Kids, we love you... but, you're really quite a lot of work, you make a huge amount of noise, and, sometimes, we would like to pee in peace. Oh, and we would also love to get you into bed earlier this autumn so we can binge watch the tv shows we've been waiting all year for! If you're extra good, we might let you stay up for one or two of these, but mostly, not so much. Hot chocolates and snacks at the ready, parents! Wine also a good option...
The Crown
Ah, The Crown: it wouldn't be autumn at all without a bit of royal drama, glitz and glamour, and we can't wait to catch season 4, which includes Gillian Anderson as the Iron Lady herself, Margaret Thatcher, Emma Corrin as Princess Di, and the return of the amazing Olivia Coleman as her Maj.
15th November 2020, Netflix
The Haunting of Bly Manor
It's two years since The Haunting of Hill House aired, and gave us all nightmares for weeks thanks to bent neck lady, so we've got high hopes for season two: The Haunting of Bly Manor. Inspired by Henry James' 1898 short novel, The Turn of the Screw, expect familiar faces (some of the cast is the same) and a spine tingling tale set in an old country England mansion in the 1980s. It's certainly got big, scary boots to fill: the first season was, we think, one of the best horror series EVER (we're watching it all over again at the mo, and it's still as fabulous as we remember it being).
9th October 2020, Netflix
Mandalorian 2
Okay, so we 'might' let the kiddos watch Mandalorian 2 with us as we're all excited to see what is going to happen next when it comes to Mando, Cara Dune, IG-11 et al. Whether you're a Star Wars fan or not, the original Mandalorian was surprisingly good, and had us hooked from the moment we clapped eyes on The Child: one of the cutest characters in the history of all cuteness.
30th October, Disney +
Small Axe
12 Years A Slave director Steve McQueen’s latest drama is coming to the small screen rather than the big, and stars Black Panther’s Letitia Wright and Star Wars' John Boyega. The five-part series follows London’s West Indian community starting in the late 1960s and takes us through to the mid-1980s, with each episode telling a different story inspired by real-life people. 20 November, Amazon Prime
Rebecca
We loved Lily James when she was in Downton Abbey and adored her as Cinderella, so news that she's taken on the role of the second Mrs de Winter in Netflix's version of Rebecca, has cheered us right up this chilly autumn. Rebecca, a clever, psychological thriller, is definitely edge of the seat stuff, and it can't hit our tv box soon enough.
21st October, Netflix
His Dark Materials 2
If you didn't catch His Dark Materials season one, then our advice would be to binge watch it quick smart ahead of season two's release next month. This is deffo one for the whole fam, and with a fantastic cast (James McAvoy and Ruth Wilson for starters) and epic storyline based on Philip Pullman's three novels of the same name, the next instalment is sure to be quite the fantastical ride.
TBC November 2020, BBC
The Undoing
Nicole Kidman is livening up our autumn nights in HBO’s six-part drama written and produced by Big Little Lies’ David E Kelley. She plays successful New York therapist Grace Fraser, happily married to Jonathan (Hugh Grant: woohoo!) and their bright young son. Things, as in all good plot lines, start to unravel fairly swiftly though...
26th October, Sky Atlantic
The Sister
When we heard the creator of Luther, Neil Cross, had a new thriller in the pipeline, we did a happy, excited jig. Russell Tovey (Being Human) is up as Nathan, a well-meaning bloke with a terrible secret that he’s been busy spending his whole life trying to cover up. Needless to say, secrets generally out. Bring it on! ITV, TBC (but expected to be October 2020)
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