A New ‘East of Eden,’ Legal ‘War’-fare, Graham Norton Returns, Cable’s Halloween Countdowns

East of Eden

A stirring new adaptation of John Steinbeck’s multi-generational allegory comes from writer-creator Zoe Kazan, whose grandfather Elia Kazan directed the iconic though truncated 1955 James Dean classic. This sprawling eight-part version covers the breadth of Steinbeck’s vision, with a renewed focus on the manipulative, calculating Cathy (a dynamic Florence Pugh), who arrives bloody and beaten on the doorstep of half-brothers Adam and Charles Trask (Christopher Abbott and Mike Faist). Refusing to be beholden to any man or play by any rules but her own, the damaged Cathy reinvents herself when Adam moves her across the country from Connecticut to the Eden of California’s Salinas Valley in the late 1800s. She’s the bad apple in this paradise, causing havoc in the next generation as represented by the sons she abandoned at birth: Caleb (Joseph Zada) and Aron (Joe Anders). The impressive supporting cast includes Martha Plimpton as a canny brothel owner and Hoon Lee as the Trasks’ wise Chinese American servant who introduces the underlying theme of “timshel,” a Hebrew word meaning “thou mayest,” suggesting the possibility of choosing good over evil and not letting fate dictate one’s future.

War

A slick legal drama sets two London law firms against each other: the powerful Cathcarts and the upstart Taylor & Byrne, on opposite sides of a sensational divorce case involving a high-profile tech mogul (The Wire‘s Dominic West) and a world-famous movie star (Sienna Miller). The dirty tricks start early, and while the lawyers prepare for war in their respective boardrooms, the ambitious young law grad Johnny Warren (Archie Renaux) enters the scene, looking to make a name for himself. As Johnny gets swept up in the chicanery, it becomes clear that all parties will do anything to win.

The Graham Norton Show

The late-night landscape just became more festive with the return of the cheeky Irish host for a new season of celebrity chat from across the pond. Opening night guests include Tom Cruise, discussing his transformative work in the polarizing new movie Digger, and East of Eden‘s Florence Pugh, with Lolly Adefope (the U.K.’s Ghosts) discussing her role in the West End production of the comedy hit Oh, Mary! Guests in the weeks to come include Sylvester Stallone, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Andrew Garfield, 50 Cent, Olivia Colman, and Alexander Skarsgård. Seems everyone wants to spend time on Norton’s couch.

Soulm8te

It’s already October, which means it’s time to curl up with your pumpkin spice whatever and get in the Halloween spirit. Hulu kicks off its monthlong “Huluween” initiative with a M3GAN spinoff about a seductive new model of “companion robot,” the Ultimate SOULM8TE. When a newly widowed programmer (Alien: Earth‘s David Rysdahl) finds solace in an android he names Sara (Lily Sullivan), their attachment soon has inevitably deadly consequences. Will humans never learn?

Tales From the Crypt

AMC has chosen the legendary Crypt Keeper from the Tales from the Crypt franchise to be its host for the channel’s October-long “FearFest.” The character, newly redesigned by The Walking Dead‘s Greg Nicotero and voiced once again by John Kassir, is also center stage for an eight-hour overnight marathon of episodes from Crypt‘s original run, with guest stars including Tim Curry, Christopher Reeve, Don Rickles, and Roger Daltrey. A lineup of movies from the Halloween franchise airs during the day, culminating in John Carpenter’s groundbreaking 1978 original at 7/6c.

Inside Thursday TV:

• Coven Academy (8/7c, Freeform): The centerpiece on the channel’s first of “31 Nights of Halloween” is a new supernatural series set at a New Orleans school for witches and warlocks, launching with four episodes.
• Big Brother (8/7c, CBS): Either Drew, Rick, or Taylor will walk out of the house a winner in the 90-minute finale of Season 28.
• The Traitors: New Blood (8/7c, NBC): With the “murder” of the first Faithful, everyone’s a suspect at the season’s first roundtable.
• Hell’s Kitchen (8/7c, Fox): The teams serve a room full of influencers in their first dinner service challenge. Followed by a new episode of Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test (9/8c).
• Thursday Night Football (8:15 pm/ET, streaming on Prime Video): The Pittsburgh Steelers take on the Cleveland Browns.
• American Horror Story: 13 (9/8c, FX): As three more episodes drop, Constance’s (Jessica Lange) holiday party takes a dark turn, and a new threat puts the witches of Miss Robichaux’s Academy on high alert.
• SEVENTEEN (9 pm/ET, SEC Network): An SEC Storied documentary profiles former University of Tennessee quarterback Tamaurice “Tee” Martin, who wore the “17” jersey while leading the Volunteers to a perfect 13-0 season in 1998 after taking over for the legendary Peyton Manning.
• The Amazing Race (9:30/8:30c, CBS): The teams face new challenges in Madrid on the second night of the Season 39 premiere, which illuminates the risks of using the Express Pass.
• Archive X: Unexplained Phenomena (10/9c, SundanceTV): Based on Rice University’s Center for the Impossible and its archive of paranormal research, a docuseries explores bizarre phenomena, starting with the telepathic link between two non-verbal autistic girls.
• Jimmy Kimmel Live (11:30/10:30c, ABC): The host’s late-night peers John Oliver and Seth Meyers are guests on the penultimate night of Jimmy Kimmel’s weeklong stay in Brooklyn.
• Blue Skies (streaming on UP Faith & Family): Not to be confused with USA’s Anna Pigeon, the Canadian mystery set at the fictional Crystal Ridge National Park opens its second season with investigator Jodi Larsen (Scarlet Hunter) and her canine sidekick Blue discovering a poisoning plot after the death of a cyclist during a mountain bike race.