Watchable the week of Oct. 26, 2020 (updated)

SHOW OF THE WEEK: Anything for Jackson (Oct. 28, 9 p.m., Super Channel Fuse)

I’m not a horror aficionado, but anything starring notable Canadian actors tends to get my attention. The fun in this case is watching a kindly older couple perpetrate evil deeds to bring their beloved grandson, Jackson, back from the dead.

Dr. Henry Walsh (played by Julian Richings, who’s British although he’s worked in Canada for decades) and his wife Audrey (Sheila McCarthy, “Umbrella Academy,” “Little Mosque”) have the perfect plan involving kidnapping a pregnant woman and an ancient book of spells. And did I mention that they’re satanists, who attend meetings in the local library and community centre, complete with snacks?

Victim Shannon (Konstantina Mantelos), one of Henry’s patients, couldn’t have a nicer pair of abductors, which doesn’t lessen her zeal to get free, although Audrey assures her that there’s no chance of that since they’ve thought of every contingency.

But you know what they say about the best laid plans. Henry says the wrong thing to a police detective (Lanette Ware) searching for Shannon, who then insists on coming to the house. And then there’s the guy who plows their snow (Yannick Bisson of “Murdoch Mysteries”), who won’t take no for an answer when Henry tries to send him away. And after their initial spell unleashes a houseful of tormented spirits, Henry and Audrey are forced to call in a fellow satanist (Josh Cruddas) and that’s when things really get messy.

I would call this a horror black comedy rather than a hardcore horror flick although it does have gore and the apparitions, particularly the one dubbed the “suffocating ghost” (Troy James), are suitably creepy. It was written by Keith Cooper, known for his visual effects work on films like “Poseidon” and “Fantastic Four,” and directed by Justin G. Dyck.

It’s the kickoff movie for the annual Blood in the Snow film festival, which is being held virtually this year on Super Channel Fuse from Oct. 28 to Nov. 7. The fest includes the Oct. 31 debut of “Hail to the Deadites,” a documentary tribute by Steve Villeneuve to “The Evil Dead,” its fans and horror in general, featuring an interview with genre superstar Bruce Campbell. See bloodinthesnow.ca for the full lineup.

“Anything for Jackson” will be available on Super Channel on Demand beginning Nov. 1

Truth Seekers (Oct. 30, Amazon)

Given the reunion of actors Simon Pegg and Nick Frost in this horror comedy series, one would be tempted to think it would do for ghosts what “Shaun of the Dead” did for zombies. Unfortunately, it’s not particularly funny or scary.

Frost plays widowed internet repair technician Gus, who lives with his cranky dad (Malcolm McDowell) and dabbles in paranormal investigation with a sparsely followed YouTube channel.

He and his new work colleague, Elton (Samson Kayo), stumble onto hauntings on the job and meet the third member of their gang, Astrid (Emma D’Arcy), after she stows away in their van while trying to escape several malevolent ghosts.

Alas, the ghosts don’t get up to much other than lurking and the odd tepid jump scare. After the spirits are tidily dealt with — including Astrid’s mother, who burned to death in front of her eyes, which elicits no hint of grief from Astrid — the plot veers off into a plan by famous author Peter Toynbee (Julian Barratt) to steal people’s souls using nanotechnology, or at least I think that’s what it’s about.

There’s also a side plot involving Elton’s agoraphobic, cosplay-loving sister Helen (Susan Wokoma), while Pegg pops up occasionally as Gus’s boss in an atrocious hairpiece.

Exhumed: A History of Zombies (Oct. 30, 10 p.m., PBS)

Just in time for Halloween comes a show about how zombies took over the world, or at least pop culture. 

Although this doc touches on entertainments like “Night of the Living Dead,” “Shaun of the Dead,” “World War Z” and “The Walking Dead,” it’s more of a historic than a pop culture take, which is not to say it’s uninteresting. You might not have known, for instance, that in the vodou (as opposed to voodoo) religion of 17th-century Haiti, zombies were a response to slavery and colonization. 

Or that Hollywood’s earliest depictions of zombies had as much to do with fear of voodoo, Black culture and foreigners as with monsters. Or have pondered what George A Romero’s “Night of the Living Dead” has to say about race, even if unconsciously, while Jordan Peele’s “Get Out” parallels early mythology about Haitians having their souls stolen, according to the doc’s talking heads.

As host and “monster expert” Emily Zarka says, “Monster history is human history.”

Citizen Bio (Oct. 30, Crave) and Moonless Oasis (Oct. 30, CBC Gem)

I have grouped these documentaries together because they both feature what’s known as “citizen science.”

The subject of “Citizen Bio” is biohackers, defined here as people looking for alternative ways to treat diseases and prolong human life, outside the established medical framework. 

In particular, “Citizen Bio” focuses on Aaron Traywick, a controversial hacker who claimed to have found “cures” for AIDS and herpes, and who was found dead at the age of 28 floating in a sensory deprivation tank.

Traywick claimed to want to make his vaccines cheaply available to the general public but, in the doc, friends and colleagues raise doubts about the altruism of his motives as well as the integrity of his experiments.

At the same time, the doc makes clear that biohacking is a thriving field of research, despite its fringe, anarchist associations and the lack of sanction from bodies like the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and one that could yield benefits for humanity.

For instance, Gabriel Licina, one of the biohackers who worked with Traywick, is trying to develop a plastic-eating fungus that could help clean up the world’s oceans.

The Showtime doc was produced by Canadian Graeme Manson, the creator of “Orphan Black,” and directed by Canadian Trish Dolman. 

In “Moonless Oasis,” directed by Nate Slaco, we’re introduced to dedicated volunteers who protect glass sponge reefs in British Columbia’s Howe Sound: by mapping and documenting the existence of the prehistoric life forms during dives, as well as keeping watch for fishers who threaten the reefs by dropping traps in prohibited areas.

It’s clearly a painstaking pursuit but one the citizen scientists feel is necessary to keep the reefs alive. As one of the doc subjects says, “It’s an ecosystem that survived from the Jurassic period.”

Note: This entry was edited to add “Moonless Oasis” after I was able to confirm the air date.

Roadkill (Nov. 1, 9 p.m., PBS)

This British drama about a scheming politician who claims to be a man of the people arrives just two days before the U.S. election, but if you’re looking for a straightforward tale of a corrupt self-promoter getting his comeuppance you’re not in the right place.

Not to give away any spoilers, but this four-parter doesn’t end the way you might expect when you first meet Peter Laurence, a Conservative cabinet minister with secrets to match his ambitions. 

It’s probably best then, not to watch “Roadkill” looking for deeper meaning — there’s certainly nothing deep about the sleazy politician trope — but as a showcase for some of the excellent acting that Brits are known for.

Hugh Laurie, who proved he gives good villain in “The Night Manager,” plays Laurence, a mid-level minister from humble roots who claims to value “freedom” over ideology. When we first meet him he’s just won a libel case against a journalist (played by Irish actor Sarah Greene of “Dublin Murders” and “Normal People”) unable to prove that Laurence was in Washington getting paid to help U.S. interests infiltrate Britain’s National Health Service, as her newspaper claimed.

That doesn’t mean Laurence is home free. Some of the people he trusts with his secrets, including his special adviser (Iain De Caestecker) and his driver (Emma Cunniffe), work against him, not always deliberately. The skeletons in his closet include a mistress (Sidse Babett Knudsen) and an illegitimate daughter (Shalom Brune-Franklin), while new evidence turns up in the lobbying case. And the prime minister (the always excellent Helen McCrory) is fully briefed on Peter’s dirty laundry thanks to her ruthless chief of staff (Olivia Vinall). 

The show, written by celebrated playwright and Oscar-nominated screenwriter David Hare, has received some bad reviews in the U.K. for being too left-leaning. It paints a post-Brexit Conservative party as beholden to weapons manufacturers; the prison system as a cheaply run warehouse for the convicted because “the British like locking people up”; and investigative journalism as being at the mercy of rich, aristocratic media owners.

But it touches only briefly on these concerns, nor does it sketch its characters in any particular depth but, then again, it is only four episodes.

It’s mainly Laurie’s show, as we watch the charismatic Peter slither his way up the ladder, leaving human wreckage in his wake.

Odds and Ends

Let’s be honest, you’ll want to watch Season 2 of “The Mandalorian,” arriving Oct. 30 on Disney Plus, no matter what I say about it. Unfortunately I can’t say much since the screener has yet to arrive in my inbox. But I’m chomping at the bit to see where Jon Favreau and the team take Mando and Baby Yoda this season just like everyone else.

If you’re in the mood for something weepy, “This Is Us” returns to CTV and NBC for a fifth season on Oct 27 at 9 p.m. with the Pearson siblings celebrating their 40th birthdays.

If you’re in the mood for something inspiring, check out “Not Done: Women Remaking America” (Oct. 27, 8 p.m., PBS), which chronicles the groundswell of women’s activism that began in 2016 (yes, the year you know who was elected) with interviews with folks like feminist icon Gloria Steinem; Me Too founder Tarana Burke; Patrisse Cullors and Alicia Garza, co-founders of the Black Lives Matter Global Network; Time’s Up co-founders America Ferrera, Natalie Portman, Shonda Rhimes and Tina Tchen; and more.

Speaking of Black Lives Matter, there is sure to be activism mixed in with the accolades and music when the “BET Hip Hop Awards” air Oct. 27 (BET, 9 p.m.). DaBaby, Roddy Ricch, Megan Thee Stallion and Drake top the nominations list while 2 Chainz, Big Sean, Quavo and Jhene Aiko are among the performers.

Sundance has “The Dakota Entrapment Tapes” (Oct. 27), which was a Hot Docs selection earlier this year, about the investigation into the 2014 disappearance and death of a North Dakota college student who had been coerced into becoming an informant for a secret police task force.

On Netflix, you can travel along with Phil Rosenthal in a fourth season of “Somebody Feed Phil” (Oct. 30) as eats his way around the world with his aw-shucks charm and humour. Just be warned, the pre-pandemic scenes in the first episode of crowds in Rio de Janeiro might make you a little queasy.

Finally, if you’re used to decking your screen with Hallmark holiday movies, W Network kicks off the “Countdown to Christmas” on Oct. 31 at 9 p.m., with premieres every Saturday and Sunday beginning with “Christmas Wishes & Mistletoe Kisses.” Yep, that’s what it’s called.