This post was updated Oct. 14 at 9:04 p.m.

Football isn’t the only thing to watch on television right now – the following lineup is poised to dominate this autumn season as well.

Fall is the perfect time to curl up with new series and a pumpkin-spiced drink. From chilling dramas to highly anticipated series returns and medical comedies, viewers will have plenty of shows to keep them company this autumn.

“The Diplomat” (Netflix)

With fans at the edges of their seats, the new season of “The Diplomat” can’t come soon enough.

The thrilling political drama starring Keri Russell and Rufus Sewell finished its second season on a shockingly pivotal cliffhanger, and on Oct. 16, the Netflix series will return in full force. Russell’s character, Kate Wyler – a career diplomat stationed with her rogue husband in London’s tumultuous political climate – must adjust to her high-profile position while fighting to keep her marriage and career intact. The series, which was nominated for three 2025 Primetime Emmy Awards and seven Critics Choice Awards in the past two years, excels in its wit, explosiveness and consistently jaw-dropping plot points. Season three of “The Diplomat” is expected to follow suit.

A trailer released in late September features the protagonists, as well as familiar faces David Gyasi, Ali Ahn, Ato Essandoh and Allison Janney as crucial side characters. With the American government facing internal collapse in this upcoming season, viewers are ready to see what obstacles are thrown at Wyler, who offers an especially ominous line in the trailer, saying, “A terribly flawed woman is now the president … and only we know just how flawed.” Climactic, complicated and disastrously current, “The Diplomat” will return to TV screens in no time.

This autumn, leaves may fall, but Ambassador Wyler is determined to keep her government from doing the same.

– Eleanor Meyers

[Related: ‘The Studio’ wins record-breaking total of 13 awards at 77th Primetime Emmy Awards]

“Nobody Wants This” (Netflix)

When “Nobody Wants This” is on, everybody wants to keep watching.

The Netflix comedy series will return for its sophomore season Oct. 23 with the next chapter in the romance between agnostic sex podcaster Joanne (Kristen Bell) and rabbi Noah (Adam Brody). The program’s debut season earned three Primetime Emmy Award nominations – including a nod for Outstanding Comedy Series – and was the most-watched original streaming show on any platform in October 2024. Now, creator Erin Foster and executive producer Sara Foster are taking audiences deeper into Joanne and Noah’s budding relationship.

At the conclusion of its first season, “Nobody Wants This” saw the couple committing to romance despite the pervasive hurdle of Joanne not being Jewish. The show’s new set of episodes will allow Bell and Brody to explore their characters’ conflicted emotions while interacting with supporting actors Justine Lupe and Timothy Simons, who appear as Joanne’s sister Morgan and Noah’s brother Sasha, respectively. The second season will also be strengthened by the additions of actors such as Miles Fowler, Alex Karpovsky and Arian Moayed, plus Brody’s off-screen wife Leighton Meester, who will make an appearance as a former middle school enemy of Bell’s character.

If the laughter and sweetness of its first season were any indication, “Nobody Wants This” will bring a heartwarming charm to many television fans this fall.

– Reid Sperisen

“St. Denis Medical” (NBC and Peacock)

This fall, “St. Denis Medical” will specialize in the funny bone.

A year after its series premiere, the workplace comedy is returning to NBC and Peacock for a second season Nov. 3. Set in an underfunded Oregon hospital, the sitcom follows St. Denis’ eccentric, well-intentioned team of nurses and doctors as they navigate the chaos of their professions and interpersonal relationships. Helmed by Wendi McLendon-Covey, who plays the hospital’s executive director Joyce, the show’s ensemble cast features comedians and television greats such as David Alan Grier, Allison Tolman and Mekki Leeper.

The program’s sophomore season will focus on Joyce’s struggle to allocate the funds St. Denis received in a sizable donation at the end of season one. While few plot specifics have been revealed, several exciting guest stars are slated to debut, including Jeremiah Brown – made famous on this summer’s season of “Love Island USA” – and “Vanderpump Rules” star Ariana Madix. Under the eye of co-creator Justin Spitzer, who has worked on other iconic sitcoms such as “Superstore” and “The Office,” “St. Denis Medical” is sure to thrive with a healthy mix of laughter and heart.

Viewers looking for their next feel-good show might find that “St. Denis Medical” is the perfect prescription.

– Victoria Munck

[Related: Theater review: ‘West Side Story’ hits right notes as timeless tragedy with contemporary topics]

“The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” (Hulu and Disney+)

Dirty sodas and scandals are bubbling over with the return of “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.”

“MomTok’s” survival will be tested as the third season of “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” begins streaming on Hulu on Nov. 13. The hit reality show has garnered millions of views – taking the 2024 most-watched unscripted reality TV premiere spot on Hulu as well as a 2025 Emmy nomination for Outstanding Unstructured Reality Program. The show began following the lives of Mormon mothers on TikTok, following the 2022 swinging scandal. Producer Jeff Jenkins has touched on the niche aspect of the series as it has comedy, drama and authenticity while still reflecting how these women are modern members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Following a shocking cliffhanger that left viewers turning to mass speculation, the truth will soon unfold and this season will dig deeper into the personal lives of these women. The trailer teased intense personal moments, friendship dissolutions and surprising revelations that will bring to light what the cameras didn’t initially catch. Since the second season’s premiere in May, the MomTok members have been teasing fans with glimpses of their current lives, while remaining tight-lipped about questions that fans want answered about this past season. Currently, the dramatic state of MomTok has left fans wanting more information about their pasts and the future of the group.

With their return to the TV screen, viewers are hoping to get their answers about the secrets hidden in the book of MomTok.

– Makayla Sandoval

“Percy Jackson and the Olympians” (Disney+)

Once again, Percy Jackson is taking on the typical teenage activity: a cruise to the Bermuda Triangle.

After earning the title of Disney+’s most-watched show in 2024, “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” is returning for a second season Dec. 10. Based on Rick Riordan’s book series of the same name, the upcoming release will continue the book-per-season trend established in the previous installment. With Riordan’s heavy involvement in the show’s production, the upcoming season is expected to be an accurate adaptation of the series’ second novel, “The Sea of Monsters.”

The show’s first season followed Percy Jackson’s (Walker Scobell) introduction to the world of Greek mythology, as he discovers he is Poseidon’s son. Beginning his demigod life with a quest to find Zeus’ stolen master bolt, Scobell’s character simultaneously took on the search for his mother, who disappeared after taking Jackson to the demigod haven, Camp Half-Blood. After a one-year time jump, Jackson and his friends – Annabeth Chase (Leah Sava Jeffries) and Grover Underwood (Aryan Simhadri) – are immediately thrown into the quest for another lost magical object: the Golden Fleece. With the camp’s safety dependent on this artifact, the new season will address the threat made by Titan god Kronos at the end of season one. Embarking on a quest to the Bermuda Triangle, “The Sea of Monsters” season will introduce Jackson’s half-brother, Tyson (Daniel Diemer), and Zeus’ daughter, Thalia Grace (Tamara Smart).

For a second time, “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” is bringing summer camp to the holiday season.

– Ana Camila Burquez