All the best new TV shows arriving in October, from The Mandalorian to The Undoing

October features an indulgent series set in Paris and a sleek new Nicole Kidman mini-series
Lily Collins in Emily in Paris
STEPHANIE BRANCHU/NETFLIX
George Fenwick5 October 2020

As Autumn arrives and the weather cools down, the TV calendar promises an exciting slate of new series to sink your teeth into.

With the pandemic having caused a number of schedule delays and changes in the television industry this year, October heralds the arrival of postponed shows as well as pre-programmed premieres.

From an indulgent Parisian series to a Netflix frightfest, here’s the best October has to offer on the small screen...

Emily in Paris - Netflix, October 2

Lily Collins stars in this breezy series about a Chicago marketing exec named Emily who lands her dream job in Paris and begins her year abroad, managing a long-distance relationship with her boyfriend back home while encountering a flirtation with her downstairs neighbour. The series has been reviewed as an indulgent delight, and it hails from Darren Star, creator of Sex and the City.

The Walking Dead: World Beyond - Amazon Prime Video, October 2

If you’re still watching The Walking Dead, we commend you. This new spin-off series takes place ten years after the apocalypse, and follows two teenage girls who are among a new generation who have never known life without zombies.

The Haunting of Bly Manor - Netflix, October 9

Victoria Pedretti in The Haunting of Bly Manor
EIKE SCHROTER/NETFLIX

The Haunting of Hill House became a major hit for Netflix in 2018, drawing audiences in with its delicate blend of emotionally powerful storytelling and nerve-shredding terror. Bly Manor continues the series in an anthology style with a new story performed by the same cast, this time going back in time for a series loosely based on the 1898 novella The Turn of the Screw by Henry James.

The Right Stuff - Disney+, October 9

This new eight-part drama from Disney+ is set in the early days of the US space program in the early days of the Cold War. The series follows seven pilots selected by the newly-formed NASA to become astronauts. The show stars Patrick J. Adams, Jake McDorman, Colin O’Donoghue, James Lafferty, Aaron Staton, Michael Trotter and Micah Stock as the pioneering astronauts.

Riviera - Sky, October 15

Julia Stiles and Rupert Graves in Riviera season three
Stefano C. Montesi/Sky UK

Julia Stiles returns for season three of Riviera, playing Georgina, an American art curator living in the French Riviera. In season three, Georgina finds an ally in new character Gabriel (Rupert Graves), who helps her on her quest to recover stolen artworks from across the globe.

The Queen’s Gambit - Netflix, October 23

Anya Taylor-Joy in The Queen's Gambit
CHARLIE GRAY/NETFLIX

Anya Taylor-Joy takes the lead role in this curious new Netflix series based on the novel by Walter Tevis. Described as a “coming-of-age story that explores the true cost of genius,” Taylor-Joy plays Beth Harmon, a chess prodigy who grew up in an orphanage in Kentucky.

Per the Netflix description, Harmon’s rise in the chess world is marred by an addiction to tranquilisers, leaving Harmon “haunted by her personal demons and fuelled by a cocktail of narcotics and obsession” as she “transforms into an impressively skilled and glamorous outcast”.

New to Netflix in October 2020 - In Pictures

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The Undoing - Sky, October 26

Hugh Grant and Nicole Kidman in The Undoing
HBO

Nicole Kidman in an auburn wig, murder, and a sleek, shiny HBO aesthetic - no, this is not Big Little Lies 3. It’s The Undoing, a new drama from BLL writer David E. Kelley based on the 2014 novel You Should Have Known. The series stars Kidman as a successful therapist with the seemingly perfect life, which begins to unravel as a woman is murdered and her husband (Hugh Grant) disappears, throwing everything she once knew into question.

The Mandalorian season 2 - Disney+, October 30

Disney+’s hit Star Wars spin-off returns for a second round, and yes, baby Yoda will return.

Pedro Pascal is back in the leading role for season 2, which will reportedly focus on the search for the truth of The Child’s origins, picking up immediately after the events of season one.

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