The best TV to watch this autumn: from Celebrity Traitors to Slow Horses Season 5

As the crisp winds of autumn blow in, so too does the urge to draw the curtains, make a cup of tea and enjoy some comforting television.

Fortunately for us, the next few months is also stacked with great titles. From the long-awaited launch of Celebrity Traitors to the next season of the critically acclaimed Slow Horses, there’s something to suit all tastes.

Lucky for us. Here’s what we’re looking forward to watching.

Andrew Lincoln (aka Mr Walking Dead) comes back to the world of UK television for this twisty ITV thriller. He plays John, a middle-aged man with an unhealthy case of masculine rage who moves to a remote Scottish village to launch a new restaurant. Unfortunately for him, he soon falls under the spell of Tommy (Ewan Bremner), a local pillar of the community who is hiding some pretty dark secrets.

Those of us missing our fix of The Boys, the solution is here. Despite being a spinoff of the hit show, Gen V’s first season was just as delightfully twisted as its older sibling, serving up a blood-spattered tale set in the supe university of Godolkin.

Prime Video, out September 17

Who doesn’t love a bit of Sly Stallone? Well, he’s back once more as the sublimely silly Dwight Manfredi, a member of the Mafia who sets up a branch in Tulsa. Season two ended on a hell of a cliffhanger (aka him being kidnapped from his bed by masked assailants), but it looks like Dwight is just fine – and even better, he’s being joined for this latest chapter by none other than Samuel L. Jackson.

Paramount+, out September 21

The magnificently crusty Gary Oldman returns to our screens as Jackson Lamb, the ever-eating, ever-farting head of MI5’s refuse division Slough House. Tune in for some reliably excellent television (the series has never struck a dud note), as well as a London-centric storyline featuring a plot to assassinate the Mayor (Nick Mohammed).

Apple TV+, out September 24

Steven Knight turns his quill to all things Ireland in what promises to be a very buzzy title indeed. Squarely in his sights are the Guinness family: a group of four siblings who, when their patriarch father dies, have to try and maintain his legacy despite the rather ungodly amount of secrets they’re keeping. Oh, and James Norton plays the family enforcer, Rafferty. Really, what’s not to like here?

Show me a more bonkers premise: I’ll wait. Hollywood’s favourite actor Glen Powell (who also co-wrote this) stars as Russ Holliday, an American football quarterback. Eight years ago, he nuked his college football career; seemingly with nothing better to do, he decides to try and resurrect it. This time, he’s disguising himself as oddball Chad Powers to do it. If you couldn’t tell, it’s a comedy.

Disney+, out September 30

It’s been teased, and teased… but finally, it looks like we’re getting a glorious dose of Celebrity Traitors this October. The cast list is extensive (think Stephen Fry, Clare Baldwin, Paloma Faith), Claudia’s fringe is immaculate and the castle is no doubt bursting with challenges and secrets. Who’ll be the first Traitor to turn on their friends, and who will snap during the roundtable? It’s all the more delicious when it’s got celebs in.

Adjani Salmon’s award-winning vision returns to the BBC once more. The first season of Dreaming Whilst Black (which originally started life as a YouTube series) cast him as Kwabena, an aspiring filmmaker attempting to make his dream into a reality. It was funny and sharp, and deservedly netted Salmon a lot of awards: now, Kwabena is back, and he’s managed to land a job working as a director for a steamy historical romance series called Sin and Subterfuge. But is it a blessing, or a poisoned chalice?

Harlan Coben is on a roll at the moment. Fresh from having a batch of his work adapted for Netflix, he’s now jumped ship to Prime Video for another of his thrillers – though this is a Coben original, rather than an adaptation of an existing book. Star talent abounds: Sam Claflin stars as Joel Lazarus (ominous name), who returns home after his father (Bill Nighy) takes his own life. The reason why? Maybe it’s something to do with the disturbing experiences he starts having. To get to the bottom of things, he needs to untangle a web of cold case murders, including that of his sister’s death, 25 years ago. Spooky, and just in time for Hallowe’en.

Prime Video, out October 22

Sally Wainwright can do no wrong – which is why we’ll be tuning into watch her latest show, Riot Women. And the premise sounds especially good: five menopausal women decide to start a punk talent to take part in a local talent contest. As they navigate their lives and their budding rock careers, inevitably dark secrets also start bubbling to the surface.

This is going to be explosive. 15 years ago, The News of the World was forced to close after it was revealed that the platform had hacked the phones of some of the biggest celebrities in the country. Ironically, it made headlines around the world, and led to former editor Andy Coulson being sentenced to 18 months in prison (the title works on several levels, you see). Now, the whole sorry affair has been adapted into a drama starring David Tennant and the ever-excellent Toby Jones, and it should be dropping sometime this autumn.

Matt Smith is cultivating a nice line in feckless layabouts. Fresh from Caught Stealing, in which he plays a punk drug dealer, he’s now starring in The Death of Bunny Munro, where he plays a misogynistic, sex-addicted, middle-aged salesman. After the suicide of his wife, he decides to take his son on an increasingly chaotic trip around Brighton… at about the same time a serial killer is operating in the area. Fun!

Kim Kardashian? In a legal drama? Sign us right up. She plays the Allura Grant (on the nose much), a divorce lawyer who leaves her male-dominated law firm to set up a female one with some of her pals. The premise is promising us “high-stakes breakups, scandalous secrets, and shifting allegiances” – who knows what that means, but the cast is stacked (Naomi Watts, Sarah Paulson and Glenn Close, hello), and if not prestige TV, it certainly promises to be fabulously camp.