New to TVNZ+: October 5-11

Just in time for Halloween, Teacup (October 11) is a horror-drama series about a disparate group in rural Georgia that unites to survive a mysterious threat.

Animal Kingdom’s Scott Speedman, Dexter’s Yvonne Strahovski and The Ranch’s Kathy Baker star in the James (Saw) Wan-produced adaptation of Robert McCammon’s novel, Stinger.

Showrunner Ian Mcculloch (Yellowstone) calls his adaptation “a puzzle-box mystery, an edge-of-your-seat thriller, a can’t-but-must look horror story, a family drama, a science fiction epic—of the keyhole variety, of course.

“But as singular, strange, and surprising as I hope Teacup is, all you need to do is peel away the layers, characters, situations, and mythology and look behind the thrills, chills, hairpin turns and make-you gasp reveals.

“Do all that and you’ll see, at its heart, Teacup is still very much standing on the shoulders of Stinger. Just as it should.”

Women on the Verge (October 8) is a 2018 Irish comedy-drama about three women in their 30s starring Kerry Condon, Nina Sosanya and Eileen Walsh.

It was created by a Sharon Horgan (Catastrophe, Bad Sisters). “Veers too often into Bridget Jones territory, but it certainly has its moments,” said The Guardian while The Telegraph thought it “so Sex and the City, it’s almost cliched.”

There’s also a raft of Kiwi newcomers, from the return of Ahikāroa (October 6) and the premiere of rich kids camp comedy Camp Be Better (October 10) to six-part docuseries John Campbell: The Woman at the Bottom of the Stairs (October 5), which investigates the police’s handling of a mysterious 2022 death two years after the deceased was the victim of a “horrible crime”.

And arriving express weekly from the US is the fourth and final season of Superman & Lois (October 8).