2025 Fall/Winter Film and Television Preview
It’s that time of year again. New movies are on the horizon and a plethora of television shows are set to debut or revisit us.
It’s that time of year again. As the days of summer wane, the crisp scent of fall is in the air. And with that, new movies are on the horizon to close out the year, and a plethora of television shows are set to debut or revisit us on networks and streaming platforms. Below are a few notables.
Old Favorites
Do you like franchise series, comedies, reality shows, or true crime series? Or a different genre? Many viewer favorites will be premiering at the end of September and in early October.
Networks tend to have a lot of comedies, reality programs, and police procedurals. Here are some beloved shows that are coming back this fall.
Your favorite Philadelphia teachers return on October 1 when Abbott Elementary’s 5th season premieres on ABC. The Emmy-winning show usually has 22-episodes a season. In case you don’t have a television or don’t subscribe to networks, it also streams on Hulu and other streaming platforms.
Joe Port and Joe Wiseman’s Ghosts returns to CBS on October 16. This well-written adaptation of the British series of the same name will be returning for its 5th season. The diverse cast of characters that are from different eras give history lessons underscored with humor and sincerity. It can be found on numerous streaming platforms.
Funny man Cedric the Entertainer returns on October 13 for the eighth and final season of The Neighborhood. This CBS show takes a light-hearted look at gentrification. It streams on numerous platforms, including Paramount+.
Trip the light fantastic with season 34 (!) of Dancing with the Stars. The perennial favorite will be back on September 16 on ABC. Celebrities include Robert Irwin (wildlife conservationist), Alix Earle (social media influencer), and Jen Affleck and Whitney Leavitt (Secret Lives of Mormon Wives cast members). It will also stream on Disney+.
While The Plainclothesman (1949) and Dragnet (1951) are considered the first police procedural shows, Law & Order (1990) belongs in the pantheon of pioneering police procedurals. No specific date has been announced yet, but it will return sometime in the Fall for its 25th season on NBC. Its sibling show Law & Order: Special Victims Unit will also return in the Fall for its 27th season.
Part 1 of the second season of Wednesday returns to darken your day on August 6. August is still the dog days of summer, but Wednesday will return on September 3 with Part 2, right at the beginning of fall. Jenna Ortega reprises her role as the eponymous Wednesday Addams on Netflix.
Grab your cup of java and get ready for the 4th season of The Morning Show’s cynical take on network news. The upcoming season of the Apple TV+ show will explore conspiracy theories and deepfakes.
Probably the most anticipated show of the year is the ending of Stranger Things. The Hawkins gang has been around since 2016. The last season is in three parts, like three chapters. November 26 is the first part of the final season. As a Christmas gift and a way to ring in the New Year, parts 2 and 3 of the final season drop on Netflix on December 25 and December 31, respectively.
New Shows
Jude Law and Jason Bateman starrer Black Rabbit hits Netflix on September 18. This limited series revolves around a savvy restaurateur whose life takes a nosedive when his black sheep brother returns to NYC. Law and Bateman together? Who could ask for more.
Ethan Hawke is “truthstorian” Lee Raybon in the upcoming FX limited series The Lowdown. Set in Tulsa, Oklahoma, it premieres on September 23 and will also stream on Hulu. Ethan Hawke as a journalist is like having a distant cousin to his character Todd Anderson in Dead Poets Society.
Upcoming Movies
Fall’s season of movies is usually a blend of blockbusters and Oscar potentials. This season is no different. There’s a nice mix of movies with emotional depth and those that are general crowd pleasers.
There isn’t a more relatable aristocratic family than Downton Abbey’s the Crawleys. They first joined our living rooms in 2010, with a story set in 1912. The series ended in 2015 after six seasons. Two films were born from the series: Downton Abbey (2019) and Downton Abbey: A New Era (2022). Their third and final movie, Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale, is set in 1930 and will close the book on the lives of the Crawleys and their servants. The Focus Features release will be in theaters on September 12.
The Predator gets a well-deserved origin story in the upcoming Predator: Badlands. Directed by Dan Trachtenberg and following up the brutal, majestic, and action-packed Prey (2022), the 20th Century Studios release will be in theaters on November 7.
James Cameron’s addition to his sci-fi visual feast Avatar series, Avatar: Fire and Ash, will be in theaters December 19. The Ash people are a new Na’vi tribe in this 20th Century Studios release. What kind of drama will they bring to the fold? Fire and ice or ashes to ashes, dust to dust?
Neon’s Cannes Grand Prix winner Sentimental Value will be released in theaters on November 7. Set in Sweden, Joachim Trier’s film is sure to be deep and thought-provoking. Though it’s too early to tell, Neon, distributor of Parasite, could potentially have another Oscar contender on their hands.
Honorable Mentions
Frankenstein
Tron: Ares
Black Phone 2
Five Nights at Freddy’s 2
The Running Man
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
Sonya Alexander started off her career training to be a talent agent. She eventually realized she was meant to be on the creative end and has been writing ever since. As a freelance writer she’s written screenplays, covered film, television, music and video games and done academic writing. She’s also been a script reader for over twenty years. She's a member of the African American Film Critics Association and currently resides in Los Angeles.