10 of the most captivating new indie films to watch this autumn
As we bid farewell to summer, it’s time to turn our attention to the upcoming arrival of the best new autumn TV shows 2023. This year, there seems to be a particularly jam-packed television schedule to look forward to, with new seasons of much-loved series including Sex Education, Lupin and The Morning Show returning to our screens, as well as new releases such as Sir Lenny Henry’s Three Little Birds and Apple TV’s adaptation of Bonnie Garmus’s bestseller Lessons in Chemistry. Here, we’ve rounded up the new dramas you won’t want to miss.
The Woman in the Wall
The finest new autumn TV shows 2023 kicks off with this gothic thriller, which has just started airing on BBC1 and is already captivating viewers across the nation. Based on the true story of the notorious Magdalene Laundries in Ireland, the six-part series stars the ever-brilliant Ruth Wilson, who takes on the role of Lorna Brady, a woman suffering from PTSD after her baby was taken away from her in one of the laundries. When she wakes one morning to find a dead woman in her home, with no idea who she is or how she got there, Lorna has no clue whether she herself was involved.
Lorna quickly finds herself swept up in an investigation, led by Detective Colman Akande (Good Luck to You, Leo Grande’s Daryl McCormack). The twist, though, is that Akande is trying to solve a crime seemingly unrelated to the body that Lorna has discovered in her home. Dark and deeply intense, The Woman In The Wall makes for powerful – if unsettling – viewing.
BBC 1, showing now
Bridgerton season 3
The Bridgerton craze show no signs of abating, as we prepare ourselves for the third instalment of Shonda Rhimes’ hit Regency-era drama. While the original release date may have been pushed back a bit due to the ongoing SAG strike in the US, all sources are pointing to the fact that it will be hitting our small screens again in September. This season, the friendship-to-more relationship between Penelope Featherington, aka clandestine gossip writer Lady Whistledown (played by Derry Girls’ Nicola Coughlan), and Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton) will take centre stage.
In season two we saw Colin dismiss Penelope to his friends as a potential wife – due to the fact that he sees her as “just Penelope” – so all eyes will be on how the love story shakes out for this pair. You can also expect the stars of season two, Kate Sharma (Simone Ashley) and Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey), to return, and keep your eyes peeled for several moments from the Queen Charlotte prequel series impacting on the Bridgerverse.
Netflix, September
The Lovers
Over recent years, Johnny Flynn has emerged as one of Britain’s most likeable romantic leads, thanks to star turns in Autumn de Wilde’s Emma and Netflix’s Lovesick. But in The Lovers, he takes on a more morally dubious role, one that might surprise some of his fans. Flynn stars as dashing London-based political broadcaster Seamus, playing opposite Roisin Gallagher (The Fall) as foul-mouthed Belfast supermarket worker Janet. They’re both from wildly different backgrounds, but the pair find themselves inexplicably drawn to one another.
But as we all know, the course of true love never did run smooth, and as they embark on an affair there’s a rather large spanner in the works: in the form of Seamus’s celebrity girlfriend. Tune into this enjoyable, offbeat comedy drama as the perfect antidote to post-summer blues.
Sky Atlantic, 7 September
Love & Death
True-crime fans, rejoice – there’s a new binge-worthy show to add to your watch list. Elizabeth Olsen (Avengers: End Game, Wind River) stars in this HBO miniseries as 80s suburban Texas housewife Candy Montgomery, a churchgoing mother and wife who appeared to have the perfect life. But after having an affair with a married member of her Methodist church group (played by The Irishman’s Jesse Plemons), she’s put on trial for killing his wife Betty Gore with an axe.
When it happened, the crime was so sensationalised it made headlines around the world, particularly when Candy was later acquitted on the grounds of self-defence, so it’s bound to make excellent fodder for a TV show. Add in the fact that it was created by David E. Kelley, who brought us Big Little Lies and Nine Perfect Strangers, and you know it’s set to be a sure-fire hit.
ITVX, 7 September
Top Boy season 5
After five seasons – two on Channel 4 and three on Netflix – this latest instalment marks the final one for the epic London-based crime thriller. Following the rise of two drug kingpins, Dushane (Ashley Walters) and Sully (Kane Robinson), this final season brings their potent rivalry to a head in the most dramatic fashion, with the trailer offering up glimpses of social unrest on the fictional Summerhouse Estate spilling over into a full-on riot.
Many of the show’s favourite cast members are returning, including Simbiatu Ajikawo (aka Little Simz) as Dushane’s girlfriend Shelley, Jasmine Jobson as Summerhouse lieutenant Jaq, and Adwoa Aboah as Jaq’s girlfriend Becks. But there will also be some new faces in the form of The Banshees of Inisherin’s Barry Keoghan and Peaky Blinders’ Brian Gleeson, who play members of a close-knit Irish crime family. All in all, it’s shaping up to be a truly explosive finale.
Netflix, 8 September
The Changeling
Academy Award-nominee LaKeith Stanfield (Knives Out, Judas and the Black Messiah) executive produces and stars in this new Apple TV drama, which is based on the acclaimed bestselling book of the same name by Victor LaValle. Described as “a fairy tale for grownups”, The Changeling is a haunting eight-part series that follows antiquarian book dealer Apollo Kagwa (Stanfield) as he falls in love and has a baby with his wife Emma (Clark Backo), a librarian. But all is not as it seems.
As the pair settle into their new lives as parents, Emma’s behaviour becomes increasingly erratic. Soon, Apollo finds himself on a wild quest through a suddenly otherworldly New York, in search of a wife and child he no longer recognises, as he’s forced to question everything he thought was real.
Apple TV+, 8 September
The Morning Show season 3
As the original Apple TV show, the one that first launched the streaming giant four years ago, The Morning Show has a loyal legion of fans who will all be delighted that the award-winning hit is returning for a third season. Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon star as rival daytime news presenters Alex and Bradley, as the new season picks up where the last one ended, with the characters’ jobs up in the air due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Season three is set to bring even more Hollywood star power to our small screens with the arrival of Mad Men’s Jon Hamm as tech titan Paul Marks, who has set his sights on the parent company UBA. Loyalties are tested as Marks upends the order of things, and everyone is forced to confront their core values both in and out of the newsroom.
Apple TV+, 13 September
Wilderness
Jenna Coleman (Victoria, The Serpent) and Oliver Jackson-Cohen (The Invisible Man) star in this Prime Video adaptation of B.E. Jones’ novel of the same name. The duo star as glamorous British couple Liv and Will, who from the outside appear to have it all – a rock-solid marriage and an exciting new life in New York, thousands of miles from their provincial hometown. But that all comes crashing down when Liv finds out about Will’s affair.
Instead of wasting time being heartbroken, Liv swiftly decides to plot her revenge – and when Will suggests a trip around America’s National Parks to give their relationship a fresh start, it seems like the perfect opportunity for Liv to execute her plan. A twisted psychological thriller about love, betrayal and vengeance, Wilderness will have you gripped from the get-go.
Amazon Prime, 15 September
Sex Education season 4
It’s long been hailed as one of Netflix’s most popular shows, so the return of a fourth season of Sex Education is hotly anticipated. It’s bittersweet, however, as this season marks the final one for the seminal sex-positive teen comedy. Otis (Asa Butterfield), Eric (Ncuti Gatwa), Maeve (Emma Mackey) and Otis’s mum Jean (Gillian Anderson) all return for the grand finale, which follows the teens after the closure of Moordale Secondary school and Otis and Eric’s move to Cavendish Sixth Form College.
There, the pair are shocked to discover that their new school is nothing like Moordale – instead, it’s a progressive, free-thinking place that embraces yoga, sustainability and kindness. Maeve, meanwhile, has moved to the US to study under the cult author Thomas Molloy (Schitt’s Creek’s Dan Levy). Expect more hilarity and heart-warming moments as we bid a fond farewell to this much-loved show.
Netflix, 21 September
Boiling Point
This upcoming BBC drama follows on from the hugely successful, Bafta-nominated feature film of the same name, and is already being billed as the British answer to The Bear. Celebrated Brit actor Stephen Graham reprises his role as alcoholic head chef Andy Jones in the four-part spin off, only this time the attention shifts to sous chef Carly (played by Vinette Robinson).
The series picks up with Carly battling to forge a name for new Dalston restaurant Point North alongside her old kitchen crew, while Andy recovers from a recent heart attack. The show follows the team as the stresses of keeping the restaurant running bear down on them, amidst a hospitality industry in crisis. Can they keep their complicated personal lives in check while continuing to deliver first-class food and service, day in, day out?
BBC One, October
Lupin
When the first season of Lupin landed on Netflix in January 2021, it went on to become the streaming platform’s second most watched program and spawned a global love affair with French dramas. Now the gentleman thief is back for a third season, with Omar Sy (The Intouchables) returning as Assane Diop, the smooth criminal inspired by the fictional character Arsène Lupin from Maurice Leblanc’s book series.
When we left him at the end of season two, Assane had exposed his nemesis Hubert Pellegrini (Hervé Pierre) and was in hiding after being framed for murder. But he soon realises he can’t bear being away from his ex-wife Claire (Ludivine Sagnier) and son Raoul (Etan Simon). So, he returns to Paris and devises an ingenious plan for them all: to leave the country and start again elsewhere. Will it work? You’ll have to tune in to find out.
Netflix, 5 October
Lessons in Chemistry
Bonnie Garmus’s debut novel Lessons in Chemistry was the smash-hit literary success of 2022, going on to become a multi-million copy bestseller. Now the hugely popular book is being adapted for TV by Apple, in what is sure to become one of this autumn’s must watch shows. Brie Larson (Captain Marvel, Room) takes on the role of Elizabeth Zott, a female scientist in the 1950s who struggles to make herself heard in a patriarchal society.
When she’s sacked from her job at a lab, she finds a surprising new calling: working as a host on a TV cooking show. There, she sets out to teach a nation of overlooked housewives – and the men who are suddenly listening – a lot more than just recipes. Following on from the success of another bestselling book adaptation, Fleishman is in Trouble, earlier in the year, this is set to be on everyone’s watch list come October.
Apple TV+, 13 October
Three Little Birds
Arriving on ITV in time for Black History Month in October, this six-part, post-Windrush drama was written by Sir Lenny Henry and follows a group of families who settle in the UK in 1957, with the narrative inspired by the life of Henry’s mother as he grew up in Dudley. Three Little Birds revolves mainly around gregarious sisters Leah (Rochelle Neil) and Chantrelle (Saffron Coomber), as well as their virtuous, bible-loving acquaintance, Hosanna (Yazmin Belo), as they board a cruise ship from Jamaica bound for a new life in Blighty.
Of course, once they arrive, they quickly release their ‘mother country’ is not quite what they had expected. The voyage across is tougher than they’d thought it would be and once they arrive, they face the many obstacles of integration – but they are determined to succeed and build a new life in Britain. With this year marking the 75th anniversary of the Windrush arriving in the UK, it feels like particularly apt viewing.
ITV, October
Bodies
It seems it’s a bumper autumn for Stephen Graham this year – as well as appearing in the BBC’s spin-off of Boiling Point, he’s set to star in a Netflix adaptation of Si Spencer’s mind-bending graphic novel, Bodies, as the enigmatic political leader Elias Mannix – proving once and again that he really has cemented himself as one of Britain’s finest actors.
When a body – the same body – is found in London’s East End in 1890, 1941, 2023 and 2053, one detective from each period must investigate. As connections are drawn across the decades, the detectives soon discover their investigations are linked, and Graham’s character Mannix becomes increasingly central. Did he have a part to play in the murder? Or is something far more sinister at play? This clever eight-part series will keep you guessing until the very end.
Netflix, 19 October
Fellow Travelers
Billed as “an epic love story and political thriller, chronicling the volatile romance of two very different men who meet in the shadow of McCarthy-era Washington”, Fellow Travelers is another one to be adding to your watch list this autumn. It stars two of the industry’s most prominent LGBTQ+ actors, with Bridgerton star Jonathan Bailey playing Tim Laughlin, a “young man brimming with idealism and religious faith” who is optimistic about a post-WWII world. But everything changes when he meets Hawkins Fuller (played by Magic Mike’s Matt Bomer), who works behind-the-scenes in politics.
Based on Thomas Mallon’s novel of the same name, the duo begin a romance just as Joseph McCarthy and Roy Cohn declare war on “subversives and sexual deviants,” initiating one of the darkest periods in 20th-century American history. The show spans the Vietnam War protests of the 1960s, the drug-fuelled disco hedonism of the 1970s and the AIDS crisis of the 1980s, as the couple are forced to face obstacles both in the world and themselves.
Paramount Plus, 28 October
