As the nights close in and the leaves start to fall, the temptation to snuggle up on the sofa with a box set starts to grow too.
And good news: autumn is set to arrive with a glut of excellent television. From French-language fashion show La Maison to Sophie Turner’s on-screen return as a mob wife, things are picking up again after the summer break.
Here’s our pick of the best shows to look forward to over the next few months.
Agatha All Along
The villainous Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn) just about stole the show when she appeared on the Marvel TV series WandaVision. Now she’s back for her own TV spin-off. The premise is campy – Agatha, free at last, sets out to form a new coven of witches to face the legendary trials of the Witches’ Road. Look, it’s campy as hell, but isn’t watching a group of witches do evil things the perfect way to see in Hallowe’en?
Disney+, out Sep 19
A Very Royal Scandal
What, you’ve already watched one show about the Prince Andrew Newsnight scandal? Well, get ready to watch another, because Prime Video’s TV show on the story arrives soon. Based on the memoirs of Emily Maitlis (as opposed to producer Sam McAlister for the Netflix version Scoop), this version of the story features Ruth Wilson as Maitlis and Michael Sheen as Prince Andrew.
Prime Video, out Sep19
La Maison
Fashion shows have been all the rage recently and La Maison is just the latest. Apple TV+’s classy new French drama takes the world of fashion and combines it with the vibe of Call My Agent. It follows the rise and fall of several competing fashion houses as they battle for control of the catwalk. And the fact it’s all in French gives it a certain air of je ne sais quois.
Apple TV+, out Sep 20
The Penguin
Colin Farrell dons layer after layer of prosthetics for this noir-drenched show. Set in Gotham – AKA the world of Batman – Farrell plays classic villain The Penguin, aka Oz Cobb. The trailer itself promises a Godfather-esque take on the character, with feuding mob bosses, plenty of guns and some rather ominous sounding threats.
Sky and Max, out Sep 20
Sweetpea
Work: it’s a killer. And nobody knows that better than Rhiannon. Played with a tightly-wound rage by up and comer Ella Purnell, Rhiannon works at a newspaper where nobody appreciates her. But when her dark past catches up with her, her attempts to keep things quiet turn… bloody. And soon she’s enjoying it rather more than she thought.
Sky, out October
Heartstopper Season 3
The most wholesome show on Netflix is back for another season. Kit Connor and Joe Locke reprise their roles as Nick and Charlie, along with the massive and expanding supporting cast. Alongside their blossoming love story, the teens are getting older, and with that comes fresh challenges.
Netflix, out October 3
Disclaimer
As far as the premise goes, Disclaimer is pretty run of the mill – but Cate Blanchett’s presence as the lead kicks things up a gear. She plays Catherine Ravenscroft, a celebrated documentary journalist whose life is turned upside down when she discovers she’s been made a character in a novel. A novel which reveals a secret she’s been trying to keep hidden for years. Cue fireworks... Added to Blanchett’s star power, Sacha Baron Cohen plays her husband Robert.
Apple TV+, out October 11
The Office
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A fan of the Office? A fan of watching the US and UK boxsets back to back every year? Feast your eyes on this: the Australian Office, which will be coming soon to Prime Video. Felicity Ward is our new Michael Scott: Hannah Howard, the manager of the excellently named Flinley Craddick. When her branch is threatened with being shut down, she goes into overdrive mode to ensure her “work family” stays together – cue tantrums, hi-jinks and PTSD work flashbacks.
Prime Video, out Oct 18
Rivals
Buzz has steadily been building around Rivals for months now, much to nobody’s surprise. Based on the deliciously saucy Jilly Cooper novel, it boasts an all-star cast (Aidan Turner and David Tennant, anybody?) an excellent setting (the 1980s monied elite) and a lot of backstabbing as the various characters attempt to climb to the top of the greasy pole of television. And of course, sex: lots of it. Catch us tuning in as soon as it’s launched.
Disney+, out Oct 18
Dune: Prophecy
Calling all fans of Dune: to fill in the time before the next film arrives, feast your eyes on this hotly anticipated prequel series instead. Set roughly 10,000 years before Paul Atreides ever set foot on Arrakis, it tells the story of the founding of the Bene Gesserit sisterhood and the infamous prophecy that comes to pass in the Dune films. Come for the worldbuilding, stay for the witchy mind control.
Sky, out November
Day of the Jackal
Eddie Redmayne is a stone-hearted killer in this upcoming TV adaptation of the 1971 novel (which was turned into a film two years later). Redmayne is the titular Jackal, an assassin who makes it living taking out high-profile targets. But of course all good things must come to an end and soon he comes to the attention of Lashana Lynch’s secret agent Bianca. And so begins a deadly game of cat and mouse across Europe.
Sky, out Nov 7
Mr Loverman
An adaptation of Bernardine Evaristo’s beloved Mr Loverman, written by Evaristo herself? Sign us up! This BBC One show is set to be one of autumn’s biggest, and it’s easy to see why. This show stars Lennie James as Barrington, a flamboyantly dressed Hackney local who’s hiding a secret: his decades-spanning love affair with Morris (Ariyon Bakare). Their journey towards coming out is what dominates the story here, and it’s sure to be a heartwarming (and wrenching) watch.
BBC One, out Autumn
Playing Nice
Fresh from his appearances in Happy Valley and gruelling stage performance of A Little Life, James Norton is now turning his hand to another ITV show. This one sees him step into the shoes of Pete, who along with wife Maddie (Niamh Algar) discovers that their toddler was switched at birth with another family’s child. What follows promises to be a twisting, turning psychological thriller: strap in.
ITV, out Autumn
Joan
Sophie Turner is back on our screens for the first time since Game of Thrones for her latest role. And it’s a doozy: she’s playing the real-life character of Joan Hannington, who was known as ‘the Godmother’ by certain parts of the British criminal underworld. The show explores how she got there: from housewife, to petty offender, to a diamond thief and criminal mastermind in 1980s London. Can’t wait.
ITV, out Autumn
The Franchise
Ever wondered what life was like in the Marvel juggernaut? Well The Franchise hopes to give a little insight. Written by Armando Iannucci – the mind behind The Thick Of It – this satirical TV series follows the crew of an unloved superhero franchise movie, fighting for their place in the savage cinematic universe they belong to. And the cherry on top: Sam Mendes is directing.
Sky, out Autumn
Showtrial Season 2
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The second season of the acclaimed series switches tracks to focus on an entirely new case: this time, the case of Officer X, a policeman accused of murdering a climate change activist. Naturally, this sparks an all-out media furore, and sucked into the mess is Sam Malik (Adeel Akhtar), an anxious defense solicitor with a reputation for winning lost causes. For fans of courtroom dramas, you can’t go far wrong.
