David Farnor | On 05, Oct 2020

Netflix. Amazon Prime Video. BBC iPlayer. NOW. Walter Presents. Apple TV+. There’s so much TV to watch these days in so many places that it can be hard to keep up. Every month, we boil down what’s on the box to the essentials you need in your streaming queue.

As October brings in those cold, dark nights, TV is turning up the volume to keep you entertained in your living room. Disney+ is dropping Season 2 of The Mandalorian, while Channel 4 is serving up Taskmaster and Adult Material to join weekly episodes of Bake Off. Sky, meanwhile, is pulling out all the stops with the arrival of Billions, the conclusion of The Third Day, the debut of Brave New World, plus the return of Pen15 and Riviera. Netflix, though, shouldn’t be discounted, with Season 2 of The Alienist, Season 3 of Star Trek: Discovery and Season 2 of Unsolved Mysteries.

But October’s undoubtedly the month of horror, with Netflix’s The Haunting of Bly Manor, the finale of The Walking Dead: Season 10 and new spin-off The Walking Dead: World Beyond plus Fear the Walking Dead’s sixth run, The Twilight Zone’s second season and Amazon’s spooky comedy Truth Seekers all lining up to send shives down your remote control.

We’ve sorted through All The TV to bring you your October watchlist – what’s worth watching and where you can find it online in the UK:

Song Exploder: Volume 1

Hrishikesh Hirway’s excellent podcast, which gets musicians to take apart their own songs, piece by piece, gets the Netflix TV treatment.

The Walking Dead: World Beyond

Following the success of The Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead, the new series is co-created by Scott M. Gimple, with Matt Negrete on board as co-creator and showrunner. The series will star Aliyah Royale, Alexa Mansour, Annet Mahendru, Nicolas Cantu, Hal Cumpston and Nico Tortorella. It will focus on the first generation raised in the zombie apocalypse. Some will become heroes. Some will become villains. In the end, all of them will be changed forever. Episodes will arrive weekly following their US debut.

Brave New World

Based on Aldous Huxley’s world-renowned and prescient 1932 novel, Brave New World takes place in a seemingly perfect future society where family, money, monogamy and privacy have been abolished in the name of order and harmony. Alden Ehrenreich, Harry Lloyd and Jessica Brown Findlay star with Demi Moore in a recurring role. All episodes arrive at once on-demand.

Spitting Image

The satirical puppet show comes back to mock figures including Adele, Baby Yoda, Barack Obama, Beyoncé, Billie Eilish, Boris Johnson, Dominic Cummings, Dominic Raab, Donald Trump, Dwayne Johnson, Prince Andrew, Rishi Sunak, RuPaul, Taylor Swift and Vladimir Putin. A next generation of writers and voice artists are working with established talent to pen the show, including original co-creator Roger Law and showrunner Jeff Westbrook (The Simpsons, Futurama).

Adult Material

Set in modern Britain, the four-part series delves inside the porn industry from the perspective of a woman who has been working in it her entire adult life and has seen it grow from an illegitimate backroom enterprise to a mainstream and highly profitable arm of the telecommunications industry. Hayley Squires plays Jolene Dollar, a regular mother of three, who is proudly the breadwinner of the family. But Jolene doesn’t have the most conventional of careers: she is one of the top porn performers in the UK. Adult Material ventures into Jolene’s world – to a place that influences all of our lives, whether we know it or not, but none of us ever truly see. Rupert Everett co-stars.

The Walking Dead: Season 10 Finale

After Season 10’s run was cut one episode short due to the coronavirus pandemic, the final episode finally gets an airing, after a cliffhanger teasing a gigantic horde of zombies surrounding the survivors, as Daryl, Carol and more try to face off the Whisperers once and for all.

Pen15: Season 2

Get ready for more cringeworthy comedy as Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle reprise their roles as their adolescent selves In the Lonely Island produced comedy. In the opening episode of the second season, Maya and Anna reluctantly go to a lame pool party, but when a crush unexpectedly shows up, causing them to question their sanity and reputations. All episodes arrive at once on-demand.

The Twilight Zone: Season 2

Jordan Peele presents another selection of eerie tales to linger in your mind and gently prick at your conscience in the second season of the classic anthology reboot. In this opening tale, Jimmi Simpson (Westworld) plays Phil, a lonely bachelor who finds a meaningful human connection when he discovers a telepathic link to a stranger named Annie. Their connection quickly sparks a romance, but not everything is as it seems.

The Third Day: Winter

The second, three-part chapter of Dennis Kelly’s ambitious drama arrives. This time, Helen (Naomie Harris) arrives on the island for a family holiday, hoping to bond with her daughters. And if it’s anywhere near as paranoia-inducing and atmospheric as “Summer” (the mind-bending first three episodes) starring Jude Law, this is going to be worth diving into – even if you haven’t seen Summer or the 12-hour live event at the end of September, both of which are standalone stories in their own right. (Episodes air weekly.)

The Haunting of Bly Manor: Season 1

Inspired by the works of Henry James, including The Turn of the Screw, if this follow-up to The Haunting of Hill House has a fraction of that show’s scares and serious examination of trauma and fear, it’s going to be something very special indeed.

The Right Stuff: Season 1

The incredible story of the early days of the U.S. space program, based on the iconic bestseller by Tom Wolfe. At the height of the Cold War, newly-formed NASA selects seven of the military’s best test pilots to become astronauts. Competing to be the first in space, these men achieve the extraordinary, inspiring the world to turn towards a new horizon of ambition and hope. Episode 1 and 2 launch together, with remaining episodes arriving weekly.

 

Enslaved with Samuel L Jackson

Samuel L. Jackson presents this four-part documentary series, which sheds new light on 400 years of human trafficking, as millions of enslaved Africans were shipped to the Americas by Western European slave traders. Over 12 million people were kidnapped and sold into slavery. At least two million perished en-route at sea. Using new diving technology – such as advanced 3D mapping and ground-penetrating radar – to locate and examine sunken slave ships on three continents, the series reveals a new perspective on the history of the transatlantic slave trade.

Fear The Walking Dead: Season 6

Companion show to the main Walking Dead series. Airs on AMC Global, which is on a multi-year carriage deal with BT… It will also be streamed onto Amazon Prime (and released on DVD/BD) if you’re happy to wait a little while!

Taskmaster: Season 10

Taskmaster hops from Dave to Channel 4, with Greg Davies and Alex Horne issuing ridiculous challenges to a stellar line-up of comic talent – including Daisy May Cooper (This Country), Johnny Vegas (Benidorm), Katherine Parkinson (IT Crowd), Mawaan Rizwan (Live At The Apollo) and Richard Herring (RHLSTP).

 

Riviera: Season 3

Julia Stiles returns for the third series of the sumptuous Sky original drama, joined by Rupert Graves and returning cast members Poppy Delevingne and Jack Fox. A year has passed since the explosive finale of the last series, and Georgina (Stiles) has abandoned the cursed Riviera, leaving all its devastation and damage behind to start a new life as an art restitution lecturer. However, noted expert Gabriel Hirsch has other ideas. He makes her an offer she can’t refuse – come and work with him, and practise what she’s preaching. Fast forward to Venice, where Georgina and Gabriel are on the search for a looted Picasso at a party hosted by corrupt art dealer Luca.

Social Distance: Season 1

Netflix’s new anthology series was conceived, cast and executed entirely remotely during quarantine. The project from the minds behind Orange Is the New Black features Danielle Brooks, Mike Colter, Oscar Nunez, Guillermo Diaz, Asante Blackk, Lovie Simone, Marsha Stephanie Blake and more.

Star Trek Discovery: Season 3

After following Commander Burnham into the wormhole in the second season finale, Season 3 finds the crew of the USS Discovery landing in an unknown future far from the home they once knew. Now living in a time filled with uncertainty, the crew must work together to restore hope to the Federation. Episodes arrive weekly after their US debut.

 

Roadkill

Hugh Laurie makes a welcome return to our screens in this brilliantly dark and grim political drama. He plays Peter Laurence, a self-made politician who is charismatic and enjoys being the controversial figure on the edge of Whitehall, juggling a radio phone-in show with the media attention that comes with a trial. But threats of skeletons being dragged out of his cupboard are on the rise, thanks to dogged journalist Charmian (Sarah Greene) and an unexpected figure from his past. With David Hare pulling the plot threads together, the result is a rivetingly plausible thriller, one that pits personal ambition against the political system, with Brexit on the horizon, Boris Johnson-like questions about family and legacy and everyone’s professional stakes at the highest possible level. The cast are superb, from Helen McCrory as a ruthless PM to Sidse Babett Knudsen, and simply seeing them all lock horns is reason enough to tune in. Expect the conspiracies to thicken quickly – and with all four episodes released at once following the broadcast of the first episode, expect to get through them all even quicker.

Unsolved Mysteries: Volume 2

Netflix’s hit reboot of the 1980s true crime docuseries returns to tell the stories of more unsolved cases with another opportunity for viewers to turn armchair detective.

 

Out of Her Mind

Written by and starring Sara Pascoe, this new BBC Two comedy explores heartbreak, family and how to survive them by combining eccentric characters, animation and scientific explanations with the format of a sitcom. We join Sara as she reacts badly to her sister Lucy’s announcement that she is engaged to her boyfriend Stefan and attempts to justify her position of negativity with scientific evidence that what we call love is mere chemicals. Her analogy upsets Lucy even more and winds up her best friend Scoopy – who reminds Sara that she reacted in exactly the same way when she announced her pregnancy.

Billions: Season 5, Part 1

Bobby Axelrod and Chuck Rhoades see their vicious rivalry reignited, while new enemies rise and take aim as Season 5 of Billions gets underway. Episodes 1 and 2 both air back-to-back, with all episodes available at once on-demand. (Part 2 of the fifth season will air at a later date, due to the coronavirus pandemic.)

 

Harlots: Season 3

Get ready for another round of the brilliantly entertaining drama set against the backdrop of 18th century Georgian London. The playful period drama offers a brand new take on the city’s most valuable commercial activity – sex. Inspired by the stories of real women, the series follows Margaret Wells (Samantha Morton) and her daughters, as she struggles to reconcile her roles as mother and brothel owner. Co-starring Lesley Manville, Jessica Brown Findlay and Hugh Skinner, Season 3 finds the ensemble joined once more by Liv Tyler. We pick things up as Isaac and Hal Pincher have become the new owners of the Saracen’s Head tavern and have the ambition of taking over London bawdy houses. Their first target? Charlotte Wells.

Minority Report

The first of Spielberg’s films to be adapted for TV, this small screen take on the dystopian thriller follows the unlikely partnership between a man haunted by the future and a cop haunted by her past, as they race to stop the worst crimes of the year 2065 before they happen. Already cancelled after a curtailed first season, this may be one for the curious.

The Alienist: Season 2

Set amid the underbelly of New York City’s Gilded Age, the period crime drama follows Laszlo Kreizler (Daniel Brühl), a brilliant and obsessive “Alienist” in the controversial new field of treating mental pathologies, who teams up with a boisterous journalist (Luke Evans) and an ambitious secretary determined to become the city’s first female detective.

The Queen’s Gambit: Season 1

Based on Walter Tevis’s novel of the same name, The Queen’s Gambit chronicles the life of the orphan chess champion, who grows from the age of 8 to 22, struggling with addiction as well as the sexist attitudes that prevail around her. Anya Taylor-Joy stars in the series, with Godless director Scott Frank at the helm.

The Undoing

Nicole Kidman reunites with Big Little Lies creator David E. Kelly for this drama based on the book You Should Have Known by Jean Hanff Korelitz, which co-stars Hugh Grant and Donald Sutherland. It follows Grace Fraser (Kidman), who is living the only life she ever wanted for herself. She’s a successful therapist, has a devoted husband and young son who attends an elite private school in New York City. Overnight a chasm opens in her life: a violent death, a missing husband, and, in the place of a man Grace thought she knew, only a chain of terrible revelations. If the star-studded line-up in front of the camera isn’t enough to get your attention, behind the camera is director Susanne Bier (The Night Manager). Episodes are simulcast at 2am weekly, so you can catch them on-demand any time after that on a Monday.

 

The Sister

How far would you go to keep a secret? That’s the question behind this new four-part drama from Luther creator Neil Cross, which follows Nathan, who has never been able to forget the worst night of his life: a party that led to the sudden, shocking death of a young woman. Only he and Bob, an eccentric old acquaintance, know what really happened.. and they’ve resolved to keep it that way. But years later, Bob appears at Nathan’s door with terrifying news that threatens to tear Nathan’s world apart. Because Nathan has his own secrets now – secrets that could destroy everything he has desperately fought to build for himself and his family. Inspired by the novel Burial, the series stars a killer double-act of Russell Tovey and Bertie Carvel. The series is stripped across the week, with episodes airing on consecutive nights.

Maxxx

From writer, director and star O-T Fagbenle (Black Widow, The Handmaid’s Tale, NW), this entertaining comedy centres around a formerly famous boyband star who tries to make his music come back in a bid to win back his famous supermodel ex-girlfriend Jourdan Dunn and prove to the world that he isn’t a washed-up old has-been. To get his career back on track Maxxx enlists the help of his cousin-slash-superfan-slash-stalker Rose (Helen Monks – Raised by Wolves, Upstart Crow), and tries to convince his former manager Don Wild (Christopher Meloni – The Handmaid’s Tale, Oz) to take him back. But Don has other ideas and recruits the help of wannabe manager Tamzin (Pippa Bennett- Warner – MotherFatherSon, Harlots). All the while, Maxxx is hunted by Lucky (Javone Prince – Phone Shop, The Javone Prince Show) who is Maxxx’s former bandmate.

The Mandalorian: Season 2

The Mandalorian and the Child continue their journey through a dangerous galaxy in the long-awaited second chapter of the Star Wars Western. Episodes arriving weekly.

Truth Seekers: Season 1

A team of part-time paranormal investigators team up to uncover and film ghost sightings across the UK, sharing their adventures on an online channel for all to see. However, as they stake out haunted churches, underground bunkers and abandoned hospitals with their array of homemade ghost-detecting gizmos, their supernatural experiences grow more frequent, more terrifying and even deadly, as they begin to uncover a conspiracy that could bring about Armageddon. Pegg and Frost head up an impressive cast that includes Malcolm McDowell, Samson Kayo, Susan Wokoma, Emma D’Arcy, Julian Barratt, Kate Nash, Morgana Robinson and the actor Kevin Eldon.

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