Autumn may be gloomy, cold and wet but the silver lining to the seasonal changes is that our TV guides are packed with new and unmissable shows. Yes, it’s fun going to festive parties and Friday night dinners but when there’s eight episodes of a new crime thriller series to dig into, it’s tempting to cancel all your plans and settle into the sofa, maybe even figuring out the killer along the way. So, instead of switching on your favourite TV show for the 100th time, why not grab some popcorn and explore something new?

From psychological thrillers to hilarious romcoms, here are 20 of the best TV shows to watch this autumn.

Starring Gemma Arterton, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett and Eddie Izzard (also known as Suzy Izzard), the eight-part series follows a crew of elite criminals who attempt to leave their old lives behind them after one last job. But it’s not that easy – a ruthless assassin starts to target them one by one. As chaos ensues, the gang is forced to reunite to uncover the culprit behind the attacks in order to protect themselves and the ones they love.

Release date: Available to watch via Disney+

After the success of the first season of Time, the BBC is back with season two but now set in a women’s prison. An official synopsis describes this season as a “moving and high-stakes portrayal of life inside a women’s prison,” which stars Jodie Whittaker, Bella Ramsey and Tamara Lawrance as three women arriving at the prison on the same day. “But even with the ever-present threat of violence within its walls, they discover that an unexpected sense of community, and a shared understanding, still might be possible,” the synopsis adds.

Release date: Available to watch via BBC

A TV series that combines romance with the suspense of a thriller? Count us in. Jonathan Bailey and Matt Bomer star in this forbidden romance between two very different men after they meet in McCarthy-era Washington. They both play political staffers but Bailey’s Tim Laughlin is an idealistic and devout man whereas Bomer’s Hawkins Fuller is suave, charismatic and lives a life of secrets.

Release date: Available to watch via Paramount+

If you loved the Netflix film, the BBC follow up series to Boiling Point is definitely one to add to your watch list. The TV series picks up six months on from where the film left off, with sous chef Carly (played by Vinette Robinson) now head chef at her own restaurant, with many of Andy’s (played by Stephen Graham) original team alongside her. You can expect the same drama and stress levels, however.

Release date: Available to watch via BBC

It’s been a while since we’ve seen Emma Stone on the small screen but the actor is back in this satirical house-flipping series alongside Nathan Fielder. The pair star as husband-and-wife duo Asher and Whitney Siegel as they host their new series, Flipanthropy. But when a young girl puts a curse on Asher, their lives together get more complicated by the day and things start to unravel for the couple.

Release date: 10 November via Paramount+

One of Apple TV+’s big releases of the year, Brie Larson is taking on the patriarchy in Lessons In Chemistry – based on Bonnie Garmus’ bestselling novel of the same name. Set in the 60s, Larson plays Elizabeth Zott, a woman who dreams of being a scientist but faces significant barriers to achieve this dream. A synopsis reads: “When Elizabeth finds herself fired from her lab, she accepts a job as a host on a TV cooking show and sets out to teach a nation of overlooked housewives — and the men who are suddenly listening — a lot more than recipes.”

Release date: Available to watch via Apple TV+

The latest project from Line Of Duty’s Jed Mercurio, ITV’s Payback tells the story of accountant Lexie Noble – played by The Bay’s Morven Christie – as her life is ripped apart following the murder of her husband, Jared. But as she comes to terms with his death, Lexie begins to uncover that Jared was involved with a local crime lord Cal Morris and she’s forced into working for him to find the money her husband failed to transfer before he died.

Release date: Available to watch via ITVX

Inspired by Edith Wharton’s unfinished final novel of the same name, The Buccaneers follows the daughters of America’s new wealth as they “explode into the tightly corseted London season of the 1870s, kicking off an Anglo-American culture clash as the land of the stiff upper lip is infiltrated by a refreshing disregard for centuries of tradition.” One for the Bridgerton fans.

Release date: Available to watch via Apple TV+

Created by Sir Lenny Henry, Three Little Birds follows sisters Leah and Chantrelle as they board a ship from Jamaica to a new life in the “mother country” England. Alongside their friend Hosanna, the three women have high hopes for this next chapter in their lives but face obstacles to integration and grapple with their new lives in the UK. The synopsis ends on: “Will they hit rock bottom with a resounding thud or will they finally fly?”

Release date: Available to watch via ITVX

Starring Jenna Coleman and Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Wilderness follows married couple Liv and Will who appear to have this glamorous new life in New York. However, all that changes when Liv finds out about Will’s affair with a colleague. Heartbroken and furious, Liv decides revenge is the only course of action and as the couple set off on their all-American road trip, Liv’s plotting kicks into gear.

Release date: Available to watch via Amazon Prime

Starring Roisin Gallagher and Johnny Flynn, the Sky Atlantic series follows Janet, a foul-mouthed and hilarious supermarket worker, and Seamus, a self-centred political broadcaster who appears to have the perfect life. One day, Seamus drops into Janet’s world – quite literally – and even though they initially clash, the pair find themselves drawn to each other.

Release date: Available to watch via Sky/NOW

Fifteen years after Baz Luhrmann’s Australia was released, the director is back with a “reimagining” of the film in a new six-part series, Faraway Downs. Starring Australia’s original cast members (including Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman), the series follows a similar plot to the film where Kidman’s Lady Sarah Ashley finds herself fighting for her property from a cattle baron and enlists the help of a local drover (played by Jackman). The key difference between Faraway Downs and Australia though is that the series will feature an alternate ending.

Release date: 26 November via Disney+

Starring Emma Corrin, A Murder At The End Of The World is a detective story with a twist. Alongside eight other guests, amateur sleuth Darby Hart (Corrin) is invited to attend an exclusive retreat hosted by a billionaire. But “when one of the other guests is found dead, Darby must use all of her skills to prove it was murder against a tide of competing interests and before the killer takes another life,” the synopsis reads.

Release date: 14 November via Disney+

The final season is nearly here. The Netflix series rounded off the fifth season with Mohamed Al-Fayed inviting Princess Diana on his family’s summer holidays – which will set up the romance between Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed, leading up to their deaths, in this new season. As the casting includes some of the younger members of the royal family, it’s likely that The Crown will feature a jump in timelines.

Other events that could feature in the sixth season is the integration of Camilla Parker-Bowles into public life alongside Prince Charles in the wake of his divorce. Diana’s funeral was also a key moment of 1997, including the famous images of William and Harry walking behind her coffin.

Release date: Part 1 on 16 November and Part 2 on 14 December via Netflix

Another Stephen Graham special but this time in the form of Netflix’s Bodies. An adaptation of Si Spencer’s 2015 graphic novel of the same name, the eight-part series tells the story of four detectives in four different London eras who find themselves investigating the same murder. And, during their investigations, all four wind up uncovering a conspiracy that spans over a century.

Release date: Available to watch via Netflix

A Nordic thriller to add to your evenings, this six-episode series follows 27-year-old Tore as he navigates the grief of losing the most important person in his life. His days are made up of working at his father’s funeral home but his nights are fuelled with alcohol, sex and drugs. A new world suddenly opens up to Tore but is he about to lose everything in his attempts to escape reality?

Release date: Available to watch via Netflix

Starring Eleanor Tomlinson (Poldark) and Alfred Enoch (How To Get Away With Murder), The Couple Next Door is a psychological drama packed with suspense and desire. It follows the story of Evie and Pete who move into a new neighbourhood and meet their new neighbours (the couple living next door), Danny and Becka. As the two couples get closer together, something happens one night that “will change their lives forever.”

Release date: Autumn 2023 via Channel 4

Based on Louise Doughty’s bestselling book of the same name, ITV’s Platform 7 follows Lisa who witnesses a cataclysmic event on a railway platform. Played by Jasmine Jobson, Lisa then discovers that her own memory has been jogged to reveal a connection between her and that of the event she’s just witnessed. And it only gets more spooky…

Release date: 7 December via ITVX

Set in 1850s London, Iris and Rose paint dolls for a living but Iris dreams of becoming an artist one day. By night, she secretly paints herself naked in an attempt to hone her artistic craft. Silas is a taxidermist who hopes to one day find an item so unique he’ll achieve fame. And Louis is a painter and member of the pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, searching for his next muse, and finds it within Iris. All three of their worlds collide but as Iris’ world expands, a story of dark obsession begins to unfold.

Release date: Late Autumn 2023

A tale of friendship and secrets, One Night tells the story of three friends, Tess (Jodie Whittaker), Simone (Nicole Da Silva) and Hat (Yael Stone), whose bond was all but destroyed by the events of one night twenty years ago. But as Simone publishes her debut novel, it becomes apparent that the story doesn’t belong to her and at the heart of the book is a tragedy that happened to Tess.

Release date: November via Paramount+

Images: Paramount+; Channel 4; ITV