5 TV shows to watch in October, from ITV's ‘scandalous’ Adultery to unmissable Nocturne

Shelley Conn as Hannah and Dominic Cooper as Tom in Adultery, and Zazie Beetz, Stephen Graham and Liev Schreiber in Nocturne — (Image credit: ITV/Poison Pen Studios/Apple TV)

No sooner have I given out top tier recommendations for what to watch in September, it's time to move on to October.

And the summer TV drought is finally over, with the October schedule absolutely stacked with a great selection of dramas, thrillers, and reality shows.

But if you want to save yourself some time, I've picked out the absolute cream of the October TV crop, and found the top five shows definitely worth staying in for this month.

The top 5 TV shows to watch in October

The Celebrity Traitors

When is it on TV? The first episode airs on Thursday, October 1, at 8:00pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer, with episode 2 following at the same time on Friday, October 2. The 10-episode series will then air twice a week, every Thursday and Friday.

I'm not a huge fan of reality TV or celebrity spin-offs of anything really, but when it comes to The Traitors and any of its iterations, I simply refuse to miss an episode.

They really broke the mould with this utterly addictive reality series, and the first win was deciding to have the inimitable Claudia Winkleman at the helm.

Clearly, the country is in agreement with me that this is one of the shows to be tuning into - the whopping viewing figures and sheer calibre of celebrities queuing up to take part is testament to its popularity.

There'd better be more moments like Celia Imrie's fart-gate this year - and if I burst into unexpected sobs like I did when Alan Carr was announced as last year's winner this time around, then the show has done its job.

Kill Jackie

When is it on TV? All eight episodes of the series will be available on Prime Video on 2 October 2026.

Catherine Zeta-Jones is always a very watchable presence on TV, and for Kill Jackie, was delighted to not only return to film in her hometown of Swansea, but to finally get to act using her own accent.

Some filming also took place in Spain for this series that's giving serious Ride or Die vibes (a Hannah Waddingham-led brilliant show that should have absolutely not been cancelled.)

Catherine stars as Jackie Price, a fine art dealer living a luxury life travelling the world. She's also hiding from her former life as an international drug smuggler - as you do.

Everything changes when she finds out The Seven Demons, a pack of terrifying hitmen from her murky days, have been hired to kill her.

Not one to stand around doing nothing, Jackie heads off an a wild and dangerous mission to take out The Demons one by one before they kill her.

Expect ruthless killers, dramatic deaths, buried secrets and a whole lot of suspending your belief - this one is more for escapism than anything else.

Last One Laughing: Halloween

When is it on TV? The Last One Laughing: Halloween special will air the first three episodes on 23 October with the final airing on 30 October on Prime Video.

This is another to add to the list of shows that've really made me reconsider my stance on reality TV. I put off watching it despite everyone in the office talking about it, not thinking it would be for me. It's definitely for me.

Again, it seems to be another show that like The Celebrity Traitors, has become another sort of cultural phenomenon that keeps the nation tuning in, and draws in a brilliant calibre of contestants.

For the Halloween special, seven comedians take on the extra gruelling challenge of not laughing, but also not screaming...

The line-up includes Jack Dee, Phil Wang, Reece Shearsmith, Harriet Dyer, Tom Allen and familiar faces from season 1, Lou Sanders and Daisy May Cooper.

Nocturne

When is it on TV? The first two episodes air on Apple TV on October 30, followed by new episodes every Friday.

I could probably sum this one up in two words: Stephen. Graham.

Not only did he scoop up awards left, right and centre for Adolescence, but absolutely everything Stephen Graham has ever done turns to gold, and Nocturne is sure to be no exception.

There's also Liev Schreiber and Zazie Beetz, so an absolute stellar cast. The 10-episode show is based on the internationally bestselling crime novels The Sandman and Lazarus, by the Swedish author duo Lars Kepler (the pen name of married writers Alexandra Coelho Ahndoril and Alexander.)

Stephen Graham is a "diabolically cunning" serial killer named Jurek Walter, while Liev Schreiber is Jonah, an ex-soldier turned homicide detective.

Tired of working the tough streets of Philadelphia, Jonah moves to a small town in western Pennsylvania for a quiet life, until the town and his family come under attack from Jurek.

When the desperate search for Jurek’s last missing victim gets underway, Jonah is forced to send his surrogate daughter, FBI Agent Saga Bauer (Zazie Beetz), up against formidable foe Jurek. Audiences will be left wondering how far the deadly killer will go...

Adultery

When is it on TV? ITV haven't given a release date yet, but it's definitely going to be sometime in October - I'll update this when it's confirmed.

Described as "scandalous" and "provocative," this one also has a brilliant cast with Dominic Cooper, Romola Garai, Matthew McNulty and Shelley Conn in the lead roles.

Tom (Dominic Cooper) is married to Hannah (Shelley Conn.) When their 15-year-old daughter Jess starts dating her schoolmate Ollie, meeting Ollie's parents Beth (Romola Garai) and Neil (Matthew McNulty,) changes Tom and Hannah's lives and kicks off the main storyline.

The synopsis reads, "When Tom meets Ollie’s Mum Beth in the most unexpected of circumstances, the two families’ lives are potentially turned upside down forever. Will Tom and Beth be able to control their desires unlike their lovestruck teenagers?"

From the title of the show, it looks like the answer is most definitely going to be no, they can't. This is definitely going to be edge of your seat, it-will-never-end-well drama.

Lucy is a multi-award nominated writer and blogger with seven years’ experience writing about entertainment, parenting and family life. Lucy worked as a freelance writer and journalist at the likes of PS and moms.com, before joining GoodtoKnow as an entertainment writer, and then as news editor. The pull to return to the world of television was strong, and she was delighted to take a position at woman&home to once again watch the best shows out there, and tell you why you should watch them too.