12 Great TV Shows To Look Forward To
His Dark Materials – Series 2, BBC1
Series one of Phillip Pullman’s His Dark Materials adaptation – which launched last autumn – followed Lyra (Dafne Keen), a seemingly ordinary but brave young woman from another world. Her search for a kidnapped friend uncovered a macabre plan involving stolen children, and became a quest to understand a mysterious phenomenon called ‘Dust’. The A-list cast includes James McAvoy (Atonement, Filth), Ruth Wilson (Luther, The Affair), Hamilton star Lin-Manuel Miranda is fan favourite Lee Scoresby, Anne-Marie Duff (Shameless) and Game of Thrones alumni James Cosmo and Lucian Msamati. This series will also see Andrew Scott (Fleabag, Sherlock) arrive as scholar and shaman Colonel John Parry – we can’t wait.
Starts in November
Roadkill, BBC1
Peter Laurence (Hugh Laurie) is a self-made, forceful and charismatic politician. Peter’s public and private life seems to be falling apart – or rather is being picked apart by his enemies. As the personal revelations spiral, he is shamelessly untroubled by guilt or remorse, expertly walking a high wire between glory and catastrophe as he seeks to further his own agenda whilst others plot to bring him down. However, events show just how hard it is, for both an individual and a country, to leave the past behind. With enemies so close to home, can Peter ever out-run his own secrets to win the ultimate prize? With Helen McCrory (Peaky Blinders) also on board, we can’t wait to see this political thriller.
Date TBC
Industry, BBC2
Partly directed by Girls’ Lena Dunham, Industry is an exhilarating dive into the world of international finance, as seen through the eyes of ambitious 20-somethings struggling to secure their futures. The series follows a group of young graduates competing for a limited set of permanent positions at a top investment bank in London – but the boundaries between colleague, friend, lover, and enemy soon blur as they immerse themselves in a company culture defined as much by sex, drugs, and ego as it is by deals and dividends. As members of the group rise and fall, they must decide whether life is about more than the bottom line.
Date TBC
Adult Material, Channel 4
Set in modern Britain, Adult Material 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. Adult Material will interrogate what’s real, what’s fake, what’s up for sale and the impact that these things have on the individuals involved. 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.
Date TBC
Honour, ITV
Keeley Hawes will star in Honour, which follows a real-life detective who brought five killers to justice in the true story of Banaz Mahmod, the young Londoner murdered by her own family for falling in love with the wrong man. Written by Gwyneth Hughes (Vanity Fair, Remember Me), this series tells the powerful story of Detective Chief Inspector Caroline Goode’s passionate search to discover the fate of missing 20-year-old Banaz. Appalled that her own colleagues had missed multiple chances to save a young woman’s life and prevent a so-called ‘honour’ killing, Caroline vowed that she would not rest until she finally got justice for Banaz. It was a promise that quickly became personally consuming. This tense and emotionally vivid drama will bring Caroline’s unwavering quest to life.
Starts 28th September
Small Axe, BBC1
Oscar and Bafta-winning filmmaker Steve McQueen (Widows, Twelve Years A Slave) is bringing TV series Small Axe to BBC One this autumn, with an all-star British cast including John Boyega and Letitia Wright. Joining the headline cast are Evening Standard Theatre Awards' Outstanding Newcomer Malachi Kirby (Black Mirror), Shaun Parkes (Lost In Space), Rochenda Sandall (Line Of Duty), Alex Jennings (A Very English Scandal, Victoria) and Jack Lowden (Mary Queen Of Scots). Small Axe is an anthology of hour-long stories. The films tell five stories, with the first told across two episodes, and are set within London’s West Indian community from the late 1960s to the early 1980s.
Starts 25th September
Life, BBC1
New Doctor Foster spinoff Life stars Alison Steadman, Peter Davison, Adrian Lester, Victoria Hamilton, Elaine Paige and Susannah Fielding. Victoria Hamilton will reprise her role from Doctor Foster – now going by the name of ‘Belle’, rather than Anna – and seeking to rebuild her life anew. Adam James will also, reprising his role as Belle’s now ex-husband Neil. Set in Manchester, the series follows the stories of the residents of a large house divided into four flats. As each of the four stories unfold and intertwine in surprising ways, they tell a larger story about what happens when we step out of our personal space and take a closer look into other people’s lives.
Starts 29th September
The Undoing, Sky Atlantic
Grace Frazer (Nicole Kidman) is living the only life she ever wanted for herself. She’s a successful therapist, has a devoted husband (Hugh Grant) and young son who attends an elite private school in New York. 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. Left behind in the wake of a spreading and very public disaster and horrified by the ways in which she has failed to heed her own advice, Grace must dismantle one life and create another for her child and herself.
Starts 26th October
The Sister, ITV
Written by Luther creator Neil Cross, this new ITV drama stars Russell Tovey as a well-meaning but directionless Nathan, a man with a terrible secret he’s prayed would stay buried and for which he’s worked hard to make recompense. Years into his new and devoted married life, Nathan is rocked to the core when Bob, an unwelcome face from his past played by Bertie Carvel (Doctor Foster), turns up on his doorstep with shocking news. His arrival triggers a series of catastrophic decisions which drive a tense and compelling narrative of psychological suspense, dread, love and possible redemption.
Date TBC
Des, ITV
Des is a forthcoming three-part drama which follows the arrest and trial of serial killer Dennis Nilsen, (David Tennant). Nilsen murdered boys and young men in his flat from 1978 to 1983. He was undetected for five years, and it was only when DCI Peter Jay was called to 23 Cranley Gardens on 9th February 1983, to investigate human fragments of flesh and bone clogging the drains, that the police realised they had a serial killer on their hands. Told through the prism of three men – Dennis Nilsen, Detective Chief Inspector Peter Jay (played by Daniel Mays of Line of Duty) and biographer Brian Masters (played by Jason Watkins of The Crown and The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies) – the series will explore the personal and professional consequences of coming into contact with a man like Nilsen.
Available to watch on ITV Player now
Us, BBC1
BBC1’s upcoming four-part drama has been adapted by David Nicholls from his hugely popular novel of the same name. Tom Hollander (Baptiste, The Night Manager) will be joined by Saskia Reeves (Luther, Shetland), Sofie Gråbøl (The Killing, Fortitude) and Tom Taylor (Doctor Foster, The Dark Tower). Douglas Petersen (Hollander) is blindsided when his wife Connie (Reeves) tells him that she’s not sure she wants to be married to him anymore. Agreeing to still go on their planned family grand tour of Europe, Douglas vows to win back the love of his wife and repair his troubled relationship with their son Albie. Reflecting Nicholls' signature mix of humour and heartbreak, Us brings the Petersens' poignant story to life, taking viewers with them on their once-in-a-lifetime journey through some of the most beautiful cities in the world.
Available on BBC iPlayer now
Great British Bake Off, Channel 4
The world’s best-loved baking show will return later this month – and this time with a new host. For its 11th series, Paul Hollywood, Prue Leith and Noel Fielding will be joined by Little Britain comedian Matt Lucas, who replaces Sandi Toksvig. We can’t wait to get to know the newest round of bakers…
Available to watch on Tuesdays at 8pm
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