This Week in TV: ‘Succession’ and ‘You’ Return, ‘Queens’ Debuts

Two very popular shows about very not-nice people — HBO’s Succession and Netflix’s You — make their returns after long absences (two years for Succession and nearly that long for You). The Oct. 14-20 period also brings the premiere of ABC’s drama Queens and season debuts of a couple of cable staples.

Below is The Hollywood Reporter‘s rundown of premieres, returns and specials over the next seven days. It would be next to impossible to watch everything, but let THR point the way to worthy options for the coming week. All times are ET/PT unless noted.

The Big Show

Succession ended its second season — way back in October 2019 — with Kendall Roy (Jeremy Strong) dropping a bombshell that threatened his father Logan’s (Brian Cox) media empire. Season three will pick up soon after that, with Kendall and Logan each trying to pull other family members into their coalition.

As ever, the show is “laugh-out-loud funny,” as THR critic Angie Han notes in a discussion with fellow critic Daniel Fienberg. At the same time, though, Fienberg notes the “family tragedy elements feel rawer and more intense than ever before.” Season three premieres at 9 p.m. Sunday on HBO and streams at the same time on HBO Max.

Also on cable …

Home shopping becomes a competition show for entrepreneurs in America’s Big Deal (9 p.m. Thursday, USA). The 19th season of Project Runway premieres at 9 p.m. Thursday on Bravo. Syfy’s Day of the Dead (10 p.m. Friday) is both an homage to and update of George Romero’s zombie movie. In other zombie television, Fear the Walking Dead returns at 9 p.m. Sunday on AMC. Starz’s Hightown opens its second season at 9 p.m. Sunday. Australian drama Wakefield (9 p.m. Monday, Showtime) is set at a psychiatric hospital.

On streaming …

Returning: The second season of You found Joe (Penn Badgley), who relocated from New York to Los Angeles, meeting his sociopathic match in a young chef named Love (Victoria Pedretti); the season ended with Love pregnant and the couple seemingly settling in the suburbs for a new life. As you can likely guess, the outwardly idyllic life they’re trying to project doesn’t hold up all that well in season three, which debuts Friday on Netflix.

Also: Kate Beckinsale stars in the dark comedy Guilty Party (Thursday, Paramount+). The Kids Tonight Show (Thursday, Peacock) is what it sounds like: The Tonight Show, but hosted by and aimed at kids. Amazon makes a series of I Know What You Did Last Summer (Friday).

On broadcast …

New: Queens is arguably one of the more anticipated new series of the fall. The drama stars Eve, Naturi Naughton, Nadine Velazquez and Brandy as a former chart-topping hip hop group that fell out years ago. The quartet reunites for another shot at fame. (Think Peacock’s Girls5Eva but played straight instead of as a comedy.) The series, created by Scandal alum Zahir McGhee, will feature original songs overseen by executive music producer Swizz Beatz.

Also: Season four of Legacies premieres at 9 p.m. Thursday on The CW. Also Thursday, CBS unveils the second season (and overhauled premise) of its comedy B Positive. Ava DuVernay executive produces NBC’s unscripted show Home Sweet Home (8 p.m. Friday). Michelle Young takes center stage on The Bachelorette (8 p.m. Tuesday, ABC).

In case you missed it …

Any number of coming-of-age stories are visible templates for Acapulco, a bilingual comedy in which Eugenio Derbez narrates the story of his time working at a resort in the 1980s (Enrique Arrizon plays the younger version of Derbez’s character). The show “is aggressively and exhaustively going for a crossover audience,” writes THR critic Daniel Fienberg, but “the series’ familiar genre rhythms and progressive undercurrents are consistently likable.” Episodes debut weekly on Apple TV+.