Florence Pugh’s East of Eden, a Sienna Miller-Dominic West divorce drama, Catherine Zeta-Jones as a retired smuggler with seven hitmen on her tail, and the NHL’s opening night – all in the same six days. The last week of September is when fall TV stops warming up and starts sprinting.
We sorted the noise into a day-by-day guide to new TV this week, Tuesday, September 29 through Sunday, October 4, with networks, streamers and start times (all Eastern). No spoilers – just what’s on, where, and whether it deserves a spot on your couch.
New TV This Week: The 5 Premieres to Prioritize
If you only have time for a handful, start here:
- East of Eden (Netflix, Thursday) – all seven episodes of the prestige Steinbeck adaptation drop at once.
- War (HBO, Thursday) – a legal-thriller anthology from Hijack and Lupin creator George Kay.
- Scrubs Season 2 (ABC, Wednesday) – the revival returns with a two-episode premiere.
- Kill Jackie (AMC+, Friday) – Catherine Zeta-Jones in full action-hero mode.
- NHL Opening Night (ESPN, Tuesday) – a tripleheader that starts with a Stanley Cup banner raising.
Now for the full schedule.
Tuesday, Sept. 29: NHL Opening Night and LEGO One Piece
Hockey is back. ESPN kicks off the 2026-27 season with an exclusive Opening Night tripleheader, according to the ESPN Press Room:
- 4 p.m. – The Point pregame show with Steve Levy, Mark Messier and P.K. Subban (ESPN, ESPN+)
- 5 p.m. – Florida Panthers at Carolina Hurricanes, with the defending champs raising their Stanley Cup banner first
- 8 p.m. – New York Rangers at Boston Bruins, an Original Six rivalry
- 10:30 p.m. – Chicago Blackhawks at Vegas Golden Knights
The opener doubles as a storyline magnet: ESPN’s own preview slate teases “Team Tkachuk in Florida,” with Brady Tkachuk now in Panthers colors alongside brother Matthew. It’s also the start of the league’s new 84-game schedule. Can’t watch live? The ESPN app carries all three games for subscribers.
Also on Tuesday:
- LEGO One Piece (Netflix) – a two-part brick-built special in which Usopp spins a tall tale about the Straw Hats’ adventures, per TVLine. The voice cast includes Iñaki Godoy, Mackenyu and Emily Rudd from the live-action series.
- Moonshiners (Discovery, 8 p.m.) – the long-running reality series returns, followed by the new docuseries Secret Life of a Vegas Casino at 9 p.m.
- The Swan: Behind the Mirror (Hulu) – a documentary revisiting the controversial 2004 cosmetic-surgery reality show.
- Miller Night Football (HBO, 9 p.m.) – a doc short about Dennis Miller’s stint in the Monday Night Football booth.
Wednesday, Sept. 30: The Biggest Night of New TV This Week
Wednesday is stacked across broadcast and streaming. Clear your evening.
ABC: Scrubs and Shark Tank
Scrubs Season 2 opens with two episodes at 8 p.m., followed by a two-episode Shark Tank Season 18 premiere at 9 p.m., according to TVLine. Both stream on Hulu afterward.
CBS: Survivor settles in, Amazing Race returns
After last week’s two-hour premiere, Survivor 51 moves into its regular 8 p.m. slot with 90-minute episodes. Then The Amazing Race Season 39 premieres at 9:30 p.m. with a 90-minute episode – and Episode 2 airs the very next night, Thursday at 9:30, right after the Big Brother Season 28 finale, per CBS’s fall schedule as reported by TVLine. New to this season of Survivor? Our explainer on Survivor 51’s ‘open era’ and the $1 million coin flip gets you caught up.
Streaming picks
- Sacrifice Season 2 (Paramount+) – two-episode premiere.
- Medusa Season 2 (Netflix) – the drama returns for a second season.
- Love Is Blind: Netherlands (Netflix) – the Dutch take on the dating experiment arrives in the U.S.
- Ghost Adventures Season 31 (Discovery) and the new ID docuseries Unmasking a Monster: Aileen Wuornos round out the night for true-crime and paranormal fans.
Thursday, Oct. 1: East of Eden, War and Coven Academy
October opens with the week’s two most ambitious dramas.
East of Eden (Netflix, all 7 episodes) – Zoe Kazan adapts John Steinbeck’s 1952 novel as a limited series following the Trask family across generations in California’s Salinas Valley. Florence Pugh plays Cathy Ames, with Mike Faist and Christopher Abbott also starring. Kazan’s grandfather, Elia Kazan, directed the classic 1955 film. Want the cast breakdown and how it compares to the James Dean movie? Read our full East of Eden Netflix guide.
War (HBO, 9 p.m.; streaming on HBO Max) – When a tech mogul (Dominic West) and his movie-star wife (Sienna Miller) split, their divorce pits two elite London law firms against each other. The cast also includes Nick Mohammed and Celia Imrie. It’s the first installment of an anthology; a second season is already in production, according to critic Bill Frost.
Coven Academy (Freeform, 8 p.m.) – A YA fantasy series about teenage witches and warlocks at an elite magic boarding school, co-starring Tiffani Thiessen and Devon Sawa. Freeform airs a four-episode premiere, and all 10 episodes hit Disney+ and Hulu on Friday, per TVLine.
Also Thursday: the Big Brother Season 28 finale (CBS, 8 p.m.), and ESPN+, Disney+ and Hulu stream their first exclusive NHL doubleheader – Flyers at Devils (7 p.m.) and Blackhawks at Mammoth (9:30 p.m.).
Friday, Oct. 2: Kill Jackie and Tip Toe
Kill Jackie (AMC+) – Catherine Zeta-Jones plays a former international drug smuggler who comes out of hiding to take on the seven hitmen hired to kill her. Daniel Ings, Sidse Babett Knudsen and Ron Perlman co-star. The eight-episode limited series is adapted from Nick Harkaway’s novel The Price You Pay.
Tip Toe (Starz, 9:05 p.m.) – From Russell T. Davies (Queer as Folk), this dark comedy-thriller stars Alan Cumming and David Morrissey as Manchester neighbors whose ordinary lives unravel after a spare key changes hands.
Heads-up: one early listing put Kill Jackie on Prime Video, but TVLine and other U.S. schedules list AMC+, so check there first.
More Friday options:
- Adventure Time: Side Quests Season 2 (Hulu) – a 20-episode binge drop.
- Celebrity Wheel of Fortune (ABC, 8 p.m.) – back for another season.
- The Unbelievable With Dan Aykroyd Season 4 (History, 9 p.m.).
Weekend, Oct. 3-4: SNL, Get Jiro! and CBS Premiere Week
Saturday: Adult Swim debuts Get Jiro!, a DC Studios animated series set in a future Los Angeles where elite chefs run the city, at midnight. Over on NBC, Dakota Johnson hosts Saturday Night Live with musical guest Turnstile, according to Bill Frost’s weekly guide.
Sunday: CBS Premiere Week officially starts. Because of the NFL doubleheader, Marshals Season 2 airs at 8:30 p.m. and Tracker Season 4 follows at 9:30 p.m. Both shift to their regular 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. slots on October 11. Netflix also drops Blue Box Season 2, and TLC brings back 90 Day Fiance: The Other Way.
Coming next week: Reasonable Doubt Season 4 premieres with three episodes on Hulu on Tuesday, October 6 – not this Sunday, as some early listings suggested.
How to Plan Your New TV This Week Without Burning Out
With this much new TV this week, a little strategy saves you from subscription overload. Here’s the play:
- Pick one binge. East of Eden drops all seven episodes Thursday; Coven Academy and Adventure Time: Side Quests drop full seasons too. Choose one for the weekend.
- Go weekly on the rest. War, Scrubs, Survivor and Tracker air weekly, so you can keep up with one episode at a time.
- Stack your subscriptions. Netflix covers East of Eden, Medusa and LEGO One Piece; Hulu picks up ABC’s shows plus Coven Academy. If you’re only adding one service this month, that math matters.
- Double-check start times. Sports overruns shift Sunday CBS shows, and several streamers release overnight, so confirm times in your app.
Still building your fall list? Our roundup of 8 fall 2026 TV shows actually worth your time pairs nicely with this week’s guide. For the full premiere-and-finale grid, TVLine’s week-ahead schedule is a handy backup.
Check back with USA One News every week for the next round of new TV this week – and tell us which premiere you’re watching first.
