Vampires, Werewolves, and Jack Osbourne: Our Guide to the Best of Halloween TV 2022 – PRIMETIMER

Photos: Marvel Studios/Disney+, Hulu, Discovery+, AMC/Primetimer Illustration

This Halloween, TV is offering thrills and chills galore: Hulu serves up a Solar Opposites Halloween Special, and Bite Size Halloween is back for a third season with 20 short films blending terror, comedy, and science fiction.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe expands its reach with the premiere of Disney+'s Werewolf by Night, a black-and-white feature that introduces Jack Russell (Gael Garca Bernal), who is the descendant of a family of werewolves. Elsewhere, Shudder's docuseries Queer For Fear: The History of Queer Horror takes viewers on a journey tracking the history of queerness within the horror genre, dating back to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.

There's a bonanza of horror programming on streaming alone, but we've compiled a list of this year's best Halloween TV, from standalone specials to binge watches.

Solar Opposites Halloween SpecialStreaming on Hulu Your favorite alien family is back to celebrate their first Halloween on Earth. Terry and their replicant Jesse are getting in the holiday spirit, ready to decorate their home for Halloween, which Korvo and Yumyulack aren't excited about. Terry and Jesse decide to spice up Halloween by exhuming a dead body and reanimating the corpse using dark magic to turn it into the Crypt Keeper (John Kassir returns to voice the iconic character from HBO's Tales from the Crypt).

Werewolf by NightPremieres October 7 on Disney+ Gael Garca Bernal stars as Jack Russell, who is part of a secret group of monster hunters competing for a powerful relic, while also going up against a dangerous creature. What the other hunters don'tknow is Russell is hiding his own dark secret he's a lycanthrope who fights evil using the abilities given to him by a curse brought on by his bloodline. Oscar-winning music composer Michael Giacchino (Up, The Incredibles) directs the black-and-white creature feature, which is the first Marvel Studios Special Presentation in the MCU.

Hocus Pocus 2Now streaming on Disney+Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy are back as the comedic trio of witches from the original 1993 film. Almost 30 years after the Sanderson sisters were resurrected, two Salem teenagers, Becca and Izzy, bring the witches to the present day when Becca receives the Black Flame candle as a birthday gift. Now it is up to a group of high-school students to stop the ravenous witches from wreaking a new kind of havoc on Salem before dawn on All Hallow's Eve. Read our review.

Interview with the VampireNew episodes Sundays on AMC and AMC+Adapting Anne Rice's best-selling novel, creator Rolin Jones (Boardwalk Empire, Weeds, Friday Night Lights) has reimagined one of literature's most haunted and immortal love stories. Set in 1910, thisInterview with the Vampirefollows Louis de Pointe du Lac (Jacob Anderson), nowa Creole Black man who runs a chain of brothels in Storyville, a red-light district in New Orleans. Louis crosses paths with mysterious Frenchman Lestat de Lioncourt, who soon puts Louis under his seductive spell. Eric Bogosian plays an older version of journalist Daniel Molloy. Read our review.

Jack Osbourne's Haunted HomecomingStreaming on Discovery+, new episodes Sundays through October 16 Jack Osbourne returns to the United Kingdom to visit his childhood home and past haunts. The reality TV star exploresthe county of Buckinghamshire, seeking the dark truth behind terrifying, unexplained mysteries and experiences he had there as a young boy. On his journey, Osbourne makes stops at the family home where he spent his formative years, as well as a local theater, ancient pub, andMissenden Abbey, a notoriously haunted locale that was the scene of regular childhood school trips.

Halloween WarsNew episodes Sundays at 10:00 PM ET on Food NetworkFive teams of cake decorators, candy makers, and amazing pumpkin carvers will compete to prove they're the best, walk home with a big cash prize, and scare our pants off with some of the most-amazing horror tales all made from sweets and gourds. Grab onto someone you love and bring your appetite. Challenges include "Monsters of London,""Escape from Alcatraz," and "A Coven of Confections."

Queer For Fear: The History of Queer HorrorStreaming on Shudder; new episodes on Fridays through October 21This four-part documentary series tracks the evolution of horror through a queer lens, starting with the genre's literary origins in the works of queer authors Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker, and Oscar Wilde. It then winds its way through Universal Classic Monsters and Hitchcock, the "lavenderscare" alien invasion films of the mid-20th century, and the dangerous queer women inspired by Sheridan Le Fanu's Carmilla. The series comes from executive producers and horror veterans Bryan Fuller (Hannibal, Pushing Daisies) and Steak House (By Hook or by Crook). Read our previous coverage.

Bite Size HalloweenComplete third season streaming on Hulu This horror anthology features a series of standalone horror shorts ranging from the terrifying to the comical. Episodes for Season 3 include "The Heritage," in which a man makes a gargantuan discovery when meeting his biological father for the first time; a timid woman finally stands up to her cruel, elderly mother with encouragement from a deranged friend in "Bad Rabbit"; and in "Alone With Him,"a pregnant woman struggles to free herself when she's trapped in a catastrophic car accident during a snowstorm.

The Paloni Show! Halloween Special!Premieres October 17 on HuluJustin Roiland scored two big animation hits in the last decade with Rick and Morty and Solar Opposites. But in 2009, he pitched an animated series to Fox, titled The Paloni Family Comedy Show, that failed to pass muster. That series finds new life on Hulu with the Halloween Special! Leroy, Reggie, and Cheruce Paloni have been given the opportunity of a lifetime to be the hosts of an unforgettable Halloween special full of spooky shorts from a group of up-and-coming animators. Voice talent includes Roiland, Zach Hadel, Pamela Adlon, Vatche Panos, and Kari Wahlgren.

The Devil's HourComplete first season available October 28 on Prime Video Lucy (Jessica Raine) wakes every night at 3:33 AM, the Devil's Hour. When Lucy's name is inexplicably connected to a string of brutal murders in the area, the answers that have evaded her all these years will finally come into focus. Peter Capaldi plays a reclusive nomad, driven by a murderous obsession. He becomes the prime target of a police manhunt led by compassionate detective Ravi Dhillon, played by Starstruck's Nikesh Patel.

Rebecca Theodore-Vachon is a tv and film critic whose work has been featured in Harpers Bazaar, Shondaland Magazine and Indiewire.Follow her on Twitter atFilmFatale_NYC.

Excerpt from:
Vampires, Werewolves, and Jack Osbourne: Our Guide to the Best of Halloween TV 2022 - PRIMETIMER

Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero