Sally4Ever
The triumphantly grotesque return of Julia Davis, now backed – slightly bizarrely – by HBO. This co-production between the US network and Sky is a Basic Instinct-tinged tale of an affair between a wife-to-be and a mysterious musician, featuring defiantly off-colour gags, a decidedly post-watershed sexathon and some very odd jokes about eggs. Plus Julian Barratt!
Thursday 25 October, 10pm, Sky Atlantic
Luisa Omielan: Politics for Bitches
The What Would Beyoncé Do?! comic embarks on a mission to explain the baffling world of British politics to young people, along the way encountering NHS workers, young entrepreneurs and Tory MP/hateful slug Philip Davies.
From Sunday 21 October, BBC Three
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
Mad Men’s Kiernan Shipka replaces Melissa Joan Hart for a follow-up to 90s kids’ comedy Sabrina the Teenage Witch that’s likely to surprise anyone looking for cute talking cats and gentle comedy. Instead, expect gore, satanism and social commentary in a smart, deeply dark series that will chime well with those who loved the YA thrills of Riverdale.
From Friday 26 October, Netflix
The Mash Report
Probably the closest thing the UK has to a Daily Show/Last Week Tonight, the Nish Kumar-fronted topical comedy show returns for a new series of satirical snarking. Perfect timing, just as the US gears up for the midterms and Brexit reaches its frothing, farcical climax (Lord help us all).
Friday 26 October, 10pm, BBC Two
The Bi Life
Hot on the heels of Desiree Akhavan’s sitcom The Bisexual comes another take on modern sexual mores. Drag queen Courtney Act presents a dating show for those who fall under the heading of bisexual+ (ie bi, pansexual and fluid). That detail aside, it looks set to follow the usual reality formats, with contestants decamping to a villa in Barcelona for pool parties, speed dating and a masked ball. Call it Multi-Love Island.
Thursday 25 October, 9pm, E!
My Dinner With Hervé
Game of Thrones’s Peter Dinklage stars in this lively and lightly fictionalised account of a journalist’s gonzo encounter with former Bond bad guy Hervé “The plane, the plane” Villechaize, shortly before the latter’s 1993 death.
Monday 22 October, 9pm, Sky Atlantic
The Horror of Dolores Roach
Another week, another dramatic podcast. This one is worth your while, though. Made by podcast giant Gimlet Media, it stars Daphne Rubin-Vega (Smash) and Bobby Cannavale (The Sopranos, Vinyl) in a Halloween-apposite tale of murder and betrayal in subterranean Manhattan.
Podcast
Berlin Station
One of two German-set dramas this week (the other being 54 Hours: The Gladbeck Hostage Crisis), this spy thriller stars Brit actor Richard Armitage as an officer transplanted to Berlin to uncover a leaker at the CIA office there. Those looking to commit long-term will be pleased to hear that it’s already up to season three in the US.
Thursday 25 October, 9pm, More4
Cool Hand Luke
Paul Newman was the blue-eyed boy of Hollywood when he starred in Stuart Rosenberg’s gritty 1967 drama about convict Luke Jackson, who maintains inner freedom despite the brutalities of a deep-south chain gang. In the style of the old Warner Bros melodramas, the action is lightened by humour, as in the movie’s much-celebrated boiled egg-eating contest.
Saturday 20 October, 6.25pm, TCM
Stand Up to Cancer 2018
A week of charity telly culminates in this live all-nighter, hosted by Adam Hills, Alan Carr and Radio 1’s Maya Jama. Expect sketches from the Muppets, celebrity specials of Bake Off and Gogglebox, and – loaned from US network TV – James Corden’s Carpool Karaoke featuring Michael Bublé. All that plus the chilling prospect of a Made in Chelsea charity single.
Friday 26 October, 7pm, Channel 4
