Satellite choice FREEVIEW MOVIE
FACT-BASED FILM Critical Thinking, 4.20pm, Sky Premiere
JOHN LEGUIZAMO (who also directs) plays the inspirational teacher who schools underdog Miami teens in chess, and takes them to the national championships.
SEASONAL SING-SONG Katherine Jenkins: Christmas Spectacular From The Royal Albert Hall, Britbox
THIS festive special will be showing on ITV on Christmas Eve, but fans of the singer can see it from today on the BBC and ITV’s subscription service.
SWEET TREATS Rachel Khoo’s Chocolate Special, 7pm, Food Network
THE chef (pictured) puts a chocolate twist on familiar festive recipes such as mince pies, gingerbread and eggnog. This one-off is a preamble to an entirely chocolate-centredred series due on the on-demand service discovery+ in January.
FOOTBALL Brighton & Hove Albion v Southampton, 7pm, Sky Premier League & Main Event
THE Saints won 2-0 at the Amex last season, but could find goals harder to come by against a Seagulls side who held Liverpool to a 1-1 draw last time out, despite missing a penalty.
NUCLEAR TALE Operation Buffalo, Acorn TV
THIS Australian drama brings a satirical and farcical eye to the true story of British nuclear testing in supposedly abandoned parts of the outback. An admirably offbeat way into a lesser-known historical story.
CANINE CONTEST America’s Top Dog, 8pm, Sky History
THIS is the kind of show the Americans do better than anyone. Everyone is giving it their best in this ‘ultimate canine competition’, in which a mix of police and civilian human-dog teams tackle obstacles that mimic real-life law enforcement situations. Continues daily.
HIGH-SCHOOL DRAMA Euphoria: Trouble Don’t Last Always, 9pm, Sky Atlantic
ZENDAYA picked up an Emmy for her role as Rue in HBO’s graphic teen drama, and she’s still the best reason to watch as it returns for a new special. The story picks up right after the cliffhanger, when Rue left Jules at the station.
EAST MEETS WEST
Red Penguins: Murder, Money And Ice Hockey — Storyville, 10pm, BBC4
IN DYSFUNCTIONAL Russia in the Nineties, the Red Army ice hockey team struggled for cash. So, in swooped the Pittsburgh Penguins from the U.S., with a go-getting attitude and bundles of cash. The lively culture clash that followed is well-told by this new documentary.
ACTION FLICK Ava, Netflix
A KILLER goes off script in a standard action thriller lifted by a hugely impressive cast, namely Jessica Chastain (as the killer, Ava), Colin Farrell (her boss), John Malkovich (her mentor) and Geena Davis (her mum).
DRAMA REPEAT The Trouble With Maggie Cole, 11.10pm, ITV3
DAWN FRENCH plays bubbly local historian Maggie Cole, a woman who reveals way too much during a radio interview, in ITV’s drama set in a seemingly idyllic coastal town. This is the first of a nightly repeat for an engaging and unusual story.
Lean On Pete, 11.15pm,p Film4
BRIT Andrew Haigh (whose drama 45 Years follows at 1.40am) heads to America for this unsentimental coming-of-age drama. Charlie Plummer (pictured) stars as the troubled teenager who finds peace at the racetrack. There, he befriends a trainer and the horse of the title.