Upcoming TV shows for your first term

When uni starts, it’s often the case that your first priority isn’t on TV. But who knows what you could be missing? Fortunately, Dan Furn has provided a rundown of those must-watch shows in the first few months here at Warwick.

The Walking Dead – Season 8 (October 23)

After a fan backlash and falling ratings during the last season, let’s hope the uber-popular zombie drama can return to its former glory when it returns this autumn. With the show looking to adapt the popular ‘All Out War’ storyline in from the comic there’s certainly a good chance the show will pick up the pace after the rather sluggish season 7. A rather tense and action-packed comic-con trailer certainly suggests this – featuring Maggie taking command, Morgan fighting in fully-fledged body armour and no shortage of walkers and explosions, there’s every chance that this is the show’s explosive redemption. With rumours abounding that we’ll see the backstory of big baddie Negan, as well as a curious shot of a much older Rick using a cane, here’s hoping this season is a gamechanger.

Stranger Things – Season 2 (October 27)

Last summer’s breakout streaming hit returns just in time to binge before Halloween. A particularly brilliant comic-con trailer promised more upside-down, bigger monsters, of course 80s references galore – Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller,’ Reagan’s Presidential campaign and Ghostbuster costumes continue the show’s love of pop culture references even as the show looks to move into increasingly darker territory. The end stinger also teased the return of breakout star Millie Bobbie Brown returning as Eleven following her sacrifice last year – all things considered, this could be even better than the excellent first season and easily one of the biggest TV highlights of 2017.

The Punisher (November)

After Iron Fist and this summer’s The Defenders comes Netflix’s third Marvel series this year in the form of The Punisher. Details are scarce on the spin-off other than the return of Jon Bernthal in the title role after his excellent turn in Daredevil last year, as well as unlikely friend Karen Page played by Deborah Ann Wool, with Ben Barnes reportedly playing the villain. Given the positive reaction to Netflix’s Marvel series so far (well mostly – sorry Iron Fist) we can expect more grounded superheroics and in-depth character study of both hero and villain, in a series that will likely be as hauntingly tragic as it is violent.

The Grand Tour – Season 2 (Late 2017)

Easily the main reason to get an Amazon Prime subscription (especially with the Amazon Student discount), Jezza, the Hamster and Captain Slow return in the second season of their reported £160million deal with Amazon. Going by last season we can expect the high budget motoring segments/childish antics to continue, with their tent continuing to change country every episode and celebrities dying en route to play ‘Celebrity Brain Crash’. After several widely publicised reports of on-set accidents let’s hope this doesn’t delay the release date too much, and more importantly that the three hosts will still be in one piece ready for season 3 next year!