HIBERNATION mode officially kicks into gear this weekend with the clocks going back this morning, seeing us begin the weary trudge towards winter.
But it doesn’t need to feel dull, dreary or soul-sapping. Not when there is plenty of decent telly to look forward to over the coming months. Here, we list 10 new TV shows - from thrillers and comedies to documentaries and drama - to add to your watch list.
Vigil
The debut series of Vigil - centring on the disappearance of a fishing trawler and a death on board a Trident nuclear submarine - was gripping viewing.
This time around the action will switch from submarines to planes as Silva and Longacre – a top cop duo to rival Cagney & Lacey and Scott & Bailey - investigate unexplained fatalities at a fictional Royal Air Force base in Scotland.
The second series sees Suranne Jones and Rose Leslie reprise their roles as DCI Amy Silva and DS Kirsten Longacre respectively, leading a strong cast that includes Dougray Scott, Romola Garai, Amir El-Masry, David Elliot and Chris Jenks. Gary Lewis also returns for the latest run.
Coming to BBC One and BBC iPlayer in December
Shetland
With DI Jimmy Perez having departed Shetland, the eighth series will see the debut of Ashley Jensen as DI Ruth Calder. The Mayflies and After Life star is taking up the reins from Douglas Henshall who had played Perez since the popular BBC Scotland murder-mystery began in 2013.
Her character is a native Shetlander returning home after 30 years working for the Met in London. She will head the team of DS Alison “Tosh” McIntosh (Alison O’Donnell) and DC Sandy Wilson (Steven Robertson). Among the confirmed guest cast are Jamie Sives, Dawn Steele and Lorraine McIntosh.
As the new six-part drama begins, DI Calder is attempting to locate the vulnerable witness to a London gangland murder. But, as the proverbial prodigal daughter, she also has an ex-boyfriend to contend with, as well as addressing the fractious relationship with her estranged younger brother.
Coming to BBC One and BBC iPlayer from Wednesday
Lockerbie
The Lockerbie disaster is the subject of a new three-part Sky documentary. Directed by John Dower, whose past work includes Thriller in Manila, and made by Louis Theroux’s Mindhouse Productions, it will feature access to “key figures who have not spoken until now.”
All 259 passengers and crew aboard Pan Am Flight 103 were killed when a bomb exploded over Lockerbie soon after take-off from London Heathrow on December 21, 1988, with a further 11 residents losing their life as the plane came down over the Scottish town.
The programme blurb says: “The series will examine unanswered questions and explore the truth behind the atrocity to provide a definitive account of the bombing and its aftermath and - ultimately - who was responsible.”
Coming to Sky Documentaries and NOW in November
The Crown
In this sixth - and final – series, The Crown is set to focus on the years between 1997 and 2005, depicting Tony Blair becoming Prime Minister, the death of Diana, Princess of Wales in Paris and the blossoming relationship between Prince William and Kate Middleton at St Andrews University.
It will also cover the Queen’s Golden Jubilee and the wedding of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles. Imelda Staunton stars as the Queen, with Jonathan Pryce as Prince Philip, Dominic West as Prince Charles, Elizabeth Debicki as Princess Diana and Olivia Williams as Camilla Parker-Bowles.
Two actors apiece have been cast as Prince William (Rufus Kampa and Ed McVey) and Prince Harry (Fflyn Edwards and Luther Ford) to play the brothers at different ages. Scotland was used for filming, with scenes shot in St Andrews, including at St Salvator’s Chapel.
The first four episodes arrive on Netflix from November 16; episodes five to 10 will be available from December 14
The Couple Next Door
Suburban claustrophobia, curtain twitching and clandestine encounters abound in a six-part Channel 4 psychological thriller. Outlander’s Sam Heughan leads the cast alongside Eleanor Tomlinson (Poldark), Jessica De Gouw (Pennyworth) and Alfred Enoch (How To Get Away With Murder).
When Evie (Tomlinson) and Pete (Enoch) move into an upmarket neighbourhood, they strike up a friendship with the couple next door, traffic cop Danny (Heughan) and his yoga instructor wife Becka (De Gouw). But things soon become dark and twisty.
Heughan told The Herald Magazine earlier this year: “It is based on a Dutch book and TV show about a couple that moves to suburbia where they meet their next-door neighbours who happen to be swingers. It is a thriller and there are crime drama aspects as well.”
Coming soon to Channel 4
Archie
Case Histories and Harry Potter star Jason Isaacs takes on the role of Cary Grant in Archie, a four-part drama about the life of Hollywood’s leading man.
By 1961, after three decades in Los Angeles, Bristol-born Grant - whose real name Archibald Alexander Leach inspired the name of this TV series - was nearing the twilight of his film career. Despite breaking box office records, he was desperately unhappy in his private life.
With two failed marriages behind him, he began to woo actress and filmmaker, Dyan Cannon. Laura Aikman (Not Going Out, Gavin and Stacey) plays the formidable Cannon, with Harriet Walter (Succession, Ted Lasso, Killing Eve) as his mother Elsie Leach.
Coming to ITVX in November
The Newsreader
This award-winning Australian drama starring Anna Torv (Fringe, Mindhunter, The Last of Us) and Sam Reid (Prime Suspect 1973, Lambs of God, Interview With The Vampire) is coming back to BBC Two, for a second series, with events picking up a year on from the first series in 1987.
Power duo Helen Norville and Dale Jennings, played by Torv and Reid, are now established as “The Golden Couple of News”. Yet, life is less than picture perfect. According to the blurb: “To the outside world, they present a glowing image of success and romance. But the truth is more complex …”
The Newsreader blends news-themed nostalgia - the latest run covers the “Black Monday” stock market crash and the protests in the lead-up to Australia’s Bicentennial celebrations - alongside thorny subject matter, such as misogyny and sexism.
Coming to BBC Two and BBC iPlayer from November 9
Hullraisers
Returning for a second series, this whip-smart sitcom follows the shenanigans of three working-class women - Toni, Rana and Paula - as they navigate the ups and downs of friendship, family and everything else that life throws at them.
The relatable trio is played by Leah Brotherhead, Taj Atwal and Sinead Matthews. Hullraisers, which debuted last year, is based on the Israeli-made Little Mom. Adapted for Channel 4 by Lucy Beaumont, it has blossomed into a powerful love letter to her hometown of Hull.
Warm, funny and packed with witty one-liners, the show has been variously dubbed the “Yorkshire Sex and the City” and “Hull's answer to Derry Girls or Shameless” by fans.
Coming soon to Channel 4
Selling Sunset
The glitzy Netflix reality show, which focuses on super-glam estate agents as they sell multi-million-dollar homes to the rich and famous in Los Angeles, is oddly addictive viewing.
Created for Netflix by Adam DiVello, the producer behind noughties hits Laguna Beach and The Hills, it is like watching a glossy soap opera. A giddy mix of eyewatering property price tags and outlandish office politics have made it a TV phenomenon to rival the Real Housewives franchise.
Testament to its success, Selling Sunset is back for a seventh series. What can we expect from the upcoming instalment? Drama, drama, drama. Bickering and back-stabbing. Cut-throat deals. Oh, and illuminating insight into how money doesn’t always buy good taste when it comes to interior decor.
Coming to Netflix from Friday
The Buccaneers
Inspired by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Edith Wharton’s unfinished final novel of the same name, The Buccaneers is an eight-part Gilded Age drama that centres on “a group of fun-loving young American girls” as they “explode into the tightly corseted London season of the 1870s”.
The cast includes Mad Men star Christina Hendricks with a stellar line-up of Kristine Froseth, Alisha Boe, Josie Totah, Aubri Ibrag, Imogen Waterhouse and Mia Threapleton as the titular band of fearless women going in search of wealthy husbands.
The big-budget series is led by an all-female creative team, including writer Katherine Jakeways and director Susanna White. The show was shot entirely in Scotland, with Glasgow and Edinburgh both used during filming.
Coming to Apple TV+ from November 8
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