Phil Wang and Colin from Accounts punctuate an otherwise crime-drama filled week, with The Tower and Slow Horses returning.
The Tower (Series Three)
Monday
ITV1, 9.00pm
Picking up two years after series two, DS Sarah Collins (Gemma Whelan, Upstart Crow) and PC Lizzie Adama (Tahirah Sharif, The Haunting of Bly Manor) are forced together for another case.
Their story began in series one as Adama, then a junior officer, witnessed a senior member of staff and a teenage girl fall to their deaths from a tower block. Collins was tasked with investigating the incident. The two have struggled through serious mistrust and power imbalance issues, as Adama dealt with the repercussions of her trauma whilst Collins gave her the third degree.
In series three Adama is balancing being a detective and a new mother, whilst Collins is considering dropping her stern by-the-book attitude in the face of a stabbing case that logic can’t solve.
Phil Wang: Wang in There, Baby!
Tuesday
Netflix
Taskmaster alum Phil Wang is back after touring for two years around the world.
Some would argue The Globe’s Sam Wanamaker stage (famously lit by beeswax candles) was the perfect stage to immortalise an hour-long set on octopuses, the British fear of reheated rice, and the horror of saying ‘touch wood’ and realising there’s no wood about.
Colin From Accounts: Series Two
Tuesday
BBC Two, 10.00pm
Contrary to what you’d expect, Colin isn’t an accountant stereotype – he’s a stray dog.
In this Australian rom-com, series one’s meet-cute was less cute and more spontaneous-flashing-almost-kills-stray-dog. Husband and wife duo Harriet Dyer (The Invisible Man) and Patrick Brammall (Glitch) star as Ashley Mulden (the flasher) and Gordon Crapp (the crasher). When faced with a slightly squashed dog, they decide to split responsibility and raise it together.
In series two, Colin the dog has been given away to new owners due to Ashley and Gordon's rocky relationship, but as the two move in together, they’ll go to any lengths to get him back.
Slow Horses: Series Four
Wednesday
Apple TV+
Gary Oldman stars as Jackson Lamb, a ‘past-it’ detective heading up a team of MI5 agents at Slough House. Those sent to Slough House are referred to as the “slow horses” or, as Lamb says it, “the rejects.”
Somehow these rejects wind up investigating crimes which threaten Britain’s safety. Last series saw the slow horses come up against MI5 itself when one of their own was kidnapped, leading to a wider plot involving a disgruntled MI5 employee. Series four will continue to follow Mick Herron’s series of Slough House novels, suggesting a bigger role for Jonathan Pryce’s David Cartwright. The retiree’s return sparks concern for Lamb and causes his grandson River Cartwright (Jack Lowden, Mary Queen of Scots) to go rogue.
The Perfect Couple
Thursday
Netflix
When a famous crime writer’s life starts to resemble her novels, everyone is a suspect.
Nicole Kidman plays Greer Garrison Winbury, the murder mystery mogul in question. No expense is spared for her son’s wedding to Amelia (Eve Hewson, Bad Sisters). The wedding must be lavish and luxurious, even if Greer doesn’t approve of her son’s choice.
When a body is discovered on the beach, the bride’s status drops down in the list of concerns. Every member of the wedding party is under investigation – the groom’s father (Liev Schreiber, Asteroid City), the groom’s sister-in-law (Dakota Fanning, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood), the bride’s best friend (Meghann Fahy, The White Lotus), the new groom-to-be (Billy Howle, Under the Banner of Heaven), and Greer herself. A bad start for the perfect couple...