Seven more unmissable TV dramas for autumn
1. STILL MISSING DOWNTON?
‘Victoria’, ITV, September The gaping hole left by Julian Fellowes’s period drama is set to be filled by a biopic of Queen Victoria starring Jenna Coleman in her first role since leaving Doctor Who.
ITV is hoping the eight-part Sunday night drama will create the same magic as Downton Abbey thanks to a combination of big budgets, period detail and a sexy cast that includes Rufus Sewell, who plays Prime Minister Lord Melbourne.
The story concentrates on Victoria’s accession to the throne at the age of 18 and there is no skimping on detail: the first episode recreates her coronation at Westminster Abbey in its full glory.
2. RAIDERS OF THE LOST FILMS...
‘Hooten And The Lady’, Sky 1, September An ambitious stab at the adventure genre,
Hooten And The Lady promises to be a fun, frothy drama as the dark nights draw in. The eight-part series, shot in South Africa, Moscow, Cambodia and Rome, follows the adventures of maverick explorer Hooten, played by US Love Soup actor Michael Landes, and British Museum curator Lady Alexandra, played by W1A’s Ophelia Lovibond, with the wonderful Jane Seymour also making a return to our small screens. Comparisons with Indiana Jones are inevitable but insiders say Michael Douglas’s 1984 film Romancing
The Stone is closer to the mark.
3. LONG-AWAITED RETURN
‘The Fall’, BBC2 and RTÉ1, autumn The last series of this extremely popular and acclaimed crime drama, set in Northern Ireland, ended on a cliffhanger – as Jamie Dornan’s character Paul Spector was shot in the finale. The long wait to find out what happened to the serial killer will soon be finally over – and it is expected that he will survive, as Dornan has been seen filming for the third series of the programme in Belfast. And in further good news for fans, Gillian Anderson will be returning to reprise her role as Superintendent Stella Gibson. Promises to be unmissable.
4. PARTY HEARTY
‘Can’t Cope, Won’t Cope’, RTÉ2, autumn This comedy drama is likely to be a big hit on these shores, and tells the story of two hard-partying young Cork women, Aisling (Seána Kerslake) and Danielle (Nika McGuigan), whose lives are beginning to spiral out of control as a result of their chaotic lifestyle. The series was filmed in locations around Dublin, and features a strong supporting cast – including none other than Amy Huberman, who is sure to pull in the viewers in their droves.
5. QUEEN: THE EARLY YEARS
‘The Crown’, Netflix, Nov 4 Another royal drama, and with an astonishing €115million budget, it is one of the most anticipated shows of the year. Wolf Hall actress Claire Foy plays a young Queen Elizabeth II, with former
Doctor Who star Matt Smith as her husband, Prince Philip. Covering the first decade of the Queen’s reign, The Crown will also cover the monarch’s relationship with Winston Churchill. This royal drama promises to show what really goes on beyond the palace gates.
6. A KILLER IN OUR MIDST
‘Dark Angel’, ITV, September Adultery, bigamy, fraud and murder: the perfect ingredients for a chilling two-part thriller. Based on a true story, this twoparter stars Joanne Froggatt as Victorian serial killer Mary Ann Cotton, a seemingly loving wife and mother. Yet she is hiding a dark secret: ruthlessly determined to create a better life, she embeds herself within unsuspecting families before killing them and taking their money.
The supporting cast includes Alun Armstrong and Jonas Armstrong, and there’s an award-winning team of writer, producer and director whose credits include Downton Abbey.
7. LOST... AND FOUND!
‘The Missing’, BBC1, late 2016 A return for this hit psychological thriller, but don’t expect a re-run of the original story. Instead of a hunt for a missing child, the second series will focus on an abducted child being found after 11 years, and a family’s attempts to move forward after such a traumatic experience. James Nesbitt and Frances O’Connor have been replaced by David Morrissey and Keeley Hawes as the husband and wife dealing with this bombshell. Other plot details are being kept hush-hush, but we do know the action has moved from France to Germany, and that one returning character will be detective Julien Baptiste (Tcheky Karyo).