Series Snapshot ~ 10/22/2026

By: [email protected] on Thu, 10/22/2026 - 15:33

Welcome to the Series Snapshot, a weekly deep dive into the shows topping the streaming charts.

Netflix’s new limited thriller, Below, takes a second week as the platform’s top series, followed closely by The Diplomat, which recently launched a fourth season. The Canadian series follows a small town in Newfoundland battling an oppressive government buyout, while an ancient sea creature wreaks havoc on locals and ships. Below made Netflix history by receiving over twenty-one million views in its first week, breaking the record for most views for a Canadian original series. Below’s easily digestible six-parts may have contributed to its momentum, seen as a low-risk time investment from viewers new to the show. Josh Hartnett continues to receive praise for his standout performance as the hard-bitten fisherman Calvin Penney, and Below’s cinematography and practical effects have won-over creature feature fans. As new reviews emerge, it’s clear that critics appreciate Below’s tight, succinct story, which wastes little time on filler plots and instead makes every scene count. Below was created by Jesse McKeown and also stars Mackenzie Davis, Charlie Heaton, Natasha Henstridge, and Willow Kean.

American Horror Story: 13 has taken a major dip in viewership; as its pacing slows, it also faces some of the lowest ratings in the entire franchise, and fans express fatigue with its overreliance on nostalgic cameos. This week, it stepped aside for ABC’s 20/20, which aired a highly-rated true-crime special titled “The Suitcase Murders”. 20/20’s The Suitcase Murders was able to swoop in with a story that feels pulled straight from a chilling detective thriller. In the summer of 2014, two suitcases were discovered alongside a rural road in Geneva, Wisconsin. Each contained decomposing human remains sparking an investigation and manhunt for the killer. The plot thickened when the top suspect was revealed to be Steven Zelich, a former police officer who had resigned following a disciplinary hearing for his repeated stalking of women while on patrol. The story made national headlines at the time, but the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit only recently unsealed evidence and surveillance recordings that revealed how they were able to track and ultimately bring Zelich to justice. Reviews are excellent: the special has been called both disturbing and compelling, and viewers appreciate the program’s tasteful handling of the story’s gravity. The two hour special was hosted by John Quiñones, and includes exclusive interviews and never before seen footage.

HBO’s hugely successful Lanterns finally ends its perfect run, with the new Friday the 13th prequel series Crystal Lake overtaking it as the service’s top show. Produced by A24, Crystal Lake is actually only available through HBO outside of the United States, where it remains a Peacock exclusive due to a distribution deal with Warner Bros. Discovery. Set in 1971, the series picks up about one year after Pamela Voorhees’ (Linda Cardellini) sickly son Jason drowns at summer camp. While the town moves past the tragedy and attempts to reopen Camp Crystal Lake, Pamela clings to the hope that Jason might still be alive, and begins a descent into madness and violence. Crystal Lake’s first season released all eight, one-hour episodes on October 15th, and quickly rose the charts as subscribers looked for Halloween content. William Catlett co-stars as Levon Brooks, the local police chief, and the young Jason Voorhees is played by Callum Vinson. Critical reception is generally positive, praising A24’s trademark “artsy highbrow” horror while honoring the slasher franchise’s blood and gore sequences with exclusively practical effects and prosthetics. Crystal Lake was developed by Brad Caleb Kane, and also stars Devin Kessler and Gwendolyn Sundstrom.

Speaking of nostalgic horror, Carrie takes a second win at Amazon Prime Video, again just ahead of Neagley. The high school horror series takes Stephen King’s 1974 debut novel and re-imagines it for the modern era, expanding on its characters and core themes. The titular Carrie, played by Summer H. Howell is given a greater sense of agency and optimism, making her merciless bullying (now augmented by social media) all the more heartbreaking. Auxiliary characters like her mother Margaret (Samantha Sloyan) and her school bullies are given more nuance and psychological depth. But what has fans most excited about the series is that it appears to be setting up for a Stephen King “Macroverse”, in which many more of his novels will be adapted into the same format. Creator Mike Flanagan has stated his ultimate intentions to adapt “The Dark Tower”, which serves as a nexus that connects all of Stephen King’s stories, and Carrie’s inclusion of easter eggs from other novels may indicate that dream is moving into a reality. Carrie’s ratings remain high as more viewers stream the series, and critics are overall pleased with the adaptation. Carrie also stars Siena Agudong, Alison Thornton, Matthew Lillard, and Amber Midthunder.

At Apple TV, Ted Lasso continues to dominate. Many viewers preferred to wait for the entire season to become available before diving in, and as Ted Lasso’s saturation peaks, we may see Slow Horses fill the number one spot over the coming weeks. When Ted Lasso first premiered in 2020, it received universal acclaim for its tight storytelling, optimism, and reframing of masculine leadership. It landed multiple Emmy awards along the way. However, its third season lost momentum and drew criticism for bloated episodes and aimless character arcs. Season four’s soft reboot recaptured the fanbase with elegant adjustments- shorter episode runtimes, a new set of characters, and a fresh challenge for Ted. Upon its return, Ted Lasso’s fourth season brought in a staggering three-hundred million minutes watched in its first two days, and remains a top-five series for 2026 so far. Despite its monumentally successful re-launch, Apple has not announced any plans to continue the series further, though star and co-creator Jason Sudeikis is hopeful for more. Ted Lasso also stars Hannah Waddingham, Annette Badland, Juno Temple, Brett Goldstein, and Jeremy Swift, and was created by Sudeikis, Bill Lawrence, Brendan Hunt, and Joe Kelly.

For Disney Plus, new Marvel Television miniseries VisionQuest beats Coven Academy as it builds momentum with weekly double-episode releases. VisionQuest serves as the final installment in the unofficial “WandaVision Trilogy”. There’s a lot of exposition to cover, but essentially, Vision, (Paul Bettany) after having his memories (but not soul) restored, relocates to Edinburgh, Scotland, to lay low and process what it means to be human. Vision, now going by “Victor”, is forced to flee when a lethal mercenary named Paladin (Todd Stashwick) tracks him down. Vision will sometimes retreat to a virtual space within his own mind, joined by AI recreations of his past encounters like J.A.R.V.I.S. (James D’Arcy) and Ultron (James Spader). Critical reception is overwhelmingly positive, but fans are split on the series- Bettany and Spader’s chemistry is universally praised, and Vision’s impressive visuals are well utilized as the show jumps across different genres. However, the convoluted plot is difficult for Marvel newcomers to understand, and some describe the dialogue as tediously wordy and pseudo-intellectual. VisionQuest also stars Ruaridh Mollica and T’Nia Miller and was created for television by Terry Matalas.