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Your complete guide to the week’s television, films and sport, across terrestrial and digital platforms
Trump: The Criminal Conspiracy CaseBBC Two, 9pm“I need 11,000 votes,” pleads Donald Trump, his voice rising over the phone, “give me a break!” These are the potentially damning words recorded in a call to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. They form the cornerstone of one of the most extraordinary cases in American legal history: the allegation that Trump, who had lost Georgia by 11,780 votes, engaged in an elaborate criminal conspiracy to overturn the result of the 2020 American presidential election.
This gripping 90-minute documentary tells the story through interviews with some of his 18 co-defendants. Disconcerting “crisis manager” Trevian Kutti, for instance, bristles at being charged with trying to extract a false confession from election worker Ruby Freeman. John Eastman, a legal scholar from Nebraska, was courted by Trump after developing a theory that could have denied Joe Biden victory. The most significant player however is lawyer Ashleigh Merchant, who may have derailed the Georgia trial with a corruption complaint against prosecutor Fani Willis. It could mean that the most important jury Trump faces now is the American people. SK
Location, Location, LocationChannel 4, 8pmKirstie Allsopp and Phil Spencer find themselves in Northern Ireland this week, where they are trying to satisfy two fussy couples determined to find their perfect home. The property theme continues with Grand Designs at 9pm, as well as the second week of New Zealand’s Best Homes with – him again – Phil Spencer at 10pm.
Portrait Artist of the YearSky Arts, 8pmTonight’s first celebrity sitter is historian Dan Snow, who is on the lookout for a portrait that he can hang on his bedroom wall. Actor Layton Williams arrives in an outfit adorned in flowers – perfect for painting – while conjuror Steven Frayne (formerly known as Dynamo) hopes the artists can make magic happen.
LudwigBBC One, 9pm The suspicious suicide of a school headmaster leads to David Mitchell’s bumbling imposter detective having to relive his bullied youth. Tonight’s penultimate episode features a truly wonderful guest turn from Derek Jacobi, who plays the old teacher responsible for introducing young John to puzzles. Although, of course, he cannot reveal to him that he is John rather than James…
DNA JourneyITV1, 9pm “I hope they’re not villains,” says Cold Feet’s James Nesbitt, who is nervous about digging up his family tree. Save for a rogue pub landlord, he need not worry: his grandfather’s heroic deeds during the First World War leave him in tears. Joining Nesbitt in tonight’s series finale is actor pal Sarah Parish.
National Parks from AboveMore4, 9pm This comforting six-part series treats us to a bird’s-eye view of some of the world’s most breathtaking national parks. Tonight’s premiere swoops over Cairngorms National Park in Scotland, a rugged expanse of mountains, forests and lochs. On the ground, we also meet locals such as the Lonach Highlanders, a special society who are marching six miles to meet the King, who’s visiting nearby. Peter McDougall Remembers: The Elephants’ GraveyardBBC Four, from 10pmPeter McDougall reflects on his bittersweet Play for Today, The Elephant’s Graveyard, a 1976 drama starring Jon Morrison and Billy Connolly. They play a pair of unemployed Scottish men who roam the streets after telling their wives that they have gone to work.
Family Pack (2024)NetflixJumanji meets Teen Wolf meets The Traitors in this sharp French family-friendly fantasy-comedy, adapted from the card game The Werewolves of Millers Hollow. François Uzan’s film follows an ordinary family of middle-aged parents and adult children who are sent back in time by a magical card game to a medieval village plagued by terrifying – but anonymous – werewolves. Franck Dubosc, Jean Reno and Suzanne Clément star in a rollicking adventure.
Patton (1970) ★★★★★Film4, 1.05pm Franklin J Schaffner’s superb war epic charts US General George S Patton’s role in the Second World War. George C Scott famously turned down an Oscar for his turn as the borderline deranged Patton, a man who loved war “more than my life”. His opening speech remains one of cinema’s most memorable scenes. The film won seven Oscars, including one for Francis Ford Coppola and Edmund H North’s excellent screenplay.
Call Jane (2022) ★★★★Film4, 9pm Before she unleashed the crazed Cocaine Bear on the world, Elizabeth Banks starred in this moving abortion drama that is made all the more poignant in the light of the US Supreme Court’s repeal of Roe v Wade in 2022. Banks plays Joy, a 1960s housewife who deals with a life-threatening pregnancy – but is unable to access a legal abortion. She discovers the Janes, an underground network who risk it all to help women.
The Life and Deaths of Christopher LeeSky Arts, 9pmThis engaging profile of actor Christopher Lee uses a winning blend of archive footage, audio and animation to bring his life and career – from being born into an Italian noble family to playing bloodthirsty vampires and even moonlighting as a rockstar – to life. Rather than relying on clips and dull talking heads, the film recruits comedian Peter Serafinowicz to voice a puppet version (made by Arch Model Studios)of Lee. He then walks us through the decades – he died at 93 in 2015 – from the fanged villain that made him a household name (Dracula) to The Man with the Golden Gun and The Lord of the Rings.
Although Dracula turned him into a star, it is clear that Lee struggled with being associated with just one role; a clip taken shortly after he received his knighthood shows him ticking off a reporter for calling him the “king of horror”. “Don’t say that, dear,” he tells her. “I haven’t done a horror film for 34 years.” His work on LOTR is also celebrated by its director, Peter Jackson, while other contributors include John Landis, Joe Dante and Lee’s niece, actress Harriet Walter, also share their fondest memories. PP
Doctor OdysseyDisney+Not content with his position atop Netflix’s most-watched chart with Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, TV heavyweight Ryan Murphy takes his far-fetched plots to the open seas for this new soapy drama. Like Grey’s Anatomy mixed with Titanic, Doctor Odyssey follows cruise ship doctor Max (Joshua Jackson) as he deals with onboard illness – and romance.
TerritoryNetflixThis Australian drama has the feel of “Yellowstone in the Outback”. It follows the millionaire cattle-farming Lawson family, who must fend off rival landowners, gangsters, Indigenous elders and certain other relatives to retain control of their historic cattle station, Marianne. Anna Torv and Michael Dorman star.
Pride of Britain Awards 2024ITV1, 8pmNow in its 25th year, the annual awards ceremony for Britain’s humble heroes – people who have completed helpful acts of service – returns. Carol Vorderman and Ashley Banjo host from Grosvenor House in London.
Joan Bakewell RemembersBBC Four, from 8pmJournalist and peer Joan Bakewell looks back on her 1972 interview with Hollywood legend Bette Davis at the National Film Theatre, before the interview itself is shown at 8.10pm; Davis reflects on her career, her studio’s many (futile) attempts to change her name and her personal life. Her film opus All About Eve follows at 8.55pm before an edition of Talking Pictures tells the story of her life and career through classic archive footage (11.10pm).
A House Through Time: Two Cities at WarBBC Two, 9pmHistorian David Olusoga continues his fascinating series about 11 different households living in two apartment blocks – in Berlin and London – in the run-up to the Second World War. It’s 1936 in Germany and the Nazis are growing in power, leading one resident, Paul Dittel, to join the SS. And in London, an Italian grapples with now being considered the enemy.All Creatures Great and SmallChannel 5, 9pmIn tonight’s charming series finale, Tristan (Callum Woodhouse) and Siegfried (Samuel West) must finally resolve their feud after breaking down in the middle of nowhere, armed with only dusty bottles of wine to get them through. Let’s hope all is swell with the brothers by the Christmas special.
Canary Black (2024)Amazon Prime VideoKate Beckinsale is back doing what she does best – kicking derrière in fast-paced action films, à la Underworld and Van Helsing – in Taken director Pierre Morel’s new flick. Beckinsale plays Avery Graves, a CIA agent whose husband has been kidnapped by terrorists. The only way they’ll guarantee his safety is if she shares top-secret classified information. Will she choose love or her country? Rupert Friend and Ray Stevenson co-star.
The Mouse That Roared (1959) ★★★★Film4, 2.44pmPeter Sellers shines in three different roles in this clever political satire about a tiny duchy that declares war against America for imitating its sole export: wine. However, said war is really a ruse to avoid bankruptcy. Directed by Jack Arnold and starring Jean Seberg, this innocent comedy, based on Leonard Wibberley’s novel, is still a hoot today. It also features David Kossoff and William Hartnell.
Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966) ★★★Sky Arts, 11pm Christopher Lee doesn’t say a word here, but even 58 years on, he still ignites the same predatory terror that made Count Dracula his most iconic part. Ignoring the warnings, two couples find themselves trapped in a spectacularly spooky castle, where servant Klove (Philip Latham) is (of course) most welcoming, and his long-dead master proves (of course) very pleased to make their acquaintance.
BeforeApple TV+ Billy Crystal is engagingly credible as a veteran child psychiatrist in this psychological (and supernatural) thriller about a shrink who falls under the spell of a deeply troubled eight-year-old. Crystal plays Dr Eli Adler, a respected New York consultant psychiatrist, who’s struggling to overcome the emotional fallout of his wife Lynn’s (Judith Light) suicide and considering giving up the profession altogether. Until, that is, a string of bizarre coincidences convinces him to think that he’s psychically connected, somehow, to a rootless and out-of-control boy, Noah (Jacobi Jupe), whose inexplicable fits of violent rage haunt Adler’s dreams and seem to link to events in his own past.
It’s deeply unsettling, not just for Adler but for viewers too – especially when it comes to the interconnectedness of Adler and Noah’s tortured inner states. Still, that is the whole point. Thanks to a sharp script by Sarah Thorp, an outstanding supporting cast (including Rosie Perez, as Noah’s foster carer), and judiciously employed special effects that blur the line between reality and imagination just enough to get the spine tingling, this is a drama that gets its hooks in early and refuses to let go. GO
NautilusAmazon Prime Video This spectacular 10-part adventure reworks the story of Captain Nemo, hero of Jules Verne’s Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. Shazad Latif (Toast of London’s Clem Fandango) leads as the buccaneering scion of Indian royalty, who hijacks a prototype East India Company submarine to escape a colonial penal colony. Old-fashioned fun. Georgia Flood also stars.
Our Lives: Pets Saving LivesBBC One, 7.30pm; Scot, 8pm; NI, 8.30pmA heartwarming film about the dedicated dogs and handlers of Northern Ireland’s search-and-rescue teams, and the invaluable work they do locating lost walkers and injured climbers, or pin-pointing the locations of survivors and victims in disaster zones.
Al Pacino: Once Upon a Time in HollywoodBBC Two, 9pm; not WalesTo promote his recently published autobiography the acclaimed actor sits down with entertainment correspondent Colin Paterson to look back over an eventful life and career. He shares stories about his biggest hits, the roles he missed out on, his romantic ups and downs, and the rare thrill of fathering a child in his eighties.
Electric Lady Studios: A Jimi Hendrix VisionSky Arts, 9.15pmIn 1968, Jimi Hendrix bought a nightclub in Greenwich Village and converted it into what would become a legendary New York recording venue. This documentary explores its exceptional legacy – artists from U2 to Beyoncé and Taylor Swift have recorded there – and features lots of unaired Hendrix footage.
The CleanerBBC One, 9.30pmAnother rollicking escapade finds crime-scene cleaner Paul “Wicky” Wickstead (Greg Davies) despatched to a remote lighthouse off the Irish coast. But his dreams of a soul-cleansing getaway are shattered when he’s attacked within minutes of arrival and the resident keeper (Conleth Hill) shows every sign of wanting to do away with him, too.
The Last LegChannel 4, 10pmHard on the heels of Celebrity Gogglebox for Stand Up to Cancer at 9pm, Adam Hills, Josh Widdicombe and Alex Brooker return for a new run of their comedy review of the week’s news. In tonight’s episode, they’re joined by actor and TV presenter Miriam Margolyes, comedian Phil Wang and Blur’s lead guitarist Graham Coxon.
Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band (2024)Disney+Although not the first documentary to dive into the Boss’s career, Disney’s shiny film should benefit from stellar production values and great access. Consisting of fly-on-the-wall footage and live clips from Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band’s 2023-24 world tour, it’s a must watch for any music lover. The man himself may be 75, but with another tour set for next year, his Glory Days show no sign of ending.
Don’t Move (2024)NetflixEvil Dead director Sam Raimi takes on production duties for this terrifying horror film. Imagine the scariest situation possible, then imagine it if you’re unable to move – your arms and legs frozen, only your eyelids permitted to blink. That’s the precis of Brian Netto and Adam Schindler’s Don’t Move, which follows Iris (Kelsey Asbille) as she’s pursued in the wilderness by a serial killer who has injected her with a paralytic agent. She must escape as her body slowly shuts down.
Dead of Night (1945, b/w) ★★★★★Film4, 2.40pm Horror films were banned in Britain during the Second World War because of concerns about morale; making this terrifying (but sporadically funny) anthology from Ealing Studios feel even more revolutionary. It’s got a stellar cast, including Mervyn Johns, Googie Withers and Michael Redgrave, and is most famous for its chilling final segment, which features Redgrave and an evil ventriloquist’s dummy.
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024) ★★★Sky Cinema Premiere, 8pm Of course it’s not as good as the 1984 original, but what is? Set three years after the events of 2021’s Afterlife, Frozen Empire tasks the veteran Ghostbusters with saving the world from an ancient ice demon in New York City who seeks to build a spectral army. Original stars Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd and Ernie Hudson get back in those iconic brown suits; Paul Rudd and Stranger Things’ Finn Wolfhard also star.
Television previewers
Stephen Kelly (SK), Veronica Lee (VL), Gerard O’Donovan (GO), Poppie Platt (PP) and Gabriel Tate (GT)
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