After a prolonged dry spell, get ready for a deluge of entertainment coming your way in the next few months. Great news. But still, it’s a lot. So here are our predictions for the key TV shows, books, exhibitions, films, music and (weird, slightly stressful-sounding) immersive experiences to look out for. Brollies up!
Even in a normal year, autumn is a fruitful season for culture. Anticipating the more indoorsy, sedentary habits that kick in as the evenings cool, it’s a time for big books, prestige TV series and lofty movies with statuettes in their sights. But this year? Following more than two years of interrupted filming schedules, cancelled events and experimental Zoom plays (never again!), we are in for something different. After the dearth and the difficulties, prepare for a glut. Prepare, in fact, for a cultural superbloom.
There will be an embarrassment of literary fiction: Ian McEwan, George Saunders and Cormac McCarthy will all have new books (in McCarthy’s case, two!). There will be a bounty of intriguing films from singular directors: George Miller, Lena Dunham and Jordan Peele, whose new horror, Nope, is out as this issue hits the shelves. There’ll be a host of TV shows, from Sharon Horgan’s new comedy-drama, Bad Sisters, and *reads through fingers* Ryan Murphy’s new Jeffrey Dahmer drama, Monster, to returning biggies: The Crown, Gangs of London and Cobra Kai (you know you love it). Plus, a little show you may or may not have heard of about dragons (turn to the front cover for a clue).
Most of which we won’t cover in the next few pages, because that’s not even the half of it. We’re not going to give you a comprehensive overview — there are websites staffed by data inputters with the work-life balance of a veal calf for that — but, rather, a heads-up of some of the people and projects we think will be of particular interest. Consider it a selection of friendly tip-offs to fall back on if the onslaught of culture coming your way gets too much. But for now, strike hard. Strike fast. No mercy.
ARE YOU READY FOR THE ‘ASTRAVERSE’?
Unless you’ve been reading this magazine back to front, you’ll know about House of the Dragon by now. The Game of Thrones prequel might be the most eagerly anticipated, but it is by no means the only fantasy or sci-fi mega-project on the way. In fact, such is the barrage of fantasy and sci-fi titles, this autumn’s release slate looks like the cavalry charge at the end of The Return of the King.
Deep breath: there’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever; yet another Star Wars spin-off in Andor with Diego Luna; Warwick Davis returning for a sequel series of sorcery-and-wigs epic Willow; there’s Hindi-language Brahmāstra Part One:
Shiva, which will launch a brand-new cinematic universe, the “Astraverse”; the third and final series of
