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8 new crime dramas to watch this autumn
Television crime dramas really start to come into their own in autumn. The nights draw in, the kettle gets more of a workout, and the sofa calls louder than all the pubs, restaurants, gyms and cinemas combined. Thankfully, the TV schedulers know this and have lined up a tantalising array of both brand new crime shows and returning favourites.
Expect twisty thrillers, head-scratching whodunnits and darkly comic tales that will keep you hooked, with our list of the best crime TV to watch this autumn…
New crime dramas to watch this autumn
The Beast in Me
Where to watch it: Netflix
When it’s available: 13th November
Claire Danes as Aggie Wiggs and Matthew Rhys as Nile Jarvis in The Beast in Me. Credit: Netflix.
Homeland’s Claire Danes plays Aggie Wiggs, a once-celebrated writer who has swapped awards ceremonies for rural seclusion and a lingering sense of loss. Her solitude is disturbed by new neighbour Nile Jarvis, a wealthy newcomer with a grin too slick to trust. Welshman Matthew Rhys (Perry Mason, The Americans) brings him to life, complete with whispers about a missing wife.
Before long, Aggie’s curiosity about her neighbour turns into something darker, her grief and suspicion proving a dangerous combination. The result is a brooding tale of obsession and buried secrets that will take over your November evenings.
All Her Fault
Where to watch it: Sky/Now TV
When it’s available: 7th November
Marissa Irvine goes to pick up her son Milo from a playdate and walks into every parent’s worst nightmare: a stranger at the door, who insists she has never heard of Milo. That single moment unravels into paranoia, community tension and secrets that refuse to stay buried. Sarah Snook (Succession) plays the bewildered mum, and she is joined by Dakota Fanning, Jake Lacy and Michael Peña.
Based on Andrea Mara’s novel of the same name, this chilling eight-parter was shot in Australia, but looks set to make suburbia look like Hell.
Frauds
Where to watch it: ITV 1
When it’s available: 5th October
Suranne Jones plays Bert, a con artist newly freed after 10 years behind bars. Her first move is to reappear in former partner Sam’s life with a proposition: one last heist. But this is no glossy crime caper. Trust has been spent, resentments linger and both women carry baggage heavier than the contents of any swag bag. Jones and Jodie Whittaker lead the cast of English and Spanish actors.
The show’s location in Andalusia provides sunlit shadows, but the heat is in the tension between Bert and Sam. It looks set to be a tale of friendship, betrayal and ambition – one co-created by Suranne Jones herself, no less.
Slow Horses (series 5)
Where to watch it: Apple TV+
When it’s available: Now
Gary Oldman as Jackson Lamb in Slow Horses series 5. Credit: Apple TV+
Slough House’s ragtag squad of misfit spooks are back, bickering and blundering in equal measure. Jackson Lamb remains the thorn in everyone’s side: foul mouthed, brilliant, sometimes ridiculous. And his talented but flawed team remains liable to major errors of judgement.
In series 5, the focus isn’t on Gary Oldman’s Lamb or even Jack Lowden’s River Cartwright. Instead, we’re treated to a run anchored by Christopher Chung’s brilliant comic relief hacker character Roddy Ho. His error of judgment? Wandering into a honeytrap like a particularly dozy cartoon bear.
This is espionage with real wit: full of cynical jokes, moral messiness and character arcs that curve unexpectedly. The fact that the quality hasn’t dipped across five seasons is quite remarkable. These horses may be slow, but this is thoroughbred television.
Read more about Slow Horses Series 5.
Black Rabbit
Where to watch it: Netflix
When it’s available: Now
Jude Law as Jake in Black Rabbit. Credit: Netflix.
Jake Friedken, chic restaurateur, bar owner and NYC face, welcomes his errant misbehaving brother Vince back to The Big Apple, failing to realise his huge mistake. Jude Law is as cool as ever in the lead, while Ozark‘s Jason Bateman simmers with trouble and resentment as Vince.
The city’s criminal underbelly edges closer and looms over the audience with increasing dread with each episode. Glamour, debt, family rage – this is a cocktail with too many dangerous ingredients. It tastes a little bitter, but it’s an intoxicating mix after a few sips.
Ridley (series 2)
Where to watch it: ITVX
When it’s available: Now
Retired detective Alex Ridley (played by crime TV royalty Adrian Dunbar from Line of Duty) returns, digging into fresh crimes across moorland and woodland. In this run, the police consultant untangles murders, jewellery heists and kidnappings, all in a rural northern England setting.
The show was created by Paul Matthew Thompson, a screenwriter who worked on Vera – and it shows. There are real DCI Stanhope vibes here. And that’s no bad thing.
Lazarus
Where to watch it: Amazon Prime Video
When it’s available: 22nd October
Bill Nighy stars in the new Amazon Prime Video drama Lazarus.
Expect more twists and turns than you’d find in a slinky factory in this latest Harlan Coben adaptation. Forensic psychiatrist Laz, played by Sam Claflin, returns to his childhood home after his father’s death, only to find ghosts from his past – literal and otherwise – haunting the premises.
Bill Nighy and Alexandra Roach flesh out the cast in this six-part thriller that’s been brought to the screen by Brassic and Shameless screenwriter Danny Brocklehurst.
This is part-crime, part-psychological horror, weaving together cold cases and themes of memory and grief. As the nights grow long and the wind starts to whistle outside, this is the sort of show that could well have you double-checking that you locked the front door…
The Iris Affair
Where to watch it: Sky/Now TV
When it’s available: 16th October
Iris Nixon steals a code said not to exist and then vanishes without a trace. Enter tech billionaire Cameron Beck, who’s convinced that Iris has crossed him and is desperate to track her down.
Niam Algar (The Virtues, Raised by Wolves) plays the haunted and hunted lead, Iris. Her character moves fast but thinks faster. The chase winds through Italian back streets and Mediterranean facades, where luxury meets danger. Co-starring Rev himself, Tom Hollander, this glitzy new Sky TV production comes from Neil Cross, of Luther fame. Suffice to say, we’re expecting big things.
Which of these shows will be making its way onto your sofa schedule? Let us know in the comments…
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