The Ultimate Guide to What to Watch on Netflix, Hulu, Prime Video, Max, and More in September 2023

As writers and actors strike for a living wage, September's TV calendar is lighter than usual, but it's no slouch. Why not take the opportunity to shake up your watchlist? Dip your toes in creepy TV with Apple TV+'s The Changeling or Hulu's The Other Black Girl. Indulge in a great rom-com with Max's Starstruck. Learn about wrestling with Netflix's Wrestlers. Maybe you want to watch AMC's Daryl Dixon even though you never watched The Walking Dead. Do your thing! Other highlights this month include the new The Boys spin-off Gen V on Prime Video, the final season of Sex Education on Netflix, and, yes, ABC's The Golden Bachelor.

Our guide to the best TV in September is divided into three sections: the best shows and movies to watch this month, the best shows to watch by streaming service, and a calendar of TV highlights. Whatever you're looking for, you'll find it below. 

Last month's guide: The Ultimate Guide to What to Watch on Netflix, Hulu, Prime Video, Max, and More in August

The best shows and movies to watch in September

The Changeling Season 1 (Sept. 8, Apple TV+)

One of the most intriguing new series of the year, The Changeling follows Apollo Kagwa (LaKeith Stanfield), a rare book dealer whose life takes a turn for the supernatural after his wife (Clark Backo) commits an unthinkable act of violence and then promptly disappears. Determined to figure out the truth of what happened to her, Apollo is led on a journey through a version of New York City that he never knew existed. Based on the 2017 novel of the same name by Victor LaVelle, The Changeling is the kind of enchantingly spooky fairy tale that's perfect for fall. -Allison Picurro [Trailer]

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon Season 1 (Sept. 10, AMC)

The Walking Dead embarks on its first world tour as Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus), the franchise's best character, heads to France (!!) in the middle of a zombie apocalypse to do his best impression of HBO's The Last of Us. The brooding rebel channels Pedro Pascal when he's tasked with escorting a child who may be the key to saving humanity across an undead-ridden landscape. Hey, if it worked once, maybe it will work twice. Reedus is in his usual hype-man mode for the show, bragging to EW, "We're making art." -Tim Surette [Trailer]

The Other Black Girl Season 1 (Sept. 13, Hulu)

Based on Zakiya Dalila Harris' debut novel of the same name, The Other Black Girl is the story of editorial assistant Nella (Sinclair Daniel), who believes she's found an ally when her New York publishing house finally hires another Black woman, Hazel (Ashleigh Murray). But as Hazel succeeds at work, Nella's excitement starts to sour, leading her to discover that something sinister is happening at the company. Harris has cited Jordan Peele's Get Out as inspiration for the novel, so you can expect the show to incorporate some horror movie flair — on top of the horror that is navigating the whiteness of the publishing industry. –Kelly Connolly [Trailer]

Wrestlers (Sept. 13, Netflix)

Director Greg Whiteley and the team behind Netflix sports docuseries hits Cheer and Last Chance U grapple with professional wrestling in Wrestlers, which follows the owners, athletes, and fans of the Ohio Valley Wrestling league, a developmental organization that started the careers of John Cena, Brock Lesnar, Dave Bautista, and more. Sure, wrestling is more entertainment than sport, but the themes of Whiteley's other projects — grueling competition, sacrifice, and personal demons — are all over this, with the added complexity of new owners trying to make OVW a profitable business conflicting with the creative process of big sweaty men and women tossing each other over turnbuckles. It's not only just as good as Cheer and Last Chance U, it might be better. -Tim Surette [Trailer]

The Gold Season 1 (Sept. 17, Paramount+)

Fans of old school crime thrillers from the early 1980s will love this throwback series based on the true story of a heist in which British robbers inadvertently came across millions in gold bullion. While the crooks figure out a way to turn their loot into cash, the cops close in and the media is right behind them. It was well reviewed when it was released in the U.K. earlier this year. Hugh Bonneville, Dominic Cooper, and Tom Cullen star. -Tim Surette [Trailer]

Sex Education Season 4 (Sept. 21, Netflix)

Soon, Sex Education will have nothing left to teach you. For its fourth and final season, the colorfully raunchy British series is literally shutting down the school: Moordale Secondary has been closed, and its former students now find themselves at a school so progressive, Otis (Asa Butterfield) isn't even the only therapist on campus. Meanwhile, Maeve (Emma Mackey) is living her academic dream in America. The cast is getting a shakeup, too; Dan Levy and Jodie Turner-Smith join the show, while some longtime cast members, including Patricia Allison and Bridgerton's Simone Ashley, aren't returning. But Gillian Anderson is back as Otis' uninhibited mother, and so is future Doctor Who star Ncuti Gatwa as Eric Effiong, the show's best and most singular creation. As long as we have Eric, we're never skipping class. -Kelly Connolly [Trailer]

Bachelor in Paradise and The Golden Bachelor (Sept. 28, ABC)

The runoff from the Bachelor franchise flows all the way down to Sayulita, Mexico, where contestants who were rejected in The Bachelor and Bachelorette give mutual coupling for social media clout a second chance in Bachelor in Paradise. It's also the single best series in the franchise, because of its self-awareness and the specialized psychological torture it unleashes on its participants. This year's roster looks a little lackluster (bring back Clare Crawley!), but you never truly know someone until you see their reaction to the person they just had sex with having sex with someone else. Also debuting the same night is The Golden Bachelor, which combines all the fun of The Bachelor with hip replacements as participants are all AARP eligible. -Tim Surette [Trailer]

Starstruck Season 3 (Sept. 28, Max)

Every day, someone logs online and laments the death of the romantic comedy. It's good news, then, that Rose Matafeo's Starstruck is back for Season 3, which continues to ask its central question of what happens after the romance. The series picks up after Jessie (Matafeo) and Tom's (Nikesh Patel) kiss in the pond, which doesn't end up being the happy ever after it should've been. Instead, Starstruck flash forwards two years into the future, after Jessie and Tom have broken up, Tom has gotten engaged to someone else, and Jessie is still struggling to figure out what she wants the rest of her life to look like. Few shows are better at bringing laughter and tears and existential crises all at once, and that's why we keep coming back. -Allison Picurro [Trailer]

Gen V Season 1 (Sept. 29, Prime Video)

The wildly weird and delightfully disgusting world of The Boys is headed someplace where things can only get weirder and more disgusting: college. This spin-off of Prime Video's superhero superhit is based on an arc from the comics that sees young people with superpowers competing to be top of the class at the Vought-run Godolkin University, the only institution of higher learning where students exploding into a mist of blood is a normal occurrence. The cutthroat competition is said to be reminiscent of The Hunger Games, word from the set is that things are even grosser than they are in the mothership, and you can bet your butt that some characters from The Boys will make cameos. What if you were having a kegger and Homelander showed up? –Tim Surette [Trailer]

What's on Netflix, Max, Hulu, Amazon, and more in September

Netflix's best new shows and movies in September

For a media giant that has revolutionized the entertainment industry with a business strategy of battering the public with an endless supply of streaming content, Netflix is coming into September with a whole lot of not much to watch. And by the end of the month, there will be even less to watch, as most of the highlights for September are final seasons of shows that have run for four seasons or more. The biggest release of the month is the fourth and final season of Sex Education, the British raunch-com following some teens whose fears, curiosities, and concerns about sex are helped out by a sex therapist... who happens to be a fellow student. Also out this month are the final seasons of the crime drama Top Boy and the animated series Disenchanted. On the new side of things, Wrestlers, a docuseries from the creators of Cheer and Last Chance U about pro wrestling, is a fascinating look at the intersection of sports, entertainment, and business. Here's our list of the best shows and movies on Netflix in September, plus everything coming to and leaving Netflix in September.

More on Netflix:

• The best shows on Netflix right now
• The best movies on Netflix right now
• The new TV shows and movies on Netflix in August

HBO and Max's best new shows and movies in September

HBO and Max took their sweet time letting us know what's coming to their services in September, and I think I know why: There isn't much on either this month. But Max is trying a few interesting things as compensation. Most notably, several AMC TV shows are coming to Max from Sept. 1 to Oct. 31 at no extra cost to Max subscribers. Max is also debuting CNN Max, a livestream of the cable news network that could be the latest reshaping of how we watch television. The lone recommended new show is a good one: Season 3 of the comedy Starstruck premieres at the end of the month. And a pro tip from us to you: We strongly recommend watching the Australian-British thriller The Tourist, a Max original, before it's pulled from Max on Sept. 8. Here's our list of the best shows and movies on HBO and Max in September, plus everything coming to HBO and Max in September.

More on HBO and Max:

• The best movies on Max right now
• The best shows on Max right now
• The new TV shows and movies on HBO and Max in August
• HBO Max review: Everything to know about the streaming service

Hulu's best new shows and movies in September

You know fall is around the corner when all the new shows and movies start to get spookier. (Disney's latest Haunted Mansion movie, which premiered in July for some reason, is an outlier and should not be counted.) Hulu's September lineup is leaning into that creepy pre-Halloween energy with the new series The Other Black Girl, about an editorial assistant whose very white publishing house is a real terror. Later in the month, Kaitlyn Dever fights aliens in the home invasion movie No One Will Save You. A new season of FX's American Horror Story also kicks off late in September, and this time, they're doing pregnancy horror. Here's our list of the best shows and movies on Hulu in August, plus everything coming to Hulu in September.

More on Hulu: 

• The best TV shows on Hulu right now
• The best movies on Hulu right now
• The new TV shows and movies on Hulu in August
• How much does Hulu cost? Plans, pricing, channels, and more

Amazon Prime Video's best new shows and movies in September

Like feeling good? Then Amazon Prime Video is the place to be in September, for a handful of hours at least. The streamer is debuting a pair of original biopic films meant to tug at the heartstrings, if not outright rip them out: A Million Miles Away, the inspirational story of astronaut José Hernandez, and Cassandro, the rousing tale of Mexican wrestler Saúl Armendáriz. If smiling ain't your thing, then maybe laughing and dry-heaving is, in which case you can bask in the gory glory of The Boys spin-off Gen V, which takes the over-the-top action to a college setting. And if you really need an escape, jump back on the fantasy epic The Wheel of Time, which returns for its second season. Thursday Night Football also returns exclusively on Prime Video, with the first matchup taking place between the Minnesota Vikings and the Philadelphia Eagles on Sept. 14. Here's our list of the best shows and movies on Amazon Prime Video in September, plus everything coming to Prime Video in September.

More on Amazon:

• The best movies on Amazon Prime Video right now
• The best shows on Amazon Prime Video right now
• The new TV shows and movies on Amazon Prime Video in August
• Amazon Prime Video pricing, channels, and deals
  

The best new shows and movies everywhere else in September

Wake up, The Morning Show is back! Jen and Reese return for Season 3 in Apple's star-studded drama, leading a strong month for the streamer that includes LaKeith Stanfield's new series The Changeling, the festival charmer Flora and Son, and the documentary The Super Models. Over on Paramount+, the most valuable option is the British crime caper The Gold, and Peacock is loading up with The Continental, a new series set in the world of the John Wick cinematic universe. Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney get back to business, the soccer business, with Season 2 of Welcome to Wrexham, and Ryan Murphy (as executive producer) gets back to business — the horror anthology business — with Season 12 of American Horror Story, both on FX.

More on Apple TV+, Peacock, Disney+, and Paramount+:

• The best shows and movies on Apple TV+ right now
• The best shows on Peacock right now
• The best movies on Peacock right now
• The best shows on Paramount+ right now
• The best shows on Disney+ right now
• The best movies on Disney+ right now
• How to get a Paramount+ free trial and deals

September TV calendar highlights

Friday, Sept. 1
Disenchantment (Season 5, Netflix)
Power Book IV: Force (Season 2, Starz)
The Wheel of Time (Season 2, Prime Video)

Tuesday, Sept. 5
Inside the NFL (Season 47, The CW)

Wednesday, Sept. 6
Predators (Season 1, Netflix)
Scouts Honor: The Secret Files of the Boy Scouts of America (Season 1, Netflix)

Thursday, Sept. 7
Star Trek: Lower Decks (Season 4, Paramount+)
Top Boy (Season 5, Netflix)
Virgin River (Season 5, Netflix)

Friday, Sept. 8
The Changeling (Season 1, Apple TV+)
Sitting in Bars with Cake (Film, Prime Video)
Spy Ops (Season 1, Netflix)

Sunday, Sept. 10
Dreaming Whilst Black (Season 1, Showtime)
The Masked Singer (Season 10, Fox)
The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon (Season 1, AMC)

Tuesday, Sept. 12
The Swarm (Season 1, The CW)
Welcome to Wrexham (Season 2, FX)

Wednesday, Sept. 13
Donyale Luna: Supermodel (Documentary, HBO and Max)
The Morning Show (Season 3, Apple TV+)
The Other Black Girl (Season 1, Hulu)
Wresters (Season 1, Netflix)

Friday, Sept. 15
Love at First Sight (Film, Netflix)
A Million Miles Away (Film, Prime Video)
Wilderness, (Season 1, Prime Video)

Sunday, Sept. 17
The Gold (Season 1, Paramount+)

Monday, Sept. 18
Neighbours: A New Chapter (Season 1, Freevee)

Wednesday, Sept. 20
American Horror Story: Delicate (Season 12, FX)
The Super Models (Limited Series, Apple TV+)

Thursday, Sept. 21
Sex Education (Season 4, Netflix)

Friday, Sept. 22
Cassandro (Film, Prime Video)
The Continental: From the World of John Wick (Season 1, Peacock)
Love Is Blind (Season 5, Netflix)
No One Will Save You (Film, Hulu)
Still Up (Season 1, Apple TV+)

Sunday, Sept. 24
Krapopolis (Season 1, Fox)

Monday, Sept. 25
The Irrational (Season 1, NBC)
The Voice (Season 24, NBC)

Wednesday, Sept. 27
The Amazing Race (Season 35, CBS)
Survivor (Season 45, CBS)
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (Film, Netflix)

Thursday, Sept. 28
Bachelor in Paradise (Season 9, ABC)
Castlevania: Nocturne (Season 1, Netflix)
The Golden Bachelor (Season 1, ABC)
Starstruck (Season 3, Max)

Friday, Sept. 29
Flora and Son (Film, Apple TV+)
Gen V (Season 1, Prime Video)