The Must-Watch TV Shows in September

Get ready for the Emmys, Chad Powers, and a bizarre new comedy starring Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson.

If you’re having trouble viewing this email, view in browser The Must-Watch TV Shows in September by Josh Rosenberg   September is a massive month for TV—and not just because Chad Powers returns to the screen. The 2026 Emmy Awards take place this month on September 14, with The Pitt, Pluribus, Widow’s Bay, and even more excellent TV shows competing for the top awards. Fun fact: The annual awards show will take place on a Monday night this year. I’ll take it!   Outside of the awards, we’ll still carry on our coverage of Lanterns, Lanterns, Lioness, and Ted Lasso throughout the month as well. Elsewhere, September is full of several popular British crime dramas making their return, including Slow Horses, MobLand, and Guy Ritchie’s The Gentlemen. There are also a few bizarre new concepts for TV ahead, such as a Willy Wonka-themed competition series on Netflix and a meta-comedy starring Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson playing themselves on Apple TV. (And did we mention Chad Powers is back?!)   For everything else we’re planning on watching this month, follow along below.   Chad Powers (Season 2)   Glen Powell’s bumbling and awkward Chad Powers returns for season 2 this month, as the disgraced football player doubles down on his fake persona in pursuit of a collegiate national championship title. Assistant coach Ricky knows his identity now, and it’s on her to help keep his secret. But as the ruse continues, it’s only going to become more difficult for Powell’s Russ Holliday to survive what Ricky calls “the worst scandal in sports history.” Release date: September 3 (Hulu/Disney+)   The Gentlemen (Season 2)   The Gentlemen stars Theo James as Duke Eddie Horniman, who operates a massive UK marijuana empire complete with all the Guy Ritchie-isms fans have come to expect from the gritty filmmaker. “This chapter sees a deliberate expansion, both geographically and thematically, as we journey from the English countryside to the Italian lakes,” Ritchie told Netflix. “Eddie and Susie find themselves navigating an increasingly volatile empire as they’re besieged on all fronts by an influx of enigmatic new players.”   Release date: September 3 (Netflix)   The Paper (Season 2)   The Toledo Truth-Teller won a journalism award at the end of The Office spinoff’s first season, so I expect that notoriety to go to everyone’s heads in season 2. Domhnall Gleeson’s Ned Sampson is also now in a secret relationship with Chelsea Frei’s Mare Pritti, which is sure to drive the staff—including Sabrina Impacciatore’s hilarious Esmeralda Grand—up the walls of the Ohio paper company.   Release date: September 9 (Peacock) Tom Hardy in MobLand season 2 / photo by: Paramount+ Neagley   Fresh off the heels of Reacher’s fourth season on Prime Video, his friend Frances Neagley begins her official spinoff series this month, aptly titled Neagley. The side story follows Frances as she investigates the death of a friend who was involved in a suspicious car accident. Plus, I wouldn’t rule out a guest appearance from Reacher himself.   Release date: September 16 (Prime Video)   Slow Horses (Season 6)   The latest round of episodes for Apple TV’s British spy thriller starring Gary Oldman will serve as the show’s first season with showrunner Gaby Chiappe (The Beast Must Die). Creator Will Smith left the series following season 5, but that doesn’t mean that the series is anywhere near finished. Slow Horses is already renewed for season 7, with season 6 set to explore the return of Olivia Cooke’s (House of the Dragon) character, Sid Baker.   Release date: September 16 (Apple TV)   South Park (Season 29)   South Park is looking to hit the season 30 milestone as fast as they can—so much so that Seasons 27 and 28 were split into five-episode arcs last year as creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone renegotiated their contract with Paramount. But Parker and Stone hit at Donald Trump with AI nudity and a sexual relationship with Satan so heartily in season 28 that the series reached heights not seen since South Park’s heyday. Expect Season 29 to drive the knife in even deeper.   Release date: September 16 (Paramount)   Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story   Some very dedicated performances aside, it’s often tough to find meaning in these types of gruesome and exploitative serial killer shows. The same goes for Lizzie Borden, who was tried and acquitted of murdering her father and stepmother with an axe in 1860. Netflix, curiously, describes Borden as “an icon who refuses to live imprisoned in a cage, choosing instead to forge her own legend.” Still, every Ryan Murphy show generates a good amount of buzz. The latest stars Ella Beatty as Borden, with Charlie Hunnam and Rebecca Hall playing Lizzie’s parents.   Release date: September 17 (Netflix)   MobLand (Season 2)   MobLand has one of the best casts on TV. Tom Hardy, Pierce Brosnan, and Helen Mirren star in this London gangster thriller as a family trying to take over London’s criminal empire. Reports initially suggested that Hardy ruffled a few feathers off-screen while filming the new season, but the Venom star is officially back for more chaos this go-around.   Release date: September 18 (Paramount)   Brothers   Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson star as fictional versions of themselves in an upcoming comedy series where their characters find out that they’re actually brothers. The meta-comedy plays on the long-standing joke, with Brothers set to portray an alternative reality where it’s true. We’ll see what in the hell that even means when Brothers debuts at the end of the month.   Release date: September 23 (Apple TV) Read More Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey joke that they're related on Apple TV's Brothers / photo by: Getty Images Mailbag!  It's been a sad week in the world of entertainment, as we mourn the losses of country singer Dolly Parton, Rocky Horror actor Tim Curry, and Transformers voice actor Peter Cullen.   Esquire celebrated their lasting legacies with stories about the joy Parton brought to her fans, as well as how much Cullen's job as a giant talking robot touched viewers far more than he ever could have imagined.    If you have a story to share, feel free to send me a note at josh.rosenberg@hearst.com.   Did someone forward you this email? Sign up here. The Continuing Adventures of the Esquire Entertainment Desk Friday Night Lights and American Evil director Peter Berg gave Esquire an exclusive first look at his new World War II drama, The Mosquito Bowl. The story follows a football game that was held on Guadalcanal, in the South Pacific, where Allied forces established a base of operations that helped turn the tide of the war. The film stars Nicholas Galitzine, Bill Skarsgård, Ray Nicholson, and Tom Francis, who all spoke about their characters in our first-look here.    Rockstar Games unveiled its first major preview of Grand Theft Auto VI on Thursday. Bryn Gelbart wrote what he thought of the showcase, which aired exclusively on Netflix, and what it means for the biggest video game release of the decade. Read about his thoughts here. An exclusive first look at Peter Berg's The Mosquito Bowl. / photo by: Kane Skennar/Netflix The Cliff-Hanger's Winners and Losers of the Week Winner:  Anyone Alive to See 2046   Dolly Parton recorded a secret song on a CD before her death. She placed it in a time capsule (along with a CD player) located in Dollywood’s DreamMore Resort in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. It will be opened on what would have been her 100th birthday on January 19, 2046. In her 2020 visual memoir, Parton joked, “Hopefully, it will play and the whole thing ain’t rotted."    Loser: The Dog Stars   There isn't much love for Ridley Scott's new post-apocalyptic film starring Jacob Elordi. The $80 million film opened to just $8 million domestically following poor reviews, and it landed incredibly low on our ranking of Scott's filmography. Read here to find out which film took the top spot.      Winner: Carlos Alcaraz's New Look   The former US Open champ will hit the tennis courts debuting a new look this year: long hair. Fans much prefer the new style to last year, when Alcaraz shaved his head. Fellow tennis player Frances Tiafoe put it best when he said, simply: "The long hair is fire."   Loser: John Stewart's Dad   Not the Daily Show host. We're talking about Aaron Pierre's character on Lanterns. The Green Lantern in-training suffered through a ridiculous childhood in the third episode of HBO's superhero drama thanks to his hell-bent father, and for what? He still doesn't have the ring.   Winner: Henry Winkler   The Happy Days and Barry actor is 80 years old, yet he's showing no signs of slowing down. He told reporters the other day that he wants to star in a Taylor Sheridan series next. “I would leave here right now and go and get on that horse," Winkler said. Sheridan, the Fonz is just waiting for your call! How Does Chris Hansen Really Feel About Robert Pattinson in Primetime? We Have a Theory for Furious Season 2 Lioness Is All About Honeypotting Now The 15 Best Netflix Games to Play Right Now Follow Us Unsubscribe | Manage Preferences | Privacy Notice | CA Notice at Collection Esquire is a publication of Hearst Magazines. ©2026 Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This email was sent by Hearst Magazines, 300 West 57th Street, New York, NY 10019-3779

Marco Rubio Remains Defeated

Another L for the incredible shrinking secretary of state.

View in Browser  Monday, August 31, 2026 Remember how Marco Rubio and his state department were deporting foreign-born college students for protesting against Israel? Well, a federal judge ruled against “the incredible shrinking Secretary of State,” as Esquire columnist Charles P. Pierce calls him, for violating the students’ Constitutional right to free speech. Read Pierce’s take on the situation below. —Chris Hatler, deputy editor Plus: The 8 best new watches for car fans Lionness is all about honeypotting now. This is... not good! The 12 best colognes that hit shelves this August A Federal Judge Just Kicked Marco Rubio’s Butt in a No-Brainer Decision About Protected Speech Another L for the incredible shrinking secretary of state. Marco Rubio, the incredible shrinking secretary of state, discovered over the weekend that federal courts will find your butt to kick no matter how small you've rendered yourself in service to the mad king.   How is this even a question? This was clearly protected speech. The people sharing it were on United States soil, which means they're covered by the Bill of Rights. And the true absurdity of Rubio's action was the many, if not all, of the deportations involved criticism not of this country, but of the government of Israel. As is customary, the administration took refuge in utter incoherence. READ THE STORY How does Chris Hansen actually feel about Primetime? Eric Francisco maps out what the To Catch a Predator host has said about Robert Pattinson's new movie. >> Henry Winkler really wants to star in a Taylor Sheridan series. Josh Rosenberg says the Happy Days star really wants to ride some horses. >> The Garbage Man, the Gay Son, and Their Pokémon Cards, Forever and Ever, Amen My dad was a garbageman from Queens, hauling other people’s trash by day and flipping it online at night. By contrast, I’m a magazine editor, rolling up to a Manhattan skyscraper every day, where curation and items “priced upon request” are the coin of the realm. My dad bought his shoes at Payless; I’m writing this in Thom Browne oxfords in a stylish midtown loft I share with my fashion designer husband. We moved very differently through life.   My job gave me a month of bereavement, and I promised my mom to use that time to help her clear out even more of his shit. But after a few days of moving through the grief like fog, I still couldn't bring myself to unpack the boxes he’d so carefully organized for us to sell. It was too much. Too final. But the Pokémon cards—those were ours. Those felt different. Those felt possible.   I carefully selected 50 cards from his binder and bought brand-new sleeves for them—penny sleeves and top loaders for extra protection—and spent an afternoon slipping each collectible into its new holder, one by one. From there, roles that used to be filled by my mom and sister were now mine alone. I cataloged. I staged. I photographed. Then, as we always did, I turned to eBay. Search, filter, scroll.   I toggled the settings to show me “sold listings.” And as the results flashed across the screen, I realized that my dad had been sitting on a goddamn gold mine. By Maxwell Losgar READ THE STORY Why Are Parents Suddenly Pushing Their Kids Toward Party Schools? I’m in it. I’m deep into the college-search process with my two high school daughters. College fairs. Arcane admissions data. Mailboxes stuffed with brochures from schools you’ve never heard of. We, as a family, have toured an even ten. They are starting to blend together. Lots of stonework . . . huge bookstores . . . minuscule dorm rooms. At the end of every tour, we look at one another and say, “This feels like it could be the one.” My own personal Groundhog Day.   It was when I started talking to friends who already have kids in college that I realized I was going about this all wrong. Among my generation, a new way to pick colleges has emerged. I call it the Do-Over.   Everybody wishes they could relive their college years. Well, you can. Not by going back to school yourself—that would include all the boring parts—but by steering your college-bound kids to what you miss (or failed to experience the first time around). By Paul Pabst READ THE STORY Follow Us Unsubscribe | Manage Preferences | Privacy Notice | CA Notice at Collection Esquire is a publication of Hearst Magazines. ©2026 Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This email was sent by Hearst Magazines, 300 West 57th Street, New York, NY 10019-3779