The very best of the week ahead
Today The Little Drummer Girl BBC ONE, 9.00PM
Cult Korean director Park Chan-wook ( Oldboy) may not have been the most obvious choice for the BBC’s new six-part adaptation of John le Carré’s novel, but he proves an inspired one. Park shoots this slow-burning opening episode with an almost woozy voluptuousness, and pays much attention to the vivid colour palette as to the intricacies of the plot. We are miles away here from the slick, shallow fun of the overrated The Night Manager – as a lovely little scene that makes pointed use of folk classic Murder of Maria Marten shows. Instead, Park and writers Michael Lesslie and Claire Wilson are happy to take their time building up a complicated story of terrorism, belief and betrayal, with radical young actress Charlie (a luminescent Florence Pugh) at the centre of a growing web of lies. Also along for the ride are Alexander Skarsgård, playing the obligatory mysterious stranger who approaches Charlie on the Greek island where she’s busy rehearsing with her acting troupe, and the magnificent Michael Shannon, as an Israeli intelligence officer with schemes of his own. Sarah Hughes
Inside No 9 Live BBC TWO, 10.00PM
Steve Pemberton, Reece Shearsmith return with a Hallowe’en special titled Dead Line – and, bravely, they’re performing the entire episode live. Pemberton plays Arthur Flitwick, who finds an old mobile phone in a graveyard that unleashes “a nightmare of his own making”. Prepare for chills and thrills… SH
Monday True Horror: the Witches’ Prison CHANNEL 4, 11.05PM
After a well-regarded ed three-part run in April, dramadocumentary True Horror returns for Hallowe’en week with writer-director Amanda Boyle once again weaving together dramatised “real-life” paranormal encounters with the recollections of those involved. The quotation marks are necessary: you either buy into this stuff or you don’t. For her part, saleswoman Vanessa Mitchell (played in the dramatic scenes by Michelle Ryan, aka EastEnders’ Zoe Slater) seems convinced that her encounters with malevolent spirits in “The Cage”, her unpromisingly named Tudor cottage in Essex, were real. After all, the site was rumoured to have played host to the torture of witches, who supposedly then cursed the ground. Sure enough, shortly after moving in and a few false alarms, things begin to move inexplicably, taps are turned on, doors slam and the visions begin – then Vanessa bec becomes unexpectedly pregnant… Gabriel Gabr Tate
With forme former soldier Alice Munezero (Noma (N Dumezweni) in custody and lawyer Michael (John Good Goodman) assailed from all sides, legal le investigator Kate Ashby (M (Michaela Coel) is finally cornered. c Can she prove t the truth of her history history? Nothing is simple in Hu Hugo Blick’s drama, but this i is a deeply satisfying clim climax to what’s been a mem memorable series. GT
Tuesday The Great British Bake Off: The Final CHANNEL 4, 8.00PM
After a particularly hard-fought series, featuring the most challenging Showstopper ever in last week’s nerve-jangling, patisserie-based semi-final, Bake Off at last has its three finalists. They are 27-year-old mental health specialist Kim-Joy; 29-year-old project manager Ruby Bhogal; and 30-year-old research scientist Rahul Mandal. As Kim-Joy said: “It’s got to be the most balanced final ever – right?” Which is probably fair, given that each of the three has been named star baker an equal number of times (twice). Let’s just hope that they all have had plenty of time to prepare because this fiendishly difficult final is designed to test every aspect of their baking skills as never before. Up first is a decorativedoughnut Signature challenge, then a deceptively simple Technical (that’s not baked in the tent) and, as the bakers’ families gather outside on the lawn, an intricate, multilayered, edible landscape Showstopper that will, ultimately, decide who lifts this year’s crown. Gerard O’Donovan
The Fires that Foretold Grenfell BBC TWO, 9.00PM; SCOTLAND, 11.15PM
Jamie Roberts’ disturbing film suggests that there were five major fires that should have alerted us to faulty cladding and evacuation procedures in tower blocks, but were ignored. The First: Natascha McElhone
Wednesday Dark Heart
ITV, 9.00PM some) may have a slight sense of déjà vu during the opening episodes of this dark new crime series (part two airs on Thursday night). That’s because the first two episodes aired on the now-defunct channel back in 2016. So, is it any good? The initial signs are promising. It’s written by Chris Lang, creator of the compelling Unforgotten, and has a top-notch cast including Tom Riley as lead detective Will Wagstaffe (Staffe to his mates) and Charlotte Riley (no relation) as his sister, who has problems of her own. The trouble is that the plot – adapted from Adam Creed’s novels – is a little too by-numbers, as well as being very gruesome, at least by the standards of
Unforgotten. Instead, we’re much in Marcella territory here (albeit with less melodrama and general madness). Staffe finds his much-needed holiday cut short, thanks to the rather gruesome discovery of a mutilated body. Worse still, the victim turns out to have been suspected of sexually abusing his daughters, although the charges were dropped. And when a second body turns up, similarly mutilated, it begins to look as though the investigative team have a serial killer on their hands. SH The Secret Life of the Zoo CHANNEL 4, 8.00PM
As this enjoyable fly-on-the-wall series returns, the zookeepers are worried about pregnant elephant Tipi, who could be up to three months overdue. Meanwhile, giraffe Meru’s enthusiasm for the opposite sex is causing problems… SH
Thursday The First CHANNEL 4, 9.00PM
The combination of two-time Oscar winner Sean Penn and House of Cards creator Beau Willimon ought to bode well for this new US co-production about the first manned mission to Mars. Penn plays Tom Hagerty, a legendary retired astronaut who once walked on the moon, with Natascha McElhone as the CEO of the company backing the risky endeavour. Tonight’s opener blasts off with an incredibly tense first quarter, after which the drama slows down like a rocket booster that’s run out of fuel. The action gives way instead to an exploration of Hagerty, a man more able to help others than his own family, as we discover during fraught exchanges with his adult daughter that sometimes struggle to escape the feeling of cliché. And Penn, normally such a master of intensity, is so far a little low-key in his first regular TV role. But the series’ pedigree is so impressive, there’s plenty of hope yet that The First can boldly go to new dramatic heights once Hagerty gets shot into space. Vicki Power Ariana Grande at the BBC BBC ONE, 8.00PM
Ariana Grande’s conduct after the Manchester Arena bombing, throwing a charity gig two weeks later, earned her a place in our hearts. Tonight, the American pop star is feted with a BBC studio concert and interviewed by Davina McCall. VP
Friday House of Cards NETFLIX, FROM TODAY
It feels like the end of an era for Netflix. Just a fortnight after the final season was announced for its other
The Great British Bake Off: the finalists early smash hit, Orange Is the New Black, the series that established it as a major player comes to an end in circumstances that might politely be described as “difficult”. Not that you’d know it from watching Robin Wright’s supreme confidence as President Claire Underwood; she takes the helm after the public disgrace of both her husband, the former President Frank Underwood (who has since died) and the actor who played him, Kevin Spacey (whose career is on life support). One hundred days into her presidency and with the Fourth of July near, Claire resolves to ignore the many lunatic threats to her safety, perhaps unwisely, to make her first significant public appearance since Frank’s demise. GT AMAZON PRIME, FROM TODAY
Julia Roberts stars as a caseworker at an organisation helping ex-soldiers who finds herself uncovering a shocking conspiracy. Overseen by
Mr Robot’s Sam Esmail, it’s a visual and cerebral treat, and one of Amazon’s most striking series to date. GT