After a summer hiatus, Hannah Bradfield is back this September to recount her month in TV and what she’s excited to watch next.

Spoiler Alert: This article contains spoilers for season three of Emily In Paris and The Jetty.

I’m ready for Autumn. There, I said it. Not everyone will be on my wavelength, but there’s just something about those early Autumn evenings: settling in with a new drama and a cuppa, feeling cosy and satisfied as the sun sets.

What I’ve enjoyed

Sherwood

We’re back in Nottinghamshire for this high-stakes drama, with a new and even more violent storyline featuring a mixture of old and new characters. Like the previous season, season two threads together a present-day crime with historical and political tensions relating to Nottingham’s 1980s mining communities.

Though, this time, Sherwood focuses on the local gang network, which, at the height of their rivalries, had devastating consequences for the community. Although recent gang activity has been relatively low-level, a senseless murder in episode one threatens to reopen old wounds. 

Local crime family, The Sparrows — who you’ll remember from series one — are back and adding fuel to the fire. Lorraine Ashbourne is fantastic as Daphne Sparrow, and while she might have done some questionable things, you’ll feel a lot more empathy for her than rival gang matriarch Ann Branson (Monica Dolan). Dolan’s ruthless and unfeeling portrayal of Ann is a world away from her performance as wholesome Post Mistress Jo Hamilton in Mr Bates vs The Post Office.

Former Detective Chief Constable Ian St Clair (David Morrisey) is also back, this time in a crime prevention capacity, having now left the police force. However, he soon finds himself back at the heart of it, fighting a battle from both sides of the law.

The Jetty

Although this was broadcast over summer, The Jetty’s drizzly, murky setting in a scenic Lancashire town makes for ideal Autumn viewing. Jenna Coleman stars as Ember Manning, a young, fiery Detective Constable who starts investigating a fire at the local boathouse, formerly owned by her late husband Malachy (Tom Glynn-Carney). What begins as a pretty standard case soon becomes a complex set of twists and turns involving the cold case of a local missing girl, a present-day network of sexual abuse, and Manning’s dead husband. 

The Jetty explores grey areas in the law regarding age, relationships, and consent, posing a set of moral questions to viewers as they decide who the real villains are. 

It’s gripping and clever and keeps the cogs constantly whirring. A few plot holes threaten to trip up the storyline a little — like when Manning’s boss doesn’t clock her husband becoming a suspect — but the final twist is good and makes for a satisfying ending.

Ted Lasso

I know I’m incredibly late to the party, but I’ve recently started watching Ted Lasso. For those unfamiliar, the comedy-drama follows a fictional Premier League football club — AFC Richmond — under the new leadership of American football coach Ted Lasso (Jason Sudeikis). To the horror and dismay of Richmond fans everywhere, Lasso knows nothing about football. 

We soon discover this wasn’t a mix-up and that the club’s owner, Rebecca Welton (Hannah Waddingham), intentionally hired Ted to spite her ex-husband Rupert (Anthony Head), who very publicly cheated on her. The football club, she says, is one of the only things that “meant something” to Rupert, so she wants to sabotage it. Ted, however, has other ideas, and while the club might be far from a league title, his philosophy — and homemade biscuits — are just what Richmond needs. 

Ted Lasso takes the mick out of British football while acknowledging its position as a social institution. There’s great character progression — you’ll find yourself rooting for quiet, quirky kit man Nathan (Nick Mohammed), who flourishes under Ted’s wing. And Keeley Jones (Juno Temple), the quick-witted WAG, whose self-awareness and empathy go a long way at the club. 

Good for the soul, and as poignant as it is funny. 

Emily in Paris

Say what you want about Emily in Paris, but you can’t deny that it’s the perfect escapism. The wacky outfits, the unhinged storylines, as well as the many, many berets. 

Part one of season four sees Emily (Lily Collins) and Gabriel (Lucas Bravo) tracking down Camille (Camille Razet), who has fled Paris to spend some time alone following the events of last season: almost marrying Gabriel, discovering she’s pregnant with his child, and parting from her Greek artist lover Sofia (Melia Kreiling). Similarly, Emily and Alfie (Lucien Laviscont) haven’t left on brilliant terms. Relationships-wise, it’s all a bit of a mess.

Emily and Gabriel’s will-they-won’t-they storyline has gotten a tad boring, but the rest of the characters’ bonkers antics have carried me through. 

Make sure you pop to Lidl to pick up something from its Emily in Paris grocery range for viewing snacks.

Celebrity Race Across The World

For the second season of Celebrity Race Across the World, we are in South America, with four couples racing the 12,500km from Belém in Brazil to Frutillar in Chile. We’ve got Jeff Brazier and his son, Freddy, Kelly Brook and her husband, Jeremy, Kola Bokinni and his cousin, Mary Ellen, and Scott Mills and his fiancé, Sam. It is cast well, and there is a really good balance between romantic and familial relationships.

All four couples have some really moving moments, particularly Jeff and Freddy, who reflect on what it’s been like for Freddy to grieve his mum, Jade Goody, without any real memories of her. 

Educational, funny, and touching, this show is always worth a watch. You’ll quickly fill up your notes page with future places to visit. The Iguaçu Waterfalls are now firmly on my bucket list.

What I’m excited to watch

As you will have gathered, I enjoyed literally everything I watched this month, so here’s to the strong TV streak continuing into next month.

BBC’s Nightsleeper looks intriguing. The six-part thriller is set over one night and sees an overnight Glasgow to London sleeper train hijacked by an unknown entity. Starring Joe Cole (Gangs of London) as an off-duty police officer and Alexandra Roach (The Light in the Hall) as the National Cyber Security Centre’s acting technical director, Nightsleeper looks slightly implausible, but promising.

Channel 5’s The Wives is also on my radar. A TV adaptation of Taryn Fisher’s best-selling novel, it’s a dark comedy-drama set in Malta, starring Tamzin Outhwaite, Jo Joyner, and Angela Griffin as three sisters-in-law intent on solving the mystery of their other sister-in-law’s ‘accidental’ death. 

I’m also buzzing for The Great British Bake Off, but who isn’t?

Words by Hannah Bradfield

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