'East of Eden' Anchors October's Literary Streaming Slate

Zoe Kazan's limited series adaptation of John Steinbeck's 1952 novel East of Eden premieres on Netflix on October 1, anchoring six new literary adaptations arriving across streaming platforms this month.

The series, written and directed by Kazan, casts Florence Pugh as Cathy Ames. Kazan's grandfather, Elia Kazan, directed the 1955 film adaptation of the same novel.

What else premieres this month?

On October 2, Prime Video debuts Kill Jackie, adapted from the 2018 novel The Price You Pay published under the pseudonym Aidan Truhen, the work of author Nick Harkaway. Catherine Zeta-Jones plays Jackie Price, an art dealer hunted by seven assassins.

Mike Flanagan's Carrie arrives on Prime Video on October 7. The miniseries marks the fourth screen adaptation of Stephen King's 1974 novel. Flanagan told Entertainment Weekly that King's themes resonate more strongly today: "The themes that Steve was talking about half a century ago of kindness versus cruelty, of empathy and bullying, and violence at school have become even more relevant today than he could have contemplated because of our relationship to technology and the degree to which violence encroaches on our high schoolers, especially in the United States."

He added: "So that meant we had an opportunity to tell a story about a modern teenage experience that could use the seeds of these characters King created 50 years ago, but express them completely differently."

AMC+ premieres Yaga on October 23. The series adapts Canadian playwright Kat Sandler's 2019 play based on the Baba Yaga legend. The cast includes Hudson Williams, Carrie-Anne Moss, Noah Reid, and Clark Backo. The platform previously aired Heated Rivalry.

Apple TV's Nocturne lands October 30. Liev Schreiber plays Jonah Lynn, Stephen Graham plays serial killer Jurek Walter, and Zazie Beetz plays Saga Bauer. The series adapts Lars Kepler's novels The Sandman (2012) and Lazarus (2018), written by husband-and-wife team Alexander Ahndoril and Alexandra Coelho Ahndoril. A former homicide detective, Jonah relocates to a small Pennsylvania town where Walter's victims reappear despite his imprisonment.

What are the throwback titles?

All six throwback titles arrive on October 1. Netflix carries:

• Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960), adapted from Robert Bloch's 1959 novel
• Kenneth Branagh's Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994), with Robert De Niro as the Creature and Branagh as Victor Frankenstein; produced by Francis Ford Coppola
• I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997), adapted from Lois Duncan's 1973 novel

Peacock contributes:

• David Cronenberg's The Fly (1986), based on George Langelaan's 1957 story
• Mary Harron's American Psycho (2000), adapted from Bret Easton Ellis's 1991 novel
• Catherine Hardwicke's Twilight (2008), adapted from Stephenie Meyer's 2005 bestseller

Duncan famously disavowed the 1997 slasher for its sensationalized violence and its thin relationship to her novel, though it remains a touchstone of Millennial horror nostalgia.

With Kazan's East of Eden running a full limited series and Flanagan reimagining Carrie for a fourth screen pass, October rewards viewers who keep the source novels within arm's reach of the remote.