Autumn 2019: The 30 best films, TV shows, books, exhibitions and music events

CINEMA

The Irishman

Martin Scorsese's Netflix-financed epic mob movie comes trailing five-star reviews, but then so did The Departed and The Wolf of Wall Street and even Silence, and none of them were a patch on the films the director made in the 1970s and 1980s. Still, you can't help but be excited about the prospect of Scorsese teaming up once more with Robert De Niro, Harvey Keitel and Joe Pesci. Add Al Pacino to the mix (the first time he's ever worked with Scorsese) and anticipation goes up another notch.

The Irishman has a limited cinema release on November 8 and is then available on Netflix from November 27

Charlie's Angels

Yes, yet another reboot of a slightly naff seventies TV show. But it's been almost 20 years since the Drew Barrymore/Cameron Diaz/Lucy Liu take on the franchise. Now the reins have been handed onto Naomi Scott, Ella Balinska and Kristen Scott, the latter returning to the world of Hollywood blockbuster following an intriguing detour into arthouse cinema in recent years. Elizabeth Banks writes, directs and turns up as Bosley.

Charlies's Angels opens on November 29

Frozen 2

Brace yourself for a slew of catchy earworms in the vein of Disney ditty Let It Go, as Anna, Elsa, Kristoff, Olaf and Sven leave Arendelle to travel to an ancient, autumn-bound forest.

Frozen 2 opens on November 22

Terminator: Dark Fate

With Linda Hamilton returning as Sarah Connor, Arnold Schwarzenegger's original T-800 Terminator back in action and James Cameron's involvement for the first time since 1991's Judgement Day, Dark Fate sounds – certainly on paper – like a tantalising prospect.

Terminator: Dark Fate opens on October 23

Knives Out

Director Rian Johnson may now be best known for his work in the Star Wars universe, but he made his name with his noirish murder mystery Brick and now he has indulged his love of Agatha Christie with Knives Out. Set in a trademark Gothic house, Johnson's whodunnit brings together a knockout cast that includes Daniel Craig, Christopher Plummer, Toni Collette, Don Johnson, Chris Evans and Jamie Lee Curtis.

Knives Out opens November 29

Cats

With a star-studded cast that includes James Corden, Dame Judi Dench, Jason Derulo, Idris Elba, Jennifer Hudson, Sir Ian McKellen, Taylor Swift and Rebel Wilson, Cats should be an intriguing watch. Even if you are more of a dog person.

Cats opens on December 20

Little Women

Forget the latest Star Wars movie. The real cinematic gift this Christmas is Greta Gerwig's take on Louisa May Alcott's classic coming-of-age novel. A dream cast includes Saoirse Ronan, Florence Pugh, Meryl Streep, Laura Dern and Emma Watson. The film also sees Ronan team up with her Lady Bird co-star Timothee Chalamet. "I loved that in Lady Bird he was the one that broke my heart, but I got to break his heart in Little Women," the Irish actor told Vanity Fair earlier this year.

Little Women opens on December 26

TV SHOWS

Guilt

High-flying lawyer Max and record shop owner Jake accidentally run over and kill an old man on a dark road on the way home from a wedding. Mark Bonnar and Jamie Sives play the chalk-and-cheese siblings who must cover their tracks in this four-part BBC Scotland drama series. Penned by Bob Servant creator Neil Forsyth, it is deftly written with oodles of dark humour.

Guilt begins on BBC Scotland this Thursday, 10pm, and will air soon on BBC2

Spiral

Our Saturday nights are sorted thanks to a weekly double bill of the French crime drama. Since it began in 2005, Spiral's gripping storylines have covered prostitution rings, bribery scandals, gun-running, terrorism, kidnapping, torture and human trafficking. The latest instalment – series seven – is shaping up to be another cracker.

Spiral is on BBC Four, Saturdays, 9pm

Giri/Haji

Created by Humans writer Joe Barton and starring Kelly Macdonald, Giri/Haji (which translates as Duty/Shame) is an ambitious cross-continent thriller. The eight-part series follows Kenzo Mori, played by Takehiro Hira, a detective who travels from Tokyo to London in search of his missing brother as a gangland killing ignites violence across two cities.

Giri/Haji is on BBC2, Thursdays, 9pm. It will air on Netflix next year

The End of the F***ing World

The debut series of The End of the F***ing World ended on a delicious cliff-hanger with self-diagnosed psychopath James (Alex Lawther) running along a beach as a gunshot rings out. When the show returns, two years have passed and Alyssa (Jessica Barden) is still dealing with the fallout. As for James's fate – dead? prison? still running on the beach? – we can't wait to find out.

The End of the F***ing World returns to Channel 4 on November 4

ER

Ready for a marathon box set binge? Every Friday over the coming weeks, another series of medical drama ER will be added to Channel 4's on-demand service, All 4, to mark the show's 25th anniversary. So, far we're up to series six – out of 15 – which should keep those with a penchant for scrubs-wearing, blood-covered medics happily occupied. Pace yourself: there are 331 episodes.

ER is now streaming on All 4

Around the World in 80 Days

Another from the vaults: Michael Palin's seminal travelogue Around The World In 80 Days can be viewed on BBC iPlayer to celebrate the 30th anniversary. A retro throwback to simpler times.

Around The World In 80 Days is available on BBC iPlayer now

The Crown

Fans of The Crown, Netflix's riveting royal drama chronicling the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, have faced an almost two-year wait between the second and third series. As Peter Morgan's hit show returns – charting 1964 and 1976 – Olivia Colman and Tobias Menzies take over the roles of the Queen and Prince Philip with Helena Bonham Carter as Princess Margaret.

The Crown: Series 3 premieres on Netflix on November 17

The Morning Show

Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon play TV presenter rivals in this much anticipated comedy-drama. After her partner of 15 years is fired due to a sexual misconduct scandal, Alex Levy (Aniston) fights to keep her job as top newsreader amid fierce rivalry with Bradley Jackson (Witherspoon) who seeks to usurp her.

The Morning Show premieres on Apple TV+ on November 1

The Witcher

Missing Game of Thrones? Perhaps The Witcher can help fill the void. Based on the bestselling fantasy series by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski, it follows the adventures of monster hunter Geralt of Rivia who, alongside a powerful sorceress and a young princess, must navigate the perilous realms of the Continent.

The Witcher will be available on Netflix later this year

Gavin & Stacey

What's occurring? Just a festive one-off visit to Barry Island and Billericay to call in on the Shipmans and the Wests. Ruth Jones and James Corden were jobbing actors when they came up with the idea for the sitcom which first aired on BBC3 back in 2007. It remains one of the warmest and funniest representations of working-class British life TV has managed this century.

Gavin & Stacey will be shown on BBC1 on Christmas Day

MUSIC

Cher

Does this need any further explanation? We'd be happy if she came onstage and just read excerpts from the script of Moonstruck, but presumably we should expect sixties pop (I've Got You Babe), eighties AOR (I Found Someone and If I Could Turn Back Time), and nineties dancefloor bangers (Believe). Oh, and maybe a costume change or 10.

Cher plays the SSE Hydro, Glasgow, on October 28

Bjork

When it comes to playing live, Bjork doesn't do "just the hits". Take that as a warning – or a promise – for her visit to Glasgow next month. The Icelandic star has been on one of the most thrilling sonic journeys in contemporary pop over the last 20 years and her current CornuCopia tour, based around her 2017 album Utopia, promises to be just as idiosyncratic. When she played dates in New York, the show included a seven-piece flute ensemble, an Icelandic choir and costumes by Balmain's designer Olivier Rousteing.

Bjork plays the SSE Hydro, Glasgow, on November 25

FKA Twigs

Talking of proudly independent and adventurous female artists, FKA Twigs returns this autumn with a new album, her second, Magdalene. She trailed it earlier this year with a single Cellophane, all needy intensity, minimalist soundbed and an accompanying video in which she shows off her pole-dancing skills amidst much mud-caked weirdness. It bodes well for the album.

Magdalene is released on Friday

The Twilight Sad

No excuses needed to see the Sad live. The Kilsyth outfit remain one of Scotland's most compelling musical pleasures. If you need reminding, give Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters a listen.

The Twilight Sad play the Usher Hall, Edinburgh, on November 30

ART

Alan Davie

Who is the greatest Scottish artist of the 20th century? Craigie Aitchison? Joan Eardley? John Bellany? Alison Watt? All decent shouts, but we want to make the case for Grangemouth's Alan Davie. Davie loved jazz (he was also a musician) and E-type Jags and his symbolist paintings show a similar zest for life. A Davie canvas is all wild electric energy and pulsing colour. His first ever solo show was in Wakefield, an exhibition attended by a young David Hockney. This autumn the Hepworth Wakefield is staging a special joint exhibition of both Davie and Hockney's early work, looking at the parallels between the two artists.

Alan Davie & David Hockney: Early Works is at Hepworth Wakefield until January 19

Tim Walker

For anyone heading to London this autumn, there is the usual wealth of artistic highlights on offer, from Lucian Freud's self-portraits at the Royal Academy (opening October 27), to a Gauguin exhibition at the National Gallery. But your first port of call should be the V&A where fashion photographer Tim Walker's new show is as much installation as exhibition. Walker's work combines couture with creatures, fashion with fairy tales. As a photographer he is one of a kind and his work is a mad joy.

Tim Walker: Wonderful Things is at the V&A in London until March 8

BOOKS

Sarah Hall

Reading Sarah Hall's fiction is a full-body experience. The Cumbrian writer, who earned an MLitt at St Andrews, is an intensely tactile, sensuous author; her words engage all five senses. Sudden Traveller is her third collection of short stories and promises to take the reader from the north-west of England to Turkish forests, via fairy tale, science fiction and feminist thinking.

Sudden Traveller by Sarah Hall is published by Faber & Faber on November 7, priced £12.99

John Lewis-Stempel

The Private Life of the Hare sees farmer and author John Lewis-Stempel explore the myths, history and, even in an age when television cameras have revealed so much in our landscape, what remains a largely secret existence for this elusive creature.

The Private Life of the Hare by John Lewis-Stempel is out now, published by Doubleday, priced £9.99

Lee Child

Another year, another Jack Reacher thriller. Are there any more reliable pleasures than the annual new Lee Child novel? The latest, Blue Moon, takes in Greyhound buses and gang warfare.

Blue Moon by Lee Child is published by Bantam Press on October 29, priced £20

Mary Gaitskill

Mary Gaitskill has spent a literary lifetime patrolling the edge of acceptable behaviour within relationships and her latest, This is Pleasure, sounds as compelling and troubling as any of her previous fictions. This short novella is Gaitskill's contribution to the #MeToo debate.

This is Pleasure by Mary Gaitskill is published by Serpent's Tail on November 7, priced £7.99

Sophie Kinsella

We reckon it is never too early to start thinking about your festive reading. How else do you keep creeping thoughts of existential dread at bay? This Yuletide-themed instalment of Sophie Kinsella's bestselling Shopaholic series is as joyously laugh-out-loud funny as ever.

Christmas Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella is out now, published by Bantam Press, priced £20

Elizabeth Strout

Elizabeth Strout's acerbic, quick-witted and enduringly stoic anti-heroine Olive Kitteridge returns, now older, but still navigating the ever-shifting sands of life.

Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout is published by Viking on October 31, priced £14.99

Prince

Before Prince died in 2016, aged 57, he had been working with writer Dan Piepenbring on a memoir, the pair embarking upon a brief yet profound collaboration in the star's final days. This is the story of how Prince became Prince, charting his childhood, evolution as an artist and remarkable journey of self-creation as the greatest pop star of his era.

Prince: The Beautiful Ones is published by Century on October 29, priced £25