This week in TV offers daring delves into darkness with new thrillers, some lighter comic relief and a big dig deep into our past.
Here are our top picks.
Des
Monday 14th September
ITV, 9pm
Three-part miniseries Des stars David Tennant as the notorious real life serial killer Dennis Nilsen, a Scottish civil servant who freely admitted to multiple killings in 1983.
Based on the book Killing for Company by Brian Masters, Des follows the investigation of the ‘kindly killer’ led by Detective Chief Inspector Peter Jay (Daniel Mays from Line of Duty) and biographer Brian Masters (The Crown’s Jason Watkins).
In this first episode, DCI Jay is called to a North London address and alerted to nearby drains clogged with human fragments. Upon Nilsen’s return from work, the grisly extent of the crime soon becomes apparent.
The Third Day
Tuesday 15th September
Sky Atlantic, 2am & 9pm
From writer Dennis Kelly (Utopia) comes a new mystery mini-series, The Third Day.
Sam (Jude Law) and Helen (Naomie Harris) are lured to a mysterious island off the British coast at different times but both in search of answers. The inhabitants of the island are just as mysterious and set on preserving their traditions at all costs.
Also starring Emily Watson, the ambitious drama will be told in three parts including a theatrical element broadcast live from the island.
Britain’s Biggest Dig
Tuesday 15th September
BBC Two, 9pm
BBC Two covers the biggest archaeological excavation the country has ever seen.
Construction of the UK’s planned high speed railway, HS2, has allowed archaeologists to unearth the stories of civilisations from the Stone Age right up to the 20th century.
Cameras will capture the digging at the various sites across the country, including Georgian and Victorian city graveyards and Romano-British remains.
Coupled with archive material, the series will retrace the steps of those who lived and died along the HS2 route, from painters and prizefighters to medieval peasants and lords, in an ambitious investigation into our own origins.
Frankie Boyle’s New World Order
Thursday 18th September
BBC Two, 10pm
Frankie Boyle’s New World Order recently returned for more searing indictments of the establishment through bleakly comic monologue and discussion.
Joining Boyle in dissecting this week’s news are series regulars Sara Pascoe and Miles Jupp, and guests Kiri Pritchard-McLean and Lucy Prebble.
Ratched
Friday 19th September
Netflix
A monster is made in the form of asylum nurse Mildred Ratched in this new prequel to One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest from the creator of American Horror Story, Ryan Murphy.
In 1947, Mildred (Sarah Paulson) seeks employment at a leading psychiatric hospital that has recently begun inhumane experiments on the human mind.
Mildred appears to be a dedicated nurse on the surface, but as she becomes jaded and bitter, the darkness lurking beneath festers – much to the horror of her patients.
Long Way Up
Friday 19th September
Apple TV+
Ewan McGregor and his best friend Charley Boorman leather up for another motorcycle odyssey that marks their first in more than a decade (the last being BBC Two’s Long Way Down in 2007).
Mounting their trusty steeds - electric Harley-Davidsons - and using state of the art technology, they aim to cover 13,000 miles over 100 days through 13 countries, from the southern tip of Argentina to Los Angeles. All the while, the two aim to leave behind as small a carbon footprint as possible.
The first three episodes will premiere on Friday before new episodes roll out weekly.
Tour De France Live 2020
Sunday 20th September
ITV4, 3.45pm
As per tradition, the final stage of this year's Tour De France will see the remaining riders enter Paris from Mates-la-Jolie, while champagne toasting the overall winners. As they approach Paris, the momentary truce is scrapped for eight flat-out laps around the city centre and one last fierce sprint up the Champs-Élysées.
The commentary duo of Ned Boulting and David Millar are on hand for analysis, insight, and ramblings.
