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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Jack Seale, Hannah Verdier, Hollie Richardson and Simon Wardell

TV tonight: the deeply moving finale of John Wilson’s spectacular comedy

John Wilson with camera in New York City
I am a camera … John Wilson gets out and about in New York City. Photograph: Home Box Office/BBC/2021 Home Box Office, Inc. All rights reserved. HBO® and all related programs are the property of Home Box Office, Inc.

How to With John Wilson

11.05pm, BBC Two

In the first of two episodes, Wilson gives us another apparently aimless amble, chatting about dreams and the relative merits of fiction and nonfiction, but it snaps into focus when the US film-maker stumbles upon a meeting of a group of Avatar superfans. Their shared dynamic is dorky, then deeply moving. Afterwards, in the season finale, John attempts spontaneity. Jack Seale

Kirstie’s Handmade Christmas

5pm, Channel 4

Look away now if you think life’s too short to weave straw, because the patron saint of homemade joy is unleashing more of her trademark skills. Four crafters will whip up the ideal Christmas hamper in the hope of scooping the big prize. Even if you wouldn’t dream of trying to match Allsopp’s skills, it’s reliably relaxing to watch. Hannah Verdier

Granite Harbour

8pm, BBC One

Romario Simpson as DC Davis Lindo in Granite Harbour
Looking for answers … Romario Simpson as DC Davis Lindo, Photograph: Robert Pereira Hind/BBC/LA Productions

“All I want to do is find out what happened to Clellan!” Will Police Scotland’s newest recruit, DC Davis Lindo (Romario Simpson), finally solve the case in the climactic episode? Not without a few intense interrogations and shocking revelations first. Hollie Richardson

Christmas at Harewood House

8pm, Channel 4

TV isn’t short on shows about the ups and downs of stately homes in the lead-up to Christmas. Now it’s the turn of Harewood House in West Yorkshire, which boasts the “finest collection of Chippendale furniture in the world”. It also has a murky legacy built on plantation profits – a fact it owns up to and aims to address in its exhibitions. HR

The Graham Norton Show

10.40pm, BBC One

Taking on the vocals of Whitney Houston in a forthcoming biopic, Naomi Ackie joins Norton on the sofa tonight. Graham will also be chatting to Tom Hanks, who plays a grump in new film A Man Called Otto, and Suranne Jones, who is a modern-day Ebenezer Scrooge in Sky’s festive series, Christmas Carole. HR

The Big Narstie Show: Christmas Special

11.05pm, Channel 4

To sign off the hit series, Big Narstie and Mo Gilligan get into the festive spirit. Joining in the mayhem tonight are comedian Thanyia Moore, rapper Headie One, singer Jada Kingdom and Dragons’ Den entrepreneur Steven Bartlett. HR

Film choice

Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths (Alejandro G Iñárritu, 2022), Netflix

Daniel Giménez Cacho as Silverio in Bardo: False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths
Daniel Giménez Cacho as Silverio in Bardo: False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths. Photograph: Rodrigo Jardon/Netflix

Oscar-winning director Alejandro G Iñárritu certainly doesn’t lack ambition. This wildly expansive comedy-drama takes Fellini’s 8½ as inspiration in its tale of Mexican documentary film-maker Silverio (Daniel Giménez Cacho). Based in the US, he returns home with his family to receive a prestigious journalism award but is assailed by dreams, memories and doubts about his integrity, his identity and his feelings towards his homeland. A beautifully shot, surreal shaggy dog story. Simon Wardell

The Amazing Maurice (Toby Genkel, 2022), 11.40am, 8pm, Sky Cinema Premiere

Terry Pratchett’s children’s fantasy novel, which riffs off the Pied Piper story, receives a spirited treatment in this animated comedy. It follows a self-centred talking cat, Maurice (Hugh Laurie), a flute-playing boy, Keith (Himesh Patel), and a characterful band of rats as they bring their Pied Piper-themed scam to a new town, only to discover a darker evil lurking there. Emilia Clarke voices the inquisitive, fairytale-obsessed Malicia, who joins the gang in their quest for the truth. It’s a quick-witted film that plays with its Grimm conventions but never ignores them. SW

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