Category: Entertainment

With another spooky season upon us, it’s Sarah Paulson‘s time to shine in the genre she loves.

After executive producing her first film Hold Your Breath, which landed today on Hulu, the Golden Globe winner opened up about being “in charge” on set and how “exhaustion” helped her tap into her latest role in the psychological thriller.

“I almost felt like I was too busy trying to hold the complete story in my head to allow myself to descend too deeply inside of it,” Paulson tells Deadline. “And I feel like sometimes it’s just an occupational hazard, that reality. I wish I had a real answer of how I shake it because sometimes I don’t think that I do. I think it all just gets into the sort of nooks and crannies of my being and makes a house there, so I’m not always the best at alleviating some of that.”

Written by Karrie Crouse and marking her and husband Will Joines‘ feature directorial debut, Hold Your Breath takes place amid the horrific dust storms of 1930s Oklahoma. Paulson stars as Margaret Bellum, a woman convinced that a sinister presence is threatening her family.

Produced by Alix Madigan and Lucas Joaquin, the film also stars Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Annaleigh Ashford, as well as Amiah Miller and Alona Jane Robbins as Margaret’s daughters.

Filled with ever-relevant themes like the climate crisis and the country’s struggle between mental health and religion, Hold Your Breath offered a perspective that appealed to Paulson. But at its core, she was most compelled by the film’s mother-daughter dynamic.

DEADLINE: Tell me how you became attached to Hold Your Breath. 

SARAH PAULSON: I got a phone call saying, ‘Hey, do you read this script? And these filmmakers, it would be their first film, but they’ve done some really interesting things in the past.’ And the writer was a writer on Westworld and they’re a husband-and-wife team, and I just read the script and I just thought the script was really special and very unique and had a real point of view. And it was obviously a genre I’ve worked in before, a genre I love working in, and yet there was something about it, given the geographical circumstances of the film, but also the time period that were really interesting to me. So, I just really jumped at the chance to do it.

DEADLINE: You’ve been an executive producer on a few shows at this point. Was this your first movie to EP? What was that experience like for you?

PAULSON: You know, let’s just say that it suits me because I’m a very controlling person. I like to be in charge. I like to have a seat at any table and it’s nice when I sort of normally just find a way to shove myself somewhere between two people at a table, even if I haven’t been invited. But it’s very nice when I’m allowed to be there, because I think it’s a very different thing having been on both sides of it, of having the opportunity to do that and not doing it because it’s somehow, I bet it’s sort of like what it feels like the difference between being engaged and getting married. It’s like you really feel like you’re participating in a way that feels empowering because a lot of times as actors, at the end of the day, you come in, you give your performance, you do your work and the rest is sort of left up to the director and the editors and marketing people. And when you have the title of being an executive producer, I think you end up having more opportunity to be part of a larger conversation about the movie as a whole and about the storytelling as a whole that feels sort of integral to me from an acting standpoint to have that. You’re putting so much of what’s inside of you outside and then you’re kind of leaving it up to everyone else to determine how to make best use of that. So it feels like a very natural step to me. I wish every actor was able to have an opportunity to do that or to participate in that way because I think it really does help you feel like the piece belongs to you more. And it’s obviously a really community effort, any filmmaking undertaking, whether it’s television or film always is, but it’s really nice to feel sort of officially a part of something, even if directors are very generous and want your opinion and all of that. I’ve been lucky in that regard too, and people always seem to be very, very happy to have meaningful conversations about things. But it’s really nice when it’s sort of legitimized in a way.

DEADLINE: You touched on this being a genre that you love, but you’ve also specifically done a few of these maternal thriller roles. What is it about them that appeals to you? 

PAULSON: Well, I wonder if it’s partly due to… like maybe I’m exorcising some secret wish of mine. You know, I’m not a mother, in terms of, I did not have any biological children. I have three dogs that might as well be my children and might as well have been born of my being but are actually not because that would be super weird but a girl can dream. But I wonder if there’s just some kind of thing in me, certainly in this genre but in any genre really where … playing anything with extremely high stakes is where I think you can have the most fun from an acting standpoint and also be the most truthful because I think any time you’re filming anything, or anything has been determined worthy of making, you’re usually dealing with the character’s most important day, or the most significant time in their life is usually what’s being depicted. You don’t often film someone in the most ordinary of days often, when it comes to storytelling. So, I sort of feel like there is nothing more significant in life than one’s relationship to one’s mother. And so, even though I do not have children of my own, I do have a mother and there’s just something about it that seems to me to be a compelling space to draw from and draw upon. I don’t know, you’d have to ask my shrink probably. What I’m trying to get at is that it’s a high stakes thing to be a parent, every time a child leaves the house to go to school, every time a child is anywhere outside of your sight. You are sort of rolling the dice as it were, to hope that everything about their day and their life experience will be good and safe. And so to be in a circumstance, I always just feel like it’s extraordinarily fertile ground.

DEADLINE: Tell me about the actresses who played your daughters. 

PAULSON: Well, they were extraordinary. Again, because I was EP-ing, I was able to watch everybody’s audition tapes and it just was so clear to me from the moment that both of them appeared on these little videos I was watching, there could be no one playing the parts but them. And I’ve had this experience a couple of times too where, I wasn’t playing their mothers but with Lizzie Olsen in Martha Marcy May Marlene, with Lupita [Nyong’o] in 12 Years a Slave, like having these experiences of working with people their first time out of the gate, and having that front-row seat for the beginning of someone’s career and the first time they were on a set. And that certainly wasn’t the case with Amiah in terms of never having worked before, but this was a big jump forward for her in terms of responsibility. And it was just a really kind of a special thing to witness. And I just think it’s always really wonderful to work with young people because a lot of times, they don’t have years and years of experience where they have become sort of inured to their own spontaneity or their own ability to listen to their instincts or have all that stuff so drilled out of them, because they spend so much time in a set that they forget what it’s like just to live a sort of regular life. And so, I just really like it because you’re getting people right at the beginning of something.

DEADLINE: I appreciated a lot of the themes, as far as mental health versus religion, and also the climate crisis as well, it’s a lot of still very relevant issues. Did that speak to you as well? 

PAULSON: Absolutely. I had, of course, read about the Dust Bowl. I had never watched the Ken Burns documentary about the Dust Bowl prior to deciding to do this movie, but when I knew I was going to do it, I did. And you know, so much of the story of the Dust Bowl, if not all of it is sort of self generated, country generated, government generated. We were over-harvesting and then basically depleted the land of its ability to produce anything. And in that part of the world where there’s not a single mountain or tree or in sight, nothing to impede the dust from becoming what it does and what it becomes in this movie, it was just a wall of dirt, no rain and all these things. There’s something about it, that any time you’re inhabiting a world where you are living inside something very real, meaning not just the sci-fi sort of fantastical horrors or the supernatural horrors, but this idea that this is just about a family living in a part of our country where the world outside their front door was uninhabitable. And, you know, I certainly think that is really terrifying, and it actually happened in our country. It actually was really something to see, these people [in the documentary] talk about what it was like and how viscerally they are still able to recall it and how hideous it was — certainly, post-Covid.

DEADLINE: You’ve done so much horror now and you have such a great signature terrified performance. How do you go to that mental headspace and then how do you take yourself out of that when you’re done with the scene? 

PAULSON: You know, I wish I could say I was one of those people who knew how to compartmentalize. I’m not very good at it. So, I’m not a person who can kind of do a particularly harrowing scene or deal with something particularly upsetting and then just sort of go about figuring out what I’m gonna eat for dinner. I’m not very good at that. I need to get better at that because the consequence of course means I end up carrying some of it around longer than I would like to. But I think sometimes, exhaustion can be your friend, and we were shooting the movie far from my home and I just wasn’t doing anything but the movie. So, I think I was able to kind of live as inside of it as I could in a way that was helpful for me in terms of carrying the story around. There’s so much that happens in the movie and because it’s like, ‘Are we in Margaret’s mind sort of what she’s experiencing in her mind or are we in reality and keeping track of those things?’ [That] was something that I had to have like a board where I had a big calendar of events in terms of what was really happening, what hadn’t happened yet, what was happening in Margaret’s sort of waking dream state when she was sleepwalking, all of these events that I had to really keep track of. So I almost felt like I was too busy trying to hold the complete story in my head to to allow myself to descend too deeply inside of it. And I feel like sometimes it’s just an occupational hazard, that reality. I wish I had a real answer of how I shake it because sometimes I don’t think that I do, I think it all just gets into the sort of nooks and crannies of my being and makes a house there. So, I’m not always the best at alleviating some of that. I mean, I could say, ‘Yeah, I take a bath,’ but that would sort of be a lie. I think some part of it is … it is a muscle, it’s like an acting muscle that I have. And for better or for worse, my mother called me Sarah Bernhardt for a reason. I always had a flair for the dramatic and of course, to me at the time, when my mother was calling me that, I was having the biggest experience about something like I needed a certain pair of socks from the Gap … But I always had big reactions to things and big feelings. So, on some level I was born with, you could call it a gift or a curse, which is big feelings all the time. So I have access to them in a way, that maybe your average person doesn’t. And I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing, but it certainly helps me in my work, that’s for sure. 

SPOILER ALERT! This post contains details from the fourth episode of Marvel’s Agatha All Along.

Read on for a full recap of Agatha All Along Episode 4, titled “If I Can’t Reach You/Let My Song Teach You.”

Mrs. Hart (Debra Jo Rupp) has died from the poisoned wine that every member of the coven had to drink to pass the first trial in Episode 3, which was solved by Sasheer Zamata’s potions witch Jennifer Kale.

Teen digs her a grave on the side of the Witches Road as a quiet Alice confirms that her mother Lorna Wu died on the road — which vaguely sounds like The Witches’ Road, but she really died “on the road,” as in on tour, in a hotel fire. Alice recalls that her mother told her the road would save her.

As Teen lays some baby’s breath on Mrs. Hart’s grave, Lilia questions how much antidote Mrs. Hart got because she had two glasses of wine.

Agatha tries to move on down the road after a half-hearted “R.I.P. Mrs Hart,” but the rest of the coven refuses to leave. Agatha calls Sharon “a bad draft pick” and tries to taunt the others with “more power for the rest of us.” Jenn and Agatha debate certain lyrics to the Ballad of the Witches Road: “Coven two” versus “coven true.” Alice asks Agatha how many other witches left the road with her last time she was on it, and Agatha holds up one finger, signaling why she things it’s “coven two.” Alice is consulted about the meaning of the line as her mother wrote the most popular version of the ballad.

RELATED: ‘Agatha All Along’ Episode 1 Recap: Agatha Harkness Gets A Rude Awakening

Alice, Jenn and Lilia don’t want to go forward without a green witch to complete the coven and replace Mrs. Hart. Agatha debates summoning a substitute for the road. Teen provides a spell book for the process. Each coven member establishes criteria — Lilia’s asking that she be strong and good at her craft, Agatha that she be not annoying and not super political. Jenn that she be pleasant-looking, and Alice that she bring Advil.

Who should sprout from a spot other than the leaf-shaped body outline in the soil but Aubrey Plaza’s Rio Vidal. Teen worries that they turned Mrs. Hart into a zombie, but it was just Agatha’s old romantic antagonist dressed in green. She says she’s less A green witch and more THE Green Witch, before she starts skipping down the path.

Teen asks if Agatha wants to talk about the fact that her dangerous but charismatic lady is back. “Are we in trouble Agatha? More so than we were ten minutes ago?” he asks. Lilia’s observation that Agatha hates Rio goes in the pro column, meaning it’s a plus for the rest of the coven that Rio has arrived.

RELATED: ‘Agatha All Along’ Episode 2 Recap: Down The Witches Road

The next trial manifests as a woodsy house nestled on the path. Alice wants nothing to do with the house, but the road will take them there no matter what. The waxing moon on the front door signifies the fire phase, and Alice dreads going inside. They enter the building transformed into people dressed up like a 70s rock band.

“We’re an album cover waiting to happen,” Teen says, and he’s not far off, as the six of them look like a witchy Daisy Jones and the Six or Fleetwood Mac. Teen then searches for a hint as to what awaits them in the next trial, like the card that was on the mantle of the beach house in Episode 3.

Lilia examines red panels in the jouse of women being tortured, which brings tears to her eyes. Jenn sees a bunch of masks hanging on one of the house’s stone walls. Alice finds a photo of her mom. Lilia asks Alice if Lorna was trying to open the road with her concerts. Alice confirmed that, yes, this was her intent, saying that Lorna’s fans were her coven.

Lilia has another out of place moment in which she says something that doesn’t fit the situation: “Which is it? Am I wispy or am I kooky? Alice, Alice don’t!”

Rio asks Agatha how the quest is going, and she says that “magic, as it always does, took the path of least resistance,” to place her as the replacement Earth witch with the rest of the coven. Then she asks Agatha why she brought “that boy,” or Teen. Agatha says she needed hands. Then she tries to say “What if it’s one last big adventure?” to Rio, who says “like old times?”

Agatha then presses the button that turns on the mic that connects the recording booth room where she and Rio have had their conversation to the main living room of the house as Rio claims Agatha’s going to kill all the witches once they get to the end of the road.

RELATED: ‘Agatha All Along’ Episode 3 Recap: The Coven Encounters Its First Trial On The Witches Road

Speakers start to screech out a cacophony of sounds as Teen attempts to play a record that he thought was a clue because “Play Me” is printed on the vinyl’s protective sleeve. Agatha smashes the record and the player to pieces to get the horrible noise to stop.

“We’ve been cursed,” Lilia says.

“I think this music trial’s started,” Rio says, as a metronome sitting on top of the piano starts clicking.

Alice starts to feel lighter, asking if the rest of them do. Lilia’s body starts smoking as if she’s on fire. Alice draws a circle around Lilia uttering some sort of incantation as Patti LuPone’s witch writhes on the floor in her glittery jump suit and orange coat.

“What if we reason with the witch that cast the spell?” Teen asks.

But the only way out, for the coven, is through. Jenn gets a circle drawn around her, and Teen points out that there are what look to be burn marks on her shoulders. Lilia has similar or wounds in the exact same place.

“The Ballad of the Witches Road” by Lorna Wu is on the record. Agatha asks if Alice brought in the curse with her. She has faint scars on her shoulders too.

“I didn’t think it was real!” Alice says. “I convinced myself they were birthmarks,” she tells everyone. “Even though [my mom] had the same ones.”

Teen then gets thrown through the glass pane separating the sound booth from the main chamber of the house after the witches freak out about the generational curse that is threatening them.

Agatha reaches the same conclusion as Alice, that they have to play Lorna’s version of The Ballad of the Witches’ Road to quell the curse. Lorna’s intention was to save her daughter by opening the road.

Lorna’s ballad is a protection spell that has shielded Alice from burning to a crisp throughout her whole life because at any given moment, someone somewhere out in the world is singing the song Lorna left behind.

RELATED: ‘Agatha All Along’ Brews Up Solid Premiere Audience As First Episode Nets 9.3M Views In 7 Days, Disney Says

Teen offers to play guitar, and Agatha makes Jenn play base. Lilia’s on zills, or the triangle and later maracas, and Alice takes the piano. Her cue starts the song off. Rio is on the drums. Agatha starts to smoke singe, but as keep playing the song, she is safe, and they all join in singing.

A breeze rushes past Agatha as she sings “Risk this heart of mine.”

Parts of the house start to catch on fire as they get to the second verse. A sharp spike of some sort starts to poke through Teen. Alice gets a nice solo moment singing.

The curse takes form as a terrifying red and black winged creature, and Alice vows to kill it once she sees it. It flies to cling to her shoulders, but she belts out a note that vanquishes the creature, which dissolves in flakes of ash.

Teen faints right after the piano lid opens to reveal the exit, similar to the oven in Episode 3. It turns out a glass shard was protruding from his stomach. Agatha tears up as she is desperate to revive Teen. Lilia suggest they leave him, and Rio just mysteriously watches from afar. Jennifer heals the gash with water and moonlight.

“Jennifer, look what you did,” Lilia says, ominously and proudly.

Jennifer confesses she’s an eleventh-generation root worker and midwife as Agatha watches over Teen’s unconscious body. Jenn tells the story of how she got bound. She was invited to the brand-new obstetrics association of Greater Boston. It was a trap, and a man bound her without magic.

“When mom died, I stopped believing everything she ever taught me,” Alice says. “I was so angry. Part of me hoped that the road wasn’t real so that I could stay angry.”

“Now you know that it was all for you,” Lilia says. “And that makes you sad. Sad is better than angry.”

RELATED: Aubrey Plaza Jokes Patti LuPone “Almost Killed” Her When She Was Sick While They Were Roommates

Lilia goes on a rant about misconceptions and rumor mongering when it comes to witches — about how they talk to ghosts and are covered in extra nipples. Rio says she’s covered in nipples, offering everyone to see.

Teen stirs awake, asking Agatha if she put the sigil on him. She says no, but then she amends that statement to the fact that she wouldn’t know because sigils work on those that cast them too. Teen asks if it can be lifted. Agatha says it can be broken, and before he asks her how, she says that a sigil gets broken when there is no longer a need for it.

RELATED: Who Is Joe Locke’s Mysterious ‘Teen’ In ‘Agatha All Along’? All The Clues So Far

“You don’t have to know a person’s name to know who they are,” she tells him.

Teen then asks her what really happened to her son. All she says is “Heal fast. We’re not staying here long.”

The coven asks Agatha to show them her battle scars. She showcases her elbow, which took a knitting needle from the Daughters of Liberty.

Rio then says that she has a scar.

“A long time ago, I loved someone.” She went on to say that she regretted doing something, but that she had to do it because “It was my job, and it hurt them. She is my scar.”

Agatha goes off for fresh air, and Rio follows her. Lilia takes Rio’s arm and warns her “Don’t think for one second I’ve forgotten what you said in the sound booth.”

Agatha and Rio share a long embrace.

“Agatha,” Rio says, right before Agatha tries to kiss her. “That boy isn’t yours.”

Agatha smirks and walks away.

Two trials down and five to go, if things are to go to plan for Agatha and her ragtag coven, as well as Teen.

RELATED: ‘Agatha All Along’ Primer: What To Remember Before Watching

Lawyer Douglas Emhoff has made history as the first second gentleman of the United States. He was there for his wife Kamala Harris, 59, as the former California senator was sworn in as Vice President of the United States at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 20, 2021, as Joe Biden, 77, became our 46th president. Kamala herself made history as America’s first female, Black and South-Asian vice president, as she and Joe prevailed in the Nov. 3, 2020 presidential election over incumbent POTUS Donald Trump. and VP Mike Pence.

Shortly after Joe and Kamala’s victory was announced, Douglas took to Twitter to share a sweet photo of himself giving his lady love a big hug after she found out the wonderful news. “So proud of you,” he wrote in the caption along with two red heart and two American flag emojis.

He was also by Kamala’s side later that night when she and Joe gave their first speeches as President-elect and Vice President-elect in Delaware. He confidently held her hand and waved to the in-person crowd after the amazing night and Joe even called the happy couple “family” during his epic time addressing the nation. “Kamala, Doug, like it or not, you’re family. You’ve become an honorary Biden, there’s no way out,” he said with a smile.

So proud of you. ❤️❤️🇺🇸🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/Orb1ISe0dU

— Doug Emhoff (@DouglasEmhoff) November 7, 2020

In this final stretch, let’s all follow Kamala’s lead: let’s be joyful warriors.

We’re running on a positive vision of America—but working aggressively and staying focused. Every vote matters, and this race will be close. pic.twitter.com/ppcElbQneg

— Doug Emhoff (@DouglasEmhoff) September 24, 2024

 

His support is unwavering, as the 59-year-old husband continues to stand by his political wife while she runs for president as the Democratic candidate. This follows President Biden’s endorsement after he withdrew from the November 2024 elections. She is campaigning alongside her running mate, Tim Walz.

Ever since Joe revealed Kamala was his VP pick in Aug., Douglas vowed to be “ready to work” as the Nov. 3 Election Day drew closer and closer, and that’s exactly what he did. So, who’s the lucky man that gets to be Kamala’s husband? Here’s the answer to that question below:

Kamala’s Husband Has Worked in Law for More Than 25 Years

Douglas shares a love for law with Kamala. He attended University of Southern California’s Gould School of Law, and is now a partner at DLA Piper (a global law firm). “He represents large domestic and international corporations and some of today’s highest profile individuals and influencers in complex business, real estate and intellectual property litigation disputes,” Douglas’s bio reads on the law firm’s website.

Douglas Also Specializes in Entertainment Law

One of his clients included TBWA, the ad agency which developed the Taco Bell Chihuahua. This led Wrench, a company based in Michigan, to sue Taco Bell over breach of contract because it claimed to have created the “Psycho Chihuahua,” according to Douglas’s profile in The Hollywood Reporter. Douglas kept TBWA from taking on the financial burden of this lawsuit bill.

Douglas Met Kamala Through A Blind Date

Before Kamala entered his life, Douglas was married to a woman named Kerstin whom he welcomed two children with (a son named Cole, who graduated from Colorado College in 2017, and their daughter Ella, who is studying at Parsons School of Design, according to a 2018 Vogue article).

After Douglas divorced from Kerstin, he was a single dad who was eventually set up on a blind date with Kamala by PR consultant Chrisette Hudlin in 2013, according to his aforementioned profile in THR. It was a great idea, because Douglas and Kamala were married by 2014. Kamala now even has a close relationship with Douglas’s children, as well as her husband’s ex-wife!

Happy Birthday @KamalaHarris⁩! You are always there for us with a big hug, bright smile, infectious laugh and just the right words, all with delicious food and an amazing soundtrack! We love you so so much (and are VERY proud of you)! Doug, Cole & Ella. pic.twitter.com/7evystcTz1

— Doug Emhoff (@DouglasEmhoff) October 20, 2018

“They [Douglas’s kids] are my endless source of love and pure joy. I am so thankful to Doug, to Kerstin, and most of all, to Ella and Cole,” the senator wrote in an Elle essay for Mother’s Day 2019. Douglas and his two children even posed for a sweet photo to share on Kamala’s 54th birthday in Oct. 2018, which you can see above.

#GetUpStandUp2020 for ⁦@JoeBiden⁩ was so much fun! Over 3000 friends attended and over $1mil raised. Let’s keep up this energy all the way to November! pic.twitter.com/oxcWsSMMVf

— Doug Emhoff (@DouglasEmhoff) July 10, 2020

Douglas is Kamala’s Number One Cheerleader  

He is often seen by the senator’s side at events, repping her “Kamala” T-shirt and his Twitter page is basically a fan account for Kamala, where he often retweets her posts and television appearances. He also shares sneak peeks into their married life, such as this fireworks date. His presence in her and Joe’s presidential campaign didn’t go unnoticed and he proved he would go above and beyond to support his wife and her opportunity to become vice president.

From spending his 56th birthday asking for votes in Virginia parking lots to greeting potential voters in his Biden-Harris gear in such a low-key way that most people didn’t realize who he was, he has been there for Kamala when she was running for president and then vice president, and his dedication has never wavered. Rep. Ted Deutch (D-Fla.), who has campaigned with Emhoff, even called him an election-year “sensation”, the Washington Post reported.

Last one… https://t.co/K5hTR3eWav

— Doug Emhoff (@DouglasEmhoff) July 1, 2020

Now in 2024, as Kamala runs for the chance to become the first female president of the United States, Douglas has been working to draw attention to the campaign for her and Tim. He accompanies her to rallies and promotes the campaign on social media. On July 23, 2024, he shared on X, “My wife, Vice President Kamala Harris, is running for president. She needs your support. We need you to register, we need you to vote, and we need you to help elect her the next President of the United States.”

My wife, Vice President Kamala Harris, is running for president.

She needs your support. We need you to register, we need you to vote, and we need you to help elect her the next President of the United States.

Visit https://t.co/XqaAQG9r6h and make a donation today. pic.twitter.com/Ujl30pInyR

— Doug Emhoff (@DouglasEmhoff) July 23, 2024

The lawyer Considers Himself An “Advocate for Justice and Equality.”

Douglas has lived up to his Twitter bio by being a champion for multiple causes, like the Black Lives Matter movement and LGBTQ rights. He even attended San Francisco Pride in 2019, where he jumped up on the backseat of a car with Kamala and busted out his best dance moves for the crowd (which you can enjoy above).

Fall is officially here, and October marks the beginning of spooky season, with several shows arriving in late September as well as this month that will support the chill in the air and autumnal atmosphere through Halloween.

Shows that premiered in September like Agatha All Along, The Penguin and Grotesquerie will release new episodes every week up until or even through Halloween. Only Murders in the Building Season 4 premiered in August, but it will also unfold right up until the end of the month with the tenth episode arriving on Hulu on Oct. 29.

Not to worry, though, for those in the mood for cozy stories versus creepy ones this month. Season 3 of Netflix’s Heartstopper returns Oct. 3, and though the third installment of the series based on Alice Oseman’s graphic novels addresses more serious topics, it remains joyful and comforting. Shrinking Season 2 also returns this month on Apple TV+ from some of the minds behind Ted Lasso, and Brett Goldstein will star in a guest role for the comedy’s second installment.

RELATED: The Best 10 Movies To Stream This Month

The follow-up second part to Netflix’s docuseries about Simone Biles will also arrive at the end of the month after she competed and racked up even more Olympic medals this summer.

‘Heartstopper’ Season 3 – Netflix – Oct. 3

Heartstopper Season 3 returns to the world of Charlie Spring, Nick Nelson, Tao Xu (William Gao), Elle Argent (Yasmin Finney), Isaac Henderson (Tobie Donovan) and so many more with new additions like Haley Atwell in the role of Nick’s Aunt Diane and Bridgerton star Jonathan Bailey in a cameo appearance as Jack Maddox. The next installment in the series that celebrates queer love in all forms starts streaming on Netflix on October 3.

Disclaimer – Apple TV+ – Oct. 11

Alfonso Cuarón’s psychological thriller series starring Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Louis Partridge and Sacha Baron Cohen will premiere on Apple TV+ Oct. 11 with two episodes. The seven-episode series is based on the book of the same name by Renée Knight. The story follows Blanchett’s journalist Catherine Ravenscroft, who made a living revealing the mistakes and wrongdoings of others until she becomes the target of her former practice.

‘Shrinking’ Season 2 – Apple TV+ – Oct. 16

A good dose of therapy never hurt anyone, as Apple TV+’s comedy Shrinking will remind viewers starting October 13 when Season 2 premieres on the platform on October 16 with two episodes. Brett Goldstein, who co-wrote the series with Bill Lawrence, will be in front of the camera as well for Season 2 in a top-secret role.

Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity? – Prime Video – Oct. 16

After he debuted in the drama space via Ryan Murphy’s Grotesquerie, Travis Kelce will bring his famous persona to Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity? starting October 16. The gameshow hosted by the Kansas City Chiefs tight end will debut three episodes on Prime Video followed by one new episode per week.

Simone Biles Rising Part 2 – Netflix – Oct. 24

The first two episodes of Netflix’s Simone Risingdocuseries arrived July 17 right before the 2024 Paris Olympics began, and the second half will follow her career-defining performance at the games. The second half of the sports show, which has been joined by projects like SprintSeason 2 featuring Olympians Noah Lyles and Gabby Thomas and Starting 5, comes out October 25 on Netflix.

Abbott Elementary Season 4 Premieres Oct 10 on Hulu

Another comfort comedy returning this month is Quinta Brunson’sAbbott Elementary, which launches Season 4 on Hulu on Oct. 10. Brunson, Lisa Ann Walter, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Tyler James Williams, Janelle James and many more will go back to school for the fourth installment.

Agatha All Along – Disney+ – Last 2 Episodes Oct. 30

Spooky season officially kicks off with the launch of Agatha All Along starring Kathryn Hahn reprising her role of Agatha Harkness from WandaVision. The first day of fall is Sept. 22, but why not tune in to the witchy Marvel project to build up spirit? Joe Locke (Heartstopper), Aubrey Plaza (Parks and Recreation), Patti LuPone, Sasheer Zamata and more will walk the Witch’s Road in the next major Marvel television project.

The Penguin – Max – 4 Episodes Arriving in October

Colin Farrell will reprise his The Batman (2022) role as Oswald Cobblepot, a.k.a. the Penguin, in the new HBO series following the shadowy character. The series will debut on Max Sept. 19.

Grotesquerie – FX on Hulu

Ryan Murphy’s new horror drama series Grotesquerie lands on Hulu after the Wednesday Sept. 25 premiere on FX. Niecy Nash-Betts will play Detective Lois Tryon, and Kansas City Chiefs football star Travis Kelce is set to appear in an undisclosed role. Courtney B. Vance, Lesley Manville, Micaela Diamond, Nicholas Alexander Chavez and Raven Goodwin will also star.

RELATED: Selena Gomez & David Henrie Talk ‘Wizards Of Waverly Place’ Return; Steve Martin & Martin Short Address Possible Appearances

Only Murders in the Building – Finale Lands Oct. 29 on Hulu

Only Murders in the Building, which has already been renewed for a Season 5, will wrap up just in time for Halloween with the finale of Season 4. Mabel Mora (Selena Gomez), Charles-Hayden Savage (Steve Martin) and Oliver Putnam (Martin Short) find themselves bicoastal in the most recent installment of the cozy comedy, which takes their podcast to the bright lights of Hollywood for a film adaptation.

UPDATED: The next debate ahead of the 2024 presidential election will take place between Senator J.D. Vance and Governor Tim Walz. It isn’t looking like Democratic candidate Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican candidate former president Donald Trump will debate each other again after their first matchup.

Harris did a one-on-one interview with MSNBC’s Stephanie Rule last week.

Democratic White House nominee-in-waiting Kamala Harris debated former President Donald Trump on September 10 at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, with ABC News’ David Muir and Linsey Davis as moderators.

There was not an audience for the event, which began with Harris attempting to set a diplomatic tone by approaching Trump for the typical pre-debate handshake that has fallen away in recent years. Trump received the last word in the debate after he won the coin toss that dictated order of closing remarks. Microphones were sometimes muted unless the candidates were given time to respond to each other.

On August 8, Trump said from Mar-a-Lago: “We’d like to do three debates. I think it’s very important to have debates, and we’ve agreed with Fox on a date of September 4. We’ve agreed with NBC, fairly full agreement subject to them on September 10, and we’ve agreed with ABC on September 25, so we have those three dates and those networks.”

Then on August 15, Harris’ campaign declared that the “debate about debates [was] over,” while signaling that there will be another presidential showdown in October. No date has been set, though.

“Donald Trump’s campaign accepted our proposal for three debates — two presidential and a vice presidential debate,” Harris campaign communications director Michael Tyler said. “Assuming Donald Trump actually shows up on September 10 to debate Vice President Harris, then Governor Walz will see JD Vance on October 1 and the American people will have another opportunity to see the vice president and Donald Trump on the debate stage in October.”

RELATED: Hollywood Reacts To Harris-Trump Debate: “She Crushed Him,” Hulk Himself Mark Ruffalo Says

The schedule of general election debates as it stands now is outlined below.

Also on August 15, the two vice presidential candidates — Ohio GOP Sen. JD Vance and Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz — agreed to hold a debate October 1 hosted by CBS News. Vance also said that he would do another VP debate, this one hosted by CNN on September 18, but the Harris campaign rejected the idea of a second VP faceoff.

On July 21, President Joe Biden declared that he would not run for re-election, and he endorsed his Vice President Harris to take his spot atop the Democratic ticket in the 2024 election.

Related: Early Numbers Show ABC News’ Harris-Trump Debate Easily Exceeding Audience For June’s Trump-Biden Event

Two debates between President Joe Biden and Donald Trump had been solidified before Biden dropped out of the race. The first took place June 27 on CNN, and the second was set to be hosted by ABC on Tuesday, September 10. The latter instead featured Harris vs. Trump.

Upon Biden’s step back from re-election, Trump called for Fox News to host the September 10 debate instead of ABC News, which he called “very biased.” On July 24, Fox News proposed a debate for September 17 in Pennsylvania. “We are open to a discussion on the exact date, format and location — with or without an audience,” two of its execs wrote in the letters to both campaigns, citing the network’s Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum as potential moderators.

But the Biden campaign’s debate criteria had stipulated that the host network should have sponsored debates in the 2016 and 2020 presidential cycles, which would mean Fox News and MSNBC are out of the running.

RELATED: POTUS Debate TV Review: Biden Shows His Age While Trump Tosses Out One Whopper After Another With No Fact-Checking From CNN Moderators

CNN boss Mark Thompson announced the June 27 debate — the earliest debate ever in a presidential campaign — at the Warner Bros Discovery Upfront in May. The faceoff took place in Atlanta without a studio audience, airing live on the cable news network in addition to CNN International, CNN en Español, CNN Max and CNN.com.

Jon Stewart hosted an episode of The Daily Show on Comedy Central after the debate between Biden and Trump and another episode following the debate between Harris and Trump, in which he praised Harris’ effort.

Biden and former President Donald Trump cruised to victory in their respective primary campaigns, each clinching March 12. Biden was all but unchallenged, and Trump dominated a field that whittled to zero after former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley ended her campaign following Super Tuesday.

Trump opted out of all the GOP debates but despite his sundry legal woes remained out of reach in all polling and in all primaries (the exception: Haley won Vermont on Super Tuesday), picking off a field that at at its peak included Haley, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former pharmaceutical executive Vivek Ramaswamy, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.

Only Haley and DeSantis made it to what ended up being the last GOP primary debate, which was held January 10 ahead of the Iowa caucuses.

Biden, meanwhile, briefly was challenged when Robert F. Kennedy Jr and Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips threw their hats in the ring, as did Marianne Williamson, Cenk Uygur and Jason Palmer. Kennedy shifted out in October to run as an independent; Phillips ended his campaign in early March.

RELATED: Presidential Election Schedule 2024: Kamala Harris And Donald Trump’s Road To Election Day

Below is the official schedule of dates, times, locations set aside for the general election debates. The nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates sets the schedule, which includes three presidential debates and one vice presidential debate, all starting at 9 ET and to last 90 commercial-free minutes.

See the remaining debate schedule below, and check back for updates.

Tuesday, September 10, 2024

Monday, September 16, 2024
Canceled

Tuesday, October 1, 2024
Canceled

Wednesday, October 9, 2024
Canceled

Vice Presidential

Tuesday, October 1, 2024

City (Venue): New York
Networks: CBS
Time: 9 p.m. ET
Moderators: Norah O’Donnell and Margaret Brennan

RELATED: How To Watch The Vice-Presidential Debate: Is It Streaming?

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Republican Primary Debates

Sunday, January 21

City (Venue): Henniker, NH (New England College)
Network: CNN
Note: This debate was canceled because neither Nikki Haley or Donald Trump would commit to appear.

Thursday, January 18

City (Venue): Manchester, NH (Saint Anselm College)
Network: ABC, WMUR-TV
Note: This debate was canceled because neither Nikki Haley or Donald Trump would commit to appear.

Wednesday, January 10

City (Venue): Des Moines, IA (Drake University)
Network: CNN
Time: 9 p.m. ET
Moderators: Jake Tapper, Dana Bash
Participants: Former UN ambassador Nikki Haley, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis

Wednesday, December 6

City (Venue): Tuscaloosa, AL (University of Alabama)
Networks: NewsNation, The CW (Eastern and Central time zones), Rumble, SiriusXM
Time: 8 p.m. ET
Moderators: Megyn Kelly, Elizabeth Vargas, Eliana Johnson
Participants: Former Gov. Chris Christie, Vivek Ramaswamy, former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis

Wednesday, November 8

City (Venue): Miami (Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County)
Networks: NBC News, Rumble, Universo, Peacock
Time: 8 p.m. ET
Moderators: NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt, Meet the Press moderator Kristen Welker, Salem Radio Network’s Hugh Hewitt
Participants: Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former UN ambassador Nikki Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy, Sen. Tim Scott (R-DC)

Wednesday, September 27

City (Venue): Simi Valley, CA (Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum)
Networks: Fox Business, Univision (simulcast on Fox News/Fox Nation)
Time: 9 p.m. ET
Moderators: Fox News Media’s Stuart Varney and Dana Perino, Univision’s Ilia Calderón 
Participants: North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, former Vice President Mike Pence, Vivek Ramaswamy and Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC). 

Wednesday, August 23

City (Venue): Milwaukee, WI (Fiserv Arena)
Networks: Fox News, Rumble
Time: 9 p.m. ET
Moderators: Bret Baier, Martha MacCallum
Participants: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former UN ambassador Nikki Haley, former pharmaceutical executive Vivek Ramaswamy, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum

Democratic Primary Debates

None scheduled.