11 Best TV Shows to Watch in October

From an adaptation of Jilly Cooper’s sex-and-scandal-filled novel to a satire of superhero movies and the return of Netflix’s gripping political drama.

Sophie Turner, still best known as Sansa Stark in Game of Thronesplays real-life 80s jewel thief Joan Hannington in the series based on Hannington’s memoir I Am What I Am. A single mother who had just emerged from a bad marriage, Hannington turned to a life of crime, starting what would become her trademark: swallowing diamonds. Ouch, but also lucrative. The series is full of 80s colour and fashion, as Joan uses various disguises to slip in and out of jewellery shops and becomes a player in the London underworld. Some of the real names have been changed, but writer Anna Symon (Mrs Wilson and The Essex Serpent) had the cooperation of Hannington herself.

Joan premieres on September 29 on ITV and ITVX in the UK and October 2 on The CW in the US

Armando Iannucci, creator of the classic satires Veep and The Thick Of It, is known for his humor. Sam Mendes, director of films including 1917 and Skyfall, it isn’t. But together (along with screenwriter Jon Brown) they came up with this comedy about the chaos behind the scenes of a superhero movie, and Mendes directed the first episode. Daniel Brühl plays the director, an artist type who heads for Tecto, about a guy whose superpower is causing earthquakes. The central character, however, is a harried assistant director played by Himesh Patel, who tries unsuccessfully to keep things under control. Richard E Grant also appears as a stage actor who looks down on the film in the tackiest of costumes, a purple and gold tunic with a cape. “You can’t go anywhere in the UK without bumping into an actor who’s spent the last 18 months trapped in a small guest room pretending to fight aliens and getting paid a lot of money while he’s gone completely mad,” Iannucci said. Hollywood Reporter.

The Franchise premieres on October 6 on HBO and Max in the US and October 21 on Sky Atlantic and NOW in the UK

Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna were childhood friends in Mexico before they starred in the film And Your Mom Too 23 years ago and have co-produced frequently since then. They share the screen in this story of former champion turned boxer Esteban Osuna (García Bernal), known as La Máquina, or The Machine. Luna, in heavy prosthetics, plays his best friend and manager, Andy Lujan, a man who has undergone so many cosmetic procedures that he looks like he’s been Botoxed to death. Andy is determined to give Esteban one last fight, but the criminal world may be standing in his way. This is Hulu’s first Spanish-language series, and anyone who saw García Bernal and Luna perform in Spanish at the recent Emmy Awards will know what the language means to them. “Spanish is our homeland,” García Bernal said. Vanity fair.

La Máquina premieres October 9 on Hulu in the US and Disney+ in the UK

Ella Purnell was stranded in the woods after a plane crash in Yellowjackets and survived in a post-apocalyptic world in Fallbut she takes her fate into her own hands as the titular heroine of this dark comedy. Purnell plays Rhiannon, a shy woman who was bullied at school, is now underestimated at the office and is generally fed up with being seen as a little mouse. Exploding in a Carrie-level fit of rage, she becomes a serial killer. The series is based on the series of novels by C.J. Skuse. The tagline on the cover of the first book sets the tone and says it all: “The last person to call me Sweetpea ended up dead.”

Sweetpea premieres on October 10 on Starz in the US and Sky Atlantic and NOW in the UK

The great Alfonso Cuarón (The Children of Men, Rome) writes and directs all seven episodes of the acclaimed drama, starring Cate Blanchett as a woman whose secret past is about to be revealed. Blanchett plays Catherine Ravenscroft, a respected journalist, and Kevin Kline is her neighbor, Stephen Brigstocke. His wife, Nancy (Lesley Manville), has recently died, leaving behind a supposedly fictional manuscript that depicts a scandalous, thinly veiled Catherine. As the series jumps through time to recreate events from the past, it raises timely questions of truth and perception. Will Stephen publish a book and destroy Catherine’s life? How much reality is there in fiction? Sacha Baron Cohen plays Catherine’s husband, and Kodi Smit-McPhee is their troubled son in the series based on Renée Knight’s 2015 bestseller. As always, Cuarón’s visuals promise to be stunning, with frequent collaborators Emmanuel Lubezki (Gravity) and Bruno Delbonnel (Amelie) handling the cinematography.

Disclaimer premieres October 11 on Apple TV+ worldwide

Even though he’s in a supporting role, Harrison Ford still gives us some of the funniest lines and wry looks on TV in this returning comedy-drama, one of the best of 2023. the best of everythingwhich picks up where the previous season left off. A scene-stealing Ford plays Paul, a therapist who practices with Jimmy (Jason Segel) and whose unconventional approach leads one of his patients (Heidi Gardner) to push her husband off a cliff, forcing him to visit her in prison. Closer to home, Paul struggles with Parkinson’s disease, his relationship with Julie (Wendie Malick) and tries to talk Jimmy out of his many bad choices. Jessica Williams returns as the best friend of Jimmy’s deceased wife, with whom he had an affair, and Luke Tennie plays Sean, a PTSD patient who lives with him. Brett Goldstein (Ted Lasso), who created the series with Ted Lasso co-creator Bill Lawrence and Segel, also appears this season as a character who worries Jimmy.

“Shrinking” premieres October 16 on Apple TV+ worldwide

Just last year, Jilly Cooper continued to publish her popular pulp novels, publishing her latest, Tackle!, at the age of 86. Rivals is based on her 1988 book, the second in the aptly named Rutshire Chronicles series, and is full of her signature mix of sex, money and deception, with hints of Dallas and the soap era of Dynasty. David Tennant plays Lord Tony Baddingham, a Corinium TV director, while Alex Hassell (the first season of The Boys) plays his neighbour and rival, the debauched Tory politician Rupert Campbell-Black. Aidan Turner plays Declan O’Hara, a TV presenter who regrets taking on the Corinium deal, and Danny Dyer (EastEnders) is Freddie Jones, a self-made millionaire who doesn’t fit in with the aristocrats. The trailer features champagne corks popping and Turner sporting a retro moustache. “There’s so much sex in our show that we have to have two intimacy coaches,” Turner said. he said. “Two!”

Rivals premieres October 18 on Hulu in the US and on Disney+ in the UK

Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant created what seems like a sure-fire template in the original British series The Office in 2001. There have been a dozen international versions, including nine seasons of the American series, but there’s never been a female boss. This Australian version takes on the role of Hannah Howard, the managing director of packaging company Flinley Craddick. Every familiar character has a female counterpart. The self-effacing Gareth (UK)/Dwight (US) is a woman here, and Hannah pats herself on the back for supporting female employees, saying with perfect David Brent embarrassment, “Oh, my back hurts from carrying all my sisters around. Ouch.” Then there’s the Australian Tim and Dawn (UK)/Pam and Jim (US). And the mockumentary format remains, with one character telling the camera, “This is an HR nightmare.” It always is.

The Office premieres October 18 on Amazon Prime worldwide, excluding the U.S.

This Halloween satire is set in the late ’80s, during a more innocent—or credulous—time when parents worried their gothic children were actually under the influence of the devil. Julie Bowen (Modern Family) and Anna Camp (Pitch Perfect) lead the team as residents of the small town of Happy Hollow, where a few high school students in a ragtag garage band try to capitalize on the Satan trend. They call themselves a heavy metal band that sounds like breakfast cereal, Deth Krunch, and soon they’re suspects in crimes around town, including murder. Bruce Campbell, from the Evil Dead series, is also in the cast, and his presence is enough to suggest some devilish activity. Is Satan’s influence real, or is Bowen’s character just paranoid about seeing his face appear in the glass of her microwave, only to have the tomato sauce inside explode?

Hysteria! premieres October 18 on Peacock

We know Billy Crystal could play a therapist in the comedy. He was the doctor who helped Robert De Niro’s mob figure overcome his anxiety in “Depressed by Depression” (1999) and “Depressed by Depression” (2002). But this time, he’s serious in a psychological thriller that takes a supernatural turn. Crystal plays Eli Adler, a child psychologist whose wife (Judith Light, seen in flashbacks) recently committed suicide. One of his patients is Noah (Jacobi Jupe), a boy who turns out to have a mysterious connection to Eli’s past. Rosie Perez also joins the cast. Apple TV+ isn’t giving much away, but maybe Crystal’s name is enough to pique your interest. The series was created by Sarah Thorp, who wrote the screenplay for Gerard Butler and Jennifer Aniston’s “The Bounty Hunter.” Oscar-winning screenwriter Eric Roth (“Forrest Gump”) is one of the writers and executive producers.

Ahead of its October 25 premiere on Apple TV+ worldwide

Keri Russell returns as Kate Wyler, the US ambassador to the UK, in a series that ended with an explosion and a cliffhanger. Did the car bomb that went off kill her husband, Hal (Rufus Sewell), from whom she was very close to divorcing? Netflix itself has dropped the idea spoiler: Hal is alive, and Sewell returns, along with David Gyasi as the British Foreign Secretary, whose growing personal chemistry with Kate is undeniable and enticing. Allison Janney guest stars as the U.S. Vice President, who arrives in London worried that Kate wants her job. Kate never wanted to be an ambassador. This always gripping show continues to explore the behind-the-scenes maneuverings on both sides of the special U.S.-UK relationship, skillfully combining politics and melodrama. Kate has learned that the British Prime Minister himself was behind the attack on the British aircraft carrier, and she grapples with that knowledge while coping with her turbulent marriage.

The Diplomat will premiere on Netflix worldwide on October 31