What to watch this fall

Screenshot of Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency
Screenshot of Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency

A guide to late October TV

By Lauren Paulsen, Multimedia Editor

The Fall show lineup is here! We’re part-way through October and there are still lots more new shows to check out. Here is a guide for shows that start coming out from October 20 all the way to Halloween.

Thursday, October 20: Project Runway: Fashion Startup

The Project Runway franchise is releasing a new eight-episode series, envisioned as a mix of Project Runway with Dragon’s Den. It will showcase aspiring fashion and beauty entrepreneurs as they try to win over a panel of investors for their fledgling ventures.

Saturday, October 22: Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency

Based on Douglas Adams’ novel of the same name, this new science-fiction detective series follows Dirk Gently (Samuel Barnett), an eccentric time-travelling holistic detective who investigates cases involving the supernatural, and his reluctant sidekick Todd Brotzman (Elijah Wood). This new Vancouver-filmed series contains a cast with several Canadian actors, including Aaron Douglas, Michael Eklund, Mpho Koaho, and Dustin Milligan.

Sunday, October 23: Dream Corp LLC

Adult Swim has a new mind-bending and outrageously bizarre show called Dream Corp LLC. Using a unique blend of live-action and animation, the eponymous Dream Corp LLC is an experimental therapy facility that creates virtual reality for patients to confront their real life issues by stimulating their wildest dreams.

Monday, October 24: Man with a Plan

In this new sitcom, Matt LeBlanc takes on his most challenging role yet: a stay-at-home father. When his wife, Andi (Liza Snyder) goes back to work, Adam (LeBlanc) thinks taking on a more active parenting role will be easy. It isn’t long before he finds out “Daddy Funtimes” is in way over his head.

Wednesday, October 25: Everest Air, Jon Glaser Loves Gear

Mount Everest is the highest mountain on earth, a challenge only the most daring climbers will take on. The Travel Channel’s Everest Air brings us the real life experiences of Everest expert mountaineer, adventurer, and medic Jeff Evans, and his Alpine Rescue Service team. Each episode gives a glimpse into the challenges climbers face when taking on the world’s highest peak.

Tru TV’s Jon Glaser Loves Gear is a new comedy reality series starring actor and comedian Jon Glaser (Trainwreck, Girls). The 10 episodes will cover his love of gear, but promises to “spiral off on deeply personal tangents.” It should be quite unlike anything else on the air.

Thursday, October 27: The Great Indoors, The Living and the Dead, Pure Genius 

The Great Indoors is a new sitcom starring Joel McHale as Jack Gordon, an experienced adventure reporter who is called back from the wild by his boss. It is back at the office where he encounters a new species: The group of millennials that now work in the digital/social media department. Jack is tasked with trying to mentor this younger generation, but connecting with these shut-ins might be his hardest assignment yet.

BBC’s The Living and the Dead is sure to make your spine tingle. When Nathan (Colin Morgan) and Charlotte Appleby (Charlotte Spencer) inherit a farm, they soon encounter supernatural forces that seem as though they were brought on by their arrival.

In Pure Genius, James Bell (Augustus Prew) becomes a tech billionaire and opens a new, cutting-edge hospital. He enlists the help of a controversial surgeon (Dermot Mulroney) to help him with his new-school approach to medicine. When money isn’t a concern, can these two make a difference?

Friday, October 28: Good Girls Revolt, Tracey Ullman’s Show

In 1969, women were not allowed to be reporters, or to write news stories. Good Girls Revolt is a new web television series from Amazon, based on true events which inspired Lynn Povich’s book of the same name. It follows a group of female researchers as they bring a sex discrimination suit against Newsweek.

British sketch comedy series Tracey Ullman’s Show is coming to HBO. Popular in the UK, it already has been renewed for a second season. The show features Tracey Ullman impersonating celebrities such as Judi Dench and Maggie Smith.

Monday, October 31: People of Earth

Starcrossed is a support group for people who think they have been abducted by aliens. In this Toronto-filmed comedy series, journalist Ozzie Graham (Wyatt Cenac) has come to interview these oddballs. Although he is initially skeptical about their accounts of abduction, he begins to believe that he may need the support group as well.