The Best New TV Shows To Watch This Month
October might be the month for spooky movies and taking in that brown autumnal feeling– but wouldn’t it be nice to have some great new TV with that pumpkin spice latte you’ve been craving all year? Luckily, there’s no shortage of shows dropping in the next few weeks- from the murderous dark comedy Sweetpea to Disney+’s hot-under-the-collar rich people drama Rivals. Here’s the best stuff to watch this month.
Sweetpea
Breakout star of this year’s post-apocalyptic Fallout, Ella Purnell returns to the screen for the contemporary set dark comedy Sweetpea. She stars as Rhiannon, a woman who feels like she is invisible to everyone- her co-workers, strangers who cross her path, and even her boyfriend shows her little attention. This feeling bottles up inside her until it comes bursting out in angry and violent ways that cause her to lose it- and gain a new lease of life. But can she control herself enough to keep this new side of her from being discovered?
Watch on: Sky
Disclaimer
Hollywood star Cate Blanchett is the lead in this new psychological thriller that’s directed by Alfonso Cuaron of Gravity and Harry Potter fame. She plays a prominent and respected journalist, Catherine, well known for getting scoops and finding out gossip in her reporting. But her life is changed when she suddenly finds that a package containing a novel has to be sent to her out of nowhere, and as she reads through it, she finds it’s based on her own life. Alarmed that someone apparently knows so much about her without her knowledge, she sets out to find who the author is- which threatens to unravel her own deepest secrets in front of the world. Sacha Baron Cohen stars opposite Blanchett.
Watch on: Apple TV+
Rivals
David Tennant, Alex Hasell, Aidan Turner, Emily Atack and Danny Dyer all star in Disney+’s upcoming series Rivals. Unlike Star Wars and Marvel though, this Disney+ show is very much adults only, based on the Rutshite Chronicles romance novels by Jilly Cooper, whose fans include Queen Camilla and at least one former prime minister. The steamy Rivals is set in British high society, where various powerful factions squabble for wealth and (more) power. It’s 1986, and TV is a booming business- attracting the attention of rich womaniser Rupert Campbell-Black (played by Hassell) and his rival Lord Tony Baddingham (played by Tennant). Their envies and disputes threaten to consume them both.
Watch on: Disney+
Joan
Sophie Turner of Game of Thrones fame plays a highly skilled thief in ITV’s series, Joan. When we meet her, Joan Hannington is a housewife and mother trying to make ends meet in difficult circumstances and a toxic relationship. However, she eventually discovers that she has a special knack for the art of stealing- as well as disguising herself to be able to get away with the crime. She begins to rise in notoriety in the criminal underworld, making a name for herself as a “Godmother” and becoming a master criminal. Also starring Frank Dillane as her husband Frank, ITV’s new series is six episodes, and is available to stream now on ITVX.
Watch on: ITVX
Shrinking
Jason Segel and Harrison Ford return as an unlikely duo for the new season of Apple TV+’s Shrinking, a comedy all about therapy. The first season followed the grieving therapist Jimmy (Segel), who was trying to make sense of the loss of his wife. Season 2 continued his arc as he aimed to forge a new path in life. While he might be interested in breaking the rules of being a shrink and trying new things (leading to comedic mishaps and hijinks), the curmudgeonly Paul (Ford) tries to keep him on the straight and narrow by giving advice and trying to deal with his own difficulties. Meanwhile, Jimmy’s daughter Alice is concerned that her dad’s mental health might be getting too hard to handle.
Watch on: Apple TV+
The Diplomat Season 2
Also returning with a season 2 this month is The Diplomat, a skilful and gripping political thriller starring The Americans’ Keri Russell. After an eventful and twisting first season, Kate (Russell) is in turmoil following an explosion in London that leaves her husband for dead. Not only that, but she knows that a deadly attack on a British navy ship was ordered by the prime minister himself- and Kate needs to get to the bottom of why. Of course, even with close allies by her side, this won’t be easy, and she’ll certainly have her work cut out for her again this season as the clock ticks and sinister forces threaten to stop her Allison Janey stars as the US Vice President Grace Penn, who believes Kate is out for her job.
Watch on: Netflix