The Long Call is a new cop drama from the brains behind Vera and Shetland, Sissy Spacek is the latest star Off Camera, while Home Rescue - The Big Fix and Temple return for new runs . . .
Pick of the Day
The Long Call, 9.00pm, Virgin Media One
All episodes stream on the Virgin Player once the first episode airs
This brand-new four-part series is an adaptation of the Ann Cleeves novel of the same title. Cleeves' book-to-TV CV includes Vera and Shetland.
So, yes – this is deffo worth a watch.
In episode one DI Matthew Venn and his team find a body on a beach in North Devon. They shortly learn they must search for a way into a case that has no witnesses, no forensics and no motive.
Meanwhile, Matthew has his own personal problems as he is also dealing with the death of his father and being thrust back into a community he was forced to leave.
The impressive cast includes Ben Aldridge, Juliet Stevenson, Pearl Mackie, Martin Shaw and Anita Dobson.
Don’t Miss
Don’t Look Now, 9.00pm, BBC Four
What a film.
Nicolas Roeg’s masterpiece from 1973 is a stunning, moving and disturbing experience, as it explores grief, loss, life and love. It's adapted from a short story by Daphne du Maurier.
Julie Christie and Donald Sutherland are superb as Laura and John Baxter, a grieving couple dealing with the loss of their young daughter, who head to Venice where he works restoring a church.
Venice deserved a best supporting actor Oscar for its contribution to the film. It’s arguably the most romantic location on Earth – but also one of the spookiest.
Be careful what you seek out there . . .
Off Camera Sissy Spacek, 10.00pm, Sky Arts
Streaming on NOW
This week Sissy Spacek joins Off Camera to talk about the life-changing role that she never wanted to let go.
Spacek's career ranges from a breakthrough role in Badlands (1973), Carrie (1976) The Coalminer’s Daughter (1981), JFK (1990), The Help (2011) and many other movies.
She also recalls experiencing the "Robert Redford effect" for the first time in his final film Old Man and the Gun (2018), and why it’s so important for her, as an artist, to live in the real world.
Shop Well for the Planet? 8.00pm, BBC One
Here’s an episode that most of us who want a habitable planet for future generations could relate to.
Chris Bavin and Melanie Sykes offer advice to Steve and Saskia, who live in Shrewsbury with their five-month-old daughter Cece and Saskia's six-year-old daughter Edi.
They would like to be climate-conscious, but a busy work and home life has meant that it's convenience and not the planet that is taking priority.
Chris and Mel hope to prove that being greener doesn't have to cost the earth or turn their lives upside down.
Complaints Welcome, 10.00pm, Channel 4
This show is pretty sharp.
Tom Allen (above), Jessica Knappett and Munya Chawawa assemble a `complaints committee" of viewers with plenty to say about the television shows getting the nation talking each week.
The hosts are joined by guests from the world of TV as they playfully dissect the week's televisual complaints, looking for resolutions and ultimately deciding whether the viewers' feedback will be upheld or rejected.
Cheap Irish Homes, 8.30pm, RTÉ One
This week, Maggie Molloy tries to find houses for couple Ella and Conor, who want to work remotely.
She finds some gems in Westmeath and Longford, and Ella is won over by one fixer-upper. How about Conor though?
New or Returning Shows
Temple, 9.00pm, Sky Max
Streaming on NOW
Mark Strong is back for a second season as Daniel Milton in the morally ambiguous drama.
The show also stars Daniel Mayes, Carice van Houten and - joining the cast - Rhys Ifans as the unpredictable underworld fixer Gubby.
In the first season, Daniel just about kept the plates in the air as he looked after his wife, Beth, in an illicit clinic underneath Temple tube station.
But now everything comes crashing down as Beth wakes from her coma and demands answers.
In the opening episode, Daniel wants to reunite his family. But his wrongdoing catches up with him and he’s in danger of losing everything.
Home Rescue - The Big Fix, 9.30pm, RTÉ2
Architect Roisin Murphy, builder Peter Finn and their team visit Rose Cottage county Kildare.
Just outside Kilcullen, it’s home to eight-year-old Elanor, her mum, Celine Garvey, three chickens, two cats and Terry the terrapin.
What was originally envisioned by Celine’s dad Noel as a dream cottage for his daughter has been a work in progress (with very little progress) for the last ten years.
Sadly, in 2011, Noel was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease and despite his best efforts, he never got to finish the renovation.
As a single parent and full-time theatre manager, Celine said that she has never really managed to complete her dad’s vision despite her best efforts.
New to Stream
The Motive, Netflix
Decades after a 14-year-old boy brutally killed his family in Jerusalem in 1986, this documentary revisits the horrifying crime.
Ending Today
Late Night Mash, 10.00pm, Dave
It was good to see Nish Kumar land a gig on Dave after becoming a victim of the BBC’s purge of government-critical comedy.
Not so good was the hour-long show that transpired. At its best it’s on the money, but often there’s groan-inducing filler.
Still, here’s a compilation of the best moments from the first run. Should be fun, in a 'Britain is on fire - has anyone got a match?’ kind of way.
