The October 2019 Watchlist: 19 UK TV highlights for this month

Staff Writer

Reading time: 10 mins

Netflix. Amazon Prime Video. BBC iPlayer. NOW TV. Walter Presents. There’s so much TV to watch these days in so many places that it can be hard to keep up. Every month, we boil down what’s on the box to the essentials you need in your streaming queue.

October see the nights getting darker, but there are plenty of shows to keep you busy with the lights on indoors, from the return of The Walking Dead to the debut of Watchmen, BBC One’s Giri/Haji and RuPaul’s Drag Race UK.

We’ve sorted through All The TV to bring you your October watchlist – what’s worth watching, why and where you can find it online in the UK:

The Magicians: Season 4 – 1st October

The entertainingly warped fantastical drama goes straight to Amazon Prime for its fourth season, as we continue to follow the students of Brakebills in the series based on Lev Grossman’s novels.

The Magicians S4 UK air date:

When? 1st October (12am) What channel? Amazon Prime Video

Watch online in the UK:

Amazon Prime Video (£5.99 a month) Available at once on-demand

Carmen Sandiego: Season 2 – 1st October

The stakes are higher than ever for Carmen Sandiego as V.I.L.E. unleashes a host of dastardly new villains while A.C.M.E. closes in.

Carman Sandiego S2 air date:

When? 1st October (8.01am) What channel? Netflix UK

Watch online in the UK:

Netflix UK (£7.99 a month) Available all at once on-demand

RuPaul’s Drag Race UK – 3rd October

The TV phenomenon arrives on UK shores with 10 queens from across the country competing to impress RuPaul, Michelle Visage, Graham Norton and Alan Carr, and guest judges Maisie Williams, Geri Horner, Jade Thirlwall, Michaela Coel, Andrew Garfield, Cheryl and Twiggy. New episodes arrive weekly at 8pm on Thursdays.

RuPaul’s Drag Race UK air date:

When? 3rd October (8pm) What channel? BBC Three

Watch online in the UK:

BBC iPlayer Available weekly live and on-demand

Catherine the Great: Season 1 – 3rd October

Starring multi-award-winning Dame Helen Mirren, this new Sky original focuses on Russia’s longest ruling female empress in the turbulent final years of her life. The most powerful female monarch in history, Catherine is famed across the world for her scandalous affairs and sexually liberal attitudes.

Catherine the Great UK air date:

When? 3rd October (9pm) What channel? Sky Atlantic

Watch online in the UK:

Sky / NOW TV (£7.99 a month) Available all at once on-demamd

Goliath: Season 3 – 4th October

Billy Bob Thornton returns as washed-up lawyer Billy McBride for a third season of Amazon’s legal drama. This season, the unexpected death of an old friend leads Billy to take a case in the drought-stricken Central Valley where he comes face-to-face with a new Goliath: a billionaire rancher (Dennis Quaid) and his sister (Amy Brenneman). As Billy and his team pursue the truth, old enemies and personal demons resurface, forcing him to confront his own mortality.

Goliath S3 UK air date:

When? 4th October (12am) What channel? Amazon Prime Video

Watch online in the UK:

Amazon Prime Video (£5.99 a month) Available all at once on-demand

Raising Dion: Season 1 – 4th October

A young boy struggling to control his newfound powers. A single mom fighting the odds to keep her son safe. Secrets, conspiracies, mysteries, all dangerously swarming around one family…

Raising Dion air date:

When? 4th October (8.01am) What channel? Netflix UK

Watch online in the UK:

Netflix UK (£7.99 a month) Available all at once on-demand

Big Mouth: Season 3 – 4th October

It’s time to get your PhD in Puberty.

Big Mouth S3 air date:

When? 4th October (8.01am) What channel? Netflix UK

Watch online in the UK:

Netflix UK (£7.99 a month) Available all at once on-demand

Swamp Thing – 4th October

Swamp Thing follows Abby Arcane as she investigates what seems to be a deadly swamp-born virus in a small town in Louisiana but soon discovers that the swamp holds mystical and terrifying secrets. When unexplainable and chilling horrors emerge from the murky marsh, no one is safe.

Swamp Thing UK air date:

When? 4th October (12am) What channel? Amazon Prime Video

Watch online in the UK:

Amazon Prime Video (£5.99 a month) Available all at once on-demand

Mr Robot: Season 4 – 7th October

The fourth and final season of Mr. Robot will take place over the 2015 Christmas holiday and will be filled with hacking, splashed with blood and answer the series’ most pressing questions.

Mr Robot S4 UK air date:

When? 7th October (12am) What channel? Amazon Prime Video

Watch online in the UK:

Amazon Prime Video (£5.99 a month) Available weekly on-demand

The Walking Dead: Season 10 – 7th October

Season 10 of AMC’s long-running zombie hit continues to chart a world without Rick, as the threat of The Whisperers grows.

The Walking Dead S10 UK air date:

When? 7th October (9pm) What channel? FOX UK

Watch online in the UK:

Sky / NOW TV (£7.99 a month) Available weekly live and on-demamd

Rhythm + Flow: Season 1 – 9th October

Cardi B, Chance the Rapper, and Tip “T.I.” Harris are searching for hip-hop’s best, undiscovered talent from Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York City. Who will scrap their way to the top for a shot at the shine? Episodes 1 to 4 of Netflix’s new competition series land all at once, with the remaining episodes released in two batches of three episodes on Wednesdays.

Rhythm + Flow air date:

When? 9th October (8.01am) What channel? Netflix UK

Watch online in the UK:

Netflix UK (£8.99 a month) Available weekly on-demand

Riverdale: Season 4 – 10th October

Archie Andrews, Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge and Jughead return for a fourth season, which is set to kick off with an emotional episode dedicated to the late Luke Perry, who played Archie’s dad, Fred. The cast have hinted that the series will be returning to its roots by focusing on its central quartet’s relationships, but that doesn’t answer the question left by Season 3’s cliffhanger…

Riverdale S4 air date:

When? 10th October (8.01am) What channel? Netflix UK

Watch online in the UK:

Netflix UK (£8.99 a month) Available weekly on-demand

Giri/Haji – 17th October

This stylish, new globe-trotting thriller from BAFTA nominee Joe Barton (Humans) follows a detective from Tokyo who scours London for his missing brother, who’s been involved with the Yakuza and accused of murder. Takehiro Hira (Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai), BAFTA and Emmy award winner Kelly Macdonald (Boardwalk Empire, Puzzle), Japanese Academy award winner Yosuke Kubosuka (Go, Silence), BAFTA nominated Will Sharpe (Flowers), Japanese Academy Award winner Masahiro Motoki (Departures), Justin Long (New Girl) and Charlie Creed-Miles (Ripper Street), the result is unlike anything you’ve seen on UK TV.

Giri/Haji UK air date:

When? 17th October (9pm) What channel? BBC One

Watch online in the UK:

BBC iPlayer Available all at once on-demand

Living with Yourself: Season 1 – 18th October

Miles Elliott, a man struggling in life, undergoes a novel spa treatment that promises to make him a better person, only to learn he’s been replaced – literally – by a better version of himself. Paul Rudd stars. With Paul Rudd.

Living with Yourself air date:

When? 6th September (8.01am) What channel? Netflix UK

Watch online in the UK:

Netflix UK (£8.99 a month) Available all at once on-demand

Modern Love – 18th October

Inspired by the popular New York Times column of the same name, the series is created by Once and Sing Street veteran John Carney, who writers, directs and executive produced, while Sharon Horgan (Catastrophe, Divorce), Tom Hall (Sensation) and Emmy Rossum (Shameless) all direct episodes.

Modern Love UK air date:

When? 18th October (12am) What channel? Amazon Prime Video

Watch online in the UK:

Amazon Prime Video (£5.99 a month) Available at once on-demand

Looking for Alaska – 19th October

Charlie Plummer (Lean on Pete) stars in Hulu’s eight-part drama as teenager Miles ‘Pudge’ Halter, who enrols in boarding school, escaping his safe and uneventful world in an attempt to gain a deeper perspective on life. He falls in love with Alaska Young (Kristine Froseth) and finds a group of loyal friends, but after an unexpected tragedy, they must attempt to make sense of what they have been through. Based on John Green’s award-winning coming-of-age novel of the same name.

Looking for Alaska UK air date:

When? 19th October What channel? BBC One

Watch online in the UK:

BBC iPlayer Available all at once on-demand

Watchmen: Season 1 – 21st October

Created by Damon Lindelof, this modern-day reimagining of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ groundbreaking graphic novel about masked vigilantes introduces us to a world where the events of the original text have happened, where Ozymandias (Jeremy Irons) has grown old, and where Rorschach has inspired a movement of resistance.

Watchmen UK air date:

When? 21st October (2am/9pm) What channel? Sky Atlantic

Watch online in the UK:

Sky / NOW TV (£7.99 a month) Available weekly live and on-demamd

Daybreak: Season 1 – 24th October

The world is over. So grab your swords and flamethrowers and let’s get this show on the road. Netflix’s new dark comedy is high school, Mad Max-style.

Daybreak air date:

When? 24th October (8.01am) What channel? Netflix UK

Watch online in the UK:

Netflix UK (£8.99 a month) Available all at once on-demand

Pennyworth: Season 1 – 25th October

From Warner Horizon Scripted Television, the DC origin series follows Alfred Pennyworth (Jack Bannon – The Imitation Game), a former British SAS soldier in his 20s, who forms a security company in 1960s London and goes to work with young billionaire Thomas Wayne (Ben Aldridge – Our Girl), who’s not yet become Bruce Wayne’s father.