New on Netflix This Week: Top Movies & Series (Oct 26–Nov 1, 2026)

Netflix has a busy week from October 26 to November 1, 2026, and most of it lands on Sunday, November 1. For readers 65 and older, the best of it is a mix of nostalgia (an SCTV reunion, Leslie Nielsen’s original cop spoof), a couple of cozy holiday picks, and a new Reba McEntire season. Here are the movies and series worth your evening.

Highlights for the Week

What’s the one thing to watch on Netflix this week?

Start with SCTV: The Greatest Show You’ve Never Heard Of on October 30. If you laughed at Eugene Levy, Catherine O’Hara and Martin Short back in the late ’70s, this documentary will feel like a visit with old friends.

Is there anything new I can watch with the grandkids?

Yes. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever arrives November 1. It’s rated PG, it’s funny, and it has a sweet heart without getting preachy.

Any new series for a cozy night in?

Happy’s Place Season 2 brings back Reba McEntire as a Tennessee tavern owner, and Mistletoe Murders is a gentle Hallmark whodunit set in a Christmas shop. Both arrive November 1.

Top New Movies on Netflix This Week

Oct 28 – Champions (2023)

Woody Harrelson plays a hot-tempered minor league basketball coach who gets sentenced to community service: coaching a team of players with intellectual disabilities. Kaitlin Olson, Cheech Marin and Ernie Hudson round out the cast, and Bobby Farrelly directs.

It’s a classic underdog sports story, and the players steal every scene they’re in. Fair warning, it’s rated PG-13 for some crude jokes and language, so it’s better for grown-up company than for little ones.

Oct 30 – SCTV: The Greatest Show You’ve Never Heard Of (2026)

This new Netflix documentary looks back at SCTV, the Canadian sketch show that ran from 1976 to 1984 and gave us Catherine O’Hara, Eugene Levy, Rick Moranis, Martin Short and Joe Flaherty. Jason Hehir directs, and the film includes a reunion of the surviving cast in Toronto.

This is the week’s best pick for anyone who remembers staying up late for it. The language is mild. It does touch on the deaths of John Candy and Harold Ramis, so expect a few tender moments along with the laughs.

Nov 1 – Richard Jewell (2019)

Clint Eastwood tells the true story of the security guard who found the bomb at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, then found himself treated as the prime suspect. Paul Walter Hauser plays Jewell, with Kathy Bates (Oscar-nominated for this role), Sam Rockwell and Jon Hamm.

Most of us remember the news coverage, which makes the film hit harder. It’s rated R, mostly for language and a brief stretch of violence around the bombing itself.

Nov 1 – The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (2024)

A mother takes over her church’s nativity play, and the town’s rowdiest family, the Herdman kids, decide they want the lead roles. Judy Greer stars, Lauren Graham narrates, and it’s based on the much-loved 1972 children’s book.

If you read the book to your own kids, you’ll enjoy seeing it on screen. It’s rated PG and safe for the whole family, which makes it an easy choice when the grandchildren visit.

Top New TV Series on Netflix This Week

Oct 27 – The One About Matthew Perry (2026)

This three-part Netflix docuseries looks at the life and career of the Friends star. Emmy winner Mary Robertson directs, and it includes interviews with his sister Mia Perry Bowick, close friends and coworkers, plus family footage that hasn’t been seen before.

It’s well made and moving. It is also heavy, with long stretches about addiction and his death in 2023, so you may want to take it one episode at a time.

Nov 1 – Happy’s Place (2024)

Season 2 arrives on Netflix. Reba McEntire plays a woman who inherits her father’s Tennessee tavern and the young half-sister she never knew existed. Melissa Peterman and Belissa Escobedo co-star, and a few familiar faces from Reba show up along the way.

This is a clean, easygoing sitcom with a studio-audience feel. If you liked Reba’s old show, you’ll be right at home here.

Nov 1 – Mistletoe Murders (2024)