Five thrillers for a chiller season

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This article was published 09/09/2025 (389 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

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A look at five notable new productions on your TV screen or streaming apps.

All good summers must end and so we turn to our screens, big and small, for cosy autumn viewing. Onward to five worthy viewing options that cover thrilling, killing and even chilling, as Charlie Sheen exclaims “Winning” one more time.

● Only Murders in the Building (Season 5 premières the first three of 10 episodes today, Tuesday, Sept. 9 on Disney+)

With apologies to Shakespeare, as well as Yorick: Alas poor Lester, we knew him … possibly not very well at all? The gaudy exit of the beloved doorman (Teddy Coluca) in the Season 4 cliffhanger finale provides the central mystery of this new season.

In addition to the intrepid Arconia investigators (Steve Martin, Selena Gomez and Martin Short), returning gems include Richard Kind, Nathan Lane, Meryl Streep, Da’Vine Joy Randolph and Michael Cyril Creighton. Guest stars are not bad either, including Bobby Cannavale, Beanie Feldstein, Keegan-Michael Key, Téa Leoni, Logan Lerman, Christoph Waltz, Dianne Wiest and an icily coiffed Renée Zellweger.

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● aka Charlie Sheen (two-part documentary premières Wednesday, Sept. 10 on Netflix)

The press kit promises that Charlie Sheen, now seven years sober, will tell all with “jaw-dropping candour.” As if he has any other gears!

We could no more resist this than his sitcom Two and a Half Men, loved and loathed in equal measure. Although, this does appear to be a sincere accounting, which includes interviews with celebrity connections Sean Penn, Denise Richards, Chris Tucker, Jon Cryer, Chuck Lorre and Heidi Fleiss. Maybe.

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● The Girlfriend (series premières with all six episodes Wednesday, Sept. 10, on Prime Video)

In the mothering game, the line between hovering and homicide can be so tricky to navigate. Is Laura (Robin Wright) just paranoid about beloved son Daniel’s new love interest, Cherry (Olivia Cooke)? Or is the young woman an evil social climber? Ahem. This spicy family thriller is based on Michelle Frances’s novel of the same name. Will this slickly produced miniseries be swamped by misogyny? Or will it subvert and surprise? Remember to wrap your hand in something soft if the urge to punch a screen arises.

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● The Morning Show (Season 4 premières first of 10 episodes Wednesday, Sept. 17, on Apple TV+)

There are two paths out of any comeback. Will, as one character ferociously hopes, the newly merged UBA-NBN go high and become the “feminist utopia” that was hinted at by the Season 3 revolt? Or will the new suits bend that angle way, way down to a new low? And how will it play out when the world of news, and the world proper, is on fire with deepfakes, conspiracy theories and corporate coverups?

When the action ramps up two years later, there are references to cleaning house, blowing up said house, and burning it to the ground. So maybe not bedtime viewing? The returning cast includes Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, Billy Crudup, Mark Duplass, Jon Hamm and Greta Lee. New and mostly nasty are Marion Cotillard, Jeremy Irons and Aaron Pierre.

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● Black Rabbit (series premières all eight episodes Thursday, Sept. 18, on Netflix)

Charismatic and ambitious, Jake (Jude Law) owns the title’s New York City restaurant and bar. Things are looking good, so good that brother Vince (Jason Bateman) wants back in to the family business.

Vince also brings a few problems, a debt and some raging chaos. How thick is this family’s blood? (A gross metaphor but we don’t make the metaphor rules.) More to the point, the sneak preview raises a little worry about the durability of Law’s NYC accent, but long-haired, wild-eyed Bateman going for broke? Odds are in favour.

 

Broadcast dates subject to change. Questions, comments to denise.duguay@winnipegfreepress.com.