9 premieres to look out for in October: ‘Homeland,’ ‘The Leftovers,’ ‘AHS: Hotel,’ ‘The Walking Dead’ & more

We’ve made it through premiere week, and now as we enter October there’s more than a handful of cable offerings you cannot miss. Popular series like Homeland and The Walking Dead make their highly anticipated returns this month. On Halloween, Ash vs. Evil Dead raises hell (literally) as the iconic Sam Raimi creation comes to the small screen. And there’s so much more debuting in-between. Check out my picks after the break.

Homeland returns for its fifth season on Sunday, Oct. 4 at 9pm on Showtime. The action picks up two years after Carrie Mathison’s (Claire Danes) ill-fated tenure as Islamabad station chief. “Struggling to reconcile her guilt and disillusionment with years of working on the front lines in the “war on terror,” Carrie finds herself in a self-imposed exile in Berlin, estranged from the CIA and working as the head of security for a German philanthropist,” reads the remainder of the season’s official logline. Yeah, I wonder how long that “self-imposed exile” will actually last. With Mandy Patinkin (Saul Berenson), Rupert Friend (Peter Quinn), and F. Murray Abraham (Dar Adal) all confirmed to return, I have little doubt that Carrie will be thrust into some high-stakes espionage soon enough. Newcomers to the cast this year are Miranda Otto, Alexander Fehling, and Sarah Sokolovic. Points to Homeland for shooting on-location in Europe.

Click here to watch the official Homeland season 5 trailer.

The Affair joins Homeland on Sunday nights, premiering on Oct. 4 at 10pm on Showtime. This powerfully intimate series is about to up the ante in its second season. In addition to being privy to Alison (Ruth Wilson) and Noah’s (Dominic West) perspectives, this year adds two more perspectives into the mix. That’s right–we’re about to get all up inside the headspace of their now-former spouses, Cole (Joshua Jackson) and Helen (Maura Tierney). The impetus of the flashforwards and flashbacks continues to rely on the “who killed Scotty” of it all, but at the end of the day, The Affair is its most satisfying when it’s exploring the emotional and psychological fallout when two star-crossed lovers meddle in each other’s lives. And this time around, viewers will be left wondering which of the four perspectives–if any in particular–contains the truth of it all.

Click here to watch The Affair‘s official season 2 trailer.

The Leftovers makes its season 2 debut on Sunday, Oct. 4 at 9pm on HBO. As we already know, the action is moving from Mapleton, New York to a special suburb Texas named Jarden. What makes this place so special? Well it’s the fact that zero departures have taken place there. For some reason, people who live in Jarden, Texas were not affected when The Sudden Departure took away two percent of the world’s population. (Knowing this show and the way executive producers Damon Lindelof and Tom Perrotta operate, we’ll likely never know why.) I’m very much looking forward to seeing what they have in store for us this year, mostly because the series can no longer rely on Perrotta’s book of the same name; the book’s plot was fully exhausted by season 1’s end. Oh, and in case you were wondering, Ann Dowd is, in fact, returning to reprise the mysterious Guilty Remnant chapter leader Patti Levin. Need proof?

Click here to watch The Leftovers‘ official season 2 trailer; here’s another.

American Horror Story: Hotel, starring Lady Gaga as The Countess, premieres Wednesday, Oct. 7 at 10pm on FX. Pretty much everything you ever wanted to know about the fifth installment in Ryan Murphy’s fright fest lies here; click the link to watch all the spooky teasers that have been released leading up to the always anticipated return of AHS. Inhabiting the Hotel Cortez including AHS mainstays like Sarah Paulson, Kathy Bates, Angela Bassett, Wes Bentley, Matt Bomer, Chloë Sevigny, Denis O’Hare, Cheyenne Jackson, Evan Peters, and Finn Wittrock. Murphy has promised that other familiar faces will show up, too, and the action will also take us back to season 1’s Murder House. The executive producer and the stars say that Hotel has more in common with seasons 1 and 2 (Asylum) more than the others (CovenFreak Show), so you should expect things to get disturbing, unsettling, and downright scary again.

Click here for quick access to AHS: Hotel‘s teasers.

Billy on the Street is back Thursday, Oct. 8 at 10:30pm on truTV. Billy Eichner’s (Difficult PeopleParks and Rec) laugh-out-loud pop culture quiz show relocates from Fuse for its fourth season. Joining Billy on his frantic rants around New York City include guest stars Will Ferrell, Chris Pratt, Anna Kendrick, Julianne Moore, Sarah Jessica Parker, Bill Hader, and Jason Sudeikis. Need a refresher on Billy’s antics? Watch these former installments featuring Michelle Obama, Big Bird, and David Letterman.

Sneak a peek at new episodes of Billy on the Street right here.

The Walking Dead picks up right where we left off on Sunday, Oct. 11 at 9pm on AMC. And where was that? Well, Rick–with Deanna’s permission–kills local abuser Pete with a bullet to the brain. Immediately following the katana/gunshot action, the camera pans over to fan-favorite Morgan who has just arrived at Alexandria to reunite with his pal Rick. Witnessing this brutal murder, however, is going to have ramifications on their relationship, no doubt. Rick is a changed man since he last encountered Morgan. And Morgan is changed, too; the mad “clear” man now speaks softly and carries a big stick. He’s gone through some sort of mental transformation that enables him to live in a zen-like, peaceful mode among the walker-infiltrated world. Viewers are expecting heated arguments to arise between the new-and-improved Morgan and Rick and his brutal nature. Even the trailer hints at this, but at Comic Con, showrunner Scott M. Gimple teased that “things might not be as they seem.” So maybe they will get along, after all? You’ll have to tune in to find out. Whatever the case may be, I’m #TeamRick, always.

Don’t forget about Talking Dead, too. As per usual, the Chris Hardwick-hosted after-show airs right after The Walking Dead on AMC. Also, take note of this special addition: AMC is going to air a 16-part web series set in the world of TWD‘s companion series Fear the Walking Dead. It’s officially titled Fear The Walking Dead: Flight 462 and it “tells the story of a group of passengers aboard a commercial airplane during the earliest moments of the outbreak. Over the course of the series, the plane and the lives of its passengers are put in jeopardy once they discover an infected traveler.” One passenger will survive the mayhem and that character will live on and appear in Fear when it returns for its second season. Flight 462 premieres on Sunday, Oct. 4 on AMC.com, and the network will air each part of the web series during The Walking Dead‘s commercial breaks; they’re short, coming in at under a minute apiece. So, when you’re fast-forwarding through the ads this fall, don’t forget to stop and look at the flowers. (Ah, sorry, had to!)

Fargo is back for a second serving on Monday, Oct. 12 at 10pm on FX. While the critically acclaimed first season was loosely based on the Coen brothers’ classic film, season 2 focuses on a brand new case and it’s a prequel set in 1979. It’s connected to the Fargo universe, first and foremost, because Patrick Wilson stars as a young Lou Solverson; in season 1, the role was played by Keith Carradine. The character referenced Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and this year that’s exactly where some of the action takes place. Wilson’s Solverson is a young State Police Officer recently back from Vietnam, investigating a case involving a local crime gang, a major mob syndicate, and a small town beautician Peggy Blumquist (Kirsten Dunst) along with her husband Ed (Jesse Plemons), the local butcher’s assistant. Helping Lou piece things together is his father-in-law, Sheriff Hank Larsson (Ted Danson).

Click here to watch Fargo‘s second season trailer. Aw, heck!

StarTalk, with your personal astrophysicist Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson, returns Sunday, Oct. 25 at 11pm on National Geographic Channel. Science, pop culture, and comedy collide in Tyson’s talk show that bares the same name as his prominent podcast. In season 1, NDT sat down with Christopher Nolan to discuss the science of Interstellar, he took part in an unapologetically (and quite entertaining) conversation about the evolution of love and sex with Dan Savage and biological anthropologist Dr. Helen Fischer, and he visited NASA to speak with its administrator Charles Bolden. The Cosmos host is ready for another round of intellectual entertainment, and he’s bringing a slew of new guests along for the ride and they include President Bill Clinton Susan Sarandon, David Byrne, Larry Wilmore, Bas Lansdorp, and Penn and Teller. Bill Nye the Science Guy will continue to close out the episodes with his take on the week’s theme, and comedian co-hosts Chuck Nice and Eugene Mirman (Bob’s Burgers) will no doubt be by Tyson’s side with their repertoire of shenanigans.

Ash vs. Evil Dead, a small screen adaptation based on Sam Raimi’s classic trilogy of films, premieres Saturday, Oct. 31 at 9pm on Starz. That’s Halloween, how fitting. Bruce Campbell is back to reprise his iconic role as Ash Williams, and he’s brining his chainsaw arm and epic one-liners with him. Evil Dead director Raimi and producer Rob Tapert are on board as well, so you can expect the same Evil Dead blood, guts, and campy fun to translate over just fine. Like I said before, even if you haven’t seen the movies, you can still jump in and have a good time. Imagine if The Walking Dead was a pseudo-comedy that poked fun at itself, and at the same time embraced its intrinsic horror in a tongue-in-cheek manner. That pretty much sums up what Ash vs. Evil Dead aims to do.

Get acclimated to the wonderful world of Evil Dead (with demonic Deadites, not walkers) in this excellent trailer.

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