It\u2019s Halloween, but you don\u2019t need to be scared of spending the whole weekend scrolling for a great show to watch. <\/p>\n
This week we have a new thriller from Slow Horses\u2019 Mick Herron starring Ruth Wilson and Emma Thompson, and a scary prequel to Stephen King\u2019s IT with Bill Skarsg\u00e5rd back as Pennywise. Mortimer & Whitehouse are fooling around on the riverbanks, Vicky McClure has some more explosive action, and there\u2019s a new face in the world of The Witcher. <\/p>\n
\u2022 Looking for more recommendations from our critics? Visit our television homepage<\/a> for the latest reviews, features and interviews, and read our comprehensive TV listings guide<\/a>.<\/p>\n 1. Down Cemetery Road (Apple TV+)<\/p>\n If you\u2019re missing Slow Horses already, never fear: a new chapter of the Mick Herron Cinematic Universe has been opened and it\u2019s great. Based on Herron\u2019s first novel, with a snappy screenplay from the Slow Horses writer Morweena Banks, this fine thriller is packed with spies, conspiracies and underdogs. The show stars Ruth Wilson as Sarah, a bored art restorer who is drawn into a mystery after a gas explosion, and Emma Thompson as the offbeat and spiky private investigator Zo\u00eb Boehm, who has shades of Gary Oldman\u2019s Jackson Lamb. What follows is a wonderfully well-crafted thriller filled with jet-black humour, grimy realities of life and some genuinely breathless action. 2. IT \u2013 Welcome to Derry (Sky\/ Now)<\/p>\n While most broadcasters seem to ignore Halloween these days, HBO is handing out the television equivalent of a bucketful of candy this year with a new prequel series set before the events of the IT films from 2017 and 2019 (which were based on Stephen King\u2019s 1986 horror novel). Featuring Bill Skarsg\u00e5rd (reprising his role of Pennywise from the films), the show is set in 1962 in Derry, Maine and follows a couple who arrive in the fictional town and what happens after their son goes missing. The answer? Very bad things. Enjoy!<\/p>\n 3. Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing (BBC iPlayer)<\/p>\n If you like watching old comedians having a laugh and discussing life, the universe and everything in between while fishing, you have found your next box set binge! In all seriousness, with series eight promising to be the most personal yet, this rare gem of a format is something of a rarity in television terms these days. About nothing and everything, it draws the viewer into the world of two old friends without a need for gimmicks or jeopardy; all that\u2019s woven up in the tribulations of life itself. In series eight the pair visit fishing locations that have broad relevance to their lives, ensuring some lovely backdrops and some good chat. <\/p>\n 4. Trigger Point (ITVX)<\/p>\n The Line of Duty creator Jed Mercurio doesn\u2019t do TV by halves, and the explosive storylines (excuse the pun) of the first two series of this drama about police explosives experts have certainly proven that. One of ITV\u2019s most popular dramas of recent years, Vicky McClure stars as \u201cExpo\u201d Lana Washington, whose job it is to stop things blowing up \u2014 and we\u2019re invited along for the nail-biting ride. In series three there\u2019s no time for a day off for Lana as police find a cab wired with explosives that\u2019s connected to a deadly conspiracy. Expect a plot mined with explosive twists and more than its fair share of tripwires as personal and professional worlds collide in a thrilling drama. 5. The Witcher (Netflix)<\/p>\n It\u2019s OK, your TV isn\u2019t broken; it is still The Witcher you\u2019re watching, there\u2019s just been some change. Those looking to catch up with the adventures of Andrzej Sapkowski\u2019s beloved fantasy series on screen may have noticed that Geralt of Rivia is no longer played by Henry Cavill \u2014 Liam Hemsworth is now wearing the wig. In this fourth chapter, everyone is still reeling from the continent-defining events of the most recent finale, and Yennefer and Ciri are separated from Geralt. This series and the next will adapt the books Baptism of Fire, The Tower of the Swallow, and The Lady of the Lake. A touch of escapism for an autumn night\u2026 <\/p>\n Love TV? Discover the best shows on Netflix<\/a>, the best Prime Video TV shows<\/a>, the best Disney+ shows<\/a> , the best Apple TV+ shows<\/a>, the best shows on BBC iPlayer<\/a> , the best shows on Sky and Now<\/a>, the best shows on ITVX<\/a>, the best shows on Channel 4<\/a> streaming, the best shows on Paramount+<\/a> and our favourite hidden gem TV shows<\/a>. Don\u2019t forget to check our comprehensive TV guide<\/a> for the latest listings<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s Halloween, but you don\u2019t need to be scared of spending the whole weekend scrolling for a great…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":110843,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[156,111,139,69,437],"class_list":{"0":"post-110842","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tv","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-new-zealand","10":"tag-newzealand","11":"tag-nz","12":"tag-tv"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110842","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=110842"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110842\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/110843"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=110842"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=110842"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=110842"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Read our full review<\/a><\/p>\n
Read our full review<\/a><\/p>\n