What’s coming soon to Sky and NOW TV in October 2017?
David Farnor | On 30, Sep 2017
Curb Your Enthusiasm? That’s one thing we can’t do this October, as Sky bombards us with all of the TV. From Larry David’s return to The Walking Dead’s eight season, not to mention FOX’s new X-Men series, Gifted, it’s a month of high-profile premieres and big name arrivals.
Drama fans can look forward to Freddie Highmore in new medical drama The Good Doctor and Season 13 of Criminal Minds, while lighter fare on offer ranges from Vice Principals and Modern Family to Jack Whitehall action comedy Bounty Hunters. Throw in the return of Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl and Legends of Tomorrow, and your telly schedule is already pretty packed – and that’s before we get to the return of Twin Peaks’ whole third season as a box set.
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 £6.99 a month. For more information, click here.
Sky Cinema, meanwhile, serves up a collection of award contenders, including Fences, A United Kingdom and Loving. Homegrown nostalgia hits out screens with T2 Trainspotting, while M Night Shyamalan also looks back to his roots with return-to-form thriller Split – and there’s family-friendly fun to stream with Sing.
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.
Here’s your guide to what’s coming soon in October 2017:
TV
Curb Your Enthusiasm: Season 9 (Sky Atlantic, 10pm) – 2nd October
He’s back… and nothing’s changed. One of the comedy world’s greatest creations returns to Sky Atlantic. After six years in the wilderness, Larry David returns – as Larry David – in all-new episodes of the Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning comedy series. The series continues to prove how seemingly trivial details of day-today life – a stay at a hotel, a hot shower, a stop at a red light – can precipitate a chain of misfortune. Alongside all the returning favourites, fans can also expect the series to retain its trademark cavalcade of cameos, with Elizabeth Banks, Ed Begley Jr, Bryan Cranston, Jimmy Kimmel and Nick Offerman all slated to make appearances. And that’s pretty, pretty, pretty good news.
Vice Principals: Season 2 (Sky Atlantic, 10pm) – 5th October
It’s back to school this week as we revisit North Jackson High – the battleground for one of the most vindictive feuds ever known – for Vice Principals’ concluding chapter.
Danny McBride and Walton Goggins return as best frenemies Neal Gamby and Lee Russell, the rival vice principals who formed an unholy alliance to rid themselves of the newcomer who they believe stole their rightful place at the head of the school.
Modern Family: Season 9 (Sky 1, 8.30pm) – 6th October
Get ready for loads more laughs and surprises as Jay Pritchett and his unique family return to Sky 1 for a ninth season It’s the season premiere and Jay forces the family to holiday on a houseboat. The aim is to create wonderful memories that will last long after he’s gone but, as always, it’s never plain sailing for the Pritchett-Dunphy-Tuckers.
Sing: Ultimate A Cappella (Sky 1, 9pm) – 6th October
No backing tracks, no instruments and no second chances – this is Sing: Ultimate A Cappella, a true test of the power and versatility of the human voice Cat Deeley hosts as 30 groups take to the stage at London’s Troxy in the UK’s first vocals-only entertainment show. Using beatboxing, harmonies, choreography and more, they’ll showcase jaw-dropping interpretations of songs by artists from Bowie to the Backstreet Boys, all in the hope of winning the chance to record an album at the famous Abbey Road Studios.
The Gifted: Season 1 (FOX UK, 9pm) – 8th October
A new series set in the X-Men universe, The Gifted tells the emotional story of a suburban couple whose ordinary lives are rocked by the sudden discovery that their teenage children possess mutant powers. Forced to go on the run from a hostile government, the family seeks help from an underground network of mutants and must fight to survive.
The History of Comedy (Sky Arts, 9pm) – 12th October
This captivating series explores what makes us laugh and how that’s influenced our social and political landscape throughout history. Featuring archival footage and contemporary interviews with comedy stars such as Judd Apatow, Samantha Bee, Jimmy Kimmel and Patton Oswalt, the series explores comedy’s many diverse facets, from sex and race, to politics and culture, to parody and satire.
Supergirl: Season 3 (Sky 1, 8pm) – 16th October
Bloodsport is among new villains squaring up to the Girl of Steel as Supergirl returns with Season 3.
The Flash: Season 4 (Sky 1, 8pm) – 17th October
STAR Labs struggle to hold things together after losing The Flash into the Speed Force in Season 4.
Arrow: Season 6 (Sky 1, 8pm) – 18th October
Who will live to see season six? Arrow returns following that huge cliffhanger explosion on the island.
Legends of Tomorrow: Season 3 (Sky 1, 8pm) – 19th October
The Legends’ antics last time out have forced them into a seriously tight spot, as DC’s time-hopping space adventure begins its third season.
Criminal Minds: Season 13 (Sky Living, 9pm) – 22nd October
The BAU will be returning for the 13th season of the hit crime procedural this October, so fans will finally find out what the repercussions will be from last season’s shocking cliffhanger. The team will be joined by a new member, as Matt Simmons from Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders makes the jump to the flagship show, and one of the series’ most memorable Unsubs (played by comedian Jamie Kennedy) is slated to make a return.
The Walking Dead: Season 8 (FOX UK, 9pm) – 23rd October
The all-conquering post-apocalyptic drama returns for season eight on NOW, kicking off with its 100th episode. Once again, survival is the name of the game for Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and the residents of Alexandria, the Kingdom and the Hilltop as they prepare for all-out war with the brutal Saviors and their maniacal, baseball bat-wielding leader, Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan).
Marvel’s Inhumans (Sky 1, 9pm) – 25th October
After its wobbly start in the US, and an exclusive preview in IMAX cinemas, Marvel’s Inhumans arrives on UK screens. The series explores the never-before-told epic adventure of the Royal Family, including Black Bolt, the enigmatic, commanding King of the Inhumans, with a voice so powerful that the slightest whisper can destroy a city. After the Royal Family of Inhumans is splintered by a military coup, they just manage to escape to Hawaii where they are greeted with surprising interactions with the lush world and humanity around them. Now, they must find a way to reunite with each other and return home to Attilan before their way of life is destroyed forever. The series stars Anson Mount (Hell on Wheels), Iwan Rheon (Riviera, Game of Thrones) and Serinda Swan (Ballers, Graceland).
Bounty Hunters (Sky 1, 10pm) – 25th October
Bookish Brit Barnaby (Jack Whitehall) finds himself in more than a touch of bother when he takes over the family antiques business in this new Sky Original Production. After he messes up and unwittingly hands over a fortune for a treasure looted from a war-torn country, his sister (Charity Wakefield) calls on a friend for help. Enter Nina Morales (Oscar® nominee Rosie Perez), a tough NYC bounty hunter eager to help him reclaim his cash. But she’s on the run from a Mexican cartel, and has big problems of her own… Robert Lindsay stars as Barnaby’s shady dad in this fast and funny journey that jets between New York, London and Mexico. It’s written by Jack Whitehall and Freddy Syborn, the comedy duo that brought us Bad Education.
The Good Doctor: Season 1 (Sky Living, 9pm) – 27th October
Freddie Highmore (Bates Motel) stars in a brand-new medical drama from the creator of House. Dr Shaun Murphy is a brilliant young surgeon with autism and savant syndrome. Recruited from a quiet country existence into a paediatric unit of a prestigious hospital, Shaun’s condition makes it difficult for him to connect to those around him. Some question whether his inability to relate to others will affect his ability to save their lives. It is down to Shaun to challenge their preconceptions with his extraordinary medical gifts.
Spielberg (Sky Atlantic, 9pm) – 29th October
Susan Lacy pulls back the curtain on the remarkable career of Steven Spielberg for this HBO documentary, through exclusive interviews with actors, family, and the filmmaker himself. Featuring Leonardo DiCaprio, Martin Scorsese, Liam Neeson, and more.
Criminal Minds: Seasons 1 to 12 (Box Set) – 1st October
With Season 13 of the acclaimed police drama coming this month, seasons 1-12 become available with Sky Box Sets and NOW. In each action-packed episode, an elite team of FBI profilers attempts to hunt down an unhinged criminal by using a host of astute behavioural profiling techniques.
Inside Amy Schumer: Seasons 1 to 4 (Box Set) – 1st October
Stand-up superstar Amy Schumer’s Emmy Award-winning series explores sex, relationships and the tribulations of everyday life with sketches, standup comedy and wildly inappropriate woman-on-the-street interviews.
Grey’s Anatomy: Season 13 (Box Set) – 2nd October
Season 14 of one of the most popular dramas of all time is coming to Sky Living soon, so get up to speed with every episode, as Season 13 joins the first dozen on-demand.
Blindspot: Seasons 1 to 2 (Box Set) – 9th October
This critically acclaimed mystery crime drama follows the compelling story of a woman (Jaimie Alexander) who is found naked and covered with tattoos inside a holdall in Times Square. The FBI soon discovers that each tattoo contains clues to a crime they must solve and a huge conspiracy that could ultimately change the world.
1993: Season 1 (Box Set) – 11th October
The Sky Italia original series follows six intertwining stories set in the politically charged landscape of 1990s Italy, during which the nation was gripped by the mani pulite investigation into political corruption.
Twin Peaks: Seasons 1 to 3 (Box Set) – 12th October
Expect the unexpected with every season of this iconic drama. All three seasons of David Lynch and Mark Frost’s acclaimed drama become available with Sky Box Sets and NOW, taking viewers on a trippy journey into the dark side of a smalltown America.
Ross Kemp Extreme World: Seasons 1 to 6 (Box Set) – 13th October
All six seasons of Ross Kemp’s BAFTA winning documentary become available, including his most recent journeys to Texas, the West Bank, the Philippines, Naples and Madagascar, where he uncovered the human stories behind the world’s toughest issues.
Movies
A United Kingdom – 1st October
David Oyelowo and Rosamund Pike are on hugely winning form in Amma Asante’s stirring period drama, which follows the 1947 romance between Prince Seretse Khama of Bechuanaland – now Botswana – and London office worker Ruth Williams. Marriage follows, but ugly reality soon sets in: their unlikely union is seen as a slap in the face to the royal traditions of Seretse’s people and – to make matters much, much worse – a bigoted British government all too eager to bend to the will of apartheid-era South Africa. Personal lives and politics collide in a way that brings important history to live with an accessible, charming, thought-provoking warmth.
T2 Trainspotting – 6th October
It’s been 20 years since heroin addict Mark Renton (Ewan McGregor) ripped off his lowlife friends and fled to Amsterdam with all the proceeds from a drug deal. Now clean, he returns to Edinburgh to make amends but finds that little has changed.
The Birth of a Nation – 8th October
Slave Nat Turner (Parker) is largely shielded from outright sadistic racism by a master roughly his own age, Samuel Turner (Armie Hammer), who’s trying to keep his father’s plantation going through tough times. He buys the attractive teenage slave Cherry (Aja Naomi King) so Nat can marry her. However, he begins to experience the brutal world outside, a discovery that will lead him into open revolt.
Split – 13th October
M. Night Shyamalan is back in business with this creepy psychological horror. It begins with the abduction of three teenage girls – BFFs Claire (Haley Lu Richardson) and Marcia (Jessica Sula), plus loner Casey (The Witch’s Anya Taylor-Joy). They wake up in the underground lair of one Kevin Crumb (James McAvoy), a man whose struggles with dissociative identity disorder are about to take a profoundly unsettling turn.
Fences – 15th October
After sweeping, Tony Award-winning success on Broadway, Denzel Washington brings the late August Wilson’s iconic play to the silver screen. As well as directing, Washington reprises his role as Troy Maxson, a former baseball star now working as a refuse collector who lives with his devoted wife Rose (Viola Davis) and son Cory (Jovan Adepo) in 1950s Pittsburgh. To begin with he seems content with his modest lot, but bit by bit bitterness about past disappointment bubbles uncomfortably to the surface.
Sing – 21st October
It’s Zootropolis meets The X-Factor as cuddly theatre impresario Buster Moon (voiced by Matthew McConaughey) tries to revive his dwindling business with a big-money singing competition. With stars (and dollar signs) in their eyes, the aspiring talents are soon queuing round the block, including a porky housewife (Reese Witherspoon), a teenage rock-upine (Scarlett Johansson), a gorilla getaway driver (Taron Egerton), and a mouse with a Sinatra complex (Seth MacFarlane). But will they change their tune if they discover that the prize isn’t quite as advertised?
Cemetery of Splendor – 25th October
Palme d’Or-winning director Apichatpong Weerasethakul returns with a typically offbeat yet beguiling fantasy drama about a Thai solder who succumbs to a mysterious sleeping illness in the Mekong delta.
Loving – 29th October
After getting married in Washington DC, unassuming working man Richard Loving (Joel Edgerton), who’s white, and his bride Mildred (Oscar nominee Ruth Negga), who’s black, return to their home state of Virginia to be with their families. But with interracial marriage outlawed in the state, the couple find themselves jailed and then banished from everything they hold dear. But after years in exile, they decide to take their case to the Supreme Court. Two admirably understated performances and direction to match from Jeff Nichols (Mud, Midnight Special) make this a splendidly clear-eyed account of a civil rights case that changed American history.
Tales of Halloween – 31st October
10 creepy stories are woven together by their shared theme of Halloween night in an American suburb, where ghouls, imps, aliens and axe murderers appear for one night to terrorise unsuspecting residents. The chilling chapters unfold under the eye of horror-savvy directors from the Saw franchise’s Darren Lynn Bousman and cult favourite Lucky McKee (All Cheerleaders Die) to British goremeister Neil Marshall (The Descent).
Other movies coming soon to Sky Cinema and NOW in October 2017:
2nd October
Bridgend
3rd October
Out of the Shadows
4th October
Made in France
5th October
Extortion
7th October
Resident Evil: The Final Chapter
9th October
Fugitives
10th October
Interlude in Prague
11th October
The Lesson (Urok)
12th October
Bite
14th October
Monster Trucks
16th October
The Escorts
17th October
Let Her Out
18th October
Lolo
19th October
My Father Die
20th October
Why Him?
22nd October
Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk
23rd October
Louis & Luca – The Big Cheese Race
24th October
One Last Score
26th October
Antibirth
27th October
Live By Night
28th October
Rings (2017)
30th October
Tyler Perry’s Boo! A Madea Halloween