WHAT’S ON TV TONIGHT: REBUS, 99, THE BIG CIGAR AND MORE
Friday 17 May
Rebus
BBC Scotland, 10pm
With all six parts box-setted on iPlayer and episode one airing on BBC One tomorrow night, Gregory Burke’s take on Ian Rankin’s titular Detective Inspector (played by John Hannah and Ken Stott in ITV’s adaptations) reimagines him as a more youthful Detective Sergeant, this time wearing a hoodie but still pounding the streets of Edinburgh or, more commonly, glowering over a pint in one of its many pubs.
Richard Rankin’s darkly charismatic copper is perhaps the most misanthropic incarnation to date (which is saying something), beginning the series by almost suffocating Ger Cafferty (a loathsome Stuart Bowman), the venal gangster whose actions have left Rebus’s boss in a wheelchair. From there, Rebus lays out a family member, continues an ill-advised affair, attempts to ignore his ex’s pregnancy and alienates a daughter with already mixed feelings about her father, all the while trying to investigate a brutal attack on one of Cafferty’s goons that suggests links to the military and even closer to home. Auld Reekie looks the part as always, and there is a palpable sense of a fraying society holding itself together no better than our protagonist. GT
99
Amazon Prime Video
Yet more painful reminders of recent inadequacy for Manchester United fans, this three-parter showcases many key figures – Schmeichel, Beckham, the Nevilles, Yorke, Sheringham, Giggs – as they join Alex Ferguson in reliving how the team made football history in 1999 by winning the Premier League, FA Cup, and Uefa Champions League. Only superficially revealing, but compelling nonetheless.
The Big Cigar
Apple TV+
Jim Hecht’s propulsive six-parter (airing weekly after this opening double-bill) dramatises efforts made by Black Panther leader Huey P Newton to evade FBI harassment and escape to Cuba by means of a fake movie production. Based on an article by Joshuah Bearman (who also wrote the piece that inspired Argo), it’s a blast, with André Holland an effortlessly appealing lead.
Power
Netflix
Every other week seems to bring worrying news of police overreach in the United States, and from its earliest incarnations in 18th-century “slave patrols”, the police have been regarded with fear and suspicion among some communities. Yance Ford’s ambitious film attempts to make sense of its divisive role in American life.
Unreported World
Channel 4, 7.30pm
Reporter Amelia Jenne meets those risking their lives by speaking out against the so-called “timber mafia” – Romania’s illegal loggers, taking advantage of Europe’s last virgin forests for a quick profit, often waved through by the government.
The Big Steam Adventure
Channel 5, 8pm
This charming jaunt continues, with John Sergeant, Peter Davison and Paul “Piglet” Middleton boarding a T3 through Dorset, which means stunning views of Corfe Castle, a slog up the Dorset hills, a windswept walk over Chesil Beach and too many sweets for the erstwhile Time Lord.
Hidden Treasures of the National Trust
BBC Two, 9pm; Wales, 9.30pm
Two sprawling domestic hubs of Edwardian society are the focus of tonight’s edition, with a John Singer Sargent portrait and garden stonework at the Astor family pile of Cliveden House in need of attention, and the exteriors of Surrey mansion Polesden Lacey facing major restoration.
Thelma the Unicorn (2024)
Netflix
Grammy-winning singer Brittany Howard (of Alabama Shakes) lends her voice to this bubblegum-sweet animation from directors Jared Hess and Lynn Wang. Based on Aaron Blabey’s children’s books, it follows pony Thelma as she tries to make her dreams of becoming a popstar a reality. Convinced she’s too boring, she decides to pretend to be a unicorn to bolster her chances. She’ll need her friends along the way, though. Jon Heder and Zach Galifianakis co-star.
My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 (2023) ★★
Sky Cinema Premiere, 8pm
This third instalment in the saga of the Chicago-based Portokalos family has been described as Mamma Mia! minus Abba. However, fans of the original 2002 romcom will relish the chance to revisit Nia Vardalos’s heroine and her husband (Sex and the City’s John Corbett). This time, they’re jetting off to Greece to fulfil their pappou’s dying wish and give his diaries to his childhood friends. As cheesy as a moussaka.
The Imitation Game (2014) ★★★★
BBC One, 10.40pm
Director Morten Tyldum portrays the life and work of mathematician Alan Turing across three time-frames: his formative school years, his stint breaking codes at Bletchley Park, and post-war, during the persecution he would face until his death. Benedict Cumberbatch is a compelling Turing, but, disappointingly, the film omits much of the homophobic abuse that Turing suffered in his lifetime.
Casino Royale (2006) ★★★★
ITV1, 11.10pm
Casino Royale was Daniel Craig’s first appearance as 007; his iteration is a brooding, pouting Bond who’s more interested in cracking skulls than bedding beauties. In this hugely enjoyable film from Martin Campbell that serves as a reminder of just how much Bond has changed over the years, he wins his “licence to kill” and hunts for a terrorist in Madagascar. Eva Green and Judi Dench co-star. Also airing on Saturday at 8pm.
Saturday 18 May
Doctor Who
BBC One, 6.50pm
A regular gun for hire under Russell T Davies since the 2005 revival, Steven Moffat of course took the reins of Doctor Who for the Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi years, and here writes his first episode since 2017. Counterintuitively, it calls upon Ncuti Gatwa to suppress his natural energy and vitality when the Tardis appears on an alien planet at war and his Time Lord promptly steps on a landmine which will explode if he so much as moves.
While the intrigue inevitably lies in how he gets out of his predicament – rather than if – Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) ropes in the assistance of some of the planet’s clerics who are engaged in a seemingly eternal war with the mysterious Kastarions – and why does the face of the ambulance robot look familiar? Gatwa once again brings his sense of mischief (hard to imagine, say, Capaldi pulling off a throwaway remark about underwater mine deactivation at a lesbian gymkhana) and empathy, as Moffat’s deft screenplay throws in a few narrative tremors with the status quo barely established. There are also potshots at organised religion and the military-industrial complex, but this remains stellar family entertainment first and foremost. GT
Prince George: A King for the Future
Channel 5, 8.30pm
Royal experts assemble for an hour crammed with speculation for this trawl through the first 10 years of the Prince, looking forward to his future stint on the throne.
Elvis Presley: ’68 Comeback Special
BBC Two, 8.35pm
A 75-minute riposte to John Lennon’s oft-quoted claim that “Elvis died the day he went into the army”, this sizzling TV special sees the King in iconic leather, self-deprecating mood and, most importantly, sensational voice. Elvis leaves the cheesy films behind to perform many of his classics along with a showstopping rendition of If I Can Dream.
An American Bombing: The Road to April 19th
Sky Documentaries, 9pm
The Oklahoma City Bombing in 1995 killed 168 people and remains the USA’s deadliest act of domestic terrorism. Marc Levin explores what motivated bomber Timothy McVeigh and, without ever justifying his actions, invokes a range of triggers – white supremacy, perceptions of government betrayal, obsessions with the Second Amendment – which remain alarmingly relevant today.
Rebus
BBC One, 9.25pm
Richard Rankin essays a younger, even more misanthropic version of Ian Rankin’s Edinburgh copper as written by Gregory Burke in this engrossing six-parter. We follow Rebus as he investigates an attack on a gangster’s heavy, while trying to keep his demons at bay. Two archive shows on Ian Rankin follow on BBC Four.
Later... with Jools Holland
BBC Two, 9.50pm
Manchester indie band Elbow and punk-rockers Idles headline the first episode of a remarkable 64th series for Jools Holland’s evergreen music show. Tonight also features appearances from country singer Lainey Wilson and actress Samantha Morton, moonlighting from the day job to perform tracks from her first album.
Mbappé
BBC One, 10.35pm
While Paris Saint-Germain’s failure to reach the Champions League final has denied this profile its payoff, there is no denying Kylian Mbappé’s gifts as he is courted by Europe’s top clubs. Arsène Wenger, Hugo Lloris and Didier Deschamps are among the experts guiding us through his life and career, from promising childhood player to World Cup winner.
GI Blues (1960) ★★★
BBC Two, 1pm
While stationed in West Germany during the war, soldier Tulsa (Elvis Presley) dreams of opening up a nightclub back in his hometown when he returns. One small problem: he doesn’t have the cash for it. But when a friend bets that Tulsa can’t win the heart of local dancer Lili (Juliet Prowse), he spots an opportunity to win big. Filled with great songs and lots of heart. There’s more from the King with Blue Hawaii at 11.10pm.
A Woman of Paris (1923, b/w) ★★★★
Sky Arts, 1pm
Charlie Chaplin’s first and last “straight dramatic” film centres on a desperate young woman (Edna Purviance, the leading lady of many of Chaplin’s early films) who is stood up by her beau before a trip to the City of Love. She travels alone then becomes embroiled in a love affair with a wealthy married man… and her former lover. The city itself is perhaps the standout star, as the lights twinkle in the back of each shot. Also on Sunday at 8pm.
Rush Hour 2 (2001) ★★★
5STAR, 5.25pm
It ain’t clever – but boy is Brett Ratner’s Hong Kong-set crime caper good fun. Jackie Chan is the sober local cop paired with Chris Tucker’s layabout LAPD detective to solve a bombing at the US embassy. The stereotyping is on the nose, but the stunts are thrilling and the banter is charming. Rush Hour 3 is at 7.15pm; Tucker’s one-off show comes to the Royal Albert Hall on June 2.
Dog (2022) ★★★
Channel 4, 9pm
Two beauties – a Hollywood hunk and a Belgian Halinois – make an endearing duo in this warm comedy, co-directed by said hunk Channing Tatum and Reid Carolin, who previously paired up for Magic Mike. Dog’s plot is simple: Tatum’s US ranger must drive a military dog across America to the funeral of its former handler. It’s surprisingly heartwarming, with some stunning scenic shots thrown in for good measure.
Film of the Week: Mad Max 2 (1981) ★★★★★
ITV4, 9pm
As Australian director George Miller told The Telegraph last week, the early responses to his first Mad Max film was preoccupied with searching for its inspiration. In Japan, he said, they thought it was a samurai film; whereas Scandinavian audiences considered it a modern-day Viking movie. French cinema-goers, by contrast, labelled it a “Western on wheels”. Each simple descriptor goes some way to describing the anarchic nature of Miller’s dystopia. Here, Mel Gibson turns out his best ever performance to reprise his role as Max Rockatansky, a cynical ex-cop, in this thrillingly intense sequel that proved to be that extremely rare thing – better than the original (though 2015’s Fury Road gives it a run for its money). Drifting through the sands of the Outback after a devastating nuclear war, he finds a cowered community menaced by a gang that aims to rob them of their oil. Can Max defend them? The special effects are terrific and every fight scene is thrilling. The latest instalment in the saga, Furiosa, starring Anya Taylor-Joy, is in cinemas from Friday – Robbie Collin, the Telegraph’s film critic gave it a five star rave review. You can catch Fury Road on Monday (Sky Showcase, 9pm) and Beyond Thunderdome on Friday (ITV4, 9pm).
Sunday 19 May
D-Day: The Unseen Footage
Channel 5, 9pm
As the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings approaches on June 6, this 2019 documentary tells us what happened next in Operation Overlord, which involved more than two million Allied troops. It recounts the Battle of Normandy, when soldiers from the UK, US and Canada left the beaches and moved inland to begin the liberation of France over a bloody period of three months. The Nazis – under the command of Field Marshal Rommel – put up fierce resistance in places such as the strategically important towns of Carentan and Cherbourg as their grip on continental Europe weakened.
The operation cost hundreds of thousands of lives and was, as one military expert describes it, “Schmutziger Buschkrieg” – meaning “dirty bush war” – and there were several setbacks along the way, not least the rout of the British 7th Armoured Division (under Field Marshal Montgomery) as it tried to outflank the Germans around Caen in the early days of the campaign. The story, told from an Allied perspective, follows the action day by day; some of the footage has never been broadcast before, and vividly conveys, as one talking head puts it, “the stench of war”. VL
A Celebration for Pentecost
BBC One, from 10.30am
Father Oliver Coss leads a traditional Eucharist service filled with beautiful hymns, broadcast live from All Saints’ Church in Northampton. Later, Claire McCollum presents Songs of Praise from Bournemouth at 1.15pm.
RHS: Countdown to Chelsea
BBC One, 6.15pm
With only two days to go until Chelsea Flower Show opens to RHS members on Tuesday (the public will have to wait until Thursday), Sophie Raworth and Joe Swift present an exclusive preview of this year’s stunning offerings. Adam Frost, Rachel de Thame, Arit Anderson, Toby Buckland and JJ Chalmers are on hand to tell us about some of this year’s show gardens and what to expect in the Great Pavilion.
The Responder
BBC One, 9pm
There’s no let-up in tension in this terrific Liverpool-set police drama as Chris (Martin Freeman) grows increasingly desperate to stop wife Kate (MyAnna Buring) from moving to London with their daughter – which leads him deeper into the mire when he agrees to find someone that drug dealer Franny (Adam Nagaitis) is looking for.
Rob and Rylan’s Grand Tour
BBC Two, 9pm
Rob Rinder and Rylan Clark continue their odd-couple travelogue in Florence, ticking off all the typical touristy stuff – the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore and the Uffizi Gallery, statues of David by Michelangelo and Donatello – while Clark plays up his ditzy role (“I thought Firenze meant fire hazard”) and Rinder looks askance. It is surprisingly charming.
The Piano
Channel 4, 9pm
Tonight’s edition of the heartwarming music competition takes us to London’s Victoria Station, where we meet a young rugby player, for whom music has been a lifeline coming back from injury, and a teenager with a knack for Szymanowski who stops judges Lang Lang and Mika in their tracks.
Dopesick
BBC Two, 10pm & 11pm; not NI
This excellent drama about the prescription drug OxyContin, which ruined the lives of millions in the US, concludes with a tense double-bill. Purdue chairman Richard Sackler (Michael Stuhlbarg) is still trying to argue that the drug isn’t dangerous – despite mounting evidence to the contrary and the tireless efforts of DEA agent Bridget Meyer (Rosario Dawson). The whole series is on iPlayer.
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943) ★★★★★
BBC Two, noon
Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger are possibly the greatest partnership in the history of British cinema and this satirical epic may just be their masterpiece. It follows the career of a British soldier, Clive Wynne-Candy (Roger Livesey), through the Boer War then two World Wars, as the forces of modernity gradually and irrevocably leave him behind. Moving but funny, serious but light of touch, it’s a classic.
The Witches (2020) ★★
BBC One, 2.30pm
When Robert Zemeckis’s take on Roald Dahl’s deliciously dark children’s story was announced, critics pounced on its “ugly” CGI. They should have zoned in on its shameless cash-grab status instead: unlike the terrific 1990 Anjelica Huston iteration, this Witches strips any ounce of Dahl’s magic away, leaving only cynicism. Anne Hathaway has some serious fun as the Grand High Witch, though. Also on Friday, BBC Three, 7.25pm.
Return to Oz (1985) ★★★
Comedy Central, 3pm
Existing largely in the nightmares of fortysomethings, this dark fantasy is not so much a sequel to the 1939 classic as an amalgam of two other Oz stories by L Frank Baum. Dorothy (Fairuza Balk), still traumatised by the tornado that blew away her family home, escapes from electroshock treatment (!) into a very different Oz; the Emerald City has been reduced to rubble and its citizens turned to stone. Walter Murch directs.
Glass (2019) ★★★
Channel 4, midnight
M Night Shyamalan has completed a long-range trilogy, bringing together everyone from Unbreakable and Split for a kind of real-world-superhero showdown at an insane asylum. James McAvoy’s 23 competing personalities are still good fun, supported by turns from Samuel L Jackson and Bruce Willis. Shyamalan has two new films out soon: The Watched is in cinemas from 14 June, followed by The Trap on August 2.
Monday 20 May
Imposter: The Man Who Came Back from the Dead
Channel 4, 9pm & 10pm
A bizarre transatlantic crime story plays out in four engrossing episodes over three nights (concluding Wednesday). Tonight’s opening double-bill introduces the case, doubtless already familiar to many, which came to light when an American fugitive from justice turned up in a Glasgow hospital at the height of the pandemic, suffering from Covid.
Rhode Island-born Nicholas Rossi had apparently faked his death and absconded to Scotland, whereupon he adopted a fake accent, dressed up in a fedora and tweeds and attempted to pass himself off as an Anglo-Irish toff by the name of Arthur Knight. Convincingly enough to find himself a wife, Miranda, although not everyone believed it. (“He didn’t even know what Coronation chicken was,” exclaims a local publican.) And especially not the police, who arrested him pending extradition to the US. The fun really started when Rossi/Knight invited a news reporter around to his flat, claiming it was all a case of mistaken identity and that a gross miscarriage of justice was being perpetrated – something he went to utterly absurd lengths to maintain. GO
RHS Chelsea Flower Show
BBC One, 3.45pm & BBC Two, 8pm
As ever the BBC offers extensive coverage (stripped throughout the week) of the world’s greatest gardening show, with huge crowds drawn to top designers’ show gardens and the spectacular floral pavilion. Monty Don, Joe Swift and Carol Klein present the hour-long evening review.
MasterChef
BBC One, 8pm
It’s finals week and the four contenders jet off to Singapore for the culinary challenge of a lifetime, cooking everything from traditional street-food to Michelin-quality menus. Then it’s back to London for tomorrow’s star-chef banquet (and another shock elimination) before Wednesday’s nail-biting final showdown.
Cold Case Investigators
BBC Two, 9pm
A new series (boxsetted) following efforts made by police in Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire to revisit more than 5,000 unsolved sex offences from across five decades. Tonight, detectives set out to trace those responsible for the kidnap and sexual assault of two schoolgirls in 2002, and the rape of a teenage boy in 1983.
Mysteries of the Pyramids with Dara Ó Briain
Channel 5, 9pm
What to do when your long-running satirical quiz ends? Travel, of course, exploring the many kinds of pyramids erected by humans over the past five millennia. On a journey that takes him from Central America to the deserts of Sudan – and beginning, unsurprisingly, in Egypt – Ó Briain has fun unravelling the secrets of the epic monuments.
Mysterious Origins of Insects
BBC Four, 9pm
This fascinating, subtitled documentary focuses on the profusion of insect species on our planet. With more than two million species so far identified, scientists in French Guiana explore the possibility that all have evolved from a single insect lineage.
Kingpins
Channel 4, 11.05pm
Told across three gripping episodes, this docu-series chronicles the lives and crimes of the world’s most dangerous criminals. Tonight, in Mexico, presenter Ben Zand meets a drug lord from the notorious Sinaloa cartel and gets to see the high life that he and his enforcers enjoy on the back of the misery of their victims.
The A-Team (2010) ★★
ITV4, 8pm
You can see why Joe Carnahan decided to reboot the 1980s TV smash hit: money, and lots of it. Beyond that, however, this big-budget update, produced by Tony and Ridley Scott, does little to improve on the original’s pure swaggering charisma, despite its starry cast. Liam Neeson and Bradley Cooper head up a Special Forces unit who, imprisoned for a crime they did not commit, escape and attempt to clear their names.
Patriots Day (2016) ★★★
Great! Movies, 9pm
Peter Berg directs Mark Wahlberg (for the third time, following Lone Survivor and Deepwater Horizon) in a counter-terrorism procedural based on the Boston Marathon bombing of 2013. Wahlberg’s cop is notionally the star, but it’s more of an ensemble drama, with a whole city brought together and spurred to action by the devastating attack. Berg’s film is stirring, but rarely does the air of danger really ignite.
Notorious (1946, b/w) ★★★★★
Talking Pictures TV, 9.05pm
One of Alfred Hitchcock’s all-time finest espionage melodramas stars Cary Grant as an agent who orders Ingrid Bergman to entrap the head of a Brazilian neo-Nazi group (Claude Rains) but is gradually drawn to her himself. The two leads have sizzling chemistry, while the intricate plot hinges on a cache of uranium ore and the film is filled with virtuoso Hitchcock moments.
Tuesday 21 May
The Great British Sewing Bee
BBC One, 9pm
Lacking the occasionally suffocating scrutiny accorded its stablemate The Great British Bake Off, this reliably lovely series enters its 10th year in fine form: relaxed, insightful and warmly inclusive. Ghosts actor Kiell Smith-Bynoe, following a successful dry run for the Christmas special, takes the reins full time, while judges Esme Young and Patrick Grant remain pre-eminent constructive critics, kind, analytical and collectively embodying an appealing blend of on-trend and slightly fuddy-duddy.
Tonight’s opening episode harks back to Sewing Bee’s very first, in 2013, with similar challenges: rustling up an A-line skirt and reworking a T-shirt – only this time, it’s not just the neckline but the entire garment, with results including a reversible bucket hat. The Made to Measure challenge sees the loosest possible interpretations of “casual day dress”, but it is a relief to find that the appalling timekeeping which blights the A-line test seems to have been overcome. The contestants are a beguiling bunch of enthusiasts and eccentrics – not least a tour guide with his own mannequin – and the tone of the show remains equally welcoming to experts and newcomers alike. GT
Great Forts of the Mediterranean
PBS America, 8.20pm
The military and spiritual advantages of the Mediterranean’s mountainous forts are explored in detail in this engaging documentary spanning a millennium of imperial rule from Ottoman to European.
The Gathering
Channel 4, 9pm
Helen Walsh’s classy, shocking drama of toxic parenting finds family ties getting ever more threadbare in this third episode, as Adam (Sonny Walker) struggles with his new reality and a shocking incident at a birthday party. Continues tomorrow.
Into the Amazon with Robson Green
Channel 5, 9pm
Having done his time on British waterways, Robson Green explores the titular rainforest and river. His understandable awe often leaves you wishing that he’d probed a little deeper, and the survey is inevitably wide rather than deep, but with sloths, potions, opera, and some chastening insights into the region’s colonial past and environmental future, it’s seldom dull.
The Guilty Innocent with Christopher Eccleston
Sky History, 9pm
This lively, well-conceived two-parter on miscarriages of justice deserves a full series. Tonight’s case follows the shootings of a scientist and his girlfriend off the A6 in 1961, the flawed investigation, execution of the convicted killer and the long series of enquiries that followed.
Meet the Richardsons
BBC Two, 10pm
This Dave import can now be watched in a new light given the news that married comedians Jon Richardson and Lucy Beaumont are separating, particularly since this mock-doc offers a fictional take on their lives. It remains a low-key charmer, beginning with a helping hand from Bernie Clifton in party planning – and an unfortunate gag about divorce.
The Gullspang Miracle: A Nordic Mystery: Storyville
BBC Four, 10pm
Director Maria Fredriksson finds time to toy with documentary convention while telling a startling story of joy and disappointment, identity and chance, all kick-started by an understandable if fateful decision made by the parents of twins in occupied Norway in 1941. At its heart are Swedish sisters who discover that they have a half-sister. What follows plays like an extraordinary psychological thriller.
Jason and the Argonauts (1963) ★★★★
Film4, 4.45pm
Ray Harryhausen’s classic stop-motion action film tells the story of the mythological Jason (Todd Armstrong) and his quest for the Golden Fleece, involving a romp through ancient Greece and fighting off harpies and skeletons, all the while trying to keep the gods onside. Almost 60 years on, some of the effects might seem a bit naff, but there’s no denying it’s still great fun. Honor Blackman co-stars.
The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976) ★★★★
ITV4, 9pm
Another warm-hearted Western from Clint Eastwood (who directs and stars, naturally), adapted from Forrest Carter’s novel and set during the American Civil War. Eastwood plays the Missouri farmer who, driven by memories of his family’s slaughter, becomes an outlaw when he refuses to join his Confederate comrades in surrender, preferring instead to seek the men who murdered his kin.
All is True (2018) ★★★★
BBC Two, 11.15pm
Kenneth Branagh directs and stars in this beautiful meditation on William Shakespeare’s legacy, written by Ben Elton. Branagh plays the playwright, battling with personal and professional demons after he returns home to Stratford-upon-Avon after the Globe burns down. Haunted by the death of his only son, Hamnet, he struggles to mend the broken relationship with his wife Anne (Judi Dench).
Wednesday 22 May
Trying
Apple TV+
When this slight, saccharine sitcom debuted in 2020, it began as the story of Nikki and Jason (Esther Smith and Rafe Spall), a young couple desperate to become parents. Struggling to conceive, they decide instead to embark on the long, difficult journey of adopting a child. Today’s two-part series four premiere, which jumps forward six years from the show’s last outing, finds the pair settled down with their two adopted children. As such, this series feels more like a traditional family comedy.
The first episode is set around a funeral. To reveal whose it is would spoil a delightful opening gag in which the show plays around with who it could be, which also results in a tremendous scene in which Jason and his intimidating father (Phil Davis) use football as a way of saying they love each other. The second episode, meanwhile, is anchored by a wonderful performance from Jim Broadbent. He plays George, a charismatic older gentleman who ends up taking Nikki out for an unforgettable night of dancing. The tone may be a tad too twee or earnest for some, but if you’re in the mood for something playful, with no doom and gloom in sight, Trying might be perfect. SK
Buying London
Netflix
This seven-part reality series is Britain’s answer to Selling Sunset, the hit American show set in the cutthroat world of the luxury property market. Here we follow smug property mogul Daniel Daggers and his team of glamorous estate agents as they try to sell high-end properties in swish London areas such as Mayfair and Chelsea. Your enjoyment will heavily depend on your tolerance for contrived drama.
Toughest Forces on Earth
Netflix
The Grand Tour meets SAS: Who Dares Wins in this rugged new reality series, which follows presenters Ryan Bates (ex-US Navy Seal), Cameron Fath (former US Army Ranger) and Dean Stott (ex-British Special Forces) as they explore the world’s elite military units.
MasterChef
BBC One, 8pm
In Monday’s episode the final four cooks were flown out to Singapore. Last night they were whittled down to three following a task set at esteemed London restaurant Le Gavroche. Tonight’s finale, however, is simple: cook a three-course meal worthy of being crowned the winner of the 20th series of MasterChef. No pressure, then.
The Endurance
PBS America, 8.15pm
Originally released in 2000, this absorbing documentary about Ernest Shackleton’s perilous 1914 expedition to Antarctica receives its UK premiere. Narrated by Liam Neeson, it recounts one of history’s greatest stories of survival: how Shackleton and his crew – their titular ship trapped in ice – endured for two years in the most testing of conditions.
Secrets and Spies: A Nuclear Game
BBC Two, 9pm
This final episode of the terrific Cold War series pivots around the daring British rescue mission of Oleg Gordievsky, the MI6 double agent who spied on his native Soviet Union. The highlight, however, is a superb anecdote involving a British spy staying at a Russian hotel – and the prying KGB agent who decided to get involved in his marital spat.
Inside No 9
BBC Two, 10pm; NI, 11.15pm
Even by Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith’s high standards, this episode is inspired. A suburban murder-mystery filmed entirely from the point of view of a doorbell camera, it stars Vinette Robinson as the exasperated wife of Damon (Shearsmith). Nosy neighbour Sheila is played to perfection by Dorothy Atkinson.
5lbs of Pressure (2024) ★★★
Amazon Prime Video
With Manchester once again standing in for the gritty streets of NYC, Phil Allocco’s crime melodrama features some genuinely impressive action scenes. Luke Evans plays Adam DeSalvo, a criminal nearing the end of three years’ probation (after serving 16 in prison for murder) who soon realises that his life on the outside will be far from straight forward, thanks in no small part to the brother (Zac Adams) of his victim who is intent on revenge.
Absence of Malice (1981) ★★★★
Talking Pictures TV, 10.10pm
Sydney Pollack’s neo noir thriller stars Paul Newman as a mobster’s son whose law-abiding life gets turned upside down when reporter Sally Field is suckered into publishing unfounded allegations about him. One of the finest films about journalism – up there with All the President’s Men and Spotlight – despite Field’s character’s iffy ethics. Newspaper editor Kurt Luedtke wrote the film.
Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) ★★★
BBC One, 10.40pm
In this solo escapade for British actor Tom Holland’s teenage webby wonder, super-hero duties rub up against the traumas of everyday life, including falling in love (with real-life girlfriend Zendaya). The high-wire action sequences and angsty jokes are great fun. Sequel Spider-Man: Far From Home is on Friday (BBC One, 10.40pm); Holland is currently starring in Romeo & Juliet on the West End stage.
Thursday 23 May
Insomnia
Paramount+
There’s a gut-twisting creepiness at the heart of this six-part thriller starring Line of Duty’s Vicky McClure as Emma, an insomnia-suffering lawyer and mother who becomes increasingly convinced that she’s inherited “bad blood” from her mentally ill mother, pushing her towards a breakdown. Adapted from Sarah Pinborough’s bestseller, and atmospherically directed by Börkur Sigthorsson, we first meet Emma in full-on plate-spinning mode – under pressure to win a partnership at her busy firm and wrangling with her obstinate teenage daughter, but generally enjoying life thanks in no small part to her handsome, level-headed, furniture designer husband Rob (Tom Cullen).
Things begin to fall apart, however, when her older sister, Phoebe (Leanne Best), with whom she was brought up in care, reappears after a spell abroad and begins to insinuate herself deeper into Emma’s life. McClure and Best are a perfect pairing – the stress of their troubled relationship crackles, and Sigthorsson’s direction bring palpable menace to Emma’s shaky psychological state. GO
The Blue Angels
Amazon Prime Video
Top flight thrills as a documentary team follow the US Navy’s version of the Red Arrows for a year, as they select, train up and perform with – over a gruelling six-month show season – new recruits for their prestigious aerobatics display team, in the biggest new-pilot intake of their 78-year history.
Bay of Fires
ITVX
Imagine Ozark mixed with Fargo plus a dollop of Schitt’s Creek and you’ll get a sense of this Australian drama about a businesswoman (Marta Dusseldorp) who finds her life upended when she and her two teenage children are forced to go on the run in Tasmania, with a gang of murderous Russian criminals in pursuit.
The War on Britain’s Motorists: Dispatches
Channel 4, 8pm
For many the appalling state of our roads has become emblematic of a more serious malaise. Journalist Ginny Buckley assesses the current plight of British motoring – potholes everywhere, eco-friendly low-traffic neighbourhood schemes dividing communities, plans to transition from fossil-fuel to electric motoring stalled – and, unsurprisingly, is not impressed.
Panorama
BBC One, 9pm
What happens to criminals when they are sent to prison is well-documented. But this damning Panorama looks beyond that to the Probation Service, who are supposed to monitor those recently released in order to keep the public safe from harm. With budgets slashed and staff numbers constantly depleting, though, it’s a difficult task.
A Small Light
Drama, 9pm
A free-to-air run of this powerful eight-part drama retelling the story of Anne Frank through the eyes of remarkable young Dutchwoman Miep Gies, who risked her life to shelter the Frank family from the Nazis. Bel Powley is superb as Gies, a woman of exceptional courage and resilience who was also instrumental in getting Frank’s diary published after the war. The boxset is on Disney+.
Johnson & Knopfler’s Music Legends
Sky Arts, 9pm
The pair are in California to meet guitarist Carlos Santana, who developed a unique sound fusing psychedelia, rock’n’roll and Latin American rhythms in the early 1960s. They swap anecdotes, talk music and mysticism, and play Santana classics such as Oye Cómo Va and Black Magic Woman.
They Who Dare (1954, b/w) ★★★★
5Action, 1.45pm
A sorely underrated Second World War film from All Quiet on the Western Front director Lewis Milestone. Based on the events of Operation Anglo, where British special forces stationed in the Dodecanese islands attempted to prevent the Luftwaffe from threatening the Allies in Egypt, it’s chock full of terrific action sequences and memorable performances from Dirk Bogarde, Denholm Elliott and Akim Tamiroff.
Napoleon Dynamite (2004) ★★★★
Film4, 4.50pm
“I don’t even have any good skills. You know, like nunchuck skills, bow-hunting skills, computer- hacking Skills.” Jared Hess hasn’t yet topped his debut about a colossal nerd (Jon Heder) who doesn’t fit in – especially after his uncle (Jon Gries) shows up to keep an eye on him and he befriends new kid Pedro (Efren Ramirez). This stoned underdog comedy is an acquired taste, but the wacky characters gets funnier with every watch.
El Cid (1961) ★★★
BBC Four, 9pm
Charlton Heston stars as the 11th-century warrior who fought in Spain during its occupation by the Moors. Director Anthony Mann, known at the time as a genre director, but later revered by cineastes for exactly these kind of westerns and crime films, casts him as a tormented hero in this three-hour epic that mixes spectacular sets with extreme passions – not least between El Cid and the beautiful Chimene (Sophia Loren).
Friday 24 May
The Beach Boys
Disney+
Dampened somewhat by the recent sad news that Brian Wilson is once again being placed under a conservatorship, which enables his family to manage his personal and medical decisions (necessary, according to the LA judge, because of his “neurocognitive disorder”), this sparkly feature-length documentary celebrates the timeless music and impact of the Californian rock band. With the release of their opus Pet Sounds in 1966, which spawned hits such as Wouldn’t It Be Nice and God Only Knows, The Beach Boys – made up of the Wilson brothers, Brian, Carl and Dennis, along with their cousin Mike Love and family friend Al Jardine – were catapulted to global fame.
Directors Frank Marshall and Thom Zimny blend archive footage from the band’s early years with never-before-seen or new interviews with Brian, Love and Jardine, as well as famous fans including Fleetwood Mac guitarist Lindsey Buckingham and R&B singer Janelle Monáe. It does, disappointingly, gloss over the darker periods that plagued the band (and, in particular, Brian), meaning that it serves more as hagiography than deep-dive, but fans will relish the footage – and the music. PP
Unreported World: Inside the K-pop Dream Machine
Channel 4, 7.30pm
High suicide rates, eating disorders, online trolling – these are “the dark side of the [K-pop] industry,” says former boyband star Min Su. He quit music after fans complained about his tattoos and smoking; just one signal of how contrived K-pop (the lucrative genre that has exploded out of South Korea) is. Krishnan Guru-Murthy looks at the dark side of the $8 billion-dollar industry, and how teenagers at elite music schools chase fame – at the cost of starving themselves and eradicating any semblance of individuality.
The Big Steam Adventure
Channel 5, 8pm
Peter Davison, John Sergeant and Paul Middleton conclude their Scottish rail odyssey in the Highlands with a scenic ride along the river Spey (complete with a helping of neeps and tatties) and a trip to Loch Ness that’s almost ruined by dire weather.
Hidden Treasures of the National Trust
BBC Two, 9pm
Tonight’s episode takes us to the grand Palladian villa in Stourhead, where curators are eagerly awaiting the return of Angelica Kauffman’s neoclassical masterpiece, Penelope and Eurycleia, last seen in public in the early 1990s.
Rebus
BBC Scotland, 10pm
Brotherly interference leads to jeopardy in the second episode of Gregory Burke’s reboot, as John (Richard Rankin) deals with the aftermath of Michael’s (Brian Ferguson) altercation in Fife and Siobhan (Lucie Shorthouse) digs for answers. Also on BBC One tomorrow (9.25pm).
The Nevermets
Channel 4, 10pm
Dawn French narrates this series following couples who are in love and looking to take the next step – but have never actually met in real life. In tonight’s opener, we meet a 17-year-old Briton who is preparing to fly to India to meet a girl he met online on a Game of Thrones forum.
The Cancellation of Jim Davidson
Channel 5, 10pm
Once named the “funniest man on television”, the comedian and Generation Game host’s racial caricatures and right-wing views rendered him an industry pariah. Here, Davidson looks back at his working-class childhood in south London and rapid ascent to household name status in the 1970s and 1980s, as well as his wrongful arrest under Operation Yewtree and newfound fame on Celebrity Big Brother.
Atlas (2024)
Netflix
Best known for his films with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson (San Andreas, Rampage), Brad Peyton here directs popstar-slash-actress Jennifer Lopez in a sci-fi flick more than a little in debt to Steven Spielberg’s Minority Report. Lopez is Atlas Shepherd, a brilliant data analyst with a deep mistrust of artificial intelligence who gets sucked into a mission involving a mysterious robot. Recent Oscar nominee Sterling K Brown (American Fiction) co-stars.
Blue Beetle (2023) ★★
Sky Cinema Premiere, 8pm
After more than a decade of Marvel Studios dominating Hollywood, DC Comics is still searching for a comic-book box-office colossus of its own (even Superman doesn’t seem to be up to the job). Unfortunately, only die-hard fans will agree that Blue Beetle – a CGI-heavy, laboured tale about a recent graduate (Xolo Maridueña) who is given a special armour that grants him superpowers – is the film to do it. Adriana Barraza and Susan Sarandon also star.
Three Thousand Years of Longing (2022) ★★★
Film4, 9pm
Mad Max genius George Miller (see Film of the Week, above) directs this curious adaptation of AS Byatt’s 1994 short story The Djinn in the Nightingale’s Eye. Idris Elba plays an ancient genie unleashed from a bottle by Tilda Swinton’s frazzled academic, who then regales her with stories from his thousands of years of existence. It’s dreamlike and beautifully shot, if slightly too whimsical.
Dr No (1962) ★★★★★
ITV1, 11.15pm
Sean Connery was transformed from gruff Scottish bit-part actor (and former milkman) to suave gentleman for this first Bond film, directed by Terence Young. He brings just the right blend of light touch and inner steel to the martini-necking spy, as he swans around the tropics of Jamaica with gold-bikinied Ursula Andress, on the hunt for the titular villain. It’s considered a classic for a reason. Also on Sunday at 2.25pm.
Television previewers
Stephen Kelly (SK), Veronica Lee (VL), Gerard O’Donovan (GO), Poppie Platt (PP) and Gabriel Tate (GT)
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