With Halloween still to come and no NIU sports competing at home this weekend, take the time to check out new shows ranging from science fiction to comedy. 

“The Handmaid’s Tale” (Hulu)

“The Handmaid’s Tale” is a science fiction drama created by Bruce Miller. The show has won multiple Emmy and Golden Globe Awards for its adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s best-selling novel of the same name. Each episode runs for approximately 45 minutes to an hour and is currently in its fifth season. 

The series is set in a dystopian society where radical Christian dictators control the government. In this society, women are treated as property of the state and are forbidden to work, read or escape. 

“The Handmaid’s Tale” follows the story of a woman named June, played by Elisabeth Moss, whose main goal is to escape the invasive government and find her daughter who had been kidnapped. 

“Schitt’s Creek” (Hulu)

“Schitt’s Creek” is a comedy that follows the story of a formally wealthy family that has recently lost most of their assets. The only property the family has remaining is a small town that they had previously purchased as a joke due to its size and depressing appearance. 

The once filthy-rich family now living and working in the town’s motel, must take sanctuary in Schitt’s Creek and gain an understanding of how to live their lives as members of the lower class. 

The show stars Dan Levy, Annie Murphy, Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara.

“Westworld” (HBO Max)

“Westworld” is a science-fiction drama that is set in a dystopian universe. The series stars Evan Rachel Wood, Ed Harris, Jeffrey Wright and Thandiwe Newton.

Wealthy individuals may visit a futuristic-operated amusement park that is set in the wild west to do as they please. The amusement park is run by highly intelligent scientists that construct life-like robots, called “hosts,” to participate with their high-class visitors. These visitors may treat the hosts as they wish without any repercussions no matter how cruel. 

However, these robots are beginning to develop human characteristics, such as memories of the visitors who have wronged them.