Matthew McConaughey Drives ‘The Lost Bus,’ Charlie Hunnam Is the ‘Monster’ Ed Gein, a Royal Visit, ‘Rainmaker’s Big Decision

The Lost Bus

Director and co-writer (with Task‘s Brad Ingelsby) Paul Greenglass (United 93, the Jason Bourne movies) delivers another edge-of-the-seat experience with this fact-based thriller that’s part disaster movie and part heroic survival story set against the deadly Camp Fire of 2018 that destroyed the Northern California community of Paradise. Matthew McConaughey stars as downtrodden school bus driver Kevin McCay, who, with a teacher (warmly played by America Ferrera), shepherds a bus filled with 22 terrified children through an inferno that traps them from all sides. McConaughey’s mother, Kay, and son, Levi, appear as Kevin’s ailing mom and rebellious son, whose fate weighs heavily on the driver as he navigates treacherous roads in pitch-black, fiery conditions while the adults try to keep the parched and petrified kids calm and safe.

SC+

SC+ is a fast-paced spin-off of ESPN’s SportsCenter, streaming exclusively on Disney+, weekdays at 9 AM ET and varying on weekends. Built around the popular “SC Top 10” moments, the punchy highlights usually clock in around fifteen minutes, so you can quickly catch all the big plays and major fails you might have missed the night before. Weekday editions of SC+ are co-hosted by SportsCenter’s morning mainstays Gary Striewski and Randy Scott, with weekends anchored by Hannah Storm and Jay Harris.

Monster: The Ed Gein Story

The fictional fiends that Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan concocted for their American Horror Story anthology series pale next to the real-life ghoul portrayed by Sons of Anarchy‘s Charlie Hunnam in the latest installment of their Monster docudrama franchise. Hunnam is Ed Gein, a 1950s Wisconsin farm boy whose mild-mannered demeanor masks a twisted psyche that derives from a perverse mommy complex — Laurie Metcalf is Ed’s morbid mom — which would later inspire the creation of Psycho‘s Norman Bates. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Buffalo Bill from The Silence of the Lambs also owe a debt to the horrors found on Gein’s farm, reenacted in lurid detail in this eight-part series.

The Reluctant Traveler

The genial travel series, now in its third season, often finds Schitt’s Creek star Eugene Levy facing his fears and stepping out of his comfort zone as he explores new places across the globe. Not so much this week, when Levy’s trip to London includes a coveted invite from a member of the British royal family. “Why don’t you pop down to the castle?” reads the missive from Prince William, the Prince of Wales and future king. Who would say no to a personalized tour of Windsor Castle? Not us and not Levy.

The Rainmaker

The case against the hospital becomes more complicated when Bruiser’s (Lana Parrilla) jailbird father, Lyman (Vincenzo Nicoli), gets released from prison. Though disbarred, Lyman still acts like the firm’s owner and inserts himself into negotiations with ruthless defense lawyer Leo (John Slattery), while Rudy (Milo Callaghan) continues to search for the murderous nurse Melvin (Dan Fogler) and his captive, Jackie (Gemma-Leah Devereux), who are key to winning the case. Rudy’s pursuit leads to a revelation about his benefactor, Prince (Tommie Earl Jenkins), that spurs the young lawyer to make a game-changing decision.

INSIDE FRIDAY TV:

• On Brand With Jimmy Fallon (8/7c, NBC): The wannabe marketers face their first elimination when the On Brand Agency creates a high-flying promotion for Southwest Airlines.
• Belle Collective (8/7c, OWN): The lady entrepreneurs of Jackson, Mississippi, are back for a sixth season of the reality series.
• True Crime Watch: ABC‘s 20/20 (9/8c) examines the case of a San Diego County family who disappeared without a trace in 2010. On Dateline NBC (9/8c), Keith Morrison heads to Oahu, Hawaii, to report on the 2022 murder of acupuncturist Jon Tokuhara, who was shot and killed in his clinic.
• The Couple Next Door (9/8c, Starz): Three’s a crowd in this steamy melodrama when Jacob (Sam Palladio) takes Charlotte (Annabel Scholey) to Antwerp for a surprise 20th-anniversary celebration, only to find an unexpected visitor.
• The Magic of Grace Bumbry (9/8c, PBS): A Great Performances special profiles African American opera star Grace Bumbry, who overcame racism in the 1950s (when she was not allowed to study at the St. Louis Institute of Music) to become a leading diva of the 1960s on the international opera scene.

ON THE STREAM:

• Steve (streaming on Netflix): Oscar winner Cillian Murphy (Oppenheimer) stars in the title role as a harried head teacher at a British reform school on the brink of closure.
• Invasion (streaming on Apple TV+): The aliens aren’t the only existential threat facing the team when their chopper goes down at a creepy abandoned military base on the edge of the Dead Zone. A band of guerrillas lurk nearby, believing the extraterrestrials are their salvation, and willing to sacrifice the lives of any humans who get in their way.
• V/H/S/Halloween (streaming on Shudder): Dust off your ancient players. Halloween comes early in a new collection of six gory vignettes found on vintage VHS tapes.
• Bring Her Back (streaming on HBO Max): More spookiness awaits in this 2025 chiller making its streaming debut, starring The Shape of Water‘s Sally Hawkins as a foster mother introducing her orphaned charges to a ghastly ritual. The movie premieres on HBO Saturday at 8/7c.
• Honey Don’t! (streaming on Peacock): Also making its streaming debut: director Ethan Coen‘s offbeat mystery-comedy starring Margaret Qualley as a hard-boiled California private eye.