to be that girl in the early 2000’s so …And Just Like That dominating the summer seems fitting, but I haven’t heard a single thing about it. I haven’t heard much chatter about any of these top shows, but I’m going to blame that on there being entirely too much to watch at any given moment. honestly, I think it’s a miracle that any of us are ever watching the same shows or movies considering the sheer volume of it all.

Only Jedi in the Building

I’ve been watching a lot of Hell’s Kitchen lately. I have it on while I do homework, and when I want a break, I just tune into the episode. All of the raw scallops and in-fighting do a lot for my creative process.

One snake, two snake, red snake, blue snake

I don’t think a month has gone by without either a Star Wars or Marvel series being somewhere at the top of this chart. I hear our newly crowned Serpent 🐍 Ahsoka’s great if you’ve seen Clone Wars and Rebels, and still good even if you haven’t. I haven’t seen either, and I wasn’t interested enough to be cool with not having seen them, so Ahsoka was skipped in this household. I am just patiently, patiently waiting for Andor season 2 (and The Acolyte!).

I do think I’ll start Only Murders in the Building, (another 🐍) at some point. A murder mystery is always going to be a good time, especially under a comedic lens. The main trio is such a funny grouping to me, but I have no doubts that they’ll deliver. Anyone who’s skeptical of Selena Gomez’s comedic chops clearly wasn’t watching Wizards of Wavery Place like the rest of us.

Great Scott, you’re a monkey!

I’ve started my month-long challenge of only watching Halloween-adjacent movies, and my first watch was Teen Wolf (1985) with Michael J. Fox. An instant classic solely for the fact that the werewolf prosthetics and makeup they put on him look nothing like a wolf. He looks like he should be in Planet of the Apes, and honestly, I think the MTV series should’ve continued with the look. I can’t imagine it would’ve made the show any goofier than it already was.

Care for a probing?

It kills me that I came up with this awards system and don’t mention it half the time because there’s nothing to be said. I do have something to say about No One Will Save You, which is that it is exactly the kind of alien invasion movie that we thought Nope (2022) was going to be, and it makes me want Jordan Peele to make that movie even more than I already did. There are parts of No One Will Save You that didn’t do it for me, but the home invasion parts? Immaculate. I was terrified. If you’re in the mood for a more traditional alien invasion story, definitely check this one out.

Dune 2 not due soon

I can’t even think about what’s coming out this month because I’m just mourning the loss that was me seeing Dune: Part 2 soon. It wasn’t supposed to drop until November 3rd, but the press tour probably would’ve started around this time, meaning we would’ve been getting new interviews and red carpet pictures of Zendaya. Between this and Challengers, the fall season was supposed to be hers, and the studios stole it from us. Despicable.

Obviously, I’m watching Loki. I don’t have to tell you guys that. I’m also watching Spy x Family, another given. I’m definitely looking forward to The Fall of the House of Usher. Mike Flanagan’s really carved out a nice Netflix niche for himself with these horror series, but I do believe that The Haunting of Hill House is still the best of the bunch.

I feel like Doom Patrol has been haunting me for way longer than 4 seasons. Every time I turn around, there’s more Doom Patrol to watch, and yet. There are only 4 seasons. How does that work? Anyway, if you haven’t seen it, I would highly recommend it, especially if you like absurdist humor and eccentric character ensembles. Think The Suicide Squad (2021) or The Umbrella Academy.

It’s freakin’ bats

You know I couldn’t end this issue without some Halloween-time recommendations. I’ve been foaming at the mouth just waiting to tell you to watch the live-action Scooby-Doos. Just like Thanos, this was inevitable. so without further ado, here are some (I had to show some real restraint here, guys) spooky time recommendations from me and my beloved team:

• Barbarian (2022) - Max, Hulu

• Halloweentown High (2003) - Disney+

• The Blackening (2023) - Starz

• Train to Busan (2016) - Amazon Prime Video

• The Haunting of Hill House (2018) - Netflix

• Interview with the Vampire (2022) - Max, AMC+

• Evil Dead II (1987) - Amazon Prime Video, AMC+, Pluto TV

• Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (2018) - Netflix

• Tales From the Hood (1995) - Tubi

• Malignant (2021) - Max, Hulu

• Scooby-Doo (2002) and Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (2004) - Amazon Prime Video

• Vampire in Brooklyn (1995) - Paramount+, Pluto TV

🎤 What are you enjoying this October?

Another month of streaming is behind us. As always, let me know what you’re watching, spooky or otherwise, and I will see you in November 🦃 !