The It List: Tobin Bell's Jigsaw is back in 'Saw X,' Spielberg's Amblin TV debuts alien docuseries 'Encounters,' keep up with 'The Kardashians' as Season 4 premieres and all the best in pop culture the week of Sept. 25, 2023

The It List is Yahoo's weekly look at the best in pop culture, including movies, music, TV, streaming, games, books, podcasts and more. Here are our picks for Sept. 25 - Oct. 1, including the best deals we could find for each.

WATCH IT: Jigsaw resurrects his trap game in Saw X 

John Kramer aka the Jigsaw Killer died in Saw III, but he's up to his old tricks seven movies later. After a string of sequels that attempted to move the story forward, Saw X rewinds the clock and fills in the period between the original Saw and Saw II. That allows Tobin Bell to return full time as Jigsaw as he ventures south of the border to Mexico hoping to cure his terminal cancer. Instead, he ends up devising a whole new series of gruesome traps with the help of his apprentice, Amanda (Shawnee Smith). We might be seeing a lot more of "young" Jigsaw if this prequel approach works for the fading franchise. — Ethan Alter

Saw X premieres Friday, Sept. 29 in theaters; visit Fandango for showtimes and ticket information.

STREAM IT: Netflix series zooms in on 4 close Encounters

As Americans are increasingly interested in UFOs, Netflix's docuseries asks: What happens to someone after they've seen one? Each of the four episodes digs into personal encounters with otherworldly phenomena, as told by the person who experienced it. Producers including Amblin Television, which is led by E.T. the Extra Terrestrial director Steven Spielberg, examine the cases of people who saw strange lights, an alien or other non-human intelligence, whether in Japan, small-town Texas or elsewhere. What they find are people who, as the show puts it, were "tortured by the fact that no one would listen to them." As one witness says, "You know, you try and live a normal life. You try and move on, but it just opens up wars again." — Raechal Shewfelt

Encounters premieres Wednesday, Sept. 27 on Netflix.

WATCH IT: Aaron Eckhart is a dog's best friend in the K-9 cop drama Muzzle

Move over Turner & Hooch — Muzzle introduces you to a new K-9 cop team: Jake Rossen and Socks. Aaron Eckhart plays Rossen, who watches his original canine partner die in a drug bust gone wrong. Then along comes Socks, a dog with a ferocious attitude and titanium teeth. This new partner seems untrainable, but Jake isn't about to give up so easily. In this exclusive clip, Jake tries to prove to his cop colleagues just how skilled his new partner is — but Socks is gonna make him work for it. — E.A.

Muzzle premieres Friday, Sept. 29 in theaters; visit Fandango for showtime and ticket information.

WATCH IT: Morgan Freeman and Josh Hutcherson turn back time in 57 Seconds

Everything can change in a minute... which is why it's helpful to be able to travel nearly 60 seconds back in time. That's the premise of 57 Seconds, the new film from Tales From the Hood mastermind, Rusty Cundieff. Hunger Games star Josh Hutcherson plays a tech blogger who sits down with Morgan Freeman's genius inventor and discovers that this Steve Jobs-like figure has mastered the art of time travel. And Hutcherson has his own personal reasons for wanting to visit the past — finding a way to hold the drug company that he blames for his sister's death accountable. This exclusive clip from the film features Freeman explaining how he learned how to break the time barrier. — E.A.

57 Seconds premieres Friday, Sept. 29 in theaters (visit Fandango for showtime and ticket information) and on most Digital services.

STREAM IT: Get ready to hear some screams inside A Really Haunted Loud House

Looks like Halloween is coming early to The Loud House. Nickelodeon's animated and live action franchise is celebrating the spooky season with the feature length TV movie A Really Haunted Loud House, which finds Lincoln Loud (Wolfgang Schaeffer) deciding to skip out on his family's own Halloween celebration in favor of befriending the new kid in school. But after Lincoln's dad accidentally unleashes the wolf within, that new kid targets the Loud clan with a series of tricks (not treats) that results in an all-out Halloween war. This exclusive clip from the special shows how Loud Sr. first gets in touch with his wolf-ish side. — E.A.

A Really Haunted Loud House premieres Thursday, Sept. 28 on Nickelodeon and Paramount+.

STREAM IT: We’re already on Season 4 of The Kardashians — try to keep up!

Reality TV’s royal family has returned just two months after the Season 3 finale of The Kardashians — as if they knew that we needed the behind the scenes of Kourtney’s pregnancy ASAP. Kim and Kourtney are (still) feuding, Kylie is hinting at her and Timothée Chalamet's seemingly whirlwind romance, Khloe is (finally) calling out Kris for always being so nice to Tristan Thompson and Scott Disick is… still there. The trailer promises “more fun, more family” and, most importantly, more salad-shaking. What’s not to love? —Danica Creahan

The Kardashians Season 4 premieres Thursday, Sept. 28 on Hulu.

WATCH IT: The Bachelor franchise expands once again with the Golden Bachelor spinoff, and its 71-year-old star

With shows like The Bachelor, The Bachelorette and Bachelor in Paradise consistently performing well for ABC and carrying a devoted fan base through the years, it just makes sense to try again. And this time the bachelor looking for love is 71-year-old Gerry Turner in what’s called The Golden Bachelor. After his heart will be 25 women ranging in age from 60 to 75 which, during his introduction to the world, Turner joked that “remembering 25 names” might be his biggest struggle. With a successful 43-year marriage under his belt already, Turner has said he's looking for a different kind of love story. And it's one that will be televised to the world. — Kyle Moss

The Golden Bachelor premieres Thursday, Sept. 28 at 8 p.m. on ABC.

WATCH IT: A famous redhead fills Blake Shelton’s ol’ red chair on The Voice

Last season marked the end of a Voice era, when the series’ winningest coach, Blake Shelton, finally left the show after 23 consecutive seasons. Since the country star announced his Voice retirement in 2022, speculation had run rampant regarding which Nashville A-lister could possibly fill his big boots (or his big red chair). Now his official replacement, country queen Reba McEntire, is ready to ascend to her new red throne. This news is exciting in many ways, not the least of which being the fact that McEntire — who will join returning coaches John Legend, reigning champion Niall Horan and Shelton’s other half, Gwen Stefani — will, at age 68, make history as The Voice’s oldest and most seasoned coach. And she just may be the jolt of redheaded energy the series needs after being on the air for 13 years. — Lyndsey Parker

The Voice Season 24 premieres Monday, Sept. 25 on NBC.

WATCH IT: Pixar’s Elemental dazzles on 4K Ultra HD

In the end, Elemental did all right. Pixar’s 27th feature was initially proclaimed a bust (in what looked like a troubling streak forming after last year’s underperforming Lightyear) after a lackluster opening at the box office. But word must have gotten around that Peter Sohn’s delightful and colorful Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner-inspired tale about anthropomorphic elements (Leah Lewis’s fire and Mamoudou Athie’s water) who fall in love was well worth the watch. It ultimately became a sleeper hit, grossing over $468 million worldwide, then became the most watched film premiere on Disney+ in 2023. Now it carries that fiery wave of momentum onto 4K Ultra HD, with bonus features including audio commentary and deleted scenes. — Kevin Polowy

Elemental releases on 4K Ultra HD Tuesday, Sept. 26 on Amazon.

WATCH IT: The Masked Singer cranks it to 11 for Season 10

The Masked Singer is back for its possibly make-or-break 10th season, which was previewed on a post-NFL game, pull-out-all-the-stops Sept. 10 special featuring a superstar unmasking: Demi Lovato as Anonymouse. That big reveal hopefully renewed viewers’ interest in the long-running series, which has dipped in ratings recently due to some ill-advised format changes and general audience fatigue. Now the show is thankfully reinstating much of its old beloved format, while continuing with fun themes like Trolls Night, Harry Potter Night, Elton John Night, NFL Night, 2000s Night, One-Hit Wonders, “I Wanna Rock,” “Soundtrack of My Life” and Disco Night. It remains to be seen if Season 10’s other contestants will be Demi-level celebrities, or more like demi-celebrities, but it’ll still be exciting to find out the identities of the Anteater, Cow, Diver, Donut, Gazelle, Hawk, Hibiscus, Husky, Royal Hen, S'More, and the largest-scale character the show has ever had, something called the Cuddle Monster. — L.P.

The Masked Singer Season 10 premieres Wednesday, Sept. 27 on Fox.

STREAM IT: 2 years later and we’re still Starstruck

It’s been two years since our cringe romcom queen Jessie made her Notebook-homage grand gesture to her movie star ex-boyfriend, Tom, and despite the undeniable chemistry between the odd couple, it didn’t quite last (again). Now, Jessie seems still stalled out in her life, while everyone, including Tom, moves on around her. The solution? Date a sexy — albeit normal — Scottish man while also still texting a now-engaged Tom. Makes perfect sense. Rose Matafeo and Nikesh Patel are as electric as ever, and while we can’t say we're always happy to watch Jessie continue to make some of the absolute worst life choices imaginable, we will be watching (probably half hidden under a blanket, writhing with discomfort from the cringe). — D.C.

Starstruck Season 4 premieres on Thursday, Sept. 28 on Max.

HEAR IT: Ed Sheeran weathers the seasons of life

Re-teaming with his Subtract producer and his friend Taylor Swift’s Folklore/Evermore collaborator, the National’s Aaron Dessner, Ed Sheeran is releasing what might be his most personal and confessional album yet, Autumn Variations. The British singer-songwriter, who opened up about his wife’s cancer and his mental health struggles earlier this year in the warts-and-all docuseries The Sum of It All, explained the inspiration behind his seventh studio LP in a recent statement: “Last autumn, I found that my friends and I were going through so many life changes. After the heat of the summer, everything either calmed, settled, fell apart, came to a head or imploded. When I went through a difficult time at the start of last year, writing songs helped me understand my feelings and come to terms with what was going on, and when I learned about my friend’s different situations, I wrote songs, some from their perspectives, some from mine, to capture how they and I viewed the world at that time. There were highs of falling in love and new friendships among lows of heartbreak, depression, loneliness and confusion.” — L.P.

Autumn Variations by Ed Sheeran is available Friday, Sept. 29 to download/stream on Apple Music.

WATCH IT: How to Fix a Pageant examines Miss USA competition's tumultuous year

On the same night that the 72nd Miss USA Pageant airs over on The CW, the latest documentary under the New York Time Presents banner scrutinizes what went down at last year's event, when more than a dozen contestants said the winner had an unfair advantage. As the Times notes, it happened just as the pageant and its parent organization, Miss Universe, which was once part of former President Donald Trump's portfolio, came under female ownership for the first time. Also under the microscope here are the brand's efforts to make money off the mantra of empowering women. — R.S.

How to Fix a Pageant premieres Friday, Sept. 29 at 10 p.m. on FX.

WATCH IT: School of Rock still slaps on Limited Edition Blu-ray

Finn Wolfhard has great taste. The Stranger Things actor and self-styled movie buff (who just made his directorial debut with the horror flick Hell of a Summer at the Toronto International Film Festival) listed Richard Linklater’s contemporary classic among his favorite movies of all time in a 2022 interview with Yahoo Entertainment. The fact that Wolfhard is only 20, born just a year before the Jack Black-starring comedy became an instant favorite for a millennial audience, just shows its enduring appeal. The film celebrates its 20th anniversary this week with a limited edition Blu-ray release featuring commentary, a video diary and more. — K.P.

School of Rock releases on Limited Edition Blu-ray Tuesday, Sept. 26 on Amazon.

HEAR IT: Wilco expand their family for Cousin

Venerable folk-rockers Wilco are back, and they’re still mixing things up, 13 albums in. New record Cousin was produced by Welsh singer-songwriter Cate Le Bon, who the band first met at the band’s Solid Sound Festival in 2019, thus marking the first time that Jeff Tweedy and company have brought in an outside producer since 2007. “The amazing thing about Wilco is they can be anything,” Le Bon told Billboard. “They’re so mercurial, and there’s this thread of authenticity that flows through everything they do, whatever the genre, whatever the feel of the record. There aren’t many bands who are able to, this deep into a successful career, successfully change things up.” — L.P.

Cousin by Wilco is available Friday, Sept. 29 to download/stream on Apple Music.

PLAY IT: These are the Ahsoka Tano toys you're looking for

The Disney+ series Ahsoka is taking fans on a wild ride of the Star Wars galaxy — and beyond. Hasbro is also going above and beyond in its toy line based on the live action show, releasing a slew of action figures, playsets and even cosplay that let you experience what it's like to be fan favorite Ahsoka Tano. New additions to Hasbro's Black Series line include Ahsoka and Sabine Wren, while the Mission Fleet line of vehicles now includes a T-6 Jedi Shuttle Showdown and Grogu's Training Adventure. And aspiring padawans can don an electronic mask guaranteed to bring out their inner Tano. We have a good feeling about this. — E.A.

Hasbro's Ahsoka toys are available now at most major retailers, including Amazon.

WATCH IT: Lego Masters returns for a fourth season and now with even more incentive for the winners

The show that’s all about who can play with toys the best — in this case Legos — is back for more fun in Season 4, with actor and executive producer Will Arnett once again back as host. There will be 12 teams of two battling it out for the $100,000 grand prize, along with the impressive Lego trophy and the title of Lego Master. And for the first time, the winning team of Lego Masters will also have their winning build made into a set and featured at a flagship Lego store. This season promises more unique challenges than ever, including building an off-road RC vehicle that’s equipped to race, a pet challenge that involves building a house for a kitten and a Cirque du Soleil challenge. — K.M.

Lego Masters premieres Thursday, Sept. 28 at 9 p.m. on Fox.