Naples '44 looks at life in the Italian city towards the end of WWII, Million Dollar Pigeons looks at that unique bird world, and the penultimate episode of The Sixth Commandment . . .
Pick of the Day
Million Dollar Pigeons, 9.35pm, RTÉ One
Streaming on RTÉ Player
Here's a look at the high-stakes world of pigeon racing, following pigeon fanciers and their birds as they compete in events in the US, Thailand, China and South Africa.
Each race is stranger and more exciting that the last, but when scandal and corruption taint the crown jewel event, the entire community is rocked and the future of the sport is, eh, up in the air.
Don’t Miss
Naples '44, 10.00pm, BBC Four
This is a superb, unique and fascinating piece of documentary.
It's a study of life in a starving Naples, based on the book of the same name, by Norman Lewis.
It's a portrait of the city at the end of the Second World War, using then British intelligence operative Lewis' first-hand accounts, read here by Benedict Cumberbatch.
They describe a city devastated by fascism, bombings, Nazi occupation and the Allied invasion, combined with archive footage of Naples in later years, as life returned to the city.
The mosaic-like storytelling may seem random, but its hypnotic quality is compelling.
It also makes for a great introduction to a remarkable book.
Quiz Show, 9.30pm, TG4
Fact-based drama directed by Robert Redford, starring Ralph Fiennes, John Turturro, Rob Morrow and David Paymer.
An up-and-coming lawyer discovers a Fifties TV game show is fixed, prompting him to launch an investigation focusing on two contestants.
They’re a working-class Jewish man from Queens and a popular English lecturer, who descends from one of America's renowned literary families.
The Sixth Commandment, 9.00pm, BBC One
It’s the penultimate episode of this pretty grim true story, starring our own Éanna Hardwicke as killer Ben Field.
Tonight the true picture comes to light when Thames Valley Police open an investigation.
The police trawl through evidence and make a connection between Peter's and Ann's symptoms.
They have a working hypothesis, but what they desperately need is proof.
Evidence starts to pile up and the police soon realise that they could be dealing with a frighteningly complex and calculating criminal mind.
Earth, 9.00pm, BBC Two
Tonight, Chris Packham tells the story of the event 800 million years ago when almost the entire planet froze and the chances of life surviving hung in the balance.
Earth's journey into the deep freeze started with fire when the giant supercontinent Rodinia broke up and vast powerful tectonic forces ripped the land apart.
That precipitated a series of events that resulted in huge amounts of carbon dioxide being sucked from the atmosphere - sending global temperatures plummeting.
Live FIFA Women's World Cup, RTÉ2
Streaming on RTÉ Player
Coverage begins at 9am as Germany meet Morocco (Kick-off 9.30am). Coverage of the opening match in Group H, held at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium in Australia, as the 2022 European and African runners-up battle it out.
That's followed at 11.30am Brazil v Panama (Kick-off 12.00pm). All the action from both teams’ first match in Group F, held at Hindmarsh Stadium in Adelaide, Australia.
Despite all their success in the men's game, Brazil are yet to lift this trophy and have only reached the final once, when they were defeated by Germany in 2005.
But they will expect to overcome Panama, who are making their World Cup finals debut. Marie Crowe presents both games, with analysis from Jennifer Beattie.
New or Returning Shows
Six Four, 9.35pm, RTÉ2
Crime drama, starring Grey’s Anatomy stalwart Kevin McKidd and Vinette Robinson.
McKidd plays Glasgow police detective Chris O'Neill, who is devastated when his teenage daughter vanishes without trace.
His wife Michelle (Robinson) bends rules to locate their child, while Chris fixates on curious similarities between his personal anguish and the unsolved case of a missing local girl called Julie Mackie.
Murder on the Victorian Railway, 9.00pm, BBC Four
Drama-documentary narrated by Toby Jones (below) examining the death of banker Thomas Briggs in July 1864, which was the first murder to be committed on a British train.
The film uses testimonies from court transcripts, memoirs, letters and newspaper reports to tell the story of the crime through those connected to it, including engine driver Alfred Ekin - who found the body - and Richard Tanner, the detective in charge of the investigation.
It also explores the huge public outcry and debate the killing provoked.
New to Stream
Dew Drop Diaries Season 1, Netflix
Here’s a new series for kids.
From finding lost items to cleaning up messes, three fairies in training love looking after kids in their care as they work toward earning their wings.
Unknown: Cosmic Time Machine, Netflix
The James Webb Telescope stirs imaginations with vivid photos of distant galaxies.
This documentary tracks its historic journey from inception to launch. to cleaning up messes, three fairies in training love looking after kids in their care as they work toward earning their wings.
