The Biggest Movies and TV Coming in September

"The Gentlemen" and "Slow Horses" return this fall, while the "Reacher" spin-off series "Neagley" makes its debut. See our guide of the biggest Fall TV and streaming releases.

2026 Fall TV and Streaming Watch Guide

&quot;The Gentlemen&quot; and &quot;Slow Horses&quot; return this fall, while the &quot;Reacher&quot; spin-off series &quot;Neagley&quot; makes its debut. See our guide of the biggest Fall TV and streaming releases.

Get a closer look at these actors from their many TV and streaming series roles.

Streaming Stars, Then and Now

Although originally a journalist by occupation, Allen had always loved films and had always wished to be a part of them. He became one of the biggest names in show business during the 1970s in the process, both producing and directing some of its most popular films. After working in magazines and advertising, he produced the documentary film The Sea Around Us (1953). This excellent film won an Academy Award for Best Documentary and he decided to branch out into commercial film. His parody film of human history, The Story of Mankind (1957), was both a critical and commercial disaster, but he scored box office success with the films The Big Circus (1959), The Lost World (1960), a color remake of the classic silent film The Lost World (1925), and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1961).

As the 1960s began, he became interested in science fiction and scored considerable success in that genre. The TV spin-off of his film Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1961), also titled Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1964), struck a chord with TV audiences, and so did the succeeding TV series Lost in Space (1965), The Time Tunnel (1966) and Land of the Giants (1968).

However, it was during the 1970s that Allen truly became became a household name. Noting the massive box office success of the film Airport (1970), he immediately branched out into disaster films and was able to obtain star-studded casts. Allen's film The Poseidon Adventure (1972), about passengers abroad a capsized cruise ship, was one of the biggest box office hits of the year and its theme song, "The Morning After" by Maureen McGovern, won an Academy Award for Best Song. He followed up that triumph by both producing and co-directing the smash hit film The Towering Inferno (1974), about a group of people trapped in a burning skyscraper, which also drew huge audiences and profits. In his personal life, at that time he fell in love with actress Sheila Allen (Sheila Matthews), whom he married in 1974. He briefly returned to TV with the TV series Swiss Family Robinson (1975), but it only lasted two seasons before it was canceled. It was then that his popularity was at its peak, and he had become known as "The Master of Disaster". He then both produced and directed the killer bee film The Swarm (1978). In spite of both a big budget and a star-studded cast, both its poor special effects and its poor dialogue made it a box office bomb. The following year he made, produced and co-directed the sequel and conclusion to his previous film The Poseidon Adventure (1972), Beyond the Poseidon Adventure (1979), which audiences thought was dull and implausible. In 1980, he attempted to make a comeback with the film When Time Ran Out... (1980), about tourists and Native Americans both struggling to escape the eruption of a a volcano. The lavishly financed film did draw attention when Mount St. Helens in Washington State erupted during its release, but it was also a box office bomb. After making three expensive disaster films that had lost huge amounts of money, Allen was never again able to make films on such a grand scale. He did remain active in the entertainment industry during the 1980s, however. He designed a special effects ride at Universal Studios Hollywood and also produced some TV miniseries. He died of a heart attack in 1991 and Sheila, his widow, today helps run an official website that is dedicated to his memory.

Irwin Allen in The Towering Inferno (1974)

Along with other Hollywood stars, Allen preferred personal friends of his
to star in his films and TV series. <a class="ipc-md-link ipc-md-link--entity" href="/name/nm0021052/?ref_=nmtrv_trv">Sheila Allen</a> (his wife), <a class="ipc-md-link ipc-md-link--entity" href="/name/nm0625358/?ref_=nmtrv_trv">Erik L. Nelson</a> and <a class="ipc-md-link ipc-md-link--entity" href="/name/nm0736861/?ref_=nmtrv_trv">Elizabeth Rogers</a> were
some of his closest friends who starred in many of said films
and TV series.

After his film <a class="ipc-md-link ipc-md-link--entity" href="/title/tt0069113/?ref_=nmtrv_trv">The Poseidon Adventure (1972)</a> was released and became a huge hit, Allen gained the nickname in Hollywood of &quot;The Master of Disaster&quot;.

When Allen&#39;s star-studded &quot;ultimate B movie&quot; <a class="ipc-md-link ipc-md-link--entity" href="/title/tt0078350/?ref_=nmtrv_trv">The Swarm (1978)</a> turned out to be a box office bomb, he immediately decreed that no member of the press would ever be allowed to even mention that film&#39;s title in his presence again. Sometime later, the &quot;Los Angeles Times&quot; sent two brash and wisecracking young reporters to interview Allen about one of his future projects and when the very first question that came out of their mouths was that they wanted to know just why they were forbidden to even mention the title of that particular film in his presence, Allen to his credit actually did make good on his decree and immediately had <a class="ipc-md-link ipc-md-link--entity" href="/company/co0002663/?ref_=nmtrv_trv">Warner Bros.</a> security guards escort both of the reporters off of the studio lot.

When Allen&#39;s career suddenly took an unexpected downturn and all three of his back to back big-budget / all-star disaster films bombed at the box office (<a class="ipc-md-link ipc-md-link--entity" href="/title/tt0078350/?ref_=nmtrv_trv">The Swarm (1978)</a>, <a class="ipc-md-link ipc-md-link--entity" href="/title/tt0078856/?ref_=nmtrv_trv">Beyond the Poseidon Adventure (1979)</a> and <a class="ipc-md-link ipc-md-link--entity" href="/title/tt0081747/?ref_=nmtrv_trv">When Time Ran Out... (1980)</a>) his nickname of &quot;The Master of Disaster&quot; suddenly had a new, but now less than flattering, meaning.

He also created and produced both the popular science fiction film <a class="ipc-md-link ipc-md-link--entity" href="/title/tt0055608/?ref_=nmtrv_trv">Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1961)</a> and its spin-off TV series, which was also titled <a class="ipc-md-link ipc-md-link--entity" href="/title/tt0057798/?ref_=nmtrv_trv">Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1964)</a>, and the equally popular science fiction TV series <a class="ipc-md-link ipc-md-link--entity" href="/title/tt0058824/?ref_=nmtrv_trv">Lost in Space (1965)</a>, <a class="ipc-md-link ipc-md-link--entity" href="/title/tt0060036/?ref_=nmtrv_trv">The Time Tunnel (1966)</a> and <a class="ipc-md-link ipc-md-link--entity" href="/title/tt0062578/?ref_=nmtrv_trv">Land of the Giants (1968)</a>.

Trade paper articles announcing upcoming films in 1950 included the news that Allen had written a story titled &quot;The Easy Path&quot;, which was to be produced by RKO Radio Pictures in England and to star Robert Mitchum. The film was never made.

His production company was named Irwin Allen Productions.

Trivia

Irwin Allen

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