September is always stacked with TV releases, especially the broadcast network conveyor belt of mass-consumption shows that we almost never care about.
Pop Thruster ain’t about that though. We’re “prestige TV” and also quirky and funny and dark shows made for people who deeply care about high quality stories, writing, and performances. And then we’re also not averse to some reality show silliness and “shame spiral” unscripted ludicrousness too, of course.
Let’s do this for September, 2025.
Slow Horses (Apple TV+, Sept 24)
Gary Oldman as the world’s most disgustingly entertaining spy boss is your September lock to be Must Watch television. The doings at Slough House might be one of the single best reasons to hang on to my Apple TV+ subscription at this point short of hanging around for that one Jon Hamm show?
And certainly not for The Morning Show (which, yeah, is returning in September as well).
Heavyweight prestige TV premieres
- Task (HBO, Sept 7): Brad Ingelsby of Mare of Easttown fame teams up with Mark Ruffalo and Tom Pelphrey for a crime saga about violent home invasions (also) set in the Philly area, with the accents to match. Expect emotional wreckage alongside the detective work.
- The Lowdown (FX/Hulu, Sept 23): Ethan Hawke as a real-life journalist who unearthed Tulsa’s buried KKK history, from Sterlin Harjo (Reservation Dogs). The pedigree here is absurdly on point, and also I’d just watch Hawke in anything.
- The Savant (Apple TV+, Sept 26): Jessica Chastain profiles incels and red-pill types for the FBI in a story that could have been featured in Cosmo IRL.
Guilty pleasure returnees
- Tulsa King (Paramount+, Sept 21): Sly Stallone keeps chewing scenery as a fish-out-of-water mob boss. Ridiculous? Yes. Watchable? And but also: our guy Martin Starr.
- Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test (Fox, Sept 25): The celebrity-punishment reality series is back, this time with Brittany Cartwright from the Vanderpump-verse, Johnny Football, Kody Brown, and a full cast of loveable randos.
The wild cards
Any of these could easily become your next must watch. Or not! That’s the fun of checking out new shows, right?
- House of Guinness (Netflix): Steven Knight turns the 19th-century Irish brewing dynasty into a Succession-style family throwdown. Pour one out.
- The Red King (AMC+): Details are scarce, but the vibe is dark, gothic, and maybe worth a look.
- The Girlfriend (Prime Video, Sept 10): Robin Wright vs. Olivia Cooke in a psychological thriller about whether the new girlfriend is a sociopath or the mother-in-law is paranoid.
- Black Rabbit (Netflix, Sept 18): Jude Law and Jason Bateman run a fancy restaurant where arson, embezzlement, and hot dogs coexist. The Bear, but dumber and maybe better?