WE may not be done with summer yet, but this week sees the autumn TV season kick off with a string of huge new shows.
From comedies to period dramas, spy thrillers to panel shows, there are more programmes than ever to see you through the next three months and beyond.
Here we pick out 20 treats, from both the main channels and the streamers, to whet your appetite.
Fingers on the remote . . .
Road To A Million (Prime Video)
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THE James Bond spin-off reality series is back for a second instalment, from this Friday, but with a “reinvented format”.
Actor Brian Cox returns as The Controller overseeing eight pairs of ordinary Brits embarking on a thrilling 007-inspired global adventure which takes them from Bangkok’s Sinn Sathorn Tower to shark-infested waters in the Bahamas.
And the pair of winners land a handy £1million.
Girlbands Forever (BBC2)
20
HOMAGE has been paid to the glory years of the Nineties boy bands.
Following on from last year’s three-parter focusing on the likes of Take That, East 17 and Five, the spotlight is now to be turned on girl bands who have lit up the charts, such as All Saints, Atomic Kitten, the Spice Girls and Girls Aloud.
Prepare yourselves for an intriguing trip down memory lane – and feel that girl power.
The Terminal List: Dark Wolf (Prime Video)
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PREQUEL to 2022 military thriller The Terminal List lands on August 27 and centres on key character Ben Edwards, played by Taylor Kitsch, as he’s discharged from the Navy Seals and “forced to join the clandestine side of CIA Special Operations”.
Chris Pratt is back as James Reece who killed Ben in the original after learning of his involvement in sabotaging the Syria mission that left most of his platoon dead.
The Celebrity Traitors (BBC One)
20
ANYONE who is anyone has only wanted to be on one show this autumn – the upcoming first celeb version of The Traitors.
Sir Stephen Fry, Alan Carr, Paloma Faith, Clare Balding and Jonathan Ross are among the cast banished to the Scottish castle.
Hosted by Claudia Winkleman it looks to be a nailed-on hit.
Brassic (Sky)
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THE unruly gang in Sky’s critically acclaimed comedy are hoping to go out with a bang in the seventh and final series.
Michelle Keegan is back as Erin, alongside regulars Joe Gilgun and Ryan Sampson, and fans will find out if her character really moves away from Hawley, as was teased in the series six cliffhanger.
Trigger Point (ITV)
20
After series two attracted an average of 8.1million viewers, a third instalment of this crime thriller was inevitable.
Line Of Duty’s Vicky McClure is back as bomb-disposal ace Lana Washington and her team are faced with a sinister new challenge – a revenge plot from an old enemy.
Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels actor Jason Flemyng joins the cast for its latest outing.
The Dyers’ Caravan Park (Sky)
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Danny Dyer running a caravan park on the Isle of Sheppey probably wasn’t on your 2025 bingo card.
But the former EastEnders star and daughter Dani are trying to revive the fortunes of a rundown resort founded in the 1950s and make caravan parks “cool again” – giving hope amid the cost-of-living crisis.
Slow Horses Series 5 (Apple TV)
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THE fifth season of this Apple TV+ hit is based on Mick Herron’s fifth Slough House novel, London Rules.
The latest instalment, landing on September 24, will lean on Christopher Chung’s character, Roddy Ho, more than ever before.
But fans will still get their Gary Oldman fix given that Jackson Lamb, right, is still very much at the forefront of the spy series.
Ted Lasso’s Nick Mohammed will also guest star in the new season.
House Of Guinness (Netflix)
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PEAKY Blinders creator Steve Knight has crossed over to Ireland for his latest blockbuster drama which follows the “powerful and debaucherous” Guinness family.
Set in 1860s New York and Ireland, the show – which starts on September 25 – kicks off with the death of Benjamin Guinness, the man responsible for the success of the Guinness brewery.
It then focuses on his four children, Edward, played by Louis Partridge – who is dating singer Olivia Rodrigo – Arthur, Ben and Anne.
The Forsytes (Channel 5)
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AN epic tale of sex, money and power across three generations of an upper-class family, this new adaptation of John Galsworthy’s classic novels The Forsyte Saga features Doctor Who’s Millie Gibson as well as Eleanor Tomlinson.
Susan Hampshire, who played Fleur Forsyte in the BBC’s 1967 adaptation, also stars in the six-parter.
King And Conqueror (BBC One)
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A FIGHT scene in this new historical drama will see lead star James Norton wincing in genuine pain – as he broke his collar-bone during filming after falling off a horse.
The Happy Valley actor will play King Harold of Wessex opposite Nikolaj Coster-Waldau’s William the Conqueror in this eight-parter.
It kicks off this Sunday and takes in the Battle of Hastings and the Battle of Stamford Bridge.
Swashbuckling.
Hostage (Netflix)
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SURANNE JONES makes her Netflix debut from tomorrow in a new five-part political thriller as she plays a freshly elected, and embattled, Prime Minister.
The PM’s husband is kidnapped during a summit and her main hope of getting him back is the French president, played by Julie Delpy, who she has repeatedly clashed with since coming to power.
A League Of Their Own (Sky)
20
IT’S the last dance for Jamie Redknapp and Co as the sports-comedy panel show enters its 20th and final season.
The former Liverpool and England midfielder and his fellow show regulars, football’s Micah Richards and Jill Scott, will be on their A-games for the big send-off, hosted by comic Romesh Ranganathan.
Expect the usual banter and high-octane challenges.
Nobody Wants This (Netflix)
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THE relationship between a sex podcaster and a rabbi shouldn’t work but somehow it does in this romantic dramedy.
Kristen Bell and Adam Brody won Emmy nominations for their roles in the first series of the US hit.
Now, this new season starting on October 23, sees more high drama as Bell’s character Joanne continues to agonise over converting to Judaism.
Taskmaster (Channel 4)
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QUIRKY gameshow has reached its 20th series and is showing no signs of running out of ideas.
The challenges wheeled out by presenters Greg Davies and Alex Horne seem ever dafter.
The next six stars from the world of comedy hoping to take home the golden bust of host Greg’s head are Ania Magliano, Maisie Adam, Phil Ellis, Reece Shearsmith and Sanjeev Bhaskar.
Bullseye (ITV)
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YOU can’t beat a bit of Bully, which is why ITV has commissioned the reboot for a full series after a successful one-off Christmas special last year.
Freddie Flintoff is again in the Jim Bowen role as host where he’ll be joined by darts stars including Luke Littler helping contestants win some with big prizes (not just a speedboat).
The Girlfriend (Prime Video)
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VICTORIA BECKHAM may well have a vested interest in this psychological thriller about young love throwing a family into turmoil.
When a woman’s son brings home his beautiful new girlfriend, his mother soon realises she’s not who she seems.
Robin Wright stars as the successful family matriarch with the glittering career and loving husband who is willing to protect her son at all costs in this sinister six-parter which starts on September 10.
Frauds (ITV)
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TWO female powerhouses in British TV teaming up for a six-part heist drama – what’s not to like?
Suranne Jones is fraudster Bert, who finishes a prison stretch and reunites with old wing woman Sam, played by Jodie Whittaker.
Bert attempts to lure Sam out of retirement for one final, significant score – but will the old pals pull off the job?
Celebrity Help! My House Is Haunted (Discovery+)
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BEV CALLARD and Antony Cotton have witnessed many a fright while pulling pints in the Rovers.
But now the Coronation Street stars’ own homes are getting a once-over in a bid to find any paranormal activity.
Returning for a new season of the hit show are investigator Jayne Harris, psychic medium Ian Lawman and tech expert Barri Ghai.
I Fought The Law (ITV)
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SHERIDAN SMITH stars in another compelling true story, this time playing courageous Ann Ming, who campaigned to change the double jeopardy law and ensure that her daughter’s murderer was convicted.
The four-parter, which starts on August 31, covers the circumstances surrounding pizza parlour worker Julie’s brutal killing and her mother’s 15-year battle for justice. Ann acted as a consultant on the series.
