On TV tonight, the Frozen Planet II crew follows a pack of wolves on an epic bison hunt, DS Karen Pirie tries to get to the bottom of the Rosie Duff case as Karen Pirie wraps up on ITV, Stanley Tucci visits Piedmont in the next leg of his travels across Italy and new comedy Wreck gets underway on BBC Three. Here's what you shouldn't miss on TV tonight.
- Our hand-selected recommendations for what's on TV tonight include five TV shows, a film, live sport and the latest trending need-to-binge-on-now box set
- Keep up to date with the latest soap spoiler storylines on TV tonight with our daily soap synopsis
- For more information about what’s on TV tonight see our TV Guide
What's on TV tonight
Our expert TV journalists have picked the best things on TV tonight...
Best TV shows on TV tonight
Frozen Planet II, 8 pm, BBC One
The north of our planet is an icy wilderness that pushes the animals living there to their limits. This week’s episode follows a 25-strong ‘super-pack’ of wolves on an eight-hour hunt for bison — a prey that could easily kill them. We also learn how climate change is threatening species such as caribou, forcing their calves to undertake treacherous river crossings before they are strong enough to be able to cope. With the permafrost under the soil thawing and plagues of mosquitoes threatening the wildlife, will it be human intervention that makes this snowy land of extremes truly inhospitable after all?
★★★★★ NH
Karen Pirie, 8 pm, ITV, ITV Hub (box set)
As far as crime dramas go, this one ticks all the right boxes. With a compelling cold case investigation at its core, a punchy script from Emer Kenny that brings the murder-mystery genre bang up to date and believable characters — with Lauren Lyle putting in a solid performance as Karen — it’s reeled us in and kept us hooked. We had high hopes for this third and final part, and it doesn’t disappoint. As Murray investigates a new lead in the historic murder of Rosie Duff, Karen digs into the failings of the original investigation and soon both officers are forced to consider a horrifying possibility… We look forward to a second series.
★★★★ VW
Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy, 8.20 pm, BBC Two
This week, Stanley’s foodie trip takes him to Piedmont, which he says has ‘some of the best produce in the world’. He visits a family-run restaurant to try their bagna cauda, a Piedmont speciality, made with such industrial quantities of garlic and anchovies that, ‘It resurrects a dead person…?’ translates Stanley hesitantly. He samples incredible risotto made by the Michelin-starred Costardi brothers, including one with coffee and a beer reduction, then meets ‘the king of truffle hunters’ and visits a vineyard to try Barolo wine (‘I’m not spitting that out’). Probably best not to watch while eating beans on toast on your lap.
★★★★ JP
Wreck, 10 pm, BBC Three, iPlayer (box set)
After his sister disappears from her job on a cruise ship, Jamie (Oscar Kennedy) finds work on board so he can investigate what really happened — unaware that a serial killer is stalking the luxury liner’s crew, disguised as the ship’s duck mascot, Quacky. It’s not easy to pull off a horror story that’s also hilarious, but writer Ryan J Brown has managed that, deploying both jump-scares and witty one-liners with equal aplomb.
★★★★ SP
Best box set to watch on TV tonight
Shameless US star Jeremy Allen White stars as young chef Carmen ‘Carmy’ Berzatto in this critically acclaimed comedy-drama. Carmy has made a success of himself in the world of fine dining, but after the tragic suicide of his brother, he returns home to Chicago to run his family’s sandwich shop, The Original Beef of Chicagoland. It’s a different world for Carmy, who must try to get the uncooperative staff on board, cope with family rifts and navigate the tricky challenges of small business, all the while facing his own grief.
Best film to watch on TV tonight
Captain Phillips, 9.05 pm, ITV4
Yet another in the astonishing range of real-life portrayals from Tom Hanks (most recently seen as Colonel Tom Parker in Elvis) — it’s hard to fathom why he wasn’t nominated for an Oscar. He gives a masterclass in subtlety as the captain of cargo ship dealing with a terrifying situation when his vessel is taken over by Somali pirates. The thieves are led by Barkhad Abdi, who also gives a mesmeric performance as he and Hanks play a deadly game of bluff with each other. It’s a tense, knuckle-whitening experience.
★★★★★ NP
Live Sport
- NFL: New York Giants vs Green Bay Packers, 2 pm (k-o 2.30 pm), ITV
- Premier League: Arsenal vs Liverpool, 4 pm (k-o 4.30 pm), Sky Sports Main Event, Premier League, NOW
If you watch just one thing on TV tonight…
Don't miss Frozen Planet II on TV tonight; there's so much more to learn about our frozen north.
Not found anything you want to watch on TV tonight? Check out our TV Guide.
Happy viewing!
