What to Watch on Thursday: Anne Hathaway's “The Witches” gives spooky season a dose of camp
We know TV has a lot to offer, be it network, cable, premium channels, or streaming platforms including Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, Facebook Watch, and others. So EW is here to help, guiding you every single day to the things that should be on your radar. Check out our recommendations below, and click here to learn how you can stream our picks via your own voice-controlled smart-speaker (Alexa, Google Home) or podcast app (Spotify, iTunes, Google Play).
The Witches
HOW/WHEN & WHERE TO WATCH: Streaming on HBO Max
Roald Dahl's The Witches gets a gloriously campy new adaptation courtesy of Robert Zemeckis and HBO Max. Octavia Spencer stars as the doting grandmother to a young boy (Jahzir Bruno), who find themselves embroiled in a magical mess when they accidentally book a stay at a hotel alongside a gathering of evil witches. Anne Hathaway steals the show as the Grand High Witch, a grasping, vain, wretched portrait of supreme villainy. It's a deliciously outré scary story, one perfect for those who prefer Halloween treats to tricks. —Maureen Lee Lenker
Related content:
The Witches with Anne Hathaway flies to HBO Max for surprise October debut
Robert Zemeckis to direct Disney's long-developing live-action Pinocchio remake
Equal
HOW/WHEN & WHERE TO WATCH: Streaming on HBO Max
Not all docuseries are created Equal, because not all of them have Billy Porter. The Pose Emmy winner serves as narrator for this four-part look at a portion of LGBTQ history not always told. Everyone has heard about the Stonewall Riots, but the HBO Max series shares the stories of the key figures of the movement leading up to the Riots. Figures like Mattachine Society founders Dale Jennings and Harry Hay; lesbian founders of San Francisco's the Daughters of Bilitis, Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon; Christine Jorgensen, the world's first transgender celebrity; and A Raisin in the Sun writer Lorraine Hansberry. And it helps that a cast of LGBTQ actors are the ones portraying these figures under Porter's narration, including Sense8's Jamie Clayton, The Handmaid's Tale's Samira Wiley, and Star Trek: Discovery's Anthony Rapp. —Nick Romano
Related content:
Billy Porter hopes LGBTQ docuseries Equal can help keep the public 'activated'
Watch Laverne Cox, Ricky Martin, more on 'Can't Cancel Pride' COVID benefit livestream
Billy Porter explains why his Pose season 2 love scene means so much
Chelsea Handler: Evolution
HOW/WHEN & WHERE TO WATCH: Streaming on HBO Max
Chelsea Handler has one major goal with her new stand-up special, her first in six years. "I really wanted to put something out that could bring people together and make people laugh," she tells EW. Evolution features all-new material, which is based on her 2019 memoir Life Will Be the Death of Me. She talks about everything from taking drugs at a wellness retreat and not wanting to date older men anymore — though she is hot for one certain New York governor — to her her powerful and emotional reflection on therapy and what she came to realize about her brother's death. You'll cry from laughing, and laugh after crying. —Gerrad Hall
Related content:
Chelsea Handler gets real about her Evolution, and what she doesn't miss about her talk show
First listen: Chelsea Handler shows a different side of herself in candid new memoir
Chelsea Handler rescues two new dogs after the deaths of pets Tammy and Chunk
What ELSE to Watch
7 p.m.
Unleashed (series debut) — Nickelodeon
8 p.m.
9 p.m.
The Outpost — The CW
Final Presidential Debate — ABC/CBS/NBC
10 p.m.
Death in Paradise (season finale) — Ovation
Streaming
Trigger (movie) — BET+
Star Trek: Discovery — CBS All Access
*times are ET and subject to change