Pick of the week
Black Mirror (Thursday, Netflix)
From humble beginnings on Channel 4 in 2011, the dystopian anthology series by Charlie Brooker has grown into a cult TV phenomenon. Made by Netflix for the past decade, the dark and often twisted stories based on a vision of worlds where technology and social issues collide was originally inspired by The Twilight Zone.
Across its six series the show has delivered many memorable episodes, with guest stars including Bryce Dallas Howard, Jon Hamm, Salma Hayek and Jesse Plemons.
Back for a seventh run and with a suitably impressive cast (see below), we are treated to new plots based around the bleak realities of the cost of living crisis, sinister corporate overreach as well as revisiting the characters of two of the most celebrated previous episodes, USS Calister (featuring Cristin Milioti) and the interactive special from 2018, Bandersnatch. Prepare yourself for another brilliantly clever, disturbing and thought-provoking ride. You have been warned. Tim Glanfield
• Charlie Brooker: Black Mirror is shorthand for ‘that’s a bit f***ed up’
Black Mirror’s guest stars
Paul Giamatti
The Oscar-nominated star of Sideways, Billions and John Adams.
Harriet Walter
Seen in Succession, Ted Lasso and this year’s Brian and Maggie.
Peter Capaldi
Former Doctor Who lead and the star of The Thick of It.
Rashida Jones
Well known to comedy fans from Parks and Rec and The Office US.
Chris O’Dowd
Emmy winner who made his name in the hit comedy The IT Crowd.
Sunday
Critics’ choice
Grace (ITV1, 8pm)
One day, a police drama may exist where a well-adjusted, romantically fulfilled and unfailingly sunny detective capers through harrowing cases without any trauma at all. For now, viewers will have to settle for another bleak crime-fighting stint with Detective Superintendent Roy Grace (John Simm). Grace might have solved the mystery of his wife’s disappearance at the end of the last season, but as this series starts, his personal troubles are far from over. He and Cleo (Zoë Tapper) are forced to navigate a painful loss and the arrival of his newly discovered son — but Brighton’s criminal classes never take a day off. The tangled web of tonight’s story includes a body in a barrel, a threat to a football match at Brighton’s stadium, a brutal people-trafficking gang and a kidnapping plot; all more reasons for Grace not to be cheerful. Victoria Segal
• John Simm: Finding out my dad was not my dad spun my world
Schmeichel (Sky Documentaries/Now, 9pm)
“If you made a mistake in front of him it was basically like you stole the handbag off his grandma,” says Gary Neville, talking about his former Manchester United team-mate Peter Schmeichel. That intensity is apparent throughout this psychologically astute documentary about the Danish goalkeeper, who admits that “all my life I wanted to be the hero in the game”. While the story of his family demands its own film — his father was a Polish pianist and unwilling spy — Schmeichel’s brilliant career playing for Denmark, Manchester United and Manchester City is the focus. Alex Ferguson, with whom he had a famously explosive relationship, Eric Cantona and Schmeichel’s children Cecilie and Kasper are among those contributing their memories to a thoughtful if oddly melancholy portrait. VS
Tribe (BBC2, 9pm)
In the second leg of what might be called his comeback world tour, Bruce Parry spends time with the Mucubal people in the Namib desert in Angola. In between conversations about Angola’s 27-year civil war and survival in a desert that’s getting even hotter, the explorer receives a gift of a goat (should he kill it, as is polite?). And there’s a chance to enjoy a new year festival with a tribe he admires for combining “resilience with generosity”. John Dugdale
Ten Pound Poms (BBC1, 8pm)
For once, Australia in the 1950s seems lovely early on in this episode — just like in those sun-flooded ads aimed at Poms — with dancing, drinking, rounders and a trip to a scenic spot for Kate (Michelle Keegan), Robbie (Nic English), Annie (Faye Marsay) and Terry (Warren Brown). But then things get tenser, and two revelations — of a past fling and a pregnancy — put one relationship in jeopardy and pose a future threat to another. JD
• 10 best Australian shows to watch right now — ranked by our critic
The Americas (BBC1, 6.15pm)
Perhaps because of the row over whether the Gulf of Mexico should be renamed “the Gulf of America”, Tom Hanks’s narration seems rather coy about which gulf he means in an episode devoted to the Gulf Coast. Sweeping across from Texas to Florida, it features alligators and manatees. JD
Stars out to shine at the Oliviers
The Olivier Awards (ITV1, 10.15pm)
Billy Porter and Beverley Knight are centre stage at the Royal Albert Hall, controlling notoriously larky theatrical performers. Oscar winner Adrien Brody’s speech will have to be contained if he takes best actor (again) for The Fear of 13, as he and John Lithgow’s nomination for Giant brings Hollywood to London’s West End. As for best actress in a supporting role, surely with two nominations Romola Garai has the odds on her side? Helen Stewart
Monday
Critics’ choice
The White Lotus (Sky Atlantic, 9pm)
The third series of Mike White’s biting satire on the rich as they holiday reaches its conclusion, with many questions to be answered. There’s been trouble in paradise since the resort residents arrived in Thailand, but who has been killed, who did it and why? Could Jason Issac’s soon-to-be-disgraced financier Tim finally crack under the pressure and do something drastic? Will Rick (Walton Goggins) end up deeper than he thought on his mission of redemption, or could the security guard Gaitok (Tayme Thapthimthong) see red if his potential love story with Mook (Lisa Manobal) turns sour? Even when the dust has settled, the mystery won’t be over, as fans begin to ask where the fourth series will be set. The smart money’s on somewhere snowy in Europe — but nothing is certain in Lotus land. TG
• Meet Patrick Schwarzenegger, Arnold’s son and star of The White Lotus
The Road to Auschwitz (BBC2, 9pm)
Simon Schama’s powerful one-off film builds up to his first visit, aged 80, to Auschwitz. Earlier, however, he suggests we’ve been too fixated on the death camps in thinking about the Holocaust, and too ready to confine blame for it to the Nazis alone — rather than also extending it to their local collaborators across Europe. He visits three cities, meeting historians who show him evidence of both resistance and complicity: Kaunas in Lithuania (where he says the Holocaust began in 1941), Warsaw and Amsterdam. While his final encounter with “the metropolis of death” is the documentary’s climax, many may find its Dutch section the most thought-provoking. Grimly noting that 75 per cent of Dutch Jews died during the war, Schama argues “there’s absolutely no doubt” that Britain “would have gone the same way” if conquered. JD
What They Found (BBC2, 10pm)
The first documentary directed by Sam Mendes makes powerful use of the footage of British soldier-cameramen Mike Lewis and Bill Lawrie, members of the Army Film and Photographic Unit. They were sent to a “typhus hospital” in Germany named Bergen-Belsen and became two of the earliest witnesses to the horrors of Hitler’s Final Solution. We hear the men’s testimony, but Mendes knows when to cut the sound and let their images speak for themselves. HS
The Man Who Murdered His Family (BBC3, from 9pm)
Colin Archdeacon began making this three-part documentary Ctrl+Alt+Desire (now retitled by the BBC with no regard for his carefully contrived dubiety) in 2019. He interviewed Grant Amato, then accused of murdering his parents and brother at their Florida home, with a convincing bonhomie that encouraged the killer to tell his unsettling tale, one that speaks of addiction, mental illness and disconnection from the real world. HS
Celebrity Big Brother (ITV1, 9pm)
AJ Odudu and Will Best welcome the latest bunch of faded musical stars and presenters, politicians, soap actors, sporting heroes, reality TV names, drag queens etc to a new Big Brother house for what they hope will be three weeks of revelation, raucousness and rivalry. HS
Four-part thriller that is out of the ordinary
Reunion (BBC1, 9pm)
Daniel (Matthew Gurney), a deaf prisoner, emerges from jail after a sentence for murdering his friend Ray. As he heads first to a café for a reunion with his daughter, Carly (Lara Peake), and then crashes a gangster’s party, it’s clear he’s on a mission. The majority of the cast are either deaf or use BSL. Also introduced in part one are Ray’s widow, Christine (Anne-Marie Duff), her daughter, Miri (Rose Ayling-Ellis), and Christine’s friend Stephen (Eddie Marsan). JD
Tuesday
Critics’ choice
Jack the Ripper — Written in Blood (Sky History/Now, 9pm)
“If it bleeds, it leads,” has long been the touchstone of newspaper editors, and as this drama-documentary finds, Victorian tabloid journalism was apt to provide its own gore when the murder rate flagged. A newly literate population was desperate for “content” and The Star, based in Whitechapel, was happy to provide it. There are moustache-chewing performances from Moe Dunford as the charismatic editor, Tyger Drew-Honey as his assistant and teller of tales Ernest Parke and Mark Strepan as the journalist Fred Best, whose (alleged) false leads and fabricated evidence kept readers gripped. Contributors such as Rachel Moran, an Irish woman who writes about her former life in prostitution, give some sense of the further danger that this placed already vulnerable local women in. HS
Wild Swim (BBC2, 8.30pm)
Julie Wilson Nimmo and Greg Hemphill are a well-kent couple in Scotland, having carved out careers in acting and comedy. For many years, if Nimmo wore green clothing it drove CBeebies viewers, a lively bunch, into a frenzy thanks to her role as Miss Hoolie in Balamory (known for her green outfits); and Hemphill has grown a large beard, so is barely recognisable from his Still Game sitcom. With their children having flown the nest, the couple face the challenges of middle age via the medium of freezing water and goggles — and the second series of their surprise hit show begins with them flying to the isle of Barra in search of piercing cold seas and the wisdom derived from “ice cream heid” and meeting up with fellow swimmers. “We’re lucky, in’t we?” says she, driving damp and bobble-hatted from one spectacular location to the next. HS
The Art of Joy (Sky Atlantic/Now, 9pm, 10.15pm)
Based on Goliarda Sapienza’s posthumously published 1998 novel — originally rejected by publishers for its DH Lawrence-like levels of sexual activity — this drama follows Modesta (Tecla Insolia), a poor Sicilian girl born as the 19th century rolls over into the 20th. Rejecting her lowly status, she fights to escape poverty and the patriarchy, embarking on a quest for knowledge and pleasure of all kinds. VS
Amazing Spaces (C4, 9pm)
This is the artisanal, small-batch version of Grand Designs, with the architect George Clarke meeting people who have rearranged living space into magical new forms. In tonight’s episode he visits an all-terrain truck with an English country house interior, a luxe camper concealed inside a muck spreader, and — as if camping wasn’t apocalyptic enough already — a glamping site created to look like a dystopian film set. VS
For the Love of Dogs (ITV1, 8.30pm)
Dog fans beware: there’s a feline interloper in this show tonight. Mel the one-eyed cat is, however, extremely cute, and the canine brief remains intact elsewhere as Battersea visitor Alison Hammond tries to win the trust of a nervous lurcher called Rita. VS
Sport of a kind for reality TV fans
Married to the Game (Prime Video)
The Premier League WAGs are back for a second season of this reality TV show. Last year’s couples — Arsenal’s Jorginho and Cat Harding and ex-Man City player Riyad Mahrez and Taylor Ward — are joined by Chelsea’s Marc Cucurella and Claudia Rodríguez, Arsenal’s Gabriel Magalhães and Gabrielle Figueiredo and Aston Villa’s Leon Bailey and Stephanie Hope. Envy TV. What a curious show it is, fetishising the lives of these super-wealthy couples. Andrew Male
Wednesday
Critics’ choice
Annika (U&Drama, 8pm/9pm)
The crime drama market is an overcrowded one, so all credit to this adaptation of BBC Radio 4’s show Annika Strandhed for being so rich in quirks. For a start, DI Annika Strandhed (Nicola Walker) works for Scotland’s marine homicide unit, which allows for a striking watery backdrop, but even more important is Annika’s engaging habit of breaking the fourth wall, sharing her secrets with the audience as she tries to work out her relationships with her daughter Morgan (Silvie Furneaux) and her crime-fighting partner Michael (Jamie Sives). It’s hard to think of a better actress for the job than Walker, her distinctive delivery creating an intimacy between character and viewer. The crimes in this double-bill — a brutal drowning, the murder of a prisoner — are effectively twisted, but this show is really a delivery system for Annika’s compelling presence. VS
• The 30 best TV police and crime dramas, ranked
Saving Lives in Cardiff (BBC2, 9pm)
“If you connected me to the ECG now, I’d be going 150,” says Stuart Quine, the ENT surgeon who has just finished performing an operation on a man with a malignant tumour millimetres from his carotid artery. It’s a valuable reminder that while surgeons might be using robot technology to help them, they are still very much human. It’s a point underlined by the testimony of Indu Deglurkar, a cardiac surgeon at University Hospital Llandough, who acknowledges the pressures of being a woman in her field. Elsewhere, the focus of this tense medical show is on the patients: Courtney, who needs complicated neurosurgery to prevent paralysis; Tyrone, a martial arts champion who requires major open-heart surgery; and Terry, who will be the first person in Wales to undergo his high-stakes procedure. VS
Like, Follow, Trafficked — Insta’s Fake Guru (BBC2, 11pm)
Kat Torres was very successful as a wellness influencer and life coach. But then she began to focus on “clients” paying hefty sums, and her posts became weirder and more sinister, hinting at witchy powers; gradually it emerged that the Brazilian former model (who was jailed for trafficking and slavery last year) had sexually exploited vulnerable young women. Interviewees include Torres herself. JD
The Secret Genius of Modern Life: Fridge (BBC2, 8pm)
Hannah Fry’s knack for making science fun and fascinating is vividly on display as she investigates the kitchen fixture. Visiting the Bosch factory in Germany, she looks in turn at the cooling system, thermostat, refrigerant and insulation, and at how their inventors (who include a French Cistercian monk) came up with them. Archive clips evoke the fridge as a liberating “game changer”, particularly for women. JD
• Hannah Fry on maths, cancer and her ‘grade A’ divorce
Smart TV (Sky Max/Now, 9pm)
In his second series’s final episode, Rob Beckett’s guests are the Countdown presenter turned influencer Carol Vorderman and three actors: Kerry Godliman (After Life, Whitstable Pearl), Himesh Patel (EastEnders and the films Yesterday and Tenet) and Emmett J Scanlan (Peaky Blinders). JD
Insight into the world of child influencers
Bad Influence — The Dark Side of Kidfluencing (Netflix)
In 2022 the millionaire YouTube content creator Tiffany Smith was sued by a group of teenagers who claimed that they had been subjected to “harassment, molestation and abuse” while making content for the YouTube channel of her daughter Piper Rockelle. The full story behind that case, and last year’s $1.85 million settlement, forms the basis of this three-part docuseries, which explores the shadowy world of young influencers and their adult fans. AM
Thursday
Critics’ choice
Interior Design Masters (BBC1, 8pm)
Series six begins with Michelle Ogundehin giving the new cohort a tricky first challenge: a youth hostel overlooking Lake Windermere wants them to redesign ten small, basic rooms with bunk beds. She asks them to display their signature styles while also incorporating local colours and materials and reflecting what backpackers need. In the Lake District, Alan Carr chats to the contestants as they sew, put things up and decorate, with the usual gang of “tradespeople” available but seemingly redundant. After Ogundehin and her guest-judge Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen have assessed the rooms, everyone decamps (as the show’s format strangely requires) to Brighton to hear their verdicts, although there’s no obvious reason why the week’s best and worst performers couldn’t be revealed in Cumbria. JD
The Yorkshire Vet (5, 8pm)
It rarely rains in 5’s version of Yorkshire, yet somehow its sun-kissed fields remain gloriously green. The long-running romance between channel and county is at present chiefly reflected by two linked shows: All Creatures Great and Small and this docu-series, which uses Christopher Timothy (the star of the BBC’s All Creatures) as narrator and includes a former colleague of Alf Wight, aka James Herriot. This colleague, Peter Wright — still working as an all-rounder “mixed practice” vet, like James and his colleague Siegfried — is seen here treating a goose with an eye infection; while there’s an outbreak of “70s fever” at the practice of Julian Norton, another vet viewed as carrying on the Herriot tradition (in his case because he also writes books). Other storylines feature a ram with a mystery illness and a retired sheepdog in need of surgery. JD
Bangers & Cash — Restoring Classics (U&Yesterday, 8pm)
Some men feel that they have been getting a hard time of it recently, but this show and its progenitor demonstrate precisely the sort of easy, enthusiastic, quick to laughter masculinity that is a pleasure to watch. Tonight, the production team winds up Derek Mathewson, a man on the record as saying “Don’t talk about electric rubbish, I’m not interested”, by purchasing a 60-year-old Austin delivery van and converting it to battery power. HS
World’s Toughest Drive — My African Adventure (C4, 11pm)
Sixtysomething Guy Deacon is a former army officer who had Parkinson’s disease diagnosed in 2010. He has scant use of his hands, poor spatial awareness and can appear “drunk” to those unaware of his condition. Precisely the time for a solo drive covering more than 18,000 miles through Africa that took him more than 12 months and 3,650 prescription pills while crossing 25 countries. World Parkinson’s Day is tomorrow. HS
Ride or Die (BBC1, 10.40pm)
Each May, the North West 200 attracts about 100 motorcyclists from across the globe to compete at speeds of more than 200mph on the Triangle street circuit, set between three towns in Northern Ireland. This documentary follows three of the competitors in the lead-up to the big day. HS
Can Scottie swing it again at Augusta?
The Masters Golf (Sky Sports Main Event/Golf, 2pm)
Since 1934 the blooming azaleas and towering pines of Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia have offered an iconic backdrop to one of the most famous tournaments in golf. At the first major of the year all eyes will be on Scottie Scheffler, the defending champion, two-times winner and world No 1, who is the favourite ahead of his closest rivals Rory McIlroy, Ludvig Aberg, Jon Rahm and Collin Morikawa. TG
Friday
Critics’ choice
Your Friends and Neighbours (Apple TV+)
The erstwhile Don Draper actor, Jon Hamm, is back to his whiskey-drinking ways in the glossy new crime drama set among the super rich of Westmont Village in New York. He plays with typical vigour a suave hotshot hedge fund manager, Andrew “Coop” Cooper, whose already complicated life as a divorcee and father of two takes an unexpected turn when his boss engineers a way to boot him out of the company in disgrace. With bills to pay (such as his $100,000 a year country club membership, and the house that his ex-wife lives in with his former best friend), Coop happens upon an unlikely new income stream; stealing from his uber-rich former friends and neighbours. Co-starring Olivia Munn and Amanda Peet, you can add this pleasing show to your shelf of rich-bashing dramas alongside The White Lotus and The Perfect Couple. TG
Beyond Paradise (BBC1, 8pm)
This “Death in Devon” spin-off is softer than a jam and cream scone and its murder mysteries cosier than a hot chocolate after a dip in the briny sea, but as the third series progresses some kudos should be given to the production’s depiction of fostering. Now that he’s been allowed to have a fully realised personal life, Humphrey (Kris Marshall) has managed to pull off a successful relationship, with the absence of parenthood the remaining obstacle to his and Martha’s happiness. Rather than dissolve to soapy sadness, the irrepressibly chirpy characters have taken practical steps to care for their community in a manner that will bring heartbreak to their door on a regular basis but allow them to turn frowns upside down with an abundance of love. A wise dramatic move by the production and a relief to viewers invested in the couple. HS
Food and Wine Tour — Australia (ITV1, 2pm)
After his successful wine-tasting trip around South Africa, Gary Barlow has been sent back on the road in search of more delicious experiences. His destination is Australia, where Take That — now Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen — are performing for the first time in 30 years. Offstage, however, he’s wearing his oenophile hat, learning to match regional wine, food and scenery with the help of his celebrity friends. VS
Helsinki Crimes (More4, 9pm)
This Finnish crime drama, based on the novels of Matti Yrjana Joensuu, makes for another typically dour entry in the Walter Presents line-up of gloom. Olli Rahkonen plays Timo Harjunpaa, a detective investigating an outbreak of gang-related killings across Helsinki — as well as dealing with his own family issues. He soon finds the violence is creeping close to home. Also in tonight’s episode: the rare opportunity to hear a bit of Finnish rap. VS
What’s the Big Deal? — Britain’s Best Buys (C4, 8pm)
Natalie Cassidy takes on the role of “shopping’s Miss Marple” in this consumer show, investigating whether much-hyped new products are worth the money. Here, she and her team of “real people” test home teeth-whitening treatments and barefoot shoes. VS
Will the old and new guards break through?
Hacks (Sky Max, from 9pm)
After the emotional tempests, breathtaking betrayals and Machiavellian wranglings that ended the previous season of this Emmy-winning comedy, Deborah (Jean Smart) and her head writer Ava (Hannah Einbinder) are facing the realities of launching a late-night show. Whether they can overcome all the bad blood between them will define this season, Deborah jostling with her younger protégée to win whatever games there are to play. VS
Readers’ views on recent TV
On the Great British Menu (BBC2) finals week it was announced that six of the eight chefs were tied for the top three positions for the main course: joint first, second and third – but they weren’t. They were joint first, third and fifth. The seventh on that occasion, with her dessert course, was the worthy winner this year.
Malcolm Watson
Could somebody please ask Fiona Bruce to stop talking and interrupting Question Time (BBC1) so much. She spends more time speaking than some of the members of the panel — and it’s their opinions we want to hear!
Rosemarie Tunstall
The Americas (BBC1) is an absolutely superb programme and, despite not having the best of hearing, I don’t find the background music overwhelming.
David Percival
I know this may come as a complete surprise to many TV drama writers and producers, but most of us are going about our boring daily lives without experiencing anywhere near the level of murders and violence that apparently exist on our streets. Time for something new and more relatable please.
Steve Murray
Ken Dodd — A Legacy Of Happiness (BBC2). Moving, mesmerising, magnificent. A terrific tour de farce!
Nigel Taylor
C4’s F1 affectionate tribute to the late Eddie Jordan was generous and touching. Not only was he a pioneering and charismatic figure on the grid, but, in recent years, an unforgettably idiosyncratic TV pundit and presenter whose every appearance was a joy to watch.
Graham Thompson
I was so looking forward to the new Bergerac. New faces and plots together with that reassurance that the good guys would always come through in the end with the aid of the “magic tunnel” that transported them from St Helier to anywhere in Jersey and beyond. Come on! Get that magic back and really solve the high crime rate in the Channel Islands so we can be safe once more. Phew!
Bruce Shakespeare
Beyond Paradise (BBC1). Brilliant! It’s back on its third series, great cast, cracking cases to solve, chocolate-box settings. It’s so pleasant to watch — we love it.
Sandra Kelly
This City Is Ours (BBC1). Yet another potentially entertaining series ruined by poor attempts at regional accents, mumbled dialogue and key story points displayed on distant smartphone screens.
Bob Hale
Send your comments to: telly@sunday-times.co.uk
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