AARP Fall TV Preview 2025

Check out the top 20 most anticipated shows

Tim Appelo,

AARP

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Published September 17, 2025

a bloodied ethan hawke emoting in a scene from the lowdown

Ethan Hawke stars in "The Lowdown," coming to FX Sept. 23.

Shane Brown/FX

From the networks to the streaming giants, there’s a whole new crop of comedies, dramas and documentaries in the pipeline. Here’s what to look forward to in the coming months.

Black Rabbit (Netflix, Sept. 18)

In a star-studded thriller series set in New York’s bustling nightlife, Jude Law, 52, and Jason Bateman, 56, play estranged brothers pushed to the edge. One of them (Bateman in a scraggly beard) owes a lot of money to the types of people you don’t want to owe money to and is forced to ask his restaurant-owning sibling (Law) for help.

Tulsa King (Paramount+, Sept. 21)

In the second season of the No. 1 Paramount+ hit show, Oklahoma crime boss Dwight Manfred (AARP The Magazine’s August/September cover subject, Sylvester Stallone, 79) confronts a new nemesis: Russell Lee Washington, Jr. (Samuel L. Jackson, 76), sent by New York bosses to stop Dwight. But he’s inspired by Dwight’s entrepreneurship, so there’ll be a Jackson spin-off series, NOLA King, set in New Orleans (likely in early 2026).

The Lowdown (FX, Sept. 23)

In a promising noir series by Reservation Dogs auteur Sterlin Harjo, Ethan Hawke, 54, plays a rare-book dealer investigating the mysterious death of a prominent Tulsa family’s black sheep.

Slow Horses (Apple TV+, Sept. 24)

London is in danger, and so is the ragtag MI5 spy crew run by brilliant misanthropist Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman, 67). His tech-nerd employee Roddy finds a glamour-puss gal pal, which puts him under suspicion of being mixed up with terrorists.

The Golden Bachelor, Season 2 (ABC, Hulu, Sept. 24)

After a few glitches on the PR front (like when he said he wouldn’t date anyone older than 60), America’s second Golden Bachelor, 66-year-old former NFL player-turned-lawyer Mel Owens, who hasn’t had a date in 26 years, will be looking for love forever after among a new crew of wannabe wives.

The Savant (Apple TV+, Sept. 26)

Oscar winner Jessica Chastain plays a sleuth who infiltrates online hate groups to stop extremists before they get violent in the real world.

Chad Powers (Hulu, Sept. 30)

If you liked Ted Lasso, try this gentle sports comedy about a star quarterback (Glen Powell) who blows his career and, eight years later, disguises himself and walks on to the struggling South Georgia Catfish college team to redeem his name.

Monster: The Ed Gein Story (Netflix, Oct. 3)

The true story of the killer whose bizarre clothing choice (women’s skin) inspired Psycho, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Silence of the Lambs features Charlie Hunnam as Gein, Laurie Metcalf, 70, as his awful mom, Tom Hollander, 58, as Alfred Hitchcock and Olivia Williams, 57, as Hitchcock’s wife, Alma.

The Last Frontier (Apple TV+, Oct. 10)

Jason Clarke, 56, plays a U.S. marshal chasing violent inmates whose prison transport plane crashes in the Alaskan wilderness.

Matlock, Season 2 (CBS, Oct. 12)

In the first season of this smash hit, Kathy Bates, 77, became the oldest lead actress Emmy nominee ever, for her role as sneaky lawyer Mattie Matlock, who’s always one step ahead of the people she investigates. Costar Jason Ritter told Us Weekly that this year, “you don’t necessarily know who is doing things behind anybody’s back anymore.”

Murdaugh: Death in the Family (Hulu, Oct. 15)

Patricia Arquette, 57, plays Maggie Murdaugh, the wife of prominent lawyer-turned-addict and murderer Alex Murdaugh (Jason Clarke), in an incredibly twisty true-crime story.

Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy (Peacock, Oct. 16)

Severance’s Michael Chernus plays the scariest clown you ever saw in a show focused on the serial killer’s victims and the prejudiced officials who failed them for way too long.

Mr. Scorsese (Apple TV+, Oct. 17)

This five-part documentary by the playwright Arthur Miller’s daughter, Rebecca Miller, 62, celebrates the work of Martin Scorsese (pronounced “Scor-SESS-ee”), 82, interviewing Miller’s husband, actor Daniel Day-Lewis, 68, Robert De Niro, 82, Leo DiCaprio, 50, and many more big celebs.

Boston Blue (CBS, Oct. 17)

In this spin-off of Blue Bloods, hard-nosed New York detective Danny Reagan (Donnie Wahlberg, 56) relocates to Boston and gets a new partner (Sonequa Martin-Green). Familiar faces from Blue Bloods are guaranteed to appear.

Mayor of Kingstown, Season 4 (Paramount+, Oct. 26)

You think prison-town patriarch Mike McLusky (Jeremy Renner, 54) had trouble running that riot-torn place before? Now he’s got a tough new prison warden to contend with: Nina Hobbs (Edie Falco, 62).

Death by Lightning (Netflix, Nov. 6)

The creators of Game of Thrones bring you a wonderful historical drama that’s often as funny as it is horrifying. Upright reformer James Garfield (Michael Shannon, 51) is reluctantly and improbably elected president, and his greatest admirer — a vain, ambitious, dimwitted loser (Succession’s Matthew MacFadyen, 50) — kills him. The dazzling cast includes Nick Offerman, 55, Bradley Whitford, 65, and Shea Whigham, 56.

Pluribus (Apple TV+, Nov. 7)

Breaking Bad’s breakout star Rhea Seehorn, 53, stars in this sci-fi turn from that show’s creator, Vince Gilligan, 58, as the unhappiest person on Earth, who must save the world from ... happiness.

The American Revolution (PBS, Nov. 16)

Liked the classic docuseries The Civil War by Ken Burns, 72? Try this epic 12-hour, six-night doc on how America was founded.

Landman, Season 2 (Paramount+, Nov. 16)

What could be better than the first season of the two-fisted Texas oilman drama starring Billy Bob Thornton, 70? The new one, with Sam Elliott, 81, as his dad, and Demi Moore, 62, as his enemy Cami, who takes over the oil company after her husband (Jon Hamm, 54) gets killed. “The only difference between me and my husband,” Cami explains, “is I’m meaner.”

Stranger Things, Season 5 (Netflix, Nov. 26)

In the grand finale of the sci-fi hit that put Winona Ryder, 53, back on the map, her character, Joyce, who mostly ran from danger in past seasons, grabs an ax and gets in on more of the action. Note the schedule: You get four episodes in November, then three on Christmas Day and the last episode on Dec. 31.

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Tim Appelo covers entertainment and is the film and TV critic for AARP. Previously, he was the entertainment editor at Amazon, video critic at Entertainment Weekly, and a critic and writer for The Hollywood Reporter, People, MTV, The Village Voice and LA Weekly.