TV Watchlist: 'Loki' and 'Our Flag Means Death' Return, 'Haunted Mansion' Comes to Disney+

Plus: The season finale of "Ahsoka" and a new David Beckham docuseries hits Netflix Week of September 30 – October 6 If you can’t tell that spooky season is fully upon us, just look at this week’s list – we’ve got a time travel slasher movie (“Totally Killer”), a “Pet Sematary” prequel (“Pet Sematary: Bloodlines”), Disney’s “Haunted Mansion” movie and the return of everyone’s favorite killer doll “Chucky,” plus the new season of “The Simpsons” (which will have one of their iconic Halloween episodes). And if you’re not in the scaring mood yet, there’s the splashy return of “Loki,” a David Beckham documentary series (“Beckham”) and a new season of “Our Flag Means Death.” Plenty for thrill seekers and more timid viewers alike! On with the television! Loki Thursday, October 5, Disney+ Source: Disney+ More than two years after the first season concluded, “Loki” has returned to protect the sacred timeline. This new season picks up right where the first season left off, with Loki (Tom Hiddleston), Mobius (Owen Wilson) and B-15 (Wunmi Mosaku) trying to undo the damage done by the murder of He Who Remains (Jonathan Majors), the proliferation of multiverses and the revelation that the Time Variance Authority (or TVA) is a sham. And this year they’re joined by recent Oscar winner Ke Huy Quan as a quirky TVA repairman. Without giving anything away (wouldn’t want to be thrown in the TVA time jail), the first episode back is a crazy bout of fun, advancing (and complicating) the world that was established while maintaining everything that worked so well the first time around (including the odd, beguiling 1970s brutalist sci-fi aesthetic and the playful sense of humor). This time around Loki is unstuck in time and trying to figure out where his female doppelganger Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) is in the tangle of timelines and parallel realms. And that’s just the beginning of it. As the first Marvel Studios streaming series to return for a second season, “Loki” really had to bring the heat. And let us tell you – it does. Big time. How long until Season 3 is announced? [[TRAILER](] Ahsoka Tuesday, October 3, Disney+ Source: Disney+ “Ahsoka” has been many things over the course of its first seven episodes – a proper follow-up to “Rebels” and “The Clone Wars;” a more fleshed-out glimpse into a section of the “Star Wars” timeline that had been previously left unexplored (especially in terms of the lead-up to “The Force Awakens” and the birth of the First Order); and a wonderful character study, of a character that wrestles with her own relationship to The Force in a way that feels truthful and real (Rosario Dawson is terrific in the title role). What elements will be added in the finale? Will we get an even better sense of what happened after “Return of the Jedi?” Will it be a complete story or will we only get that conclusion in the already announced movie, to be directed by “Ahsoka” creator Dave Filoni? And will there be action figures of those little turtle men? Only time will tell! [[TRAILER](] Totally Killer Friday, October 6, Prime Video Source: Prime Video Why not celebrate the season with a brand-new slasher movie? “Totally Killer” is built around an ingenious set-up – a young girl (Kiernan Shipka) witnesses her mother’s murder and, thanks to a time machine, goes back to 1987 to not only stop her murder but to save several young women who fell victim to the same sadistic serial killer. Cool right? Thankfully, “Totally Killer” pays off that set-up. It’s incredibly fun – a joyful, bloody, neon-tinged extravaganza that playfully mixes scares and laughs in equal measure. (It was directed by Nahnatchka Khan, the creator of countless TV series and the director of “Always Be My Maybe.”) Shipka is great as a progressive teen experiencing all of the rougher aspects of living in the 1980s (there are a lot of great jokes about people smoking around children, among other things) and Julie Owen and Olivia Holt play the same character at two different points in time terrifically. Also, Randall Park shows up as a dopey cop and steals every scene. It’s a bloody good time. [[TRAILER](] Beckham Wednesday, October 4, Netflix Source: Netflix According to the official release “this docuseries follows David Beckham's meteoric rise from humble beginnings to global football stardom.” The limited documentary series was directed by actor-turned-director Fisher Stevens (“The Cove”) and features a mixture of archival footage and new interviews with Victoria Beckham, Gary Neville, Eric Cantona, Sir Alex Ferguson, Rio Ferdinand, Paul Scholes, Roy Keane, Mel C (aka Sporty Spice), Diego Simeone, Carlos Queiroz, Luís Figo, Míchel Salgado, Florentino Pérez, Roberto Carlos, Ronaldo Nazário and Fabio Capello and David’s mum and dad. Sounds like this is going to be score. [[TRAILER](] American Horror Story: 1984 Hulu Source: FX If “Totally Killer” has you in the mood for more 1980s-themed horror, why not revisit (or watch for the first time) “American Horror Story: 1984,” the ninth cycle of the popular anthology series. The premise of this round is deceptively simple – at the beginning you think it’s a straightforward slasher set at a summer camp, a la “Sleepaway Camp” or “Friday the 13th.” But soon it gives way to something sneakier and more sinister. And the cast, including “AHS” regulars Emma Roberts, Billie Lourd, Leslie Grossman and Cody Fern are all in fine form, clearly in on the more arch tone of this season. And what’s more – they all look great in neon spandex! This is one of the best, most underappreciated seasons of the series. And one that makes for a very easy re-watch (or first time viewing). [[WATCH](] Source: Max “The Simpsons” Sunday, October 1 at 8 p.m., Fox “The Simpsons,” which is the longest-running sitcom, longest-running American animated series and longest-running American scripted prime-time series, returns for its 35th season. And, yes, while the show is more hit-or-miss than it was in its halcyon days, it’s pretty amazing that they’re even able to produce new episodes (and, yes, there will be one of the show’s trademark Halloween episodes, after last year’s fun, formally inventive entry). This might be the most comforting of all comfort food television. It’s hard to say d’oh. [[TRAILER](] “Chucky” Wednesday, October 4 at 9 p.m., Syfy/USA “Chucky” is back. And this time he’s in the White House. (Yes, seriously.) From the marketing materials, it looks like the President’s son finds Chucky and keeps him close. But once the bodies start piling up in the nation’s capital, well, chances are they’ll start looking in the doll’s direction. The kids from the earlier seasons try to intervene and it looks like there’ll be plenty of the show’s metatextual humor, playful gender-bending and gross-out gore. Long live Chucky. [[TRAILER](] “Haunted Mansion” Wednesday, October 4, Disney+ When “Haunted Mansion” was released this summer, it had the misfortune of both strikes and the unstoppable juggernaut that was “Barbie”/”Oppenheimer.” This is a shame, because “Haunted Mansion” is a ton of fun. Based on the Disney attraction that first opened back in 1969 (it was previously adapted, 20 years earlier, into a lame Eddie Murphy vehicle), the movie stars Rosario Dawson as a young single mother whose new home is infested with 999 happy haunts. In order to rid her of the otherworldly presence, she calls on a group of spiritual advisors – a ghost tour guide (LaKeith Stanfield), a priest (Owen Wilson), a historian (Danny De Vito) and a psychic (Tiffany Haddish). Of course, they are all in over their head, especially when they come up against the sinister Hatbox Ghost (Jared Leto), a character that has deep ties to the Haunted Mansion mythology. With a winning mixture of humor, heart and scares, “Haunted Mansion” was one of the more delightful Disney movies released this year. And now you can watch it at home – just in time for Halloween! [[TRAILER](] “Our Flag Means Death” Thursday, October 5, Max Hoist your favorite pirate flag, “Our Flag Means Death” is back! The first season was one of the most unexpected delights of last year; it was ostensibly a sort-of based-on-a-true-story pirate adventure but also a workplace comedy and also one of the more joyous LGBTQ+ romances. It’s the kind of thing that could have easily drowned in the waters of obscurity, but thanks to a large fan outcry, the show is returning, with Rhys Darby (as a gentleman pirate who leaves his square life behind) and Taika Waititi (as Blackbeard, it should be noted) returning as well. [[TRAILER](] “Pet Sematary: Bloodlines” Friday, October 6, Paramount+ Remember the “Pet Sematary” remake from a couple of years ago? Well, even if you didn’t, this should serve of some interest – it’s a prequel to that film but also fills in some gaps from the story original that was written by Stephen King and first adapted in 1989 by Mary Lambert. This film follows a young Jud Crandall (played in the original by Fred Gwynne and in the remake by John Lithgow) and his dealings in the 1960s with the evil pet cemetery and the mysteries that surround it. If, for some reason, you’re not in the spooky season mood yet, this should do the trick. [[TRAILER](] 2034 Armacost Ave. | Los Angeles, CA 90025 [Unsubscribe](