The Missing
9pm, BBC1
A drama as befuddling as Harry and Jack Williams’s story of a kidnapped girl returned to her parents needs to be anchored by performances of quiet, still strength. It’s got them, with Keeley Hawes superb again tonight as a mother shattered by grief and confusion. Even in an episode that exists in the sad aftermath of last week’s explosive ending, the twin timelines and mass of concealed info still make us feel like we’re spinning helplessly in the dark. Jack Seale
Unarmed Black Man
9pm, BBC2
William Chapman, a teenager from Virginia, was one of 306 black men killed by US police in 2015. Unusually, Chapman’s death resulted not merely in the dismissal from the force of the (white) officer involved, Stephen Rankin, but in murder charges. James Jones’s fascinating film sees Rankin’s trial from both sides and attempts to do the same for the issue it highlights, an effort wretchedly unlikely to become redundant any time soon. Andrew Mueller
Television’s Opening Night: How the Box Was Born
9pm, BBC4
On 2 November 1936, the BBC first broadcast to the nation. The medium was more significant than the message: the content was a brief variety show and, in any case, hardly anyone had a TV at this point. This cheerful film sees a team led by Dallas Campbell and Professor Danielle George attempting to reconstruct that broadcast using approximations of the original equipment. Hardly an essential mission but it’s fun to see boffins at play and eventually, oddly touching to see this quixotic enterprise reach fruition. Phil Harrison
My Trans American Road Trip
10pm, Channel 4
Abigail Austen made headlines in 2007 as the first British army officer to transition from male from female, but she’s now more frequently found on the other side of the fence as a reporter for C4’s Unreported World. In this important documentary, she investigates why trans rights have been a major talking point in the run-up to the US election, looking at everything from conditions in the military to laws around public bathrooms. Hannah J Davies
This Time Next Year
8pm, ITV
In this concept-heavy new show, Davina McCall cocks her head to the side and listens while members of the public confide in her a deeply personal goal, be it losing weight, conceiving a child or finding love. Having filmed their interview a year ago, a “time-travel” format shows them appearing through a Stars in Their Eyes-type door moments later having done what they set out to do, to the delight of a studio audience. From the Cilla/Rantzen school of touchy-feely telly. Ben Arnold
Dropperz
8.30pm, ITV2
Hapless grime collective Dropperz aren’t exactly at the top of their game as they struggle to get it together this one-off comedy mockumentary pilot. It’s their last chance to film their video and find the fame they deserve, but with a dead rabbit and a guilty dog on their hands, it looks like they’re about to be dropped from their record label. Promising fun with a talented and witty cast including Kiell Smith-Bynoe, Guz Khan, Letitia Hector and Alexis Caley. Hannah Verdier
Conviction
9pm, Sky Living
New series in which Hayley Atwell plays a rebellious former First Daughter, presented with a choice: work for a new legal outfit aiming to exonerate the wrongly convicted, or go to prison for cocaine offences. She chooses the former: let’s face it, it’s no more bizarre than anything going on in actual US politics right now. Tonight she works to overturn the case of a “good-looking black poster-boy” imprisoned for murdering his high-school sweetheart. Ali Catterall
Film choice
The Greatest (Shana Feste, 2009) 11.45pm, BBC1
Carey Mulligan is sweetly compelling as Rose, a student grieving for her boyfriend (Aaron Johnson) who has died in a car crash after they made love for the first time. When she discovers she’s pregnant, an awkward relationship with his parents (Susan Sarandon and Pierce Brosnan) develops. Feste’s drama leaves many questions hanging, but is full of powerful performances. Paul Howlett
Fracture (Gregory Hoblit, 2007) 1.25am, Channel 4
Handsome-looking but daft legal thriller starring Anthony Hopkins as a brilliant aeronautical engineer who concocts the perfect murder, shooting his unfaithful wife (Embeth Davidtz) then running rings round young hotshot prosecutor Ryan Gosling in court. The implausibilities mount up alarmingly, but it’s a highly polished piece of entertainment. PH
Live sport
Tennis: The Paris Masters Coverage of the third day at the AccorHotels Arena in Paris. 10am, Sky Sports 1
Champions League Football: Tottenham Hotspur v Bayer Leverkusen Bayer visit Spurs’s temporary home at Wembley Stadium. 7pm, BT Sport 2
NBA: Boston Celtics v Chicago Bulls Coverage of the Eastern Conference clash direct from TD Garden. 12midnight, BT Sport 1
