New on Netflix This Week: Top Movies & Series (Oct 5–11, 2026)

Netflix has a busy week from October 5 to 11, 2026, and we sorted through it with viewers 65 and up in mind. Two comedy documentaries look back at TV history, there’s a quiet little gem with Harry Dean Stanton, and a Taylor Sheridan crime drama finally lands for Yellowstone fans. A couple of the big new releases are rough going, so we flag those plainly.

Highlights for the Week

What’s the best new movie on Netflix this week for older viewers?

Lucky (Oct 9). Harry Dean Stanton plays a 90-year-old man facing his own mortality in a small desert town, and it’s funny, gentle and wise. If you’d rather laugh along with TV history, Lorne (Oct 5) and Who Is Martin Mull? (Oct 7) are both easy, affectionate watches.

Is there anything new on Netflix to watch with the grandkids?

Yes. Is It Cake? Halloween (Oct 9) is three short, silly episodes rated TV-PG, where bakers make spooky cakes that look like ordinary objects. Kids love shouting out their guesses.

Which new Netflix titles should I skip if I don’t like violence?

Animals (Oct 9) is an R-rated kidnapping thriller, Below (Oct 8) is a sea-monster horror series, and Mayor of Kingstown (Oct 5) is often brutal. All three are well made, but none of them is a cozy night in.

Top New Movies on Netflix This Week

Oct 5 – Lorne (2026)

Oscar winner Morgan Neville directs this portrait of Lorne Michaels, the man who created Saturday Night Live in 1975 and is still running it. Tina Fey, Paul Simon, Conan O’Brien, Maya Rudolph and Chris Rock are among the people sharing stories.

If you watched SNL from the very first season, this is a warm trip back through 50 years of it. It runs about 100 minutes and moves quickly. It’s rated R for language, and it touches on drug use and the deaths of cast members like John Belushi.

Oct 7 – Who Is Martin Mull? (2026)

A Netflix documentary about Martin Mull, the comic, musician, painter and familiar TV face from Fernwood 2 Night, Roseanne and Arrested Development. The late Bob Saget co-directed it, and Steve Martin and Tom Waits turn up to talk about their friend.

This one feels made for our readers. It’s nostalgic and kind, full of 1970s comedy history, and it takes his painting seriously too. Expect strong language (it’s rated TV-MA) and some reflection on aging and loss.

Oct 9 – Animals (2026)

Ben Affleck directs and stars as a Los Angeles mayoral candidate whose son is kidnapped. He and his wife, played by Kerry Washington, have hours to find the ransom money. Gillian Anderson plays a powerful fixer and Steven Yeun runs the campaign.

This is the week’s big Netflix movie and it should keep thriller fans on the edge of the couch. Just know what you’re getting into: it’s rated R for violence and strong language, and it isn’t a gentle watch. Runtime is about an hour and 45 minutes.

Oct 9 – Lucky (2017)

Harry Dean Stanton, in one of his last roles, plays Lucky, a 90-year-old atheist who smokes, does his crossword and walks the same route around his desert town every day until a fall makes him think about the end. David Lynch, Tom Skerritt, Ed Begley Jr. and Ron Livingston co-star.

Our favorite find of the week. It’s short (under 90 minutes), wry and tender, and anyone who has started noticing their own birthdays will see something of themselves in it. There’s some language and a lot of cigarette smoke, but nothing violent.

Top New TV Series on Netflix This Week

Oct 5 – Mayor of Kingstown (2021)

All four seasons of Taylor Sheridan’s crime drama arrive at once. Jeremy Renner plays Mike McLusky, the man who keeps the peace between cops, criminals and prison guards in a Michigan town whose biggest business is incarceration. Dianne Wiest plays his mother.

If you loved Yellowstone, this is the obvious next binge, and there are 40 episodes to get through. Fair warning: it is darker than Yellowstone, with frequent brutal violence and heavy language. Dianne Wiest is worth the price of admission.

Oct 6 – Love Village (2023)

Season 3 of a Japanese dating show with a twist: the singles are grown-ups, many in middle age, who move into a farmhouse near Mount Fuji hoping for a second chance at love. They cook, garden and talk things through.

It’s the opposite of the shouty dating shows aimed at 20-somethings. People open up about divorce, loneliness and regret, and it’s surprisingly moving. It’s in Japanese with subtitles, and there’s nothing here to worry about content-wise.

Oct 8 – Below (2026)