Comedians Giving Lectures
9pm, Dave
Sara Pascoe – a master in marrying science and comedy – is back with another cohort of comics ready to serve very important lectures. Harriet Kemsley and Bobby Mair are on hand to tell an unconvinced audience what makes marriage work, while Ahir Shah makes the case that you don’t need to be an expert to solve big problems (with a shoutout to the model Caprice), and Jo Brand asks you to at least “play along” with her argument that older people are happy. Seamlessly hosted, and genuinely very funny. Hollie Richardson
George Clarke’s Old House, New Home
8pm, Channel 4
A new series for the format that helps out homeowners looking to turn their period properties into something practical for modern living. Matey architect George Clarke sets course for Stroud to help a couple extend their listed Georgian farmhouse before rejigging the layout of a Victorian terrace in Royal Wootton Bassett. Graeme Virtue
Shetland
9pm, BBC One
With Shetland under lockdown, and prime suspect Creggan armed and on the loose, DI Perez (Douglas Henshall) attempts to piece together what happened at the Creggan house before tragedy strikes again. Meanwhile, DS Tosh hears a strange story from Maurice Ross, Duncan and Donna grow closer, and Perez uncovers a surprising link. Ali Catterall
Grey’s Anatomy
9pm, Sky Witness
The neverending medical drama – still starring original cast member Ellen Pompeo – is back for its 18th season. The city of Seattle is celebrating a “post-Covid rebirth” with a fair that ends in casualties. Meanwhile, Meredith has a surprising opportunity when she meets a dynamic doctor from her mother’s past. HR
Life & Rhymes
9pm, Sky Arts
A new series of the brisk, inclusive and unpretentious spoken word showcase presented by the great Benjamin Zephaniah. He begins with People Always Need People, followed by turns from Henry Beckwith, Jasmine Gardosi, Tanaka Fuego and a few randomly selected members of the audience. Phil Harrison
Live at the Apollo
10pm, BBC Two
Live comedy from Hammersmith Apollo returns. Host Chris McCausland kicks things off with sets from Edinburgh fringe best newcomer nominee Sophie Duker and London-born-and-bred ex-bouncer Emmanuel Sonubi. HR
Film choice
Passing (Rebecca Hall, 2021), Netflix
Rebecca Hall’s first film as director is an assured treatment of a 1929 novel by Harlem Renaissance writer Nella Larsen. It’s the tale of two light-skinned Black women in New York and the different ways in which they “pass” for white – interestingly, shot in black-and-white, so all skin tones are mere shades of grey. Tessa Thompson plays Harlem doctor’s wife Irene, settled in her bourgeois life of charity work and cliquey soirees. Former schoolfriend Clare (Ruth Negga, channelling Tennessee Williams) has concealed her racial identity to the extent of having a white, racist husband. When they meet by chance, Clare brings excitement but also disruption to the emotionally repressed Irene’s routine. Simon Wardell
Ad Astra (James Gray, 2019), Amazon Prime Video
Echoes of Apocalypse Now abound in James Gray’s beautiful-looking, portentous sci-fi drama. Astronaut Roy (Brad Pitt) finds his professional insouciance crumbling when he is sent to Neptune to find the source of energy bursts threatening the Earth – and which may come from his long-lost father (Tommy Lee Jones, in the Kurtz role). Shot in a stately fashion underpinned by Roy’s pensive voiceover, it is a slow-burning story, albeit punctuated by impressively realised scenes of peril. SW
My Father and Me (Nick Broomfield, 2018), 10pm, BBC Four
Documentary film-maker Nick Broomfield’s father, Maurice, was one of Britain’s leading postwar industrial photographers, creating beautifully lit, romanticised images of factory workers (on display from today in an exhibition at the V&A in London). Nick is a more political, off-the-cuff observer of life and, as such, was initially a disappointment to his parent. Here, the son reassess his relationship with a man who was a conscientious objector, married a Jewish Czech wartime refugee and owned a Gypsy caravan. It’s a family history that also serves as a bracingly honest self-portrait. SW
Live sport
T20 World Cup cricket 1.30pm, Sky Sports Main Event. Semi-final from Abu Dhabi.
