Streaming Sneaks: Catch Shu Qi’s supernatural series The Resurrected, It prequel ahead of Halloween

The Resurrected

Debuts on Netflix on Oct 9

A tentpole title in Netflix’s expanding Asian television slate, this Mandarin supernatural revenge drama follows two mothers whose teenage daughters are tragic victims in a sensational kidnapping case.

United by their rage and grief, Wang Hui-chun (Shu Qi) and Chao Ching (Lee Sinje) finally get to see the criminal mastermind responsible, Zhang Shi Kai (Fu Meng-po), being executed.

But death seems like insufficient punishment for what he did, so they decide to perform a ritual to resurrect him for seven days, the goal being to make him suffer as their children did.

As their scheme unfolds, however, dark secrets emerge from their own lives, testing their resolve, bond and sense of morality.

Why watch it: The Resurrected is the most high-profile role in years for Shu Qi, the celebrated Taiwanese actress known for international action flicks such as The Transporter (2002), as well as Taiwanese art-house films including Three Times (2005).

Her Malaysian co-star Lee, known for Asian horror movies such as The Eye (2002), is in her element here. This high-stakes saga is co-directed by acclaimed Taiwanese film-makers Leste Chen and Hsu Chao-jen, who also co-helmed the drama series Delicious Romance (2021).

It: Welcome To Derry

Debuts on HBO Max and HBO on Oct 27

A new entry in the franchise based on horror maestro Stephen King’s 1986 novel It, this series is a prequel to the hit movies It (2017) and It: Chapter Two (2019).

Swedish actor Bill Skarsgard reprises his role as Pennywise, a shapeshifting monster who for decades has preyed on the children of Derry, Maine, to whom he most often appears as a clown.

The show dives into his reign of terror in the 1960s, when a couple, Leroy (Jovan Adepo) and Charlotte Hanlon (Taylour Paige) – the grandparents of the Mike Hanlon character played by Isaiah Mustafa and other actors in the films – move to the town, and a succession of horrific incidents unfolds.

Why watch it: It: Welcome To Derry was developed by the same team – Argentinian director Andy Muschietti, with Argentinian Barbara Muschietti and American Jason Fuchs as producers – behind the films, and expands on the mythos the three established.

It also offers a chance to discover Pennywise’s backstory and the dark events that shaped Derry.

Nobody Wants This 2

Debuts on Netflix on Oct 23

This unlikely romance between a rabbi and the host of a sex podcast made for an unlikely hit, its first season topping Netflix’s global chart for English-language series when it premiered in 2024.

That first chapter saw agnostic podcaster Joanne (Kristen Bell) and unconventional rabbi Noah (Adam Brody) fall in love and overcome the odds – as well as interference from friends and family – to get together.

But now that they are in a relationship, their differences cannot simply be ignored, and Season 2 sees the couple attempt to merge their disparate lives.

Why watch it: Based on the real-life love story of the show’s creator – American podcaster Erin Foster, who converted to Judaism for her now husband – Nobody Wants This offers more depth than the typical romcom.

And fans thrilled by the pairing of Bell and Brody, who starred in beloved 2000s teen dramas Veronica Mars (2004 to 2007) and The O.C. (2003 to 2007) respectively, will be getting a third American former teen idol this season. Leighton Meester, star of the teen soap Gossip Girl (2007 to 2012) and Brody’s wife, joins the cast as Joanne’s former nemesis from middle school.

The Chair Company

Debuts on HBO and HBO Max on Oct 13

Tim Robinson, an American comedian known for his singular brand of cringe comedy, creates and stars in this unique workplace sitcom.

He plays Ron Trosper, an awkward, prideful everyman who becomes obsessed with an office furniture company after an embarrassing incident.

Things escalate and he begins to uncover what looks like a vast conspiracy lurking beneath seemingly mundane office politics.

Why watch it: Robinson is not well known outside the United States, but with comedy series such as I Think You Should Leave With Tim Robinson (2019 to present), he has cornered the market on a very particular brand of absurdist humour, typically involving scenarios where social embarrassment spirals out of control.

The Chair Company also looks set to plumb the depths of everyday narcissism and conspiratorial thinking.