Dadnology Week 43: A perfect spy season, a dragon epic and a Halloween plan

🎃 Halloween week, with a perfect-score spy show to catch up on first

Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, which means one thing for a household with kids: the weekend needs a plan before Friday. The good news is that the week hands you one. The extended Lord of the Rings films arrive on Prime Video, Friday carries a Dark Matter finale and a new Spidey season, Minecraft finally gets a Switch 2 edition on Tuesday, and Luigi’s Mansion 3 is waiting for anyone who wants a ghost hunt that will not cost a bedtime.

Before any of that, one show deserves your attention if it passed you by: Slow Horses just finished its sixth season, and it is a perfect 5 out of 5. Below that, a split verdict on the new dragon epic and four honest 3.5 ratings for the films you may be about to rent.

Jump to: 🍿 Watch This Week · 🎮 Play This Week · 🎬 Movies & TV · 🎮 Gaming

🍿 What to watch this week

Top tip: The Lord of the Rings extended trilogy

The Lord of the Rings arrives on Prime Video from Monday in all three extended editions, the version of these films worth giving a weekend. Start with our Fellowship of the Ring review (4.5/5), and use the 30-day Prime Video trial if you are not a member. These are long films with real battle scenes, so a night for older kids at the earliest.

For the whole family: Marvel’s Spidey and His Amazing Friends season 5

Marvel’s Spidey and His Amazing Friends season 5 starts on Disney+ on Friday. The preschool Spider-Man show is the easiest pick in the house if the VisionQuest crowd wants the living room back, and Marvel’s Iron Man and His Awesome Friends follows on Wednesday.

Once the kids are in bed: Dark Matter season 2 finale

The Dark Matter season 2 finale is on Apple TV+ on Friday. Ten weekly episodes of Joel Edgerton and Jennifer Connelly’s multiverse thriller wrap up, on the same evening as Dexter: Resurrection season 2 and the Spidey season.

The classic: The Sixth Sense

The Sixth Sense is on Netflix, and with Halloween inside this week it is the one properly unsettling classic worth picking over another slasher. Teenagers and up.

Also landing this week

• Marvel’s Iron Man and His Awesome Friends — Disney+, Wednesday. The natural next stop for the Spidey crowd.
• Dexter: Resurrection season 2 — Paramount+, Friday. Michael C. Hall returns, with Brian Cox and Dan Stevens joining as series regulars.
• Jurassic Park III, Jurassic World and Fallen Kingdom — Prime Video, Saturday. The dinosaur alternative to a horror night on Halloween itself.

Still running

• VisionQuest — Disney+, Wednesdays, finale November 11. Watch WandaVision and Agatha All Along first.
• Tulsa King season 4 — Paramount+, Fridays. A must-watch.
• Avatar: Seven Havens — Paramount+, Fridays. The run ends on October 30.

Dates, platforms and the full list are in What to watch this week: Lord of the Rings extended, a Dark Matter finale, Dexter. The whole of October is at a glance in New movies & shows coming in October 2026: Our top picks.

🎮 What to play this week

Minecraft Switch 2 Edition, and a ghost hunt for Halloween

What to play this week: Minecraft on Switch 2, a Halloween ghost hunt has the top tip: Minecraft Switch 2 Edition on Tuesday, Mojang’s own Switch 2-native build rather than the old version running through backward compatibility. With the family, Luigi’s Mansion 3 (5/5) is the Halloween game, since it never really scares anyone under eight, and you can get it here. From the backlog, God of War Ragnarök (4.5/5) is the safest big PS5 epic, for after bedtime.

The whole of October’s games are in Gears of War goes back to day one, plus October games worth it.

🎬 Movie & TV news this week

Slow Horses season 6 is a perfect 5/5

Slow Horses Season 6 review – the best spy show, at full strength earns a perfect 5 out of 5 and is our favourite season in years. It folds two novels, Joe Country and Slough House, into six episodes without a rushed first half or a cluttered finale, and puts Slough House under real pressure. Read it for why the failure-driven premise still works, and for the warning that not everybody makes it out. It is a 16+ show. Our Slow Horses hub has every season ranked.

House of the Dragon season 3: stunning, but where is it going?

House of the Dragon Season 3 review – stunning, but where is it going? is a recommended 4/5 with reservations. The war looks superb and Emma D’Arcy anchors it, but the season is excellent chapters rather than a story that builds. Read it for how it plays if you treat it as the penultimate act before the show ends with season 4. Not for children.

Tenzing: the Everest film we did not expect to love

Tenzing (4.5/5, PG) arrived on Apple TV on 16 October and is the surprise of the week. It tells the 1953 Everest ascent from the point of view of Tenzing Norgay, with Genden Phuntsok in the title role and Tom Hiddleston as Edmund Hillary. The opening takes a little time to get going, and after that it holds. It suits couples and families with teenagers.

Three 3.5/5 films, and which of them is for the family

DC League of Super-Pets (3.5/5, PG) is the family one: an animated comedy full of DC in-jokes that is good fun for children from about 6, and it sits in our DC hub.

The other two are for the grown-ups, both rated R. Mickey 17 (3.5/5) is Bong Joon-ho’s inventive sci-fi satire, with Robert Pattinson committed to every version of Mickey. Crime 101 (3.5/5) is a tense, well-cast heist thriller with Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo and Halle Berry, good entertainment that is not above average.

🎮 Gaming news for dads

Switch Sports Resort and Modern Warfare 4 are out

Nintendo Switch Sports Resort launched on Switch 2 on Thursday, with 12 sports on Wuhu Island and 100-pin bowling back, the mode where a five-year-old can beat a grown-up. Our preview has the details. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 followed on Friday on PS5, Xbox, PC and Switch 2, and it is a shooter for the adults in the house, so check the age rating before it goes on a wish list.

The Dadnology Week archive: missed last week? Catch up with Dadnology Week 42.

❓ FAQ

What were the biggest dad-relevant stories in week 43, 2026?

Slow Horses season 6 earned a perfect 5/5, House of the Dragon season 3 earned 4/5 with reservations, and Mickey 17, Crime 101 and DC League of Super-Pets each landed at 3.5/5. For the week ahead, Minecraft Switch 2 Edition launches on Tuesday and the extended Lord of the Rings films arrive on Prime Video.

What is the best family pick this week?

For movies, Marvel’s Spidey and His Amazing Friends season 5 on Disney+ for younger kids, and DC League of Super-Pets (PG, 3.5/5) for children from about 6. For games, Luigi’s Mansion 3, a Halloween ghost hunt that never really scares anyone under eight.

Is Mickey 17 or Crime 101 suitable for kids?

No. Both are rated R, with violence and strong language, and neither is for children.

What did Dadnology publish this week?

Reviews of Slow Horses season 6 (5/5), House of the Dragon season 3 (4/5), Mickey 17, Crime 101 and DC League of Super-Pets (all 3.5/5), plus the weekly picks for what to watch and what to play.