Vienna Blood
9pm, BBC Two
The Freudian double act – brilliant young psychoanalyst Max Liebermann and husky-toned investigating officer Oskar Rheinhardt – reunite to solve another bizarre murder mystery in 1900s Vienna. Eccentric in tone and humour, the second season focuses on a depressed countess who is found drowned in the bath of her lavish hotel suite, and happened to be one of Liebermann’s patients. In episode one of the three-parter, theydive straight into solving the head-scratching puzzle. Hollie Richardson
Dispatches: Vaccine Wars – The Truth About Pfizer
7.30pm, Channel 4
The Pfizer vaccine has saved millions of lives, and has been chosen as the jab for the roll-out of boosters. But, as the pharmaceutical corporation declares billions in revenue from its Covid shot, and has raised its prices in the EU, US and UK, reporter Antony Barnett investigates the ethics of the vaccine makers. HR
Gardeners’ World Winter Specials
8pm, BBC Two
In the first of three specials, Adam Frost visits Cambridge University Botanic Garden; Joe Swift discovers a garden in north London that was inspired by a trip to the Grand Canyon; Nick Bailey champions evergreen planting; and Kate Bradbury has advice on how to care for the wildlife in our gardens during the winter months. Ali Catterall
Grayson’s Art Club: An Exhibition for Britain
8pm, Channel 4
Let’s not dwell on the spine-chilling realisation that Perry’s first TV art club aired in the first lockdown – which is now nearly two years ago. Onwards with a celebration of the public’s pandemic artworks in this one-off exhibition, using some of the 17,000 submissions he received. As well as meeting the artists, he takes viewers on a behind-the-scenes tour of the collection at the Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, where it is on show. HR
Nick Cave: Idiot Prayer
9pm, BBC Four
Gravest hits: this feature-length concert film – originally streamed in 2020 – situates Cave and a Fazioli grand piano at the centre of a cavernously empty Alexandra Palace in London for a sombre, no-frills solo recital. Aside from a chuckle at an unexpected bum note, the tone is austere, hypnotic and often deeply moving. Graeme Virtue
The Graham Norton Show
10.35pm, BBC One
Tonight’s guests include Olivia Colman, shortly to appear in Maggie Gyllenhaal’s directorial debut, The Lost Daughter; Mahershala Ali, who takes the lead in futuristic drama Swan Song; Jack Whitehall; Jennifer Lawrence; and Keanu Reeves, star of Matrix reboot The Matrix Resurrections, in which Neo takes the blue pill and just sits around eating Wotsits all day. Ali Catterall
Film choices
Encounter (Michael Pearce, 2021) Amazon Prime Video
What starts out as a potential cross between Invasion of the Body Snatchers and Phase IV evolves into a touching tale of family breakup and a soldier’s trauma in Michael Pearce’s drama. Riz Ahmed’s former Marine, Malik, turns up at ex-wife’s house and spirits away his two young sons to save them from parasitical “non-terrestrial micro-organisms” taking over humanity. But, as becomes clear during their road trip across arid lands, the roots of his paranoia are more prosaic. Ahmed’s skill at playing intense, off-kilter characters is to the fore, while Octavia Spencer gives steady support as his parole officer. Simon Wardell
Mr Jones (Agnieszka Holland, 2019) Amazon Prime Video
Gareth Jones was a foreign office adviser and journalist who exposed the deaths of millions in the Soviet famine of the early 1930s, but was belittled by the press and ignored by governments more concerned with international relations. Agnieszka Holland’s historical thriller brings his story to light, albeit with some fictional embellishments, using Jones’s supposed influence on George Orwell to frame it in Animal Farm references. James Norton portrays him as an engaging if naive character who slips into Ukraine to witness the deadly lie of communist progress. SW
