On the topic of Halloween TV series and Hallmark’s Countdown to Christmas programs are at the center of the last week of October. Almost every performance from Abbott Elementary to Grey’s Anatomy gets into the spirit before Thanksgiving.

In addition to these candy offerings, there are some serious and timely TV and movie options that I’d be remiss not to put on your radar. A documentary about the 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue shooting premiered Wednesday on HBO and HBO Max. ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Unfortunate as it is to go through, it is more important than ever, especially as a former president Donald Trump and Kanye West continue to be so reckless with their words. Anti-Semitism in the United States has never been more on the rise than it has been in the past few years The tree of life (document title) is a reminder that we cannot forget to keep fighting and not close our eyes to the hatred around us.

Then on Friday, Elizabeth Banks shines Call Jane, about a married woman who needs a medical abortion—which was illegal at the time—and takes not only her own life, but the lives of many others into her own hands. Do yourself a favor and go to the theater for it.

That being said, we’ll be back here next week for the highly anticipated premiere White Lotus season two and much more.

October 25, Tuesday

Hymns we love (book): Journalist and author Steve Baltin wrote this must-have new coffee table book featuring iconic artists and musicians like U2, Carly Simon, TLC and more. In it, they describe how their songs became the soundtrack of your life. Baltin examines 29 iconic songs in modern music (everything from Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline” to TOTO’s “Africa”) to definitively answer: What makes a song an anthem? How did these songs become such a part of our culture?

Baltin tells Glamour some of his favorite chapters in the book come from the incredible female icons he’s interviewed. “Carly Simon said she only started performing live because Cat Stevens, her favorite artist at the time, asked her to perform for him,” he says. “Shania Twain really opened up about how the song ‘You’re Still The One,’ which she wrote for then-husband Matt Lang, changed for her after their divorce. And TLC’s Rosonda Thomas explained how “No Scrubs” became a surprising male favorite, with everyone from the Jonas Bros and Weezer to Drake and Snoop Dogg singing the song in public. Thomas realized that the song became a guide for boys on how not to be scrubs, with even grandmothers telling their grandchildren, “Don’t act like that.” ” Books are available wherever they are sold

Karen Pirie (Britbox): The main characters in the series are based on the best-selling novels of Val McDermid A foreignerLauren Lyle, who plays a young Scottish detective with intelligence and a desire to uncover the truth. Lyle says in a press release, “She doesn’t really care about how she looks because all she cares about is work. being a bit androgynous and trying to level men. I think she has an image in her head of how she should look in order to fit in with a lot of men, but in doing so she completely isolates herself to be a pretty independent looking person who looks cool without being there for it . And she wears no makeup, I insisted, not even mascara, because she just wouldn’t want to be bothered. It’s also very refreshing, it’s very nice to do something as a woman where you don’t feel like you have to look pretty.” Flow