The best time for TV is fast approaching (ahem, autumn), which means the schedules are about to be absolutely packed! To save you the hassle of scrolling aimlessly through them, we’ve previewed all the great (and not-so-great) shows coming our way to bring you the very best ones to watch this September.
From a new crime drama that’s tipped to better than Happy Valley to Nigella Lawson and Gary Oldman’s return to our screens, there’s plenty to get stuck into, whatever you’re in the mood for. So, sit back and relax with our pick of the 9 fantastic TV shows to watch this September on ITV, Netflix, the BBC and more.
The Game
Channel 5’s brilliantly twisty cat-and-mouse series is back - and the "game" is far from over! Series 1 saw police detective Huw Miller (Jason Watkins) attempt to crack the unsolved case of a serial killer and the arrest of Patrick Harbottle (Robson Green) i the final episode suggested he’d done it. But with Patrick very much present in the new series, it sounds as though he won’t be out of mind - or sight - for long, despite Huw's move to a quiet seaside home. The Game series 2 is arriving on Channel 5 on Tuesday 1st September.
The Gentlemen
The spin-off to Guy Ritchie’s 2019 film is back! The second instalment which, as far as we're aware, will not star Meghan Markle (in case you've heard the rumours), takes us back into the world of English aristocrat (Theo James) who finds himself embroiled in a world of criminality - more specifically, Bobby Glass’ (Ray Winstone) cannabis empire on the East End of London. Now, the decisions Bobby is making appear to be increasingly unhinged – but should Eddie take action or risk losing everything he’s built? The Gentlemen series 2 will premiere on Netflix on Thursday 3rd September.
Mobland
The cast of ModLand appear to have put the behind the scenes drama behind them as the series is returning with everybody on board. The new 10-part series sees Tom Hardy step back into the shoes of loyal fixer Harry da Souza, alongside Pierce Brosnan and Helen Mirren as the unscrupulous heads of the Harrigan family, Conrad and Maeve. But all is far from well. We find the Harrigans struggling to show a unified front as rising rivals threaten their fractured criminal empire. We can't wait! MobLand series 2 will premiere on Paramount+ on Friday 18th September.
The Great British Bake Off
If you’d started to feel a little less excited about The Great British Bake Off in recent years, we hear you, but Nigella Lawson is here to get things back on track. The new judge will join Paul Hollywood to judge more amateur bakes, with our favourite presenters Alison Hammond and Noel Fielding providing plenty of laughs along the way. If you haven't yet seen the teaser in which Nigella utters our new favourite word "luscious", we recommend doing so immediately. The Great British Bake Off series 17 will premiere on Channel 4 in early September.
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Slow Horses
It’s back to espionage purgatory for MI5 officers in series 6 of the beloved spy thriller. Based on two more of Mick Herron’s novels, the new instalment is set to take us on quite the rollercoaster ride as the ruthless Diana Taverner (Kristin Scott Thomas) is finally the top dog of MI5's HQ The Park. And with a long-running and complex rivalry with the dishevelled yet astute Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman), it isn't going to be easy for our downtrodden spies who become competitors in what Apple TV describes as a fatally high-stakes game of retaliation and revenge. No further convincing needed. Slow Horses series 6 will premiere on Apple TV on Wednesday 16th September.
Blue Lights
Six brand-new episodes of the BBC’s hit police drama are coming – and things are going to get rather stressful for our frontline police officers. Constables Grace Ellis (Siân Brooke), Tommy Foster (Nathan Braniff) and Annie Conlon (Katherine Devlin) are now operating at their limit and are facing a new threat on the streets that they can barely control. Meanwhile, the murder trial of Gerry Cliff exposes a long-buried secret that leads to chaos both inside the police, and across the criminal underworld. As they struggle with big decisions about their future, Grace, Tommy and Annie must find a way forward. Blue Lights series 4 is will premiere on BBC One and BBC iPlayer this September.
The Real Unforgotten
If you’re a fan of Unforgotten (pictured above), you'll want to get invested in The Real Unforgotten. The two-parter delves into real-life cold cases that have been the inspiration for the ITV series starring Sanjeev Bhaskar and Sinéad Keenan. Focusing on the case of murdered Linslade shopkeeper, Carol Morgan, it examines how detectives finally pieced together a 43-year-old murder case - exactly like we see in Unforgotten - only it's real! Coming to Netflix on Wednesday 9th September.
The Chelsea Detective
The dynamic duo of Detective Inspector Max Arnold (Adrian Scarborough) and Detective Sergeant Layla Walsh (Vanessa Emme) are back to tackle a string of mysterious cases in the upmarket West London borough of Chelsea. A cryptic double murder takes the investigation out of Chelsea and into the cut-throat world of architecture, while elsewhere, a wellness and beauty salon owner is hiding a few secrets. But it’s not all doom and gloom - there’s also a bit of romance in store for Max. The Chelsea Detective series 4 is coming to U&Drama on Wednesday 16th September.
The Blame
Happy Valley’s Nicola Shindler is behind this new series - and it's tipped to be even better than her megahit drama! Based on the 2023 novel of the same name by Charlotte Langley, over the course of six episodes, we follow DI Emma Crane (Michelle Keegan) and her colleague DI Tom Radley (Douglas Booth) who are called to investigate when the body of a teenage figure skater is found in the quiet town of Wakestead. What follows is pretty dark, to put it lightly, with lies, cover-ups and eerily dark secrets exposed. The Blame will premiere on ITV1 and ITVX this autumn. The Blame is coming to ITV1 and ITVX this September.
