From period drama to a thriller set in the 1970s, the story of a mother's love to a game of cat and mouse, there's drama to suit everyone this autumn. We look at another five great dramas to settle down on the sofa for this autumn.
The nights are drawing in and the television is beckoning you to draw closer - here are a further five great dramas to look forward to this autumn.
Another five great dramas to look forward to this autumn
1) Killing Eve, BBC: While we're waiting for the second series of Fleabag (not due until next year at the earliest) there's this from its creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge to tide us over, although it's a million miles away from the tragic-comedy we know and love her for. The series has been shown on BBC America first. Based on Luke Jennings' 2015 novel Codename Villanelle, Killing Eve stars Grey's Anatomy's Sandra Oh as Eve Polastri, a desk-bound MI5 officer who is on the trail of psychopathic hitwoman Oksana Astankova (Jodie Comer) – aka Villanelle – after she commits a string of murders across several countries. However the two women gradually become obsessed with each other as the cat and mouse game between them gathers pace. Funny, subversive and feminist, it's already Emmy-nominated.
When can I watch it? September on BBC1 and as an instant box set on BBC Three.
Best quote in Fleabag: 'I have a horrible feeling that I'm a greedy, perverted, selfish, apathetic, cynical, depraved, morally-bankrupt woman who can't even call herself a feminist.'
2) Vanity Fair, ITV: The BBC has aired adaptations of William Makepeace Thackeray's classic 1848 novel four times – the last time the drama set against a backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars was shown was in 1998. The story of villainy, crime, merriment, love, cheating and fighting is coming to ITV in autumn with Olivia Cooke cast as Becky Sharp and Tom Batemen as Captain Rawdon Crawley. The cast is stellar and includes Suranne Jones, Michael Palin, Martin Clunes, Frances de La Tour, Simon Russell Beale and Claire Skinner. The plot follows Becky Sharp as she attempts to claw her way out of poverty and scale the heights of society. Bodice-busting fun.
When can I watch it? September.
What did Tennessee Williams say about vanity? I'm glad you asked: 'There comes a time when you look into the mirror and you realize that what you see is all that you will ever be. And then you accept it. Or you kill yourself. Or you stop looking in mirrors.'
3) The Little Drummer Girl, BBC1: Brilliant young actress Charlie (Pugh) strikes up an acquaintance with an intriguing stranger while on holiday in Greece - but it rapidly becomes apparent that his intentions are far from romantic. The man is Becker (Alexander Skarsgård, forever True Blood's 1000-year-old vampire Viking Eric Northman to me #TeamEric), an Israeli intelligence officer who entangles her in a high-stakes plot that unfolds as she takes on the role of a lifetime in the 'theatre of the real'. Set in the late 1970s, yet sharply contemporary, The Little Drummer Girl by John le Carre weaves a dynamic and exciting story of espionage and international intrigue, of love and betrayal. Try to ignore Skarsgård's costumes, which are often more technicolour than a rainbow.
When can I watch it? Autumn.
What's John Le Carre's real name: David John Moore Cornwell.
4) Press: BBC1: David Suchet stars as a newspaper press baron in this new drama which charts the fortunes of a liberal left broadsheet and a tabloid after the phone-hacking scandal. Written by Doctor Foster's Mike Bartlett, it will be a drama which looks at why news is important and the ethical dilemmas reporters and editors face each day (today, the biggest dilemma I faced was whether to take one or two sweets from the tin left on newsdesk). 'I'd love to say it's going to restore journalists' reputations, but I'm not convinced it will,' he said. Oh good.
When can I watch it? Soon
Why can't TV show journalists in a good light? Don't get me started.
5) Mother's Day, BBC2: Written by Nick Leather, Mother's Day focuses on two ordinary women living either side of the Irish Sea, brought together in the wake of the Warrington bombing. Vicky McClure plays Susan McHugh, the mother of two so outraged by the loss of young life that she organised one of the largest peace rallies in Irish history, leading thousands to protest at the continued violence of the Troubles. Anna Maxwell Martin plays Wendy Parry, the mother of 12 year old Tim Parry who lost his life in the attack.
When can I see it? It will mark the 25th anniversary of the tragedy when airs in Autumn.
What does Vicky McClure say? 'Susan McHugh's actions back in 1993 remain just as inspirational today as they were 25 years ago.'
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