James R | On 01, Nov 2018

Netflix. Amazon Prime Video. BBC iPlayer. NOW. Walter Presents. 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.

November is here and, while we’re still catching up with everything from October, there are many new treats to fill in the gaps, kicking off with Channel 4’s sci-fi drama The First and Amazon Prime Video’s Homecoming – marking the first TV roles for Sean Penn and Julia Roberts respective. Michael Douglas and Alan Arkin also head to the small screen, in a month that also shines a spotlight on such stars as Louis Theroux, She-Ra and Pudsey Bear. Not to mention, of course, Claire Underwood, as House of Cards returns for its final season.

Viewing schedule too packed? We’ve sorted through All The TV to bring you your November watchlist – what’s worth watching, why and where you can find it online in the UK.

The First

A co-production between Hulu and Channel 4, House of Cards creator Beau Willimon switches up politics for science fiction. The programme is set in the new future and follows the first human mission to Mars exploring the challenges of taking the first steps toward interplanetary colonisation. The story focuses not only on the astronauts, but also on their families and loved ones, as well as the ground team on Earth. Sean Penn in his first TV role is joined by Natascha McElhone as visionary aerospace magnate Laz Ingram.

House of Cards: Season 6

With Frank out of the picture, Claire Underwood steps fully into her own as the first woman president, but faces formidable threats to her legacy.

Homecoming: Season 1

Heidi Bergman (Julia Roberts) is a caseworker at Homecoming, a Geist Group facility helping soldiers transition to civilian life. Years later she has started a new life, living with her mother and working as a waitress, when a Department of Defence auditor questions why she left the Homecoming facility and Heidi realises the truth may be a different story than the one she has been telling herself.

Louis Theroux’s Altered States: Love Without Limits

For hundreds of years, romantic relationships in Western society have been based on the idea of monogamy: two people, together, forever. But with nearly half of all US marriages ending in divorce, perhaps the traditional model is no longer fit for purpose. In Love Without Limits, Louis kicks off his new series by travelling to Portland, Oregon, the heart of a movement seeking to re-write the rulebook on how we conduct intimate relationships and experience family life.

Outlander S4

Season 4 of Outlander continues the story of time-traveling 20th century doctor, Claire Fraser (Caitriona Balfe), and her 18th century Highlander husband, Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan), as they try to make a home for themselves in colonial America. We find the Frasers in North Carolina at yet another turning point in history – the cusp of the American Revolution.

Doing Money

This fact-based one-off drama follows the heartbreaking and compelling story of Ana, a young woman snatched in broad daylight from a London street, trafficked to Ireland and used as a sex slave in a series of ‘pop up’ brothels. Ana’s story offers a tense and thought-provoking thriller, with powerful insights into the challenges of policing a form of modern slavery that hides in plain sight. It exposes just how big a business ‘doing money’ is.

Killer by the Lake

Julie de Bona replaces Barbara Schulz as Parisian detective Lise in this follow-up to Vanished by the Lake. It catches up with Lise as she starts a new life with her husband and baby, but this happy, rural idyll is suddenly shattered with the discovery of two dead women. Three years after solving the disappearances of teenage girls by Lac de Sainte-Croix, Lise and husband Clovis have re-established themselves 200 miles away by Lac d’Annecy with nine-month old son, Tom. When two bodies are found within two days, though, Lise is placed as lead detective on the murder case. It soon becomes clear that this is the work of a twisted serial killer, and Lise must once again face her past demons…

The Sinner: Season 2

Detective Harry Ambrose returns to his New York hometown to investigate a disturbing double murder involving a 13-year-old suspect.

Patriot: Season 2

John must make a choice at the train platform – be free from his obligations and adversaries by letting Agathe take the money or pursue her, at great risk to himself, in an effort to protect his brother, father, and country. Meanwhile, his father presents a perilous way out of it all: find and assassinate Cantar Walley in Paris.

Clique: Season 2

Holly (Synnove Karlsen) is back for her second year of university, living with her friend Louise (Sophia Brown) and two new younger students – Rayna (Imogen King) and Fraser (Stuart Campbell). Rayna and Fraser are enthralled by Holly and her part in exposing the corruption at Solasta last year. However Holly finds their unwanted attention uncomfortable and just wants to keep her distance and move on.

Dynasties – 11th November

David Attenborough returns to the BBC for this new nature documentary, which follows the true stories of five of the world’s most celebrated, yet endangered animals: the chimpanzee, emperor penguins, hunting dogs, lions and tigers. The series brings a bold, new level of real life drama to the natural history genre, revealing the complexities of power, rivalry and tenderness in animal relationships – and, just to add to the intensity, it’s all being released in 4K on BBC iPlayer.

They Shall Not Grow Old – 11th November

Created to mark the centenary of the First World War Armistice, Peter Jackson’s unique feature film brings to life the realities of the First World War for a whole new generation. Created with original footage from Imperial War Museums’ film archive and audio from BBC archives, They Shall Not Grow Old gives voices back to the veterans on the frontline, with their stories colourised, converted to 3D and transformed with modern production techniques to present never before seen detail. Read our full review

People Just Do Nothing: Season 5 – 12th November

The final season begins, with the mockumentary heading from BBC Three to BBC Two for its broadcast premiere – with episodes still arriving on BBC iPlayer every week. Kurupt FM has been raided, and the boys have resorted to desperate measures to stay on the air. They attempt to raise money at a car boot sale to replace their seized equipment with the help of Chabuddy G, who has a new money-making scheme. Meanwhile, Miche gets some bad news from the council and Carol has a new love interest.

Origin: Season 1

YouTube Premium’s slick sci-fi thriller sees a group of troubled passengers leave behind a dark past to make a fresh start on a newly colonised planet. We join then as they wake up on their spaceship – abandoned, damaged, lost in deep space. Determined to survive at all costs, their terrifying situation spirals into paranoia, they come to realise that the greatest threat to their dream of starting over – and indeed their lives – is something far darker than the pasts they were so desperate to escape.

Origin is created, written and executive produced by Mika Watkins and directed by Paul W.S. Anderson (Resident Evil: Apocalypse), with Tom Felton and Natalia Tena starring.

Narcos: Mexico

See the rise of the Guadalajara Cartel as an American DEA agent learns the danger of targeting narcos in Mexico.

Inside The Foreign Office

After Channel 4’s insightful Inside the American Embassy, BBC Two has gained privileged access to the private and fascinating world of British diplomats in Whitehall and embassies around the globe, from Burma to Ukraine – and what a time to be peeking behind the scenes. This three-part series promisees to be an eye-opening inside look at the chaos of the last 12 months.

The Kominsky Method

Michael Douglas stars as a briefly successful actor turned revered Hollywood acting coach. A Chuck Lorre comedy series also featuring Alan Arkin. The chance to see the duo together is reason enough to tune in.

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power: Season 1

In this reboot of the 80s series, a magic sword transforms an orphan girl into warrior She-Ra, who unites a rebellion to fight against evil.

Dogs

An elegant, engaging and cinematic verite documentary series celebrating the deep emotional bonds between people and their beloved four-legged best friends. Because the world can be a horrible place right now and also dogs.

Children in Need 2018

BBC One once again hosts a live evening of entertainment, inspiring stories and fundraising, as Children in Need returns for an all-singing, all-dancing, all-inspiring night on the telly. Tess Daly and Ade Adepitan kick off the evening with a huge performance from a hit West End musical. The Children’s Choir perform live in unison across the nation, while Graham Norton and Mel Giedroyc will be hosting more fun with surprise guests. The Rickshaw Challenge team from The One Show will cross the finish line live in Salford and there is a visit to the famous ballroom in the Strictly Come Dancing Children In Need Special, to see who will lift the Pudsey Glitterball Trophy.

Das Boot

An inexperienced U-boat crew has to survive a secret mission and a young German woman is torn between loyalty for her home country and the French resistance in this WWII drama, a sequel to the iconic film. The whole box set will be released on-demand on the same day as the first episode’s broadcast.

Vikings: Season 5, Part 2

Michael Hirst’s historical drama returns to continue the tale of the raiders and explorers of the Dark Ages. Season 5 saw Katheryn Winnick, Gustaf Skarsgård, Alexander Ludwig and Alex Høgh Andersen joined by Jonathan Rhys Meyers as the dangerous Bishop Heahmund, and, following the events of the mid-season finale, the show will return this November as it continues the battle between Ivar (Andersen) and Lagertha (Winnick), and paves the way for a new generation of stories – not to mention an already-commissioned sixth season. New episodes will arrive weekly, within 24 hours of their US broadcast.

Tomorrow’s World Live

A special live 90-minute edition of the iconic science and technology programme will endeavour to find out where British ingenuity sits today, while also taking a nostalgic and entertaining look at some of the most fondly remembered technologies from the original series.

Led by much-loved Tomorrow’s World presenters Maggie Philbin and Howard Stableford, alongside Dr Hannah Fry, this one-off special will be broadcast live from Pacific Quay, Glasgow, where the studio will evoke the Tomorrow’s World set and capture the live experience enjoyed by millions of viewers throughout the four decades the series was on air. It will look back on the innovations that have defined the modern world – many of them first showcased on Tomorrow’s World, such as mobile phones and keyhole surgery – and will test and try out the new, cutting-edge technologies that have the potential to influence our lives in decades to come.

Mrs. Wilson

Ruth Wilson leads an all-British cast in Mrs Wilson, a new original three-part drama for BBC One, co-produced with Masterpiece, based on the life of her own grandmother. It’s 1963, and Alison Wilson (Ruth Wilson) returns home to find husband Alexander (Iain Glen) dead. Blinded by grief, Alison is bewildered when a woman unexpectedly arrives at the door, claiming to be Alec’s ‘real wife’ Gladys (Elizabeth Rider).

Alison embarks on a mission to discover who her husband really was. But by dissecting their wartime romance whilst working for the secret service, and learning about his mysterious past in India, it soon becomes clear to Alison that Alec died holding his secrets close to his chest.

Alison is left craving the truth as she makes discoveries that threaten to tear her carefully crafted world apart.

Vic & Bob’s Big Night Out

The legendary double-act burst back onto our screens with a brand new series of Big Night Out, a hilarious non-stop half-hour of mischief, fun and mayhem. There are sketches, songs, eye-popping special effects, ridiculous fights and clever stunts packed into this fast-paced studio show. Fans will rejoice at the return of some old favourites, including Novelty Island – and the contestants entering the paddock this series will certainly not disappoint.

The four-part series also features some special guests, including the incredible pop singer George Ezra, who proves he is a dab hand with a hammer and nails in Novelty Island, before trying to perform his number one hit single Shotgun.

In the first episode, Vic & Bob interrupt a couple’s cosy dinner date in the studio with a lively song and dance routine. Vic reveals his hitherto unseen circus skills and impressionist abilities while Bob makes a very revealing confession to a reverend who might be hiding a secret himself. Later they are interrupted by Tom Cruise, who appears to be performing a stunt just up the road but seems to be more interested in what these pair are up to…

Death and Nightingales

Based on Eugene McCabe’s modern Irish classic, this three-part series tells a riveting story of love, betrayal, deception and revenge in the countryside of Fermanagh in 1885. Set over 24 hours, it follows Beth, who decides on her 25th birthday to join the charming Liam Ward (Jamie Dornan) and escape from her limited life and difficult relationship with her Protestant landowner stepfather, Billy (Matthew Rhys). Directed by Allan Cubitt (The Fall), the powerful and gripping drama charts a woman struggling to control her own destiny and illuminates tensions that tear both families and nations apart.

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