The Best TV Shows & Movies To Watch In September

It’s always bittersweet when September rolls around. Fall is, arguably, the best season, but it’s hard not to miss the sunshine and relaxing, carefree vibes that summer carries with it. There always seems to be the sense that we need to return to a more serious routine post Labor Day. And when that happens? The urge to burrow is not far behind. Soon, it will be the time of cozy sweaters, curling up with pumpkin spice lattes, and, most importantly, spending more time with the season’s new TV shows and movies. This month, there’s plenty to choose from, from riotous sex-positive comedies and charming rom-coms to a spooky flick and a new season of a reality TV hit you love to hate (or hate to love). And we can’t wait to watch it all. 

There are two types of people in this world: those who came close to a panic attack watching filmmaker Emma Seligman’s debut film Shiva Baby (which follows a college student who comes across her sugar daddy, ex-girlfriend, and parents at a Jewish funeral service and has stress levels that rivals those of The Bear and Uncut Gems), and those who have never even heard of it.

Expanding into more theaters this month, Seligman’s second movie appears to lean more into Superbad-esque comedy as opposed to cortisol-spiking plotting while still centering women’s and queer stories in a delightful way. Rachel Sennott (the Bodies Bodies Bodies star who also led Shiva Baby and co-wrote this screenplay with Seligman) and Ayo Edebiri star in the raunchy comedy as two outcast high school seniors who start an all-girls’ fight club because they want to lose their virginities to cheerleaders. We’ll take any opportunity to laugh with a bag of popcorn in hand — and be reminded that it’s actually a very good thing we’re no longer teenagers.

Where to watch: Theaters
When: September 1
Good if you like: John Tucker Must Die, Shiva Baby, The Bear

Your mileage may, admittedly vary on Kenneth Branagh’s Hercule Poirot movies (such as last year’s Death on the Nile), but it’s hard to resist a good old fashioned mystery — especially one that’s taken from legendary writer Agatha Christie. Add in a stacked cast that includes Tina Fey, Jamie Dornan, Camille Cottin, and Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh, and you’ve got enough intrigue to make the price of movie-theater admission worth it. 

Adapted from Christie's 1969 novel Hallowe’en Party, A Haunting in Venice follows the famed Belgian detective, who has retired since the events of the last film, as he attends a séance in the atmospheric Italian city. But because he is, well, Hercule Poirot, one of the guests is murdered and it’s up to him to solve the crime. Based on the trailer, the supernatural flick looks to be much scarier than its predecessors, making it an ideal watch as we settle into fall and the upcoming spooky season. 

Where to watch: Theaters 
When: September 15
Good if you like: Death on the Nile, Murder on the Orient Express, Knives Out

If you watched Lovesick (a hidden gem of a British comedy series formerly known as Scrotal Recall that found modest popularity stateside on Netflix), you know that Antonia Thomas is one of the great rom-com actors we have today. That’s why it’s thrilling that she’s making a sort-of return to the genre in another charming British series called Still Up. The show is about Lisa (Thomas) and Danny (Craig Roberts), two best friends and chronic insomniacs who spend their sleepless nights catching up over phone or video calls. Of course, it’s almost immediately obvious — to everyone except Lisa and Danny — that the pair have feelings for each other that go way deeper than typical BFF status. Fair warning: prepare yourselves if you consider public FaceTime calls without headphones to be a major pet peeve.

Where to watch: Apple TV+
When: September 22 
Good if you like: Starstruck, Lovesick

It’s easy to see why Sex Education became hugely popular when it debuted back in 2019. Its raunchy comedic tone results in genuine laughter, but the more emotional moment still hit; its diverse cast of characters (standouts include Ncuti Gatwa’s Eric, Emma Mackey’s Maeve, Dua Saleh’s Cal, and Aimee Lou Wood’s Aimee) are memorable and loveable in their own ways; its array of fashion is covetable, yet confoundingly out of time; and its sex-positive attitude has remained consistently refreshing. Given all of this, it’s kind of a bummer that the upcoming fourth season of the show will also be its last, but hopefully the dramedy will go out on a high note.

This time around, Otis (Asa Butterfield) and Co. have to face life — and an already established social hierarchy — at a different school. Otis is hopeful that his expertise as a sex therapist (which, let’s be real, his only qualifications are that he’s basically a nepo baby in the field) will help give him some cred on campus, but is shocked to find that his new classmates are even more progressive than he and his friends are. To make matters even more interesting, Schitt’s Creek’s Dan Levy is joining the cast as an Ivy League tutor for Maeve, so it seems safe to say that we should be expecting the unexpected this season.

Where to watch: Netflix 
When: September 21 
Good if you like: Freaks and Geeks, Never Have I Ever 

Our favorite dating experiment is back, but this time the pods are headed to Houston. It’s the same formula we’ve come to obsess over: single folks date and get engaged without ever having laid eyes on each other, and from there, they’ll have to navigate dating in the real world — and its complications — and see if they can make it to the altar. While some might still write off the show’s premise as reality dating fluff, Episode 1 gets into very real conversations and topics that you just don’t see on television, scripted or otherwise. And that proves why Love Is Blind continues to be the knockout that it is.

Where to watch: Netflix 
When: September 22
Good if you like: Love Is Blind Seasons 1–4