The Queue

Mark your calendars for new seasons, series spinoffs, and a Ken Burns docuseries.

By Kevin Slane

September 3, 2025 | 3:22 PM

3 minutes to read

You’re reading The Queue, Boston.com’s guide to streaming. Sign up to get the latest industry news, free streaming movie and TV recommendations, and more in your inbox every week.

We’ve officially reached what is traditionally the most fallow period of the year for on-screen entertainment. Summer blockbusters are done, awards contenders haven’t made their festival debuts, and fall TV shows are still (mostly) at least a week away.

5 shows I’ll be watching this fall

Looking at the full list of 2025 fall TV premiere dates, there’s not a ton of originality on offer. We’re already used to endless replications of the “Law & Order,” “NCIS,” “9-1-1,” and “Chicago” formula, but spinoff syndrome is now hitting shows that we’ve barely heard of. CBS not only has a show about adopting shelter dogs (“Lucky Dog: Reunions”), it has a second show with the same premise, but in Australia (“Lucky Dog: Down Under”).

As such, a couple of these shows are in fact spinoffs of existing TV properties. Maybe they’ll recapture some of the magic of the original, maybe they won’t. But I’ll certainly be checking them out for one reason or another.

“The Paper” (Sept. 4, Peacock): After watching the first trailer for this spinoff of “The Office,” set at a struggling midwestern newspaper, I’m a bit wary. But with a likable ensemble cast including Domhnall Gleeson (“About Time”), Tim Key (“Taskmaster”), and the returning Oscar Nuñez (reprising his role as Oscar Martinez from “The Office”), I’ll give it a shot.

“Only Murders in the Building” Season 5 (Sept. 9, Hulu): The mystery-comedy has joined the brigade of shows poking and prodding at notable billionaires, casting Christoph Waltz, Renée Zellweger, and Logan Lerman as a trio of villainous moguls that may or may not be inspired by real-life figures.

“Boston Blue” (Oct. 17, CBS): To be honest, I’m probably not going to stick with this Donnie Wahlberg-starring “Blue Bloods” spinoff very long. But since I inadvertently walked through active filming in Downtown Crossing earlier this month, I need to see if the back of my head made the cut. Also, I want to see how many times I can spot Toronto masquerading as Boston, since that’s where CBS shot the majority of the series.

“The American Revolution” (Nov. 16, PBS): Any Ken Burns docuseries is worth watching, but with the documentarian turning his focus to the events that led to the founding of our country 250 years ago, I will be watching with rapt attention.

“Stranger Things” Season 5 (Nov. 26, Dec. 25, Dec. 31, Netflix): At long last, Netflix is releasing the fifth and final season of Netflix’s small-town sci-fi drama, with the streaming giant drip-feeding us new episodes in three parts, each timed perfectly for bingewatching over the holidays.

Play or Skip

Have a show you can’t stop watching? Email me about it at [email protected], and your recommendation may appear in a future edition of The Queue.

The release calendar is pretty quiet this week, so no skips in this week’s edition!

“Burn After Reading” (2008): Back in 1998, the Coen Brothers caught a lot of flak when they followed up their Oscar-winning “Fargo” (streaming on Tubi) with “The Big Lebowski” (HBO Max) which many critics saw as a goofy, unserious film. The pattern repeated itself in 2008, when the brothers followed up their Best Picture winner “No Country For Old Men” (Pluto TV) with “Burn After Reading,” a daffy crime caper starring Frances McDormand and Brad Pitt as clueless gym employees who try to sell what they think are misplaced classified documents to the highest bidder. (Netflix)

“Long Story Short” (2025): Raphael Bob-Waksberg (“BoJack Horseman”) is back with another adult animated series for Netflix, this time telling the life story of three Jewish siblings (Ben Feldman, Abbi Jacobson, and Max Greenfield) through a non-linear narrative that jumps forward and backward through time at will. Like “BoJack,” the series is exceptionally funny minute to minute, but ultimately is more interested in exploring uncomfortable topics and deeper emotional truths. (Netflix)

“The Running Man” (1987): Ahead of the upcoming remake starring Glen Powell (“Top Gun: Maverick”), see Arnold Schwarzenegger in fine form as a contestant on a “Deadliest Game”-style TV show in which trained killers hunt the participants for sport. Arnold spouts catchphrases left and right, and game show host Richard Dawson (“Family Feud”) playing an absurd version of himself is a particular highlight. (Paramount+)

End Credits

That’s a wrap on this edition of The Queue. If you’re a fan, please consider recommending this newsletter to your friends.

Until next time, good stream hunting, everyone!

— Kevin

Source