This week in TV, Paddy McGuinness investigates autism, plane crash drama Yellowjackets lands in the UK and Superman and Lois Lane face their toughest challenge yet.
Sarah Beeny’s New Life in the Country
Tuesday
Channel 4, 8.00pm
Channel 4 check back in with property expert Sarah Beeny and her family’s ambitious build in Somerset.
After leaving London life for a new start in 2020, they began turning a 220-acre former dairy farm into the stately home of their dreams. Now the shell is built, they will turn their attention to the interior, dressing up one room at a time starting with the grand hallway. But first the downstairs will need a concrete floor.
Meanwhile, Sarah adds a beehive to their apiary, and family dog Maple has a surprise in store.
Paddy And Christine McGuinness: Our Family And Autism
Wednesday
BBC One, 9.00pm
Paddy McGuinness and his wife Christine share their struggles raising their children, all three of whom have been diagnosed with autism.
The documentary intimately follows the McGuinnesses for many months, at home and as they meet other parents, experts and people on the autism spectrum. Among them is former England footballer Paul Scholes, who has a 16 year-old son with non-verbal autism.
Positive
Wednesday
Sky Showcase, 9.00pm
Sky marks World AIDS Day with a new documentary that tells of the tragedies and triumphs of Britain’s battle with HIV.
With testimonies from patients and heroes, the three-part series starts with the first ever recorded UK case in 1981 and tracks the history of the disease right through to the present day. With prevention methods such as PrEP and treatment methods leading to an undetectable status widely available, there is now less stigma and fewer new cases.
The documentary will also double as a social history lesson, retracing the making of modern Britain from the prejudice and homophobia of the 1980s to today’s increasingly accepting society.
Yellowjackets
Thursday
Sky Atlantic, 9.00pm
Yellowjackets began life as an all-female film adaptation of Lord of the Flies, before mutating into a genre-blending plane crash survival story some are calling the new Lost.
It begins in 1996, when a New Jersey high school soccer team travels to Seattle for a national tournament. While flying over Canada, the plane crashes deep in the Ontario wilderness and the remaining players are left to survive for 19 months. And so begins the descent into madness.
25 years later in 2021, the survivors are still trying to piece their lives back together.
Superman & Lois
Saturday
BBC One, 5.40pm
After years of battling monsters, aliens and supervillains, Clark Kent, aka Superman, and famous journalist Lois Lane take on their toughest challenge yet: parenting. Though that doesn’t stop Lois’ father General Samuel Lane from requesting Superman’s services at a moment’s notice.
Meanwhile, the couple’s return to idyllic life in Smallville is upended by the arrival of a mysterious stranger.