The Beeb has unveiled its slate of shows to debut in September and beyond. Here is our ranking of the most exciting

Over the weekend, BBC One revealed its entire autumn drama slate. In a 90-second trailer filled with all manner of gunfights, car crashes and lazy-lidded, moody glances, 15 shows were unveiled at once. But which should you be most excited about? Here’s a ranking.

15. Les Misérables

The good news is that Les Misérables has an incredible cast (Dominic West, David Oyelowo, Lily Collins and Olivia Colman). The better news is that it won’t be a musical. But the bad news? First, it’s yet another Andrew Davies adaptation. Second, it’s sodding Les Misérables. As popular as this will be, you’ll absolutely be able to live without it.

14. The ABC Murders

Pretty much all of the above goes for The ABC Murders. There’s a big star headlining – John Malkovich will be playing Hercule Poirot – but the thought of yet another Agatha Christie adaptation is enough to make you seize up with total boredom. It’s worth pointing out that this is not a musical either. Which is a shame, because at least if we got to see Malkovich belt out a jaunty number called Let’s All Go to Bexhill in a dodgy European accent, we would have something to talk about.

13. Luther

Hey, guess what? Luther’s back! What’s that? You thought the last series of Luther was the final series? And the series before that? No way, buddy. In the new series, Idris Elba will rub his face and overuse everyone’s name a lot. And we will only watch because there’s a chance Ruth Wilson will return, even though she won’t because she never does. I never thought I’d say this, but Luther might be outstaying its welcome.

12. Press

Even though the only people who care about television shows about newspapers are the four remaining people in the country who still work for newspapers, Press is a television show about newspapers. It’s written by Doctor Foster’s Mike Bartlett, which possibly means it will start gripping, get silly and then end in a daft manner. Still, even if it’s bad, at least it will give journalists something to tweet about, so that’s something.



11. The Cry

Jenna Coleman and Ewen Leslie star in an adaptation of Helen FitzGerald’s 2013 novel. Which is all well and good, except The Cry is about a missing baby. Coming in a year that’s already filled to the absolute gills with dramas about abduction, The Cry will have to go to enormous lengths if it plans to break any new ground.



10. Informer

Informer is a contemporary drama about a counter-terrorism officer who forces a young second-generation Pakistani man to become, you guessed it, an informer. Informer is written by new writers Rory Haines and Sohrab Noshirvani, which is exciting, and stars Paddy Considine, which is very exciting. Of all the shows announced on Sunday, this is the one we know least about. Don’t come running to me if it’s bad, basically.



Facebook Twitter Pinterest History that people like to pretend didn’t happen: The Long Song. Photograph: Carlos Rodriguez/PA

9. The Long Song

A three-part adaptation of Andrea Levy’s epic novel, this has all the marking of An Important Work About Slavery. Set in Jamaica in 1838, it’s told from the perspective of a woman who lived through the end of slavery. The Long Song has the potential to delve deep into an era of British history that people like to pretend didn’t happen. The book was one of the best of 2010, so fingers crossed the series follows suit.

8. Mrs Wilson

In which Ruth Wilson stars as Ruth Wilson’s grandmother. If that sounds mundane, it’s worth pointing out that Ruth Wilson’s grandmother was unknowingly married to a spy who kept an entire secret second family from her. It’s an incredible story on its own, but seeing Wilson play her own relative – with all the inter-familial strife that it’s bound to cause – is what will push this over the edge.

7. Wanderlust

Thanks to the low-level Oscar buzz surrounding her performance in Hereditary, Toni Collette is having something of a year. There’s a good chance that Wanderlust will further cement it, too. Written by playwright Nick Payne, Wanderlust is an exploration of relationships, lust and monogamy that’s already been described as “authentic and revolutionary”. It has the potential to be really quite special.



6. War of the Worlds

It says a lot about the BBC’s drama slate that this would have topped the list in any other year. This will be a faithful (period) adaptation of HG Wells’s classic sci-fi. It will star Rafe Spall, Eleanor Tomlinson and Robert Carlyle, and what’s promised to be a fleet of genuinely scary aliens. Even if War of the Worlds ends up tipping over into unintentional silliness, it’s still bound to be an entertaining watch. If it’s even half as scary as The Tripods, it might be time to invest in rubber underpants.

5. Bodyguard

Two words: Jed Mercurio. Mercurio’s Line of Duty was a work of such ridiculous tension that you could easily binge yourself to death on it. Bodyguard is Mercurio’s story about a war veteran (Richard Madden) tasked with protecting a home secretary (Keeley Hawes) he appears to fundamentally disagree with. That’s about all anyone knows, although, if Mercurio stays true to form, you won’t so much watch this as hyperventilate into a paper bag while it’s on in the background.

4. Gentleman Jack

Another two words: Sally Wainwright. Everything Wainwright touches is magnificent, and she’s working from some remarkable source material here, so expectation couldn’t be higher. Gentleman Jack tells the story of Anne Lister, a 19th-century Yorkshire land owner and mountaineer who wrote a 4m-word diary and suffered endless harassment for her sexuality. Lister’s Wikipedia page alone is a ridiculously fun romp, so in Wainwright’s hands – and with Suranne Jones playing the lead – this will almost definitely be one of this year’s best.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Killing Eve has just netted Sandra Oh (right) an Emmy nomination. Photograph: BBC America/AP

3. Killing Eve

Killing Eve you already know about. It’s Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s dramatic follow-up to Fleabag that has just netted Sandra Oh an Emmy nomination. It’s an unconventional cat-and-mouse thriller that, for a time, had a perfect Rotten Tomatoes rating. This would be higher on the list, except it’s been out in the US for ages and anyone who really wanted to see it would have found it by other means by now.

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2. Doctor Who

Yes, Doctor Who is still Doctor Who; a decades-old childrens’ programme about a time-travelling professor. Yes, for every good episode ever made, there has been a dozen objective duffers. But, even with all that taken into consideration, there still won’t be a scripted drama this year that gets nearly as much attention. Not only is there a new showrunner in Chris Chibnall, but there’s a new Doctor this year. And she’s a woman. So far, Jodie Whittaker has been the perfect Doctor; but that’s only because all she has had to do so far is wear a nice coat and smile enigmatically. Doctor Who won’t be perfect – it never is – but its overhaul is exciting nonetheless.

1. The Little Drummer Girl

For the most part, The Little Drummer Girl seems perfectly formulaic. It’s a stately John le Carré adaptation that stars all manner of respected B-list actors that very transparently hopes to mop up some of The Night Manager’s residue. However, it’s being directed by Park Chan-wook. Singlehandedly directed by Park Chan-wook. It’s his television debut and his bold, provocative, gorgeous sensibility is what will make this one of the most highly anticipated programmes of the year. It might not be a masterpiece – Park has had his fair share of misfires, and not all movie directors cope well with television – but it’s going to be absolutely unmissable. Try to stop me watching this and I’ll fight you.