David Farnor | On 30, Sep 2018

October always means three words: The Walking Dead. Yes, AMC’s zombie smash hit is back for its ninth run, one that will see Andrew Lincoln bid farewell to the franchise (although he’ll probably take his Sheriff’s hat with him). Seasons 1 to 8 are also available on Sky Box Sets for those who haven’t caught up. But if zombies aren’t your thing, Sky is stuffed with other options this month, from the much-anticipated Flight of the Conchords special recorded at their London gig this summer to The Good Doctor and Get Shorty returning for their second seasons – and, to top it all off, the return of The CW’s superhero quartet, The Flash, Supergirl, Legends of Tomorrow and Arrow.

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 £8.99 a month for an Entertainment Membership. For more information, click here.

Sky Cinema, meanwhile, shines a spotlight on three of the best films of the year: Phantom Thread, Coco and Black Panther, each one special and entertaining in their own unique way.

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 F1 and other sports, you can also sign up to NOW’s Sky Sports Pass on a contract-free basis. For more information, click here.

Here’s your guide to what’s coming soon in October 2018:

Flight of the Conchords: Live in London (9pm, Sky Atlantic) – 7th October

It’s business time… again. Fans of New Zealand’s fourth-most-popular folk/pop/hip-hop/electronic music duo may have been left with hurt feelings when they went their separate ways back in 2009, but the heartbreak is over as Bret and Jemaine take flight once again at a comeback gig in London. Expect new songs, including a steamy tribute to Ian From Accounting, alongside classics such as Bowie and Foux Du Fafa.

The Walking Dead: Season 9 (9pm, FOX UK) – 8th October

Andrew Lincoln returns as deputy sheriff Rick Grimes for Season 9 of the Emmy Award winning US drama. In a post-apocalyptic world, the undead are the least of the survivor’s problems as they are forced to deal with the aftermath of the war in which the twisted Negan unleashed hell at the end of Season 8. Now things heat up again as Rick and his crew prepare to face a new enemy: a mysterious group of survivors called The Whisperers. Samantha Morton joins the cast. New episodes weekly.

The Good Doctor: Season 2 (9pm Sky Witness) – 9th October

A breakout success story of 2017, The Good Doctor broke ratings records for a debuting series at home in the US. This October, the hit show starring Freddie Highmore as the brilliant autistic surgeon Dr Shaun Murphy returns to Sky Witness. With Shaun’s position at St Bonaventure Hospital still hanging in the balance, will the young surgeon have what it takes to break the preconceptions that surround him? New episodes weekly.

Get Shorty: Season 2 (9pm, Sky Atlantic) – 11th October

Season 2 of the comedy crime caper gets rolling as gangster Miles Daly (Chris O’Dowd) struggles in reconciling his ambitions as a filmmaker and a family man with his skill set as a career criminal. Jeopardising his Hollywood dreams further is washed-up producer Rick (Ray Romano), who unbeknown to Miles has agreed to wear a Federal wire. Worse still, the pair have attracted the attention of a brutal prison gang leader with a Patrick Swayze obsession. New episodes weekly.

The Flash: Season 5 (8pm, Sky One) – 18th October

Barry’s back with a new suit and a daughter. With the timeline in tatters, Nora (Black Sails’ Jessica Parker Kennedy) ominously confessed to making a big mistake – meaning Barry and Iris have got a job on their hands if they’re to get her back without altering history. And she’s not the only one causing trouble for Team Flash this season as a new Big Bad rocks up. Supervillain Cicada (American Pie’s Chris Klein) may not be as fast as The Flash but he’s got one heck of a grudge. He’s out for revenge after his family was torn apart. And he aims to get it one metahuman at a time. New episodes weekly.

Supergirl: Season 4 (8pm, Sky One) – 22nd October

Things get political in Supergirl as Star Trek’s Brent Spiner joins the ensemble as vice
president to Lynda Carter. New episodes weekly.

Arrow: Season 7 – (8pm, Sky One) 23rd October

Following the revelations of Season 6, Oliver looks more vulnerable than ever as Arrow enters its seventh run. New episodes weekly.

SEAL Team: Season 2 (9pm, Sky One) – 23rd October

They might have survived Jalalabad but the secret missions don’t stop for Jason (David Boreanaz) and his rock-solid SEAL team, and neither does the family drama. They’re back on home soil as Season 2 begins. But not for long. Because a sticky situation on an oil rig is about to take them a long way from their loved ones. New episodes weekly.

Grey’s Anatomy: Season 15 (9pm, Sky Witness) – 24th October

One of the most enduring TV dramas ever, Meredith and the doctors and staff of Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital return as Season 15 of Grey’s Anatomy begins on Sky Witness. New episodes weekly.

Criminal Minds: Season 14 (9pm, Sky Witness) – 29th October

The Behavioural Analysis Unit prepare to examine some of the darkest and most twisted criminal minds as the 14th season of the veteran crime-procedural hits Sky Witness, beginning with its landmark 300th episode. With the fates of Penelope Garcia and Spencer Reid left unknown after last season’s cliffhanger, will anyone be able to save the day? New episodes weekly.

Legends of Tomorrow: Season 4 (8pm, Sky One) – 31st October

Having crumbled time, the Waverider crew face droves of magical and mythical creatures in the fourth instalment of DC’s Legends of Tomorrow. New episodes weekly.

Ray Donovan: Season 6 (Sky Atlantic, 9pm) – 31st October

Liev Schreiber stars as LA’s best professional fixer – clearing away the problems of the rich and famous, no matter how messy. Or how illegal. Season 6 sees the Irishman rebuilding his life, both personal and professional, in New York City. After being rescued from the East River by a cop (Domenick Lambardozzi), Ray finds himself embraced by the Staten Island Police Department, a place of brotherly loyalty as much as corruption, and tied up once more with media mogul Sam Winslow (Susan Sarandon).

 

Box Sets

The Walking Dead: Seasons 1 to 8 – 1st October

Catch up on every episode so far before the multi-award-winning zombie drama returns on Monday 8th October for Season 9.

The Wire: Seasons 1 to 5 – 1st October

The Wire is one of those series that crops up on nearly every ‘must watch’ list and is passionately recommended by practically everyone who has ever watched it. And for good reason. Underneath the plaudits is a remarkable drama that, over five seasons and 60 episodes, takes a stark look at the seedy side of Baltimore, starting with the police force and the drug trade, then moving on to City Hall, the education system and concluding with the media. The last episode was broadcast 10 years ago, and it’s still a series that’s tough to top.

Inside Evil: Season 1 – 7th October

This Sky Witness series follows renowned American TV journalist and broadcaster Chris Cuomo as he attempts to get inside the minds of America’s most dangerous individuals. Cuomo meets with serial killers who have committed heinous crimes and behavioural scientists and criminal psychologists who studied them. He sits down with New York City mass murderer Joel ‘The Ripper’ Rifkin and the manipulative and podcast-famed John Meehan, nicknamed ‘Dirty John,’ to get their outlier perspectives, and meets with survivors of domestic violence and rape to hear their stories of strength. A series tailor-made for fans of true crime documentaries, Inside Evil attempts to find out exactly what goes through the minds of some of the planet’s most evil criminals.

 

Movies

Downsizing – 5th October

Alexander Payne’s thoughtful sci-fi satire is set in a world where the technology exists to shrink people down to just five inches tall. Developed to help reduce the strain on our overpopulated planet, the procedure has the added benefit of making meagre finances seem like millions. It’s understandable then that cash-strapped Paul Safranek (Matt Damon) comes to see the appeal, signing up and moving into a mini-resort where he meets both ageing Serbian playboy Dusan (Christoph Waltz) and dissident Vietnamese refugee Ngoc Lan Tran (Hong Chau).

Black Panther – 12th October

Chadwick Boseman stars as African king turned indestructible catsuit-wearing superhero T’Challa. Disguised as a third world nation to protect their stash of incredibly powerful Vibranium, T’Challa’s secretive homeland of Wakanda is in fact overflowing with revolutionary tech. Out to get their hands on the shiny stuff are crazed arms dealer Ulysses Klaue (Andy Serkis) and mysterious mercenary Erik Killmonger (a scene-stealing Michael B Jordan). In their way is a hero wielding the complex expectations of a nation, the heavy responsibilities of the past, and some seriously sharp claws.

Coco – Date TBC

Pixar’s Oscar winner centres on Miguel Rivera (Anthony Gonzalez), a music-loving youngster who wants more than small-town Mexico life. His idol is Ernesto de la Cruz (Benjamin Bratt), a legendary late pop star to whom he may be related. Could Ernesto and his disgraced great-great grandfather – a vagabond musician who walked out on a young wife and infant son – be one and the same? Finding answers means magically journeying to the Land of the Dead, where skeleton scallywag Héctor (Gael García Bernal) comes along for the ride.

Phantom Thread – Date TBC

Featuring a bewitching score from Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood, Paul Thomas Anderson’s darkly glossy drama serves as a worthy finale for the ‘retiring’ Daniel Day-Lewis. Living lavishly in 1950s London, pernickety dressmaker Reynolds Woodcock (Day-Lewis) is a fashion savant prone to seismic tantrums, snide comments and an unflinching dedication to detail. After his equally sharp-tongued sister Cyril (Lesley Manville) witheringly gives his latest young muse the boot, Reynolds becomes besotted with seaside waitress Alma (Vicky Krieps), kicking off a tumultuous and tense affair.

Fifty Shades Freed – Date TBC

Strap yourselves in for the final chapter of the steamy S&M trilogy, as Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson return as kinky billionaire business mogul Christian Grey and paramour Ana. They’re now married and living lives of seemingly endless luxury, honeymooning on the Côte d’Azur and gallivanting around in supercars and private jets. But of course this decadent, drama-free existence can’t last forever, and before long Ana’s deeply unstable ex-boss Jack (Eric Johnson) arrives on the scene and makes it his mission to turn newlywed bliss into living nightmare.

 

Other movies coming soon to Sky Cinema and NOW in October 2018:

1st October
Lowlife

2nd October
Social Animals

3rd October
April’s Daughter

4th October
House on Willow Street

6th October
Dear Dictator

7th October
Roman J. Israel, Esq.

8th October
Permission

9th October
Screamers

10th October
Two Lottery Tickets

11th October
Habit

13th October
Zombillénium

14th October
A Little Something for Your Birthday

15th October
Room for Rent

16th October
Permanent

17th October
The Icebreaker

18th October
I Am Gangster

19th October
The 15:17 to Paris

20th October
Coco

21st October
I Do… until I Don’t

22nd October
#Roxy

23rd October
Hostile

24th October
The Wound

25th October
Angelica

26th October
Fifth Shades Freed

27th October
Tad The Lost Explorer and the Secret of King Midas

28th October
Phantom Thread

29th October
Dean

30th October
It Came from the Desert

31st October
Terrifier

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