James R | On 02, Nov 2020

With the month ahead looking to be spent mostly indoors, Sky is lining up some star-studded box sets to while the evenings away, from the arrival of The Good Lord Bird, starring Ethan Hawke, and the return of Black Monday, starring Don Cheadle, to the final chapter of Tin Star, starring Tim Roth. There’s also the highly anticipated HBO documentary series The Vow, exposing its own shocking, starry scandal.

Don’t have Sky? You can stream all of the above live and on-demand through NOW, Sky’s contract-free VOD service, which costs £9.99 a month for an Entertainment Membership. For more information, click here.

Sky Cinema, meanwhile, boasts some of the standout movies of the past year, including Doctor Sleep, The Hunt, Never Rarely Sometimes Always and Jojo Rabbit.

Again, if you don’t have Sky, you can stream all of Sky Cinema live and on-demand through NOW, for £11.99 a month. For more information on that, click here. For sports, you can also sign up to NOW’s Sky Sports Pass on a contract-free basis. For more information, click here.

All of these you can stream in HD by adding a NOW Boost to your account, which costs an additional £3 a month. For more information, click here.

Here’s your guide to what’s coming soon in October 2020:
 

Entertainment

A Bee’s Diary (Sky Nature, 2pm) – 1st November

In a beehive, tens of thousands of tiny animals work toward a common goal: the survival of the colony. But what is life like for an individual honeybee? A Bee’s Diary tells that story.

Black Monday: Season 2 (Sky Comedy, 9pm) – 3rd November

Don Cheadle, Regina Hall and Andrew Rannells return in the Wall Street-based comedy set during the 1987 stock market crash. In the aftermath of Black Monday, Dawn and Blair are now the bosses at The Jammer Group, and they quickly learn that heavy is the head that wears the crown. Who will go down for the crash? Who will go down for the murders? Who will go down for fleecing Mo?

Life and Rhymes: Season 1, Episode 1 (Sky Arts, 10pm) – 4th November

Get set for a celebration of the spoken word. Hosted by Benjamin Zephaniah, some of the country’s leading spoken word performers light up the mic with their lyrical creativity. The poets perform in front of a live, committed audience of spoken word fans. Each week, Benjamin opens up the floor to give members of the audience the opportunity to spontaneously take part in the show, with the opening episode featuring special guests Jamal (aka Kid Anansi), Molly Case, Charles T Dale, Samira Rhymes and Simeon Farrar.

Killer in My Village: Season 3 (Sky Crime, 9pm) – 4th November

In the first of a new series of small town murders, we examine the case of Mitesh Patel, a pharmacist from Middlesbrough who presented himself as a well-mannered family man and credit to the community. However, behind closed doors, his wife suffered from his violent outburst, and would eventually be murdered by him in a carefully orchestrated plot to allow him to start a new life with his secret boyfriend.

The Russell Howard Hour: US Election Special (Sky One, 10pm) – 5th November

Cutting through the fake news with a bare minimum of Russian interference, Russell Howard is here to guide you through the fallout of the 2020 US Presidential Election with a special episode shortly after the results have been confirmed.

Trackers (Sky Atlantic, 9pm) – 6th November

Adapted from acclaimed author Deon Meyer’s crime novel, three stories collide explosively in Cape Town in an action-packed thriller featuring organised crime, smuggled diamonds, state security, black rhinos, the CIA and an international terrorist plot.

ICON: Music Through the Lens (Sky Arts, 10pm) – 6th November

Featuring passionate and often irreverent in-depth interviews with the most renowned music photographers, musicians, gallerists, journalists and social commentators, ICON is a six-part rollercoaster ride through the rich history and cultural impact of music photography.

The Vow (Sky Documentaries, 9pm) – 7th November

Describing itself as a “multi-level marketing company”, the controversial group NXIVM claims to offer personal and professional development seminars through its “Executive Success Program”. However, the group has been dogged with claims that it is closer, in truth, to a cult with links to sexual slavery. Inspired by her own experience of attending the group’s seminars, Emmy winning director Jehane Noujaim explores the controversial “self improvement” as legal proceedings are carried out amongst its highest profile members, most notably founder Keith Raniere. Episodes air weekly.

Leftover Women (Sky Documentaries, 9pm) – 8th November

In China, women are under immense pressure to marry young or face the stigma that comes with being single. This film by award winning filmmaker Shosh Shlam follows three successful Chinese women – Qiu Hua Mei, a 34-year-old lawyer; Xu Min, 28, who works in public radio; and Gai Qi, 36, an assistant college professor in Beijing – who, despite thriving careers, are still labelled “leftover women,” or sheng nu, a derogatory term used in China to describe educated, professional women in their mid-20s and ‘30s who are not married.

A Wild Year on Earth (Sky Nature, 9pm) – 8th November

This epic, six-part documentary series takes viewers on a visually stunning journey of the natural world’s most awe-inspiring seasonal events including migration, rebirth and transformation. Over the course of a turbulent year, the series reveals how the natural world and all of its creatures are profoundly connected to the Earth’s seasonal patterns, which, in the 21st Century, are becoming more extreme and dangerously unpredictable. Month by month, the series also charts the rhythms of the human calendar, through ritual and celebration.

Britain’s Most Evil Killer: Season 5 (Sky Crime, 9pm) – 10th November

Britain’s Most Evil Killer’s team of psychologists and criminologists open up another series of cases of the country’s most diabolical murders, featuring rare interviews with the police who worked the cases and those directly affected. This series the experts profile killers such as Russell Bishop – the man behind the Babes in the Woods murders that rocked Brighton in the 1980s, and Sabah Khan, the Luton woman caught in a love triangle who murdered her own sister in a jealous rage.

Against the Tides (Sky Documentaries) – 13th November

An award-winning feature-length documentary that follows marathon swimmer and world record holder Beth French, as she sets out to conquer Oceans Seven, a challenge consisting of the seven most dangerous sea-channels in the world.

People’s Choice Awards (E!, 2am) – 16th November

Get ready for one of the most glamorous nights of the year, as even with a pandemic the stars will be beaming onto your screen for the E! People’s Choice Awards.

Exhibition on Screen: Degas – A Passion for Perfection (Sky Arts, 7pm) – 16th November

Exhibition on Screen journeys from the streets of Paris to the heart of a superb exhibition at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, whose extensive collection of Degas’ works is the most representative in Britain.

The Outpost: Season 3 (SyFy, 9pm) – 17th November

The fantasy-adventure drama series set in the lawless edge of the civilised world returns as Talon (Jessica Green) takes her place as soldier, sorceress and hero.

The Good Lord Bird (Sky Atlantic, 2am/9pm) – 18th November

Ethan Hawke, Daveed Diggs and Joshua Caleb Johnson star in a humorous, dramatic and historical tapestry of Antebellum America based on the award-winning novel by author James McBride. Told from the point of view of Onion, a newly freed teenager who joins abolitionist John Brown on a holy crusade to end slavery and finds himself part of the famous 1859 raid at Harpers Ferry. An adventure equal parts absurd and tragic, this limited event series spotlights the ever-changing racial, religious and gender roles that make up the American identity.

The South Bank Show: Season 10 (Sky Arts, 10.45pm) – 22nd November

The longest-running Arts show on British television, The South Bank Show returns for a new season. A host of the arts’ leading figures discuss their work, influences and inspirations in a collection of eyeopening exclusive interviews with Melvyn Bragg. Gillian Anderson joins Melvyn for the first episode.

The Comedy Store (Sky Documentaries, 9pm) – 22nd November

Bringing to life the legends, heartbreak and history created at The Comedy Store, which over the past 47 years has launched the careers of a breathtaking array of stars. As a Comedy Store alum, former stand-up comic Binder spotlights one of pop culture’s great laboratories with never-before seen footage and incisive, emotional interviews with some of the biggest names in comedy.

Trickster (SyFy, 9pm) – 23rd November

Jared is an Indigenous teen in the town of Kitimat, a coastal town in Northern British Columbia, struggling to keep his dysfunctional family above water. But when Jared starts seeing strange things — talking ravens, doppelgängers, skin monsters — his already chaotic life is turned upside down. At first, he thinks he’s losing his mind, but to his relief (and terror), the supernatural events are all too real. It turns out there’s more than meets the eye to the place Jared grew up, the people he loves – and to Jared himself.

Exhibition on Screen: Lucian Freud – A Self Portrait (Sky Arts, 7pm) – 23rd November

For the first time in history the Royal Academy of Arts in London, in collaboration with the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, brings together Lucian Freud’s self-portraits.

Cold War Steve Meets the Outside World (Sky Arts, 9pm) – 24th November

Cold War Steve (Christopher Spencer) is a Birmingham artist whose satirical collages have made him a cult phenomenon, but he is also highly regarded in the art world being celebrated as the ‘Brexit Bruegel’ and ‘a modern-day Hogarth.’ In this bold, ambitious and visually exciting new art installation and documentary project we will take a provocative look at the state of art, politics, and the true psyche of post lockdown Britain through Cold War Steve’s work as he literally brings art to the masses with a number of giant outdoor displays across the UK.

Belushi (Sky Documentaries, 9pm) – 27th November

Filmakers R.J. Cutler and John Battsek (Listen to Me Marlon)
present a feature length documentary on the life and times of
comic legend John Belushi.

Movies

Resistance (2020) – 1st November

Jesse Eisenberg delivers a committed performance in this biographical drama following Marcel Marceau as he helped the French Resistance during World War II.

Ash is Purest White – 4th November

Qiao (Zhao Tao) lives in a depressed mining town. Her boyfriend, Bin (Liao Fan), is a dashing gangster who ascends in rank within the Jianghu (a criminal brotherhood) and finds himself vulnerable to rival hostilities. When Bin is arrested, Qiao makes a fateful decision: she takes the blame to save him. After five years in prison, she emerges to find her world has transformed.

Doctor Sleep – 6th November

The story of Stephen King’s horror classic “The Shining” continues as a now-adult Danny Torrance faces the ghosts of the past. Still irrevocably scarred by the trauma he endured as a child at the Overlook, Dan Torrance, played by Ewan McGregor, has fought to find some semblance of peace. But that peace is shattered when he encounters Abra, a courageous teenager who shares Danny’s gift. Instinctively recognising that Dan also carries the “shine”, Abra has sought him out, desperate for his help against the merciless Rose the Hat and her followers, The True Knot, who feed off the shine of innocents in their quest for immortality.

Lucy in the Sky – 7th November

When you’ve seen the limits of your own existence, where do you go from there? Natalie Portman stars in a deep-thinking drama as Lucy Cola, and astronaut who experiences a trip to outer space. But once she returns to Earth, the world seems too small and she struggles to adapt back to a normal life. As time passes, Lucy begins to lose touch with reality, and as a part of her remains stranded in the stars, her life on Earth begins to unravel.

A Hidden Life – 8th November

Terrence Malick (The Tree of Life, The Thin Red Line, Badlands) writes and directs the powerful story of Franz Jägerstätter, an Austrian farmer facing the threat of execution for his refusal to fight for the Nazis during World War II.

Fanny Lye Deliver’d – 11th November

Set on an isolated farm in 17th century Shropshire, this folk horror stars Maxine Peake as Fanny Lye, a woman who learns to transcend her oppressive marriage and discover a new world of possibility. Also starring Charles Dance, Freddie Fox and Tanya Reynolds.

Jojo Rabbit – 13th November

Taika Waititi brings his signature style to this World War II satire that earned him his first Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay at this year’s ceremony. Jojo is a lonely German boy whose only friend in the world is his imaginary incarnation of Adolf Hitler (Taika Waititi). While his world view is shaped by the surrounding of Nazi Germany, he fails to ingratiate himself with his peers in the Hitler Youth. His entire world is the turned upside down when he discovers his single mother (Scarlett Johansson) is hiding a young Jewish girl (Thomasin McKenzie) in their attic. Aided by his, rather idiotic imaginary friend, Jojo is forced confront his blind nationalism by this unexpected revelation.

The Hunt – 14th November

Twelve strangers wake up in a clearing. They don’t know where they are, or how they got there. They don’t know they’ve been chosen… for a very specific purpose… The Hunt. In the shadow of a dark internet conspiracy theory, a group of globalist elites gathers for the very first time at a remote Manor House to hunt humans for sport. But the elites’ master plan is about to be derailed because one of the hunted, Crystal (Betty Gilpin, GLOW), knows The Hunters’ game better than they do.

Never Rarely Sometimes Always – 15th November

Written and directed by Eliza Hittman, Never Rarely Sometimes Always is an intimate portrayal of two teenage girls in rural Pennsylvania. Faced with an unintended pregnancy and a lack of local support, Autumn (Sidney Flanigan) and her cousin Skylar (Talia Ryder) embark across state lines to New York City on a fraught journey of friendship, bravery and compassion.

Blumhouse’s Fantasy Island – 20th November

The 1970s TV series gets dredged up from the deep for this revival from Blumhouse, this time as a campy horror flick. The enigmatic Mr Roarke makes the secret dreams of his guests come true at a luxurious tropical resort. But when the fantasies turn into nightmares, the visitors must soon solve the island’s mystery in order to escape with their lives.

Infamous (2020) – 22nd November

A reckless woman and her new boyfriend become social media sensations when she streams their cross-country robberies online.

Last Christmas – 27th November

Get the festive season rolling with this festive romcom penned by Emma Thompson and based on the songs of George Michael. Emilia Clarke stars as Kate – a young woman subscribed to bad decisions. Working as an elf in a year-round Christmas shop is not good when you’re a wannabe singer at heart. However, when Tom walks into the store and into her life, it seems too good to be true, and he slowly starts knocking down the barriers she puts up. As Christmas finally arrives, can the two make it work? Sometimes, you gotta have faith.

The Photograph – 21st November

When famed photographer Christina Eames unexpectedly dies, she leaves her estranged daughter Mae Morton (Issa Rae) hurt, angry and full of questions. When a photograph tucked away in a safe-deposit box is found, Mae finds herself on a journey delving into her mother’s early life and ignites a powerful, unexpected romance with a rising-star journalist, Michael Block (LaKeith Stanfield).

The Rhythm Section – 28th November

A woman seeks revenge against those who killed her family, in this action thriller starring Jude Law and Blake Lively.

 

Other movies coming soon to Sky Cinema in November 2020:

1st November
Rise of the Guardians
Dr. Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas
Resistance (2020)
Almost Famous
All I Want for Christmas
The Wizard of Oz

2nd November
Ella Bella Bingo

3rd November
Killer Instinct (2019)

5th November
Outback (2019)

9th November
The Unicorn (2018)

10th November
Sheep and Wolves: Pig Deal

12th November
American Fighter

14th November
The Polar Express

16th November
Astronaut (2019)

17th November
Dreamkatcher

18th November
All Nighter

19th November
Lost Transmissions

20th November
John Wick

22nd November
Jack Reacher

23rd November
Christmas Town

24th November
Brightheart 2

25th November
Mortal (2020)

26th November
Bulletproof (2019)

29th November
Waiting for Barbarians

30th November
The Wishmas Tree

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