New TV and Streaming This Week 26 October – 1 November 2026
The clocks go back this weekend, the nights are drawing in, and the TV and streaming schedules are filling up with new shows. Whether you watch live on the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5, or stream on Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, Paramount+ and NOW, there is plenty to watch in the week of Monday 26 October to Sunday 1 November 2026.
Our weekly UK TV and streaming guide brings together the best new series and returning favourites, with a synopsis of each so you can choose what to watch. The highlights include a gripping new ITV drama, a returning BBC crime epic, a live darts spectacular on Netflix and a Halloween thriller on Sky.
The best new TV and streaming shows next week
1. Adultery – ITV1 and ITVX
When to watch: Starts Sunday 25 October, 9pm; episode two Monday 26 October, 9pm. All six episodes on ITVX from launch
If you only add one new drama to your watchlist this week, make it Adultery. Written by Danny Brocklehurst, the writer behind Brassic and Fool Me Once, this six-part ITV drama stars Dominic Cooper and Romola Garai as Tom and Beth, two parents whose lives collide in the most complicated way possible.
Tom’s 15-year-old daughter Jess has started dating her schoolmate Ollie, who happens to be Beth’s son. When Tom and Beth meet in unexpected circumstances, they begin an intense affair that threatens to tear both families apart. Brocklehurst uses the set-up to explore class, grief, parenthood and the pressure of social media. Shelley Conn, Matthew McNulty, Andrew Knott, James Murray and Charley Webb complete the cast. It airs on Sunday and Monday nights for three weeks, but the whole series is on ITVX now if you’d rather binge it.
2. This City Is Ours, Series 2 – BBC One and BBC iPlayer
When to watch: Starts Sunday 25 October, 9pm. Full box set on iPlayer from launch
The BBC’s biggest new drama of 2025 is back, and it arrives with two major additions to the cast. Endeavour star Shaun Evans joins as Ozzie Thompson, an old-school gangster from Ronnie’s era who has just been released from prison and wants what he believes the firm owes him. Money Heist’s Álvaro Morte plays Felipe Guzman, a Colombian cartel boss and the younger brother of Ricardo.
The eight-part series picks up after the explosive finale of series one. Michael (James Nelson-Joyce) and Diana (Hannah Onslow) are pulled back from Spain to answer questions about Ricardo’s death, while tensions rise within the Liverpool gang. With every episode on iPlayer from day one, this is the box set to binge next week. A third series has already been commissioned.
3. The One About Matthew Perry – Netflix
When to watch: Tuesday 27 October
Netflix’s three-part documentary series looks back at the life, career and legacy of Matthew Perry, the actor who became one of the most loved faces on television as Chandler Bing in Friends. Featuring interviews with his family and friends, the series charts his rise to fame alongside his very public struggle with addiction. It’s likely to be one of the most talked-about streaming documentaries of the autumn.
4. Celebrity Race Across the World, Series 4 – BBC One and BBC iPlayer
When to watch: Wednesday 28 October, 8pm (six episodes, weekly)
The BBC’s travel race returns with four new celebrity pairs, and this time the route runs 7,500km from Kuching in Malaysia to Melbourne in Australia. As always, there are no flights and no smartphones, and every team must stay within a fixed budget.
The line-up is a strong one: singer Ella Eyre with her childhood friend Nana, Soccer Saturday legend Jeff Stelling with his son Matt, siblings Princess and Junior Andre, and Eurovision star Sam Ryder with his best friend Kaz. Expect overnight buses, wrong turns and plenty of emotional moments as the series runs weekly until early December.
5. The Madame Blanc Mysteries, Series 5 – Channel 5
When to watch: Thursday 29 October, 9.05pm (seven episodes)
Channel 5’s cosy crime comedy-drama is back for a fifth series. Created and written by Sally Lindsay and Sue Vincent, the show stars Lindsay as Jean White, an antiques expert who solves murders in the French village of Sainte Victoire. This series was filmed in Gozo and Malta.
Regulars Steve Edge, Sue Vincent, Robin Askwith, Sue Holderness and Paul Chuckle all return. They’re joined by a long list of guest stars, including comedians Jason Manford, Zoe Lyons and Justin Moorhouse, Lesley Joseph, Su Pollard, Bonnie Langford, Louisa Lytton and Brian Capron. Comforting, funny and full of sunshine, it’s ideal viewing for the darker evenings.
6. Dexter: Resurrection, Season 2 – Paramount+
When to watch: Friday 30 October, weekly episodes through December
Michael C. Hall returns as television’s most famous serial killer in the second season of Dexter: Resurrection. This time Dexter is caught between two very different killers. Dan Stevens (Downton Abbey) plays Lucas Stark, the Five Borough Killer, who is terrorising New York with a murder in each borough. Gabriel Luna plays the Sleep-Eyed Strangler.
Showrunner Clyde Phillips describes the season as Dexter’s mid-life crisis: the attention the Five Borough Killer is getting starts to get under his skin. Meanwhile, Dexter’s son Harrison (Jack Alcott) continues his own pursuit of justice. Uma Thurman, James Remar and Desmond Harrington also return, and Krysten Ritter makes a comeback.
7. Beat Luke Littler – Netflix (live)
When to watch: Friday 30 October
Netflix is moving into live British sport with Beat Luke Littler, a one-off darts special hosted by Gary Lineker, with Richard Osman providing analysis and live statistics. Twenty amateur players, chosen from open qualifying heats in Manchester and London, each get a single leg against the world number one darts player. A prize of £501,000 is up for grabs. Osman has already calculated that Littler has an 85 per cent chance of giving that money away, which only adds to the drama.
8. YAGA – Sky Atlantic and NOW
When to watch: Saturday 31 October
Sky has saved its spookiest new series for Halloween night. YAGA is an eight-part mystery thriller, with episodes of around 30 minutes, that reimagines the Slavic folklore figure Baba Yaga. Schitt’s Creek star Noah Reid plays Rapp, a private investigator who travels to a small coastal town to look into the disappearance of Henry Park (Hudson Williams), the heir to a powerful fishing business.
Rapp soon clashes with local detective Carson (Clark Backo) and is drawn into a web of suspects, secret lives and ancient magic. At the centre of it all is a charismatic university professor played by The Matrix’s Carrie-Anne Moss. Creator Kat Sandler has adapted the series from her own award-winning stage play. It streams on NOW from the same day.
More new streaming shows on Netflix UK
Netflix has a busy week beyond the Matthew Perry documentary and the Luke Littler special. These are the other new series worth knowing about:
- A Couple of Lies (Friday 30 October): a four-part Swedish psychological thriller in which two couples swap homes between Stockholm and Sicily, leading to surveillance, betrayal and mistrust.
- Dead-End Job (Friday 30 October): a Korean thriller about a man in debt who takes a well-paid part-time job and is drawn into supernatural workplaces that hide a dangerous corporate conspiracy.
- Minimum Wage (Monday 26 October): a comedy about teenagers juggling school with part-time shifts at a local pizzeria.
- How to Ruin Diwali: Meet the Parents (Friday 30 October): a South African comedy in which a perfectionist trying to impress her fiancé’s Indian family accidentally exposes his father’s affair just before Diwali.
What else is on Prime Video, Disney+ and Channel 4?
Prime Video, Disney+ and Channel 4 have no major new series starting next week, but there is still plenty on their schedules:
- Prime Video: the Halloween edition of Last One Laughing continues, with a new episode on Friday 30 October. If you’re planning ahead, The Greatest, Prime Video’s drama series about Muhammad Ali, arrives on Wednesday 4 November.
- Disney+: new episodes of Marvel’s VisionQuest arrive on Wednesday 28 October, alongside new episodes of the family favourite Marvel’s Spidey and his Amazing Friends on Friday 30 October.
- Channel 4: The Great British Bake Off continues on Tuesday nights at 8pm as the remaining bakers move closer to the final.
TV and streaming guide: next week at a glance
- Sunday 25 October: Adultery (ITV1, all episodes on ITVX) and This City Is Ours series 2 (BBC One, all episodes on iPlayer)
- Monday 26 October: Adultery episode 2 (ITV1); Minimum Wage (Netflix)
- Tuesday 27 October: The One About Matthew Perry (Netflix); The Great British Bake Off (Channel 4)
- Wednesday 28 October: Celebrity Race Across the World (BBC One); VisionQuest (Disney+)
- Thursday 29 October: The Madame Blanc Mysteries series 5 (Channel 5)
- Friday 30 October: Dexter: Resurrection season 2 (Paramount+); Beat Luke Littler and A Couple of Lies (Netflix)
- Saturday 31 October: YAGA (Sky Atlantic and NOW)
Frequently asked questions
What is the best new TV show to watch next week?
For drama fans, ITV’s Adultery and the BBC’s This City Is Ours are the standout picks, and both can be binged in full on ITVX and BBC iPlayer. For something lighter, try Celebrity Race Across the World on BBC One or The Madame Blanc Mysteries on Channel 5.
Which streaming service has the most new shows next week?
Netflix has the most new releases, including The One About Matthew Perry, the live Beat Luke Littler special and the Swedish thriller A Couple of Lies. Paramount+ has the biggest returning series with Dexter: Resurrection, and NOW has Sky’s Halloween thriller YAGA.
Can I watch these shows for free?
Shows on the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 are free to watch live and on their catch-up services (BBC iPlayer, ITVX, Channel 4 streaming and My5), although you need a TV licence to watch live TV or use BBC iPlayer. Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, Paramount+ and NOW need a subscription.
Final thoughts
This is one of the strongest weeks for TV and streaming this autumn, with two big binge-worthy dramas on free-to-air TV, a Dexter return, a live darts event on Netflix and a folklore thriller for Halloween. Bookmark our weekly TV and streaming guide and check back every weekend for the best new shows on UK TV and streaming services.
