Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Phil Harrison, Jack Seale, Ali Catterall and Simon Wardell

TV tonight: Nicola Coughlan and Lydia West’s ode to female friendship

Nicola Coughlan and Lydia West in Big Mood.
Through thick and thin … Nicola Coughlan and Lydia West in Big Mood. Photograph: Channel 4

Big Mood

10pm, Channel 4

We meet Maggie (Nicola Coughlan) giving her electric scooter away to a random stranger because she has caught an unwelcome glimpse of herself riding it in a shop window. Maggie is a mixture of performative self-confidence and needy brittleness. Her friend Eddie (Lydia West) is her level-headed anchor but has issues of her own. This promising new comedy-drama is a riotous but sensitive story of female friendship, which benefits from its considered treatment of mental health problems. In the opening episode, aspiring playwright Maggie visits her old school to give a talk to the sixth form. It is soon clear that her behaviour goes past thirtysomething recklessness and into more troubling areas. Phil Harrison

Taskmaster

9pm, Channel 4

Spring is in the air and a new series of Taskmaster is upon us. As usual, a unique dynamic is established almost instantly as a lineup of Joanne McNally, Nick Mohammed, Sophie Willan, John Robins and Steve Pemberton assume their positions. Already, Willan looks like a potential all-timer contestant. One of the most effortless and reliable pleasures TV has to offer. PH

The Dog House

8pm, Channel 4

Back to Woodgreen Pets Charity for more dog-human matchmaking that feels simultaneously outrageously manipulative and utterly irresistible to anyone with functioning emotional capacities. This week, a delightful bearded collie called Rexy Cutie meets 10-year-old Kristopher and family. PH

Bruce Lee: A Life in Ten Pictures

9pm, BBC Two

The device of showing loved ones and acquaintances still photos to prompt reminiscences works well in the case of Bruce Lee. It is especially effective in the early part of this programme, which recaptures the raw energy and potential of a young, highly dedicated martial artist whose showmanship was immediately apparent. Jack Seale

The Twelve

9pm, ITV1

Sam Neill stars in this slightly soapy Australian courtroom drama serial (first shown on ITVX) exploring the trial of Kate Lawson, a woman accused of murdering her 14-year-old niece. It opens with the jurors meeting for the first time – and it becomes clear that each of them is bringing their own, arguably intrusive problems to the table. PH

Sliced

10pm, BBC Three

“You go to one sex party dressed as a dog and no one lets you forget it.” Could this be the reason Josh is having trouble pulling Naomi? That, and her horrible boyfriend, too – who’s just challenged his hapless rival to a boxing match. Can a local Catholic priest offer Josh more than the last rites? Ali Catterall

Film choice

Trainspotting (Danny Boyle, 1996), 10.45pm, Film4
Adapted imaginatively from Irvine Welsh’s episodic novel, Danny Boyle’s hyperactive drama takes his group of Edinburgh heroin addicts and brings them to comic if painful life. Ewan McGregor plays Renton, our guide to a world of excruciating but hilarious misadventures, petty crime, random violence – courtesy of the heavy-drinking Begbie (a truly terrifying Robert Carlyle) – and gut-wrenching drug experiences. Featuring a stonking soundtrack (Underworld, Iggy Pop, Lou Reed) and Boyle’s inventive box of visual tricks, it’s a perfect blend of horror and humour. Simon Wardell

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.