IF YOU LISTEN CLOSELY, DEAR READER, YOU CAN HEAR THE FIRST WHISPERS OF FALL CALLING OUT TO THE NORTHEAST, WRAPPING US IN THE SWEET, SWEET SERENITY OF PLEASANT WEATHER AND PRIME ENTERTAINMENT TITLES. HAPPY FEASTING BELOW!

BY DAN SALAMONE

HIGHEST 2 LOWEST SEPTEMBER 5 (APPLE TV+)

Though this crime thriller was given a token release (to make it Oscar eligible and let a few folks see it on the big screen), this reunion of Spike Lee and Denzel Washington was always meant for home viewing. In their fifth cinematic venture (the last was 2006’s Inside Man), Washington plays a titan of the music industry who is widely revered as having a great ear for talent, and who finds himself the target of a ransom plot for exactly that reason.

TASK SEPTEMBER 7 (HBO)

The creators of the widely beloved and feted Mare of Easttown return with another gripping procedural in this tale of an FBI Agent (played by the always excellent Mark Ruffalo) put in charge of a task force to catch the man behind a series of violent robberies (Tom Pelphrey, of the wonderfully odd sci-fi series, Outer Range). Will he encounter moral dilemmas with life changing consequences where there is no clear choice? Based on Mare, I’m guessing yes.

THE DEAD GIRLS SEPTEMBER 10 (NETFLIX)

Hey, true crime fanatics, have you ever heard the story of Las Poquian chis? No? Well, get cozy, because this limited series dives into the tale of four Mexican sisters who formed what the Guinness World Records called the “most prolific murder partnership in history,” killing at least 91 people, but possibly as many as 200.

THE LOST BUS OCTOBER 3 (APPLE TV+)

Apple brings more top-shelf star power to this film about a bus-driving father (Matthew McConaughey) who must risk everything to save a group of students and their beloved teacher (America Ferrera) caught in the 2018 Camp Fire, the real-life deadliest wildfire in California history.

LOVE IS BLIND: BRAZIL OCTOBER 6 (NETFLIX)

You know that show that aims to help singles get engaged without meeting face to face? Well, this is that, but the fame-seekers at the center of it are slightly more attractive than ours.

THE WOMAN IN CABIN 10 OCTOBER 9 (NETFLIX)

More streaming star power via this gripping film about a journalist (the ever-charming Keira Knightley, seen too rarely on our screens these days) who witnesses the murder of a pas senger aboard a luxury yacht, then is gaslit by the ship crew about her having even been on board at all. Guy Pearce (Iron Man 3) and Hannah Wad dingham (Ted Lasso) are on board to add to the mystery.

BALLAD OF A SMALL PLAYER OCTOBER 15 (NETFLIX)

Colin Farrell (of The Penguin, and countless great films and shows) plays a high-stakes gambler who takes a sabbatical in Macao after his past mistakes and debts threaten him with imminent bodily harm. Though it sounds modest, the film was directed by the guy behind the brilliant All Qui et on the Western Front, and it also stars the ever-brilliant Tilda Swinton (Doctor Strange), so there is clearly more than meets the eye here.