Satellite choice
AFTERNOON MOVIE Stepmom, 1.10pm, Sony Movie Channel
GRADE-A weepy from Chris Columbus, starring Susan Sarandon as the ex-wife who, perhaps understandably, can’t stand her husband’s new Mrs (Julia Roberts). (Freeview 32, Sky 323, Virgin 425)
FOOTBALL Brighton & Hove Albion v Newcastle United, 7.30pm, Sky Sports 1
A POTENTIAL Championship title decider between the two teams that have been locked in a top-of-thetable tussle all season. The Geordies came out 2-0 winners back in August, with Jonjo Shelvey scoring his first goal for the club — can the Seagulls get their revenge at home and extend their one-point lead?
PAY-PER-VEW ACTION Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, BT TV/Sky Store/Virgin Movies
TOM CRUISE returns as the formidable ex-military man in a sequel that delivers a similar level of satisfying action to the original.
HIT MAKER? The Secret Science Of Pop, 9pm, BBC4
CAN science create a hit pop song? Dr Armand Leroi (pictured) thinks so and brings his thoughtprovoking understanding of evolution to bear on the project. If you bring enough of the ‘mutations’ that have featured on big songs together in one tune, surely, success will follow . . .
FANTASY DRAMA The Magicians, 9pm, 5Star
THE clouds of war are gathering in episode two of this sassy magical tale as the students of Brakebills scour the university for the secrets of battle magic — which were hidden, years ago, by a mischievous pixie. Meanwhile, in the land of Fillory, King Eliot introduces his subjects to the miracle of manure.
POWER PLAY Billions, 9pm, Sky Atlanticc
THE swaggering male egos are in full flow in episode two o of the new season, as Axe grandstands at a conference for ‘thought leaders’ and attacks a rival’s business — while Rhoades hunts for a big case to save his job. It’s s intriguing to note that the women are nearly always the voices of caution on Billions.
U.S. STAND-UP Mike Birbiglia: Thank God For Jokes, Netflix
ARE there lines that humour should not cross? The thoughtful U.S. comedian charts the nature of jokes in his hit stand-up show.
MAN V NATURE The Wheel, 10pm, Discovery
THE survivalists are nearly a third of the way along, and model Lindsay’s (pictured) work ethic is getting her through life in the mountains. Meanwhile, Shon, who served in George W. Bush’s Presidential guard, is seeing the positive side of not being able to eat — an emerging six-pack. ‘I may be dying, but at least I’ll look good doing it.’
HORROR FLICK Darling, 10pm, Sky Premiere
SHOT in eerie blackand-white, this psychological horror has a well-sustained sense of unease. Lauren Ashley Carter (pictured) is a young woman hired as a custodian for a creepy New York mansion.
FINANCIAL GENIUS Becoming Warren Buffett, 10.45pm, Sky Atlantic
THE U.S. investor Warren Buffett, 86, has a net worth of more than $60 billion. He’s also very downto-earth, as this insider profile of his life reveals — Buffett’s day begins with him driving himself to work, stopping for breakfast at McDonald’s on the way.