What to Watch This Week: October 24 to 29

From medical marvels to comic curmudgeons, here are our top 10 shows to watch this week

1. Fauci – Disney+

Depending on who you talk to, Dr. Anthony Fauci is either one of the world’s most prominent infectious disease specialists and adviser to seven presidents, or a deranged James Bond villain with a master plan to inject magnetic microchips into our arms in order to… well, take a look at your craziest relative’s Facebook feed and try to figure it out. In any case, this National Geographic doc takes an even-handed look at the internationally respected scientist who has become a hero to most, and an evil demagogue to those who’ve embraced Clorox injections and horse dewormer as COVID-19 cures.

Not only does this film follow the 80-year-old Fauci as he guides America through the pandemic, it also pries into his family life and career-at-large, highlighted by his crucial work battling viral outbreaks including HIV/AIDS, SARS (which is actually another form of coronavirus) and Ebola. “When you’re involved in a race to stop a horrible disease, you always feel you’re not doing things quickly enough,” Fauci says in the trailer.

In addition to tackling the “post-traumatic stress” these health crises brought him, filmmakers will unpack the backlash he continues to face from the political right. Offering “unprecedented access” to Fauci, the doc features the insight of former president George W. Bush, U2 frontman Bono, key AIDS activists and assorted experts.

2. Squid Game – Netflix

When Netflix picked up the rights to a brutally violent dystopic thriller from South Korea, it seems unimaginable that programming execs at the time ever envisioned it would become the streamer’s most-watched series of all time.

Yet that’s becoming the case with Squid Game, which is set to overtake such shows as Bridgerton, Lupin, The Witcher and Stranger Things as Netflix’s No. 1 show ever, having already captured the top spot in 90 countries within 10 days of its release.

The premise of Squid Game recalls the likes of The Hunger Games and Battle Royale: a group of 456 deeply indebted and desperate people are recruited for a competition where they engage in adapted versions of playground games familiar from their childhoods. Those who succeed are awarded $45.6 billion Korean (approximately $48 million in Canadian dollars).

What the participants quickly learn, however, is that these childish games have been imbued with a lethal twist: those who lose are killed in gory, graphic fashion.

“People are attracted by the irony that hopeless grownups risk their lives to win a kids’ game,” said Squid Game director Hwang Dong-hyuk. “The games are simple and easy, so viewers can give more focus on each character rather than complex game rules.”

This focus on the characters is what makes Squid Game so particularly brutal; rather than watching the slaughter of generic characters, viewers are confronted with the violent murders of individuals they’ve come to know intimately, turning each of these deaths (of which there are certainly no shortage) into an emotional gut punch.

Despite the show’s unexpected popularity, Dong-hyuk has yet to commit to a second season. “I don’t have well-developed plans for Squid Game 2,” he told Variety. “It is quite tiring just thinking about it.”

3. The Great North – Sunday, October 24, 8:30 p.m., Fox

In this week’s instalment of the Alaskan sitcom, Ham forges an unexpected bond with a novelty singing fish—don’t even act like you don’t know what we’re talking about—and Wolf tries to get a jet ski for Beef. Mel Rodriguez (CSI: Vegas) and Chelsea Peretti (Brooklyn Nine-Nine) drop by as guest stars.

4. Insecure – Sunday, October 24, 9 p.m., 11:55 p.m., HBO Canada | Season Premiere

When HBO announced that its groundbreaking comedy Insecure would return for a fifth outing, they also dropped the bombshell that season five would be the swan song… except that it wasn’t a bombshell for co-creator and star Issa Rae. Indeed, to hear her tell it in an interview with Deadline, everything went exactly as she’d intended.

“Prentice [Penny, executive producer] and I are so grateful that HBO believed in our show from the beginning and kept faith in us to see our vision through the end,” said Rae. “We always planned to tell this story through five seasons, but we couldn’t have made it this far without the tremendous support of our audience.”

So, how will the saga of fumbling millennials Issa, Molly et al. wrap up? Happily, one hopes—with a few relatable chuckles and some incisive social commentary.

5. Family Guy – Sunday, October 24, 9:30 p.m., Fox

There’s a whole lotta flip-flopping goin’ on, as Stewie and his frenemy Doug (guest-voice Chris Parnell) agree to commit murders for each other—Strangers on a Train-style—while Quagmire and Peter switch underwear, somehow causing them to mimic each other.

6. Curb Your Enthusiasm – Sunday, October 24, 9:35 p.m. & 12:30 a.m., HBO Canada | Season Premiere

So, here’s the deal with Curb Your Enthusiasm: the only way we’ll probably ever know for absolute certain that it’s not coming back is when Larry David is dead. That’s not a dark exaggeration, it’s just a matter of fact.

Curb is one of HBO’s signature, brand-defining series; it’s pretty cheap to produce; and it always generates buzz when a new season pops up. So the network is never going to say “no” when Mr. David decides he wants to return for another few episodes of transcendent cringe comedy. And indeed, the man has put both HBO and his many fans through more than one extended hiatus. Luckily, the erstwhile Seinfeld co-creator has decided he’s got an 11th season in him. And even though he’s always been notoriously tight-lipped when it comes to plot details, HBO’s promo campaign informs us: “The world has changed. He hasn’t.”

That in mind, go ahead and start gettin’ giddy at the prospect of Larry navigating the pandemic era; longtime co-star JB Smoove didn’t spill any precise details of what that might entail when he spoke with Deadline about the new season. He only said this: “You gotta watch and see what Larry does. He’s a genius, he really is.”

7. Beetlejuice – Tuesday, October 26, 10 p.m., Family

Death is only the beginning for Barbara and Adam (Geena Davis, Alec Baldwin), who—after perishing in a car accident—unexpectedly find themselves transformed into spirits, forced to haunt their own mansion. That’s how they cross paths with a supernatural trickster named Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton).

8. Walker – Thursday, October 28, 5 p.m., CTV Drama; 8 p.m., The CW | Season Premiere

Season two of this reboot finds Texas Ranger Cordell Walker (Jared Padalecki) and partner Micki (Lindsey Morgan) facing off with a new enemy, the Del Rio crime syndicate. While Micki is sent to infiltrate the gang by going undercover, Cordell can only sit helplessly on the sidelines.

9. Colin in Black and White – Friday, October 29, Netflix | Series Premiere

This limited series from Ava DuVernay (When They See Us) dramatizes the early years of controversial former San Francisco 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick, who narrates. The show focuses on young Colin (Jaden Michael) as he navigates the insecurities, complexities and revelations he experiences growing up as a biracial kid with adopted parents (Mary-Louise Parker and Nick Offerman) in a predominantly white California neighbourhood.

10. Swagger – Friday, October 29, Apple TV+ | Series Premiere

Basketball fans have been eagerly anticipating this new series from NBA superstar Kevin Durant, series creator Reggie Rock Bythewood and producer Brian Grazer. Inspired by Durant’s own experiences as an aspiring young pro athlete, Swagger explores the high-stakes world of youth basketball, and the players, their families and coaches who walk the fine line between dreams and ambition, as well as opportunism and corruption.

O’Shea Jackson, Jr. (who portrayed his father, Ice Cube, in Straight Outta Compton) plays Ike, a former star player who’s now a youth basketball coach. Isaiah Hill plays Jace Carson, a basketball phenom who is one of the top-ranked young players in the country, while Shinelle Azoroh plays Jenna, Jace’s mother, who is single-mindedly determined to chart NBA success for her son.

Other stars include: Tessa Ferrer as Meg Bailey, a former basketball player and coach for a rival team; Quvenzhané Wallis as Crystal, another top young B-ball star; Caleel Harris as Musa, the team’s glue and point guard; James Bingham as Drew Murphy, a player from an affluent part of town; Solomon Irama as Phil Marksby, the enforcer for a rival team; Ozie Nzeribe as Royale, a sub-par player with a wealthy father; and Tristan Mack Wilds as Alonzo Powers, the grassroots division leader at a major footwear company.

According to producer Grazer, Durant has “created a beautiful world that the Friday Night Lights essence could inhabit,” in which talented children of 12 or 13 are presented, for the first time in their lives, with crazy amounts of cash from athletic shoe companies. “It’s a fascinating universe of possibilities,” Grazer explained.

The 10-part season debuts with three episodes, followed by one new episode each Friday until the finale on December 17th.