A ‘Dynamite’ Thriller, World Series Begins, ‘Invasion’ Finale, ‘Boston Blue’ on the Job

We’re deep into pre-Halloween season, but you’ll be hard-pressed to find anything scarier than director Kathryn Bigelow’s (The Hurt Locker) speculative real-world thriller. Reminiscent of Cold War cautionary tales like Fail Safe, this tense, terse white-knuckle movie depicts the alarms that are set off in the immediate aftermath of an unidentified nuclear missile strike headed for the continental United States. The action unfolds from several perspectives as the story resets itself multiple times, showing the initial response at an Alaskan missile-defense site, within the White House Situation Room, and ultimately showing the president (Idris Elba) mulling the fateful next step. The ending, such as it is, won’t satisfy everyone, but it’s hard to imagine the scenario won’t haunt viewers well past Halloween.

Play ball! Last year’s World Series champs, the Los Angeles Dodgers, defend their title as they travel to play the Toronto Blue Jays in the first game of a best-of-seven Fall Classic. Odds favor the Dodgers, with all eyes on superstar player Shohei Ohtani, but the Blue Jays have proven to be resilient, forcing a thrilling Game Seven in the ACLS against the Mariners earlier this week.

In the slow-burning sci-fi drama’s Season 3 finale, major players converge on the alien invaders’ mothership in the Dead Zone. Some, like soldier Trevante Cole (Shamier Anderson), who spent two years trapped in the vessel, are plotting to disable the aliens with a strategic bomb. Others, like militia leader Verna (Erika Alexander), are on a violent crusade to protect the extraterrestrials whom they see as Earth’s salvation. Grieving doctor-turned-warrior Aneesha (Golshifteh Farahani) has Verna in her crosshairs in a quest for revenge. But the key to discerning the aliens’ true intent may be Mitsuki (Shioli Kutsuna), whose psychic connection to the invaders takes this confrontation to the next metaphysical level.

A week ago, we joked about Brooklyn transplant Danny Reagan (Donnie Wahlberg) attending a ball game in the alien territory of Boston’s Fenway Park. Well, that didn’t take long. As the second episode of the Blue Bloods spinoff opens, Danny and son Sean (Mika Amonsen), who has recovered from his coma, are enjoying a Mets vs. Red Sox game when a shooting occurs outside the stadium, and they spring into action. Still on loan from the NYPD, Danny works with detective Lena Silver (Sonequa Martin-Green) when it’s revealed that the victim was a whistleblower on a case in which Lena’s mom, DA Mae Silver (Gloria Reuben), has taken a special interest. It’s also the first day on the job as patrol officers for best friends Sean and Jonah Silver (Marcus Scribner), Lena’s brother, who each get advice they don’t need on who’s going to be the alpha in their working relationship.

Halloween alert! Director-writer Zach Cregger (Barbarian) delivers one of the year’s most original, bizarre, and certainly freakiest horror movies, which begins with the sudden disappearance of 17 kids from a third-grade class. Their teacher (Ozark‘s Julia Garner) comes under suspicion, but the truth is much more unsettling, and the less said the better about the way this creepy story escalates. Josh Brolin co-stars as a devastated dad, and an unrecognizable Amy Madigan steals the show as a most peculiar newcomer. The movie premieres on HBO Saturday at 8/7c.

INSIDE FRIDAY TV:

• Sheriff Country (8/7c, CBS): Fire Country‘s Diane Farr guest-stars on the spinoff, with Sharon Leone offering support to her sister, Sheriff Mickey Fox (Morena Baccarin), who’s trying to protect her daughter, Skye (Amanda Arcuri), from her connection to a troubling crime. Followed by Fire Country (9/8c), where the firefighters adjust to a new battalion chief (The Pitt‘s Shawn Hatosy) sent to replace the fallen Vince Leone (Billy Burke).
• True Crime Watch: On ABC‘s 20/20 (9/8c), John Quiñones reports on the murder in 2000 of 18-year-old Kentucky mom Jessica Currin, for which Quincy Cross was convicted, though the verdict has come under dispute after witnesses admitted to lying. Dateline NBC (9/8c) provides new developments in the 2014 murder-for-hire death of Florida State law professor Dan Markel, a trail that led to his 75-year-old ex-mother-in-law.
• The Couple Next Door (9/8c, Starz): What happened in Antwerp probably won’t stay in Antwerp. In the Season 2 finale of the psychosexual drama, Charlotte (Annabel Scholey) and Jacob (Sam Palladio) are still reeling from their threesome with nurse Mia (Aggy K. Adams) while Charlotte’s ex Leo (Sendhil Ramamurthy) investigates who’s responsible for the deaths at the hospital.
• East Harbor Heroes (10/9c, Discovery): A reality series depicts life among the residents who live and work on the weather-ravaged North Atlantic coast of Newfoundland.
• Everything On the Menu With Braun Strowman (10/9c, USA Network): Chow down with the WWE strongman as he takes an eight-city culinary tour of eateries, from greasy spoons to Michelin-star establishments, starting with ribs in Fort Worth and soul food in Washington, D.C.

ON THE STREAM:

• Leslie Jones: Life Part 2 (streaming on Peacock): The uproarious Saturday Night Live alum tackles fame, aging, and relationships in a stand-up comedy special.
• Glamping (streaming on Tubi): Rosemary Idisi writes, directs, and stars in a thriller about a weekend getaway in Big Bear that becomes a fight for survival for a wannabe influencer and her friends after they encounter a masked killer.
• The Reluctant Traveler (streaming on Apple TV): Schitt’s Creek star Eugene Levy’s latest destination is India, where he joins local cricket stars on the field and takes his first rickshaw ride on crowded streets.