From Carrie to Slow Horses: The 5 Most Anticipated TV Series Screening at TIFF 2026
The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) kicks off next month, with tickets becoming available to festival members starting this week and opening to the general public later this month. Based on the lineup details released so far, here are five highly anticipated television series featured in this year's selection:
American Hostage
This show is scheduled to premiere on MGM+ on September 20. Created by Shawn Ryan (The Night Agent) and Eileen Myers, this anthology series adapts the true-crime podcast of the same name. The main cast includes Emmy Outstanding Lead Actor winner Jon Hamm (Mad Men), Mireille Enos (The Killing), William Jackson Harper (The Good Place) and Giovanni Ribisi (Sneaky Pete). Interestingly, the real-life events behind this story were also adapted into the film Dead Man's Wire, which premiered at TIFF last year.
In Indianapolis in 1977, local radio reporter Fred Heckman (Jon Hamm) enjoys widespread trust from his listening public and respect from his colleagues. He’s even caught the interest of some New York media bigwigs; their job offer is weighing on his mind, spurring him to repeatedly discuss the pros and cons with his wife (Mireille Enos). But Heckman’s personal quandaries are suddenly sidelined when the station hears word of a developing story unfolding downtown.
Tony Kiritsis (Giovanni Ribisi) is a desperate man with a desperate plan: he’s decided that his only available course of action, after being denied an extension on his mortgage payment plan, is to take his broker hostage. Kiritsis begins a stand-off with local police, and one of his earliest demands is a phone call with the most reliable newsman in town: Fred Heckman. The station’s staff and regulators are faced with a series of impossible and novel decisions — can the station ethically air a live interview with a kidnapper? What does the reporter’s duty to the public require him to divulge? Will they be fined into oblivion for airing Kiritsis’ inventive stream of curse words?
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This show is scheduled to premiere on Netflix on October 18. Created by Jesse McKeown (The Umbrella Academy), this mystery-thriller stars Josh Hartnett (Trap), Charlie Heaton (Stranger Things), Rohan Campbell (Halloween Ends), Ruby Stokes (Lockwood & Co.), and Mackenzie Davis (Terminator: Dark Fate).
In the small coastal village where Calvin Penney (Josh Hartnett) lives, there’s a long tradition of intimate connection to the sea. Commercial fishery and, more recently, harvesting ice from icebergs that have drifted into the bay, are the backbone of the local economy. It’s a family way of life that Calvin hopes to sustain and pass down to at least one of his children — the wayward Wade (Charlie Heaton), the adventurous Mary (Ruby Stokes), or the entrepreneurial Jay (Rohan Campbell), home for a visit from his money-making venture in Calgary.
The family reunion happens as the local townspeople are due to vote on a government initiative for relocation, offering cash for resettlement and creating tension between those who see opportunity, and those who can’t imagine leaving their home. But the debate is put on the back burner when strange events start happening near the harbour: harvested ice starts to exude a strange odour, and a couple of tourists seem to have gone missing. As Calvin seeks the help of local marine biologist Fonda Howander (Mackenzie Davis) in trying to understand what’s happening in the waters, his history on the island becomes something he can no longer ignore.
Carrie
Carrie is scheduled to premiere on October 7, on Prime Video, with all eight episodes dropping simultaneously worldwide. The series is created and showrun by Mike Flanagan (The Haunting of Hill House), who also directs four episodes. The ensemble cast features a mix of rising stars and horror veterans:
Summer H. Howell as Carrie White
Samantha Sloyan (The Fall of the House of Usher) as Carrie's mother, Margaret White
Siena Agudong (Resident Evil) as Sue Snell
Alison Thornton as Chris Hargensen
Joel Oulette as Tommy Ross
Josie Totah (The Buccaneers) as Tina
Arthur Conti as Billy Nolan
Thalia Dudek as Emaline
Amber Midthunder (Prey) as Miss Desjardin
Matthew Lillard (Five Nights at Freddy's) as Principal Grayle
As Carrie White (Summer H. Howell) walks the halls of her high school for the first time, her peers barely make eye contact, staring instead at the devices in their hands. Sheltered Carrie doesn’t have a smartphone, the parameters of her young life constricted by her paranoid and fervently religious mother, Margaret (Samantha Sloyan). Encouraged by the kindness of Principal Grayle (Matthew Lillard), Carrie hopes school will offer some freedoms. But her initial excitement is tempered by the wariness of her classmates Chris (Alison Thornton), Sue (Siena Agudong), and Tommy (Joel Oulette). As pressure mounts, Carrie feels something growing inside her that she may not be able to control.
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Crystal Lake
Serving as a prequel series to the Friday the 13th franchise, Crystal Lake is created by Brad Caleb Kane (It: Welcome to Derry). The show is scheduled to premiere on October 15, on Peacock. Emmy nominee Linda Cardellini (Dead to Me) stars as iconic mother Pamela Voorhees, alongside William Catlett (Constellation) as local police chief Levon Brooks.
Pam is a devoted single mom: she works hard at her job in the camp’s kitchen, glad to be able to stay close to Jason but wary of the other kids’ cruelties. When negligent counsellors leave the kids unsupervised in the lake, tragedy strikes: Jason disappears in the water, surely having drowned. As time goes by and the town moves on, Pam struggles to cope; she’s encouraged to rejoin the community by one of her few friends, local chief of police Levon Brooks (William Catlett). But when shadowy figures from Pam’s past come knocking at her door, her paranoia doesn’t seem so far-fetched. Pushed to the brink of grief, how far will Pam go to protect herself and avenge her son?
Slow Horses Season 6
Adapted from Mick Herron’s celebrated Slough House novel series, the hit show originally premiered on Apple TV+ in 2022. Seasons 3 through 5 all earned Primetime Emmy nominations for Outstanding Drama Series, with original creator Will Smith and Season 4 director Adam Randall previously taking home Emmy wins for Outstanding Writing and Outstanding Directing, respectively.
Season 6 will premiere on Apple TV on September 16, 2026, consisting of 6 episodes. In a series first, this season will adapt two books from Mick Herron's novel series—Books 6 and 7—within a single season. Due to scheduling conflicts, long-time series creator and showrunner Will Smith will not return for Season 6. Gaby Chiappe steps into the role of head writer, while Adam Randall returns to direct the full season. BAFTA winner Lenny Rush joins the returning main cast led by Gary Oldman, Jack Lowden, Kristin Scott Thomas, and Hugo Weaving.
As a new season begins, River Cartwright (Jack Lowden) had hoped to escape the purgatory of Slough House, after the glimmering hope of a promotion seemed just in his grasp. But the endless machinations of newly-ascended First Desk Diana Tavener (Kristin Scott Thomas) land Cartwright back on MI5’s island of misfit toys, under the reluctant governance of Jackson Lamb.
After the chaos of last season’s entanglement with Libyan operatives, accidental assassinations, and Roddy’s (Christopher Chung) love life, the Horses could use a breather. But as River deals with personal matters, spurring the return of ruthless mercenary — and River’s father — Frank Harkness (Hugo Weaving), another maelstrom of revenge and retaliation for old wounds begins to form.
If you are interested in upcoming TV series to be released in Canada, please visit the TV Premiere Schedule page on this website!
Photo and Source: TIFF