11 of the best TV shows to watch this October

From adapting Jilly Cooper’s sex-filled and scandalous novel to a satire of superhero filmmaking and a revival of a gripping political drama on Netflix.

Sophie Turner is still best known for her role as Sansa Stark. game of thronesBased on Hannington’s memoir, “I Am What I Am,” the series sees Hannington play real-life 1980s jewel thief Joan Hannington. As a single mother fresh out of an unhappy marriage, Hannington turned to crime, first adopting her trademark move of swallowing diamonds. Painful, but lucrative. The show is full of 1980s color and fashion, as Joan makes her way in and out of her jewellery shop in various disguises and works her way up through London’s criminal underworld. Though some of her real names have been changed, screenwriter Anna Simone (“Mrs Wilson,” “The Essex Serpent”) enlisted the help of Hannington herself.

Joan will premiere on ITV and ITVX in the UK on September 29th and on The CW in the US on October 2nd.

Armando Iannucci, creator of the classic satires “Veep” and “The Thick of It,” is known for his humor. Sam Mendes 1917 Skyfall isn’t. But they (along with screenwriter John Brown) have crafted a comedy about the behind-the-scenes chaos of a film crew making a superhero movie, with Mendes directing the first episode. Daniel Bruhl plays the director, an artsy guy who comes to the slums to make “Tect,” a film about a man with the psychic power to create earthquakes. But the main character is a troubled assistant director, played by Himesh Patel, who tries in vain to get things under control. Richard E. Grant also appears, wearing the cheapest costume possible: a purple-and-gold tunic and cape, as a stage actor who looks down on the film. “In the UK, you can’t help but bump into some pretty mad but highly paid actors who’ve been locked in a little green room for the last 18 months pretending to wrestle aliens,” Iannucci said. The Hollywood Reporter.

The franchise will premiere on HBO and Max in the US on October 6th, and on Sky Atlantic and NOW in the UK on October 21st.

Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna were childhood friends before they both starred in films in Mexico. Your mom thinks so too The pair, who worked together 23 years ago and have often worked together as producers ever since, are teaming up again for the story of once-champion but now-struggling boxer Esteban Osuna (Garcia Bernal), aka La Maquina, aka The Machine. A heavily armored Luna plays Andy Lujan, Osuna’s best friend and manager, who has had multiple cosmetic surgeries and looks like he’s had Botox injections. Andy is determined to challenge Esteban to one last fight, but he may be thwarted by organized crime. This is Hulu’s first Spanish-language series, and anyone who saw Garcia Bernal and Luna appear in Spanish at the recent Emmy Awards will know what Spanish means to them. “Spanish is our home,” Garcia Bernal said. Vanity Fair.

La Machina will premiere on Hulu in the US and Disney+ in the UK on October 9th.

Ella Purnell is a member of the Yellowjackets, who survives in a post-apocalyptic world after being stranded in the woods after a plane crash. fall outBut she takes her fate into her own hands as the title character in this dark comedy. Parnell plays Rhiannon, a wallflower who was bullied at school and now is underestimated at work, and is generally tired of being seen as a little mouse. In a fit of Carrie-level rage, she becomes a serial killer. The show is based on a series of novels by CJ Scouse. The tagline on the cover of the first book sets the tone and says it all: “The last person who called me sweet pea ended up dead.”

Sweet Pea premieres on October 10th on Starz in the US and on Sky Atlantic and NOW in the UK.

The great Alfonso Cuarón (Children of Men, Rome) will write and direct the seven-episode series, starring Cate Blanchett as a woman whose secret past may be exposed. Blanchett plays respected journalist Katherine Ravenscroft and Kevin Kline as her neighbor, Stephen Brigstocke. Stephen’s wife Nancy (Lesley Manville) recently died, leaving behind a fictional manuscript that portrays a scandalous and flimsy Katherine. The series moves back and forth between the past, recreating past events and raising timely questions about truth and perception. Will Stephen ruin Katherine’s life with his book? How much of fiction is real? Based on Renée Knight’s 2015 bestseller, the series also stars Sacha Baron Cohen as Katherine’s husband and Kodi Smit-McPhee as her troubled son. As always, Cuarón’s visuals promise to be stunning, with cinematography handled by his frequent collaborators Emmanuel Lubezki (Gravity) and Bruno Delbonnel (Amelie).

Disclaimer will premiere globally on Apple TV+ on October 11th.

Though in a supporting role, Harrison Ford continues to give us some of the funniest line delivery and sarcastic facial expressions on TV in this revived drama-comedy that’s one of the best dramas of 2023. BestThe series picks up where the previous season left off. Scene-stealing Ford plays Paul, a therapist at Jimmy’s (Jason Segel) clinic. When Paul’s unconventional approach causes one of his patients (Heidi Gardner) to push her husband off a cliff, Jimmy is forced to visit her in prison. Closer to home, Paul deals with Parkinson’s disease, his relationship with Julie (Wendie Malick), and his desire to right Jimmy after a series of poor choices. Jessica Williams returns as the best friend of Jimmy’s late wife, with whom he was having an affair, and Luke Tenney stars as Shawn, a PTSD sufferer who lives with Jimmy. Brett Goldstein (Ted Lasso), who created the show with Ted Lasso co-creator Bill Lawrence and Segel, will return to the screen this season as a character who causes Jimmy anxiety.

Shrinking will premiere internationally on Apple TV+ on October 16th.

Just last year, Jilly Cooper She continues to write popular blockbuster novels, with her latest, Tackle!, coming out at age 86. Based on her 1988 book, the second in the aptly named The Rutshire Chronicles series, The Rivals is full of her trademark mix of sex, money and intrigue, with a touch of Dallas or Dynasty-era soap operas. David Tennant plays Sir Tony Badingham, director of the Corinium TV station, and Alex Hassell (The Boys season 1) plays his neighbour and rival, the dissolute Tory politician Rupert Campbell-Black. Aidan Turner plays Declan O’Hara, a TV presenter who regrets his deal with Corinium, and Danny Dyer (EastEnders) plays Freddie Jones, a self-made millionaire who doesn’t fit in with aristocratic society. “We have to have two intimacy coaches because there’s so much sex in our show,” Turner says. said“Two!”

Rivals will premiere on Hulu in the US and Disney+ in the UK on October 18th.

Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant created the perfect template in 2001 with their original British series, The Office. Twelve versions followed in various countries, including nine seasons of the American version, but this was the first time they featured a female boss. This Australian version has comedian Felicity Ward covering the point, playing Hannah Howard, managing director of packaging company Flynnley Craddick. Every familiar character has a counterpart: the servile Gareth (UK)/Dwight (US) is female here, and Hannah, who praises herself for supporting her female employees, says with perfect David Brent awkwardness, “Oh, my back hurts from carrying my sisters on my back all the time. Ouch.” There’s also the Australian version’s Tim and Dawn (UK)/Pam and Jim (US). And the mockumentary format remains intact, with one of the characters saying to the camera, “This is literally an HR nightmare.” It always is.

“The Office” will premiere on Amazon Prime worldwide, except in the US, on October 18th.

This Halloween-inspired satire is set in the late 1980s, a more innocent or gullible time when parents worried that their goth kids were actually under the influence of the Devil. Julie Bowen (Modern Family) and Anna Camp (Pitch Perfect) lead the game’s ensemble as residents of a small town called Happy Hollow, where a group of high schoolers from a fading garage band try to cash in on the Devil craze. Calling themselves Death Crunch, a heavy metal group that sounds like breakfast cereal, they soon become suspects in crimes and murders around town. Bruce Campbell from the Evil Dead series also stars in the film, and his mere presence suggests the Devil is in action. Is the Devil’s influence real, or is Bowen’s character just delusional after seeing the Devil’s face appear on the glass of his microwave and the tomato sauce inside explode?

Hysteria! premieres on Peacock on October 18th

We all know Billy Crystal can play a comedic therapist. He was the doctor who helped Robert De Niro’s gangster character with his anxieties in Analyze This (1999) and Analyze That (2002). But now he’s taking a serious role in a psychological thriller with a supernatural twist. Crystal plays Eli Adler, a child psychologist whose wife (Judith Light, seen in flashbacks) recently committed suicide. One of his patients, Noah (Jacoby Jupe), is a boy who turns out to have a mysterious connection to Eli’s past. Rosie Perez also stars. Apple TV+ is not revealing much more, but Crystal’s name alone might pique your interest. The show is created by Sarah Thorp, who wrote the screenplay for the Gerard Butler-Jennifer Aniston movie The Bounty Hunter. Academy Award-winning screenwriter Eric Roth (Forrest Gump) is one of the writers and executive producers.

“Before” will premiere worldwide on Apple TV+ on October 25th.

Keri Russell returns as US Ambassador to the UK, Kate Wyler, in a show that ends with an explosion and a cliffhanger: Did an exploding car bomb kill her estranged husband, Hal (Rufus Sewell)? Netflix itself has abandoned it. SpoilersHal survives, and Sewell returns alongside David Gyasi as the British Foreign Secretary; his bubbly chemistry with Kate is undeniably captivating. Allison Janney guest stars as the US Vice President; he arrives in London worried that Kate might be up for her job; she never wanted to be an ambassador. This consistently engrossing show continues to explore the machinations of both sides of the special relationship between the US and the UK, with a deft mix of politics and soap opera. Kate learns that the British Prime Minister himself was behind the attack on the UK aircraft carrier, and struggles to navigate her rocky marriage.

The Diplomat premieres internationally on Netflix on October 31st