The Haunting of Bly Manor Terrifies, The Right Stuff Inspires

Almost four decades after director Philip Kaufman delivered the definitive film adaptation of Tom Wolfe's The Right Stuff, Disney+ and National Geographic are bringing the origins of Project Mercury to the small screen in the form of a new limited series. Meanwhile, Netflix's The Haunting of Bly Manor is taking Henry James' The Turn of the Screw and adapting it as a sequel to the streamer's 2018 The Haunting of Hill House. Also today: Lena Waithe presents The Forty-Year-Old Version, Deaf U looks at the social lives of students attending a college for the deaf and hard of hearing, and HBO drops the curtain on Room 104. Here's what's new and noteworthy on TV this Friday:

LIMITED SERIES PREMIERE: National Geographic's five-episode adaptation of The Right Stuff follows the Mercury Seven astronauts from the Mojave desert to the surface of the moon. Read our review. Streaming on Disney+

SERIES PREMIERE: Featuring members of the cast of 2018's Haunting of Hill House in new roles, The Haunting of Bly Manor tells the story of a young governess (Victoria Pedretti) hired by a man (Henry Thomas) to look after his niece and nephew at the family country house after they fall into his care. Primetimer's Joe Reid has this preview. Streaming on Netflix

SERIES PREMIERE: The docuseries Deaf U follows seven deaf and hard of hearing students as they maneuver the ups and downs of college life. Watch the trailer. Streaming on Netflix

ORIGINAL MOVIE: From producer Lena Waithe comes The Forty-Year-Old Version, about a once-promising New York playwright who becomes creatively re-invigorated when she returns to rapping, her long-forgotten passion. The Sundance-winning film stars Radha Black, who also wrote and directed. Watch the trailer. Streaming on Netflix

SPECIAL PRESENTATION: The half-hour special PBS Kids Talk About: Race and Racism features discussions of racial justice, along with relevant clips from Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, Arthur, and Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum. Watch a preview. 7:00 PM ET on PBS

SERIES FINALE: Ntare Mwine (Heroes), Rebecca Hazlewood (ER), and Susan Park (Fargo) check into Room 104 in the final episode of the Duplass Brothers' HBO anthology series. 11:00 PM ET on HBO

SEASON PREMIERE: Raven (Raven-Symoné) and Chelsea (Anneliese van der Pol) throw a Halloween party for the younger neighborhood kids as Raven's Home kicks off its fourth season. Watch a preview. 8:00 PM ET on Disney Channel

Mike Attebery is Senior Editor at Primetimer and the author of seven mystery thrillers. Follow him on Twitter at @mikeattebery.