From left, stills from the new season of 'You', Marvel's 'Black Window' and 'Invasion'. Photo: Netflix; OSN Streaming; Apple TV+
From left, stills from the new season of 'You', Marvel's 'Black Window' and 'Invasion'. Photo: Netflix; OSN Streaming; Apple TV+
From left, stills from the new season of 'You', Marvel's 'Black Window' and 'Invasion'. Photo: Netflix; OSN Streaming; Apple TV+
From left, stills from the new season of 'You', Marvel's 'Black Window' and 'Invasion'. Photo: Netflix; OSN Streaming; Apple TV+

17 shows and films coming to Netflix, OSN Streaming and Amazon Prime in the UAE in October


Evelyn Lau
  • English
  • Arabic

A new month upon us means fresh content is heading our way via the streaming services.

Netflix's hit series You has another season and Zack Snyder is also returning with Army of Thieves, his prequel to Army of the Dead. Meanwhile Apple TV+ will unveil a new film centered on an alien invasion of Earth.

Whether it's the return of popular shows, or a blockbuster film, such as Marvel's Black Widow, there's plenty to get excited about in October.

Here, we round up the new series, films and documentaries coming to streaming platforms in the UAE this month ...

'Maid', Netflix, October 1

Inspired by The New York Times best-selling memoir, Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive by Stephanie Land, the limited series follows the story of a single mother named Alex who has to turn to housecleaning to make ends meet after she escapes an abusive relationship and has to overcome homelessness in order to create a better life for her daughter.

'Grey’s Anatomy', OSN Streaming, October 1

Now in its 18th season, the US medical drama series focuses on the personal and professional lives of surgical residents and their interns. It follows the titular character Dr Meredith Grey, who fans have seen go from intern to chief of general surgery over the course of the show.

'Diana: The Musical', Netflix, October 1

The musical is based on a book by Joe DiPietro on the life of Diana, Princess of Wales. Starting with Diana Spencer at age 19 and newly engaged to a prince she barely knows, the musical explores how she struggles to navigate her way within the British royal family. While she finds herself trapped in a loveless marriage, she soon finds her voice by helping those in need. The show takes a closer look at how she created a legacy that’s still long admired even after her death in 1997.

'Black Widow', OSN Streaming, October 3

The stand-alone Marvel film tells the story of Scarlett Johansson's character Natasha Romanoff and takes place after the events of Captain America: Civil War. It shows her confronting her history as a spy and the broken relationships she left in her wake long before she became an Avenger.

'Bad Sport', Netflix, October 6

From the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic figure skating scandal to South African cricket captain Hansie Cronje’s fall from grace, a new docuseries looks at six true stories of sports and crime as told by the athletes, coaches and law enforcement officials who were at the centre of it all.

'Justin Bieber: Our World', Amazon Prime, October 8

Fans can go behind-the-scenes with Canadian pop star Justin Bieber as he prepares for his first concert in three years as part of T-Mobile Presents New Year’s Eve Live with Justin Bieber. Closing out 2020 from the Beverly Hilton Hotel rooftop, the concert was live-streamed to millions of fans around the world. The film follows Bieber and his close-knit team in the month leading up to the show while also capturing personal moments between Bieber and his wife Hailey.

'The Sinner', OSN Streaming, October 14

Now in its fourth season, the show stars Bill Pullman as Harry Ambrose, a police detective who investigates crimes committed by unlikely culprits and attempts to uncover their motivations behind them. Only Pullman appears in every season, with the rest of the cast changing for each story.

'You', Netflix, October 15

The third season of the American psychological thriller series sees Joe and Love now married and raising their newborn son in the suburb Madre Linda in northern California. However, Joe continues to repeat a cycle of obsession with a growing interest in their next-door neighbour Natalie.

'I Know What You Did Last Summer', Amazon Prime Video, October 15

A reboot of the 1997 film, which is based off of a 1973 novel by Lois Duncan of the same name, I Know What You Did Last Summer is now a TV series. The show centres on a group of teenagers a year after their graduation night when a fatal car accident results in the death of a man. However, rather than reporting it, they decide to cover it up instead. The group is bound together by the incident but also being stalked by a killer who claims to know their secret.

'The Velvet Underground', Apple TV+, October 15

Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Todd Haynes, The Velvet Underground is the first major documentary to focus on the legacy of the American rock group. Formed in 1964, the band didn’t find much commercial success while together but in later years would be recognised as being one of the most influential. The film features in-depth interviews with key people at the time as well as never-before-seen performances and a special collection of recordings.

'Hightown', StarzPlay, October 17

The second season of the American crime drama follows a National Marine Fisheries Service agent named Jackie Quinones who has a hard-partying lifestyle. One evening she discovers the body of a murdered woman on the beach and takes her first steps towards becoming sober because of this trauma. However, she soon takes it upon herself to solve the murder and begins to spiral.

'Succession', OSN Streaming, October 18

The American satirical comedy show explores the themes of power, politics and family through the eyes of an ageing, ultra-wealthy media mogul and his four grown children. Now about to start its third season, the series centres on the Roy family, who are dysfunctional owners of Waystar RoyCo and fight for control of the company amid uncertainty over the health of the family’s patriarch, Logan Roy.

'Invasion', Apple TV+, October 22

After a series of strange events begin happening around the world, it soon becomes evident that they are connected. Set across many continents, the 10-episode series follows an alien invasion through the different perspectives of five ordinary people as they try to make sense of what’s happening around them.

'Love Life', StarzPlay, October 29

The first season of the HBO Max original followed the love life of Darby Carter (Anna Kendrick) from her first love to her last over the course of 10 episodes. Season two will pick up a similar format but follows a new main character, Marcus Watkins (William Jackson Harper), after he comes out of a long-term relationship with a woman he thought was going to be his forever person.

'Mesh Ana', OSN Streaming, October 29

The Arabic film stars Tamer Hosny as Hassan, who has fraying mental health after he wakes up one morning without full control of his limbs and spends the ensuing days physically lashing out at friends, family and members of the public. Each unprovoked attack is met with the plea “mesh ana", meaning "it’s not me". However, the comedy-drama also centres on his strong relationship with his sick mother, who is the centre of his life.

'Army of Thieves', Netflix, October 29

A prequel to Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead, the Netflix original film focuses on a small town bank teller named Dieter who gets drawn into an adventure when a mysterious woman recruits him to join a crew of criminals on Interpol’s most wanted list. Together they will attempt a heist of impossible-to-crack safes across Europe.

'Colin in Black & White', Netflix, October 29

From co-creators Ava DuVernay and Colin Kaepernick, the six-episode scripted drama tells the story of Kaepernick's formative years, looking at the experiences from his adolescent life that shaped him into the activist he is today. The series is narrated by Kaepernick, who appears as himself, and was written by Michael Starrbury, who serves as executive producer alongside DuVernay and Kaepernick.

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Libya's Gold

UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves. 

The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.

Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.

FFP EXPLAINED

What is Financial Fair Play?
Introduced in 2011 by Uefa, European football’s governing body, it demands that clubs live within their means. Chiefly, spend within their income and not make substantial losses.

What the rules dictate? 
The second phase of its implementation limits losses to €30 million (Dh136m) over three seasons. Extra expenditure is permitted for investment in sustainable areas (youth academies, stadium development, etc). Money provided by owners is not viewed as income. Revenue from “related parties” to those owners is assessed by Uefa's “financial control body” to be sure it is a fair value, or in line with market prices.

What are the penalties? 
There are a number of punishments, including fines, a loss of prize money or having to reduce squad size for European competition – as happened to PSG in 2014. There is even the threat of a competition ban, which could in theory lead to PSG’s suspension from the Uefa Champions League.

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Tamkeen's offering
  • Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
  • Option 2: 50% across three years
  • Option 3: 30% across five years 

Springtime in a Broken Mirror,
Mario Benedetti, Penguin Modern Classics

 

UK’s AI plan
  • AI ambassadors such as MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo cofounder Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell
  • £10bn AI growth zone in South Wales to create 5,000 jobs
  • £100m of government support for startups building AI hardware products
  • £250m to train new AI models
MATCH INFO

Champions League quarter-final, first leg

Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City, Tuesday, 11pm (UAE)

Matches can be watched on BeIN Sports

Villains
Queens of the Stone Age
Matador

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

Joker: Folie a Deux

Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson

Director: Todd Phillips 

Rating: 2/5

The bio

Who inspires you?

I am in awe of the remarkable women in the Arab region, both big and small, pushing boundaries and becoming role models for generations. Emily Nasrallah was a writer, journalist, teacher and women’s rights activist

How do you relax?

Yoga relaxes me and helps me relieve tension, especially now when we’re practically chained to laptops and desks. I enjoy learning more about music and the history of famous music bands and genres.

What is favourite book?

The Perks of Being a Wallflower - I think I've read it more than 7 times

What is your favourite Arabic film?

Hala2 Lawen (Translation: Where Do We Go Now?) by Nadine Labaki

What is favourite English film?

Mamma Mia

Best piece of advice to someone looking for a career at Google?

If you’re interested in a career at Google, deep dive into the different career paths and pinpoint the space you want to join. When you know your space, you’re likely to identify the skills you need to develop.  

 

UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

Jetour T1 specs

Engine: 2-litre turbocharged

Power: 254hp

Torque: 390Nm

Price: From Dh126,000

Available: Now

Women%E2%80%99s%20T20%20World%20Cup%20Qualifier
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Global state-owned investor ranking by size

1.

United States

2.

China

3.

UAE

4.

Japan

5

Norway

6.

Canada

7.

Singapore

8.

Australia

9.

Saudi Arabia

10.

South Korea

The specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo

Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm

Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm

Transmission: 9-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh117,059

MATCH INFO

Fixture: Thailand v UAE, Tuesday, 4pm (UAE)

TV: Abu Dhabi Sports

Company%20profile
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The specs
  • Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
  • Power: 640hp
  • Torque: 760nm
  • On sale: 2026
  • Price: Not announced yet
SPECS
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Updated: October 01, 2021, 5:31 AM