As one of the first festivals to have a slate dedicated solely to television, the 11th year of the Toronto International Film Festival’s Primetime slate is the most expansive it’s ever been. The program is billed as one that spotlights “groundbreaking episodic storytelling and auteur-driven television from some of the world’s most exciting creators,” and this year proved to do just that. This year saw the program move in an interesting direction, in which it spotlighted more horror television than it has in any previous year, ushering in the fall season after a summer filled with heatwaves. That’s not to say the program was lacking in other stories as the spy drama “Slow Horses” premiered its newest season here, and the Jon Hamm-led thriller “American Hostage” took audiences by storm.
From thrillers to dramas, the festival also dedicated space to two Canadian productions. Though our country’s cinema has always been prevalent within the festival’s film selection, Primetime has always lacked the same dedication. Thankfully, four Canadian productions were put in the spotlight here: “Below,” “YAGA,” “Carrie” and “Alice: Pioneer of Cinema.” Not only do these series spotlight Canadian talent behind and in front of the camera, but the inclusion of these shows gives the festival credit as one that champions their own, no matter how small the production. In a political and media landscape rife with tension, Primetime’s recent slate proves that television, and Canadian television especially, deserves a place for celebration amongst even the biggest film premieres.
Primetime’s 2026 slate was the program’s most expansive yet, so without further ado, here are the highlights.
“Below” (Netflix, October)
Netflix’s “Below” follows Calvin Penney (Josh Hartnett), a widower and father whose ice harvesting job is being sabotaged by contaminated ice. Traumatized by his father’s death when he was a child when his family was forced to relocate their home, his memories begin to rear their ugly head as two of his three children come back to visit during a “Come Home Year,” where previous residents are encouraged to return to their hometown. While this homecoming reunites the entire family for the first time in years, it also gives way to a darkness that none of them are prepared to confront, uncovering interesting threads concerning assimilation and, of course, climate change.
As Calvin bestows the help of marine researcher Fonda (Mackenzie Davis) to get the scoop on the strange ice he’s been picking up, their investigation begins to unearth a conspiracy that has laid dormant in the town of Snook’s Arm for decades. What comes of this is a thrilling and gorgeously shot first two episodes that displays the beauty of Newfoundland, as well as the horrors that lie in the dark recesses of its waters. What lurks beneath is a creature that Calvin saw when his father was killed, who shows up again decades later to terrorize the inhabitants of this small community. Although he believes it to be a family curse, perhaps, what this creature really wants, is the solitude it was granted before the people of this town were displaced and forced to move into the only home it has ever known.
“American Hostage” (MGM+, September)
This psychological thriller series follows Fred Heckman (Jon Hamm), a small-town Indianapolis radio reporter who’s torn between staying at his job, or joining the big leagues in New York City. Just when he thinks the new job could offer him more money as well as more notoriety, he receives a call from Tony Kiritsis (Giovanni Ribisi), who has taken his mortgage broker hostage after facing foreclosure. Sound familiar? That would be because the film “Dead Man’s Wire,” which premiered last year at the Toronto International Film Festival, is based on the same true story.
However, this new series has a freshness to it that immediately grips you and doesn’t let go. Incessant and frenetic editing pairs well with sharp dialogue that inject some much-needed life into this series, and allow it to carve out some semblance of its own place amongst the versions of this we’ve already seen. The newsroom setting motors along like a well-oiled machine, with the clicks of buttons on typewriters and the scratching of notebook pages having a weight to them that solidifies the direness of the situation at hand. While Hamm is engaging throughout, it’s Ribisi who steals the show and makes the show a playground in which he can showcase a performance for the ages. Every shout escapes his throat with a sharpness that sounds almost painful, his eyes gleaming with unshed tears of frustration every time he’s on screen, proving that even if this story may feel overdone, staying for his performance alone will make it worthwhile.
“Crystal Lake” (Peacock, October)
Forty-six years after “Friday the 13th” debuted, Peacock’s new series “Crystal Lake” surprisingly doesn’t follow a group of horny teenagers destined to meet their ends at the hands of a machete-wielding killer. Instead, the series follows Pamela Voorhees (Linda Cardellini), whose world is shattered when her son Jason (Callum Vinson) drowns at Camp Crystal Lake. Nine months later, the authorities have still not found Jason’s body, making her unable to move on, and forcing her to stew in her grief and rage. Glimpses of Pam’s past start to resurface and quickly prove that this series will be unlike any of the films it spawned from.
When two men show up at her door one day saying they’ve found a body they want her to identify, the series finally kicks into gear, and morphs into a strange adaptation that, while head-scratching, is nearly impossible to take your eyes off of. This is thanks to Cardellini, whose portrayal of Pamela’s rage is brandished with as much tenacity as Jason’s various weapons, uncovering a layer to her acting prowess she’s never shown before. There are flashes of greatness present within these two episodes that sometimes meander, especially in a stylized opening credit sequence that differs in each episode, showcasing an ’80s slasher flare that the rest of these episodes are slightly devoid of. Cardellini and Will Catlett, who plays chief of police Levon Brooks, thankfully give us something to chew on as the series attempts to find its footing.
“Carrie” (Prime, October)
Like “Crystal Lake,” Prime’s adaptation of Stephen King’s Carrie promised a new take on an icon who shaped classic horror cinema. Adapted by Mike Flanagan, this version follows Carrie White (Summer H. Howell), a sheltered teenager who spent most of her life isolated by her fiercely religious mother, Margaret (Samantha Sloyan). While this is the story we’ve always known, there’s a massive difference here: Carrie enters public school for the first time after her father dies at the beginning of the series. It makes her all the more ostracized by her peers, who see her both as a pet project as well as a societal reject, and who use her naivety to usher in a cataclysmic event that they’ll never be able to take back.
The first two episodes bear almost no similarity Brian De Palma’s fantastic 1976 film, instead showcasing dull backdrops and dreary cinematography which make the show feel lifeless at times. Flanagan’s version seems to be concerned with Gen Alpha being the first generation defined by their reliance on cellphones and social media, and he uses this as the foundation of the story that he’s trying to tell. While I’m not quite sure it works so far, bold choices are hard to come by in modern adaptations, and I’m the first to admire when a remake takes a big swing. Although the first two episodes promise some big changes, perhaps Flanagan will pull it off, and this new version of “Carrie” will become seminal in its own right.
“Oxygen Masks Will (Not) Drop Automatically” (TBA)
Primetime has done a great job showcasing international titles that may or may not find distribution after they premiere at the festival, and this year they graced us with the stunning “Oxygen Masks Will (Not) Drop Automatically.” Based on a true story, the series follows Nando (Johnny Massaro), a gay flight attendant who, after being diagnosed with HIV at the height of the AIDS epidemic, comes together with his coworkers to smuggle treatment for the disease into Brazil, as the drug has not yet been approved by local health authorities. There have been plenty of films and TV shows released in the last few years about the AIDS crisis, but it’s not often that we see it from the perspective of those who were actively fighting to change legislation in their countries, in the hopes that they could buy time for their friends and themselves.
Despite its heavy subject matter, the series is filled with life. From the neon lights of a nightclub to the electric score that permeates various scenes, “Oxygen Masks Will (Not) Drop Automatically” feels like a desperate plea for viewers to understand that, despite the disease wreaking havoc on this community, HIV and AIDS didn’t feel like an immediate death sentence for everyone who contracted it. Visually stunning and narratively pressing, the series is a welcome change of pace from the dour pieces of media that are often created to tell the stories of the men and women who fought for their lives during the epidemic.
“Yaga” (Crave/AMC+, October)
The buzziest series premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival was undeniably “Yaga,” as this was the only Primetime press screening I had to line up for over the course of the festival. Adapted from Kat Sandler’s 2019 play of the same name, the series is inspired by the legend of the Baba Yaga: a witch who resides in a hut known to cook and eat children. In the Crave original series, she’s a spectator who haunts the show’s narrative after heir to billionaire commercial fishing company Henry Park (Hudson Williams) goes missing in the fictional coastal town of Whittock. Tasked with finding out his whereabouts is private detective Charlie Rapp (Noah Reid), whose vague connection to the Park’s is a point of contention between him and local detective Carson (Clark Backo).
Both actors add levity to the series and have a chemistry between them which crackles beneath the already tense foundation of “Yaga”’s broody setting. The complex bond between them grows when their investigation becomes complicated by university professor Katherine (Carrie Ann Moss), whose reputation with her younger male students becomes intertwined with an ancient magic that seems to be woven into the land Whittock rests on. Like “Below,” this series is bound to be a quintessential piece of Canadian television, showcasing the country in its beautiful glory, while highlighting its underrepresented talent behind the camera. Thrilling, and surprisingly sexy, there’s no doubt in my mind that the series will become a surefire hit once it premieres in October.
