It's the season of ghosts, ghouls, and pumpkin spice...yet while horror takes center stage in media, that doesn't mean there isn't still plenty of exciting new fantasy and sci-fi fare to take in as well. After a relatively quiet September, several major genre TV releases are hitting streaming services this month. From the long-awaited follow-up to Marvel's acclaimed series WandaVision to multiple groundbreaking animated sequels, the continuation of Starz's hit time-traveling romance franchise Outlander and more, fall television is starting to ramp up in the fantasy and science fiction space.
Let's run through seven notable SFF shows that are airing this month, so that you can spend less time searching for your next watch and more time enjoying it.
1. Dark Matter season 2 — Currently airing (Apple TV)
Apple TV has built up a reputation for exceptional adult science fiction, so when they air something new in the genre, you can typically trust that it will be worth your while. Their current show in the genre is Dark Matter, based on the 2016 novel of the same name by Blake Crouch about a man named Jason Dessen who travels to alternate universes, witnessing different versions of his own life as he searches to rectify a past mistake.
The first season of Dark Matter adapted all of Crouch's novel, so we're firmly in uncharted waters with season 2. Fortunately, this series has the incredibly unique advantage that the author of the book also happens to be the showrunner for the TV show. With Dark Matter season 2, Crouch is essentially giving us the sequel to his book in television form. So far, it's been riveting, exploring parts of the multiverse that we'd only dreamed of from the novel.
Dark Matter drops new episodes Fridays on Apple TV, until its season finale on October 30.
2. Outlander: Blood of My Blood season 2 — Currently airing (Starz)
Outlander: Blood of My Blood is the spinoff to Starz's beloved show Outlander, which adapted Diana Gabaldon's equally beloved books about two lovers from different time periods who are united by fate and a bit of Scottish magic. The original show ended its run earlier this year, wrapping up the sweeping tale of Claire and Jaime Fraser and their children in a deeply emotional fashion.
Fans of Outlander are more than familiar with the "droughtlander," as the long waits between seasons were known. But Starz wanted to ensure there would be no such thing after Outlander's eighth and final season by launching a brand new show that explores the parallel romances of Claire and Jaime's parents, in post-World War I Europe and 18th Century Scotland, respectively. We're now on the second season of the series, and its own time travel elements have made for an incredibly dynamic and engaging story that is doing the Outlander legacy proud.
Outlander: Blood of My Blood season 2 premieres new episodes Fridays on Starz. We're only a handful of episodes into the season at this point, so it's a perfect time to get caught up.
3. Carrie — October 7 (Prime Video)
When it comes to renowned horror stories, it's hard to beat Carrie, the first novel ever published by Stephen King all the way back in 1974. This story of a girl with psychic powers who eventually snaps and takes bloody revenge against the teenagers who bully her has become timeless in its own way, with a number of screen adaptations over the decades. This month we'll see the premiere of the latest iteration, helmed by none other than television horror guru Mike Flanagan.
Flanagan's sensibilities for weaving a good season of horror television have been proven pretty much beyond a doubt by this point, so the idea that he's taking on Carrie is one we can get way more excited about than anxious. In less adept hands, bringing King's seminal work into a modern setting might run the risk of going totally off the rails; in Flanagan's, it's probably going to become the TV event of the Halloween season.
All eight episodes of Carrie premiere October 7 on Prime Video. Flanagan has said in interviews that he'd like the show to run for three seasons, so we'll have to watch and see how he handles Stephen King's iconic source material while leaving the way open for more.
4. Avatar: Seven Havens — October 9 (Paramount+)
Moving into animation, we'll also be watching Avatar: Seven Havens this month, the brand new series from Avatar: The Last Airbender creators Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. While there have been several Avatar projects since the original cartoon and its sequel, The Legend of Korra, wrapped up, this upcoming series truly feels like the next chapter in the saga.
Avatar: Seven Havens takes place long after The Legend of Korra, and it inverts the classic formula for the franchise. In the East Asian-inspired fantasy world of ATLA, the Avatar has always been a semi-mythic figure that can master the bending magic for all four elements, usually in order to restore some semblance of balance to the world after it's gone out of whack. However, by the time of Seven Havens, the Avatar is seen as a pariah, thanks to the world-altering actions of Avatar Korra in her own series, where she merged the realm of the spirits with the human world.
Seven Havens follows a new gang of young heroes as they set out to prove that the Avatar is still a force for good, and humanity's only hope when the chips are truly down. If it can come even close to capturing the magic of The Last Airbender or The Legend of Korra, it's going to be quite the event.
The first three episodes of Avatar: Seven Havens premiere Friday, October 9 on Paramount+, with new batches dropping weekly until its final four on October 30.
5. VisionQuest — October 14 (Disney+)
Remember back in the days when Disney+ was a brand new streaming service, and its first tentpole Marvel show was the Emmy-winning WandaVision? Those were good times for TV and the MCU at large, and the next entry in the never-ending saga seeks to bring us back to them.
VisionQuest is being billed as the third miniseries in a trilogy which includes WandaVision and its spinoff, Agatha All Along. Like its two predecessors, this will be a very different show unlike anything else in the MCU. As the name implies, it follows the android Vision — but rather than the Vision we all know and love from earlier films, this is the White Vision who was introduced in WandaVision. He goes on an existential quest to understand his existence, which brings his creator, Ultron, back onto the scene for the first time since the second Avengers film premiered over a decade ago.
From the trailer, it's already obvious this is going to be a quirky, thought-provoking show just like WandaVision, which is exactly what's called for in a story about an android pondering its own existence. It's been a while since an MCU show has gotten me truly excited, but this one looks like it could be just the ticket.
6. Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2 — October 20 (Netflix)
The first season of Netflix's Cyberpunk: Edgerunners proved that not only could a video game get a good animated adaptation, but that said adaptation could slot so neatly into the game canon that they became inseparable. Produced by Studio Trigger in coordination with CD Projekt Red, Edgerunners told the story of a young street kid named David Martinez who joined a gang of criminals in order to make a name for himself in the dystopian metropolis of Night City. It benefited greatly from being a complete, one-season story that totally tied up David's journey, cementing him as such a Night City legend that material from the anime was subsequently added to CD Projekt Red's video game Cyberpunk 2077, tying them more tightly together.
Now, Studio Trigger is back with another season, and if it's anything like the first, it's going to be a wild ride. Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2 features a completely new cast of characters who embark on their own quest into the dark heart of Night City. Knowing how bleak Cyberpunk 2077 can get, the chances are very good that there won't be happy endings for everyone on the other side of it.
All 10 episodes of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2 drop Tuesday, October 20 on Netflix.
7. Yaga — October 23 (AMC+)
Out of all the shows on this list, Yaga is the only one which isn't spawned from a pre-existing franchise or well known modern story. This Canadian murder mystery show dials up the witchy vibes for spooky season, taking the Slavic myth of Baba Yaga and transplanting it onto a small rural town, where a detective arrives to help solve a missing persons case for a student whose teacher was wrapped up in the occult.
Yaga has a stacked cast that includes The Matrix's Carrie Ann Moss as Katherine, a university professor whose penchant for younger men lands her squarely on the suspect list when one of her students, played by Heated Rivalry's Hudson Williams, goes missing. We're betting there's quite a bit more to the story, if the original Baba Yaga myths are anything to go by.
Yaga premieres its first two episodes on Friday, October 23 on AMC+, with new episodes following weekly.
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