We Need to Talk About Death
9pm, BBC Two
Are we over-medicalising our final years at the expense of palliative care that would result in a higher quality of life? Dr Kevin Fong tackles these and other questions about mortality in a resonant documentary. It features interviews with terminally ill people, and the doctors and relatives who care for them, all of whom agree that “nearly everyone feels better for having a frank conversation about what lies ahead”. Plus we learn about the Netherlands Ambulance Wish Foundation, which grants the last wishes of 2,000 people a year. Mike Bradley
Danny Dyer’s Right Royal Family
9pm, BBC One
Entertaining two-part caper sparked by Danny Dyer’s recent Who Do You Think You Are? The EastEnder knows exactly how much ham (and boiled goat’s head) to serve up as he explores the lifestyles of his noble forebears, beginning in ninth-century Sweden in the guise of Rollo, the infamous Viking. MB
Cleaning Up
9pm, ITV
There’s another turn toward the ridiculous, as cleaner-cum-insider trader Sam (Sheridan Smith) begins impersonating Blake’s silent partner. Still, if anyone can bring the audience along for the ride it is our girl Sheridan. The plot has more holes in it than a furtively shredded document, but she makes it work. Ellen E Jones
Magnum PI
9pm, Sky One
It’s hard not to be a little charmed by this reboot of the 80s series, which has the decency not to take itself too seriously. For viewers it is a throwback to a breezier era, pre-Wire, when procedural drama wasn’t under pressure to be, well, very good. Tonight, Magnum helps a fisherman recover a stolen tuna. That’s right. David Stubbs
Valley of the Boom
9pm, National Geographic
Don’t be afraid to join this tech-boom drama on its second episode: you’ll pick the plot up quickly and it is well worth the investment. It is a wry account of the browser wars in mid-90s Silicon Valley that combines historical and present-day perspectives – and also features a rap battle. MB
Russell Howard and Mum: Globetrotters
10pm, Comedy Central
The comic and his ma, Ninette, start their tour of the far east on Koh Phangan, Thailand, an island famous for indulging gap-year backpackers’ hippy leanings. There’s one joke – that taking your mum to a sultry tantric festival is fraught with embarrassment – but Howard milks it with some skill. Jack Seale
Film choice
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (Tomas Alfredson), 11.40pm, ITV4
John le Carré’s old-school spy George Smiley gets a top-class remake from Tomas Alfredson. Britain in the 70s is evoked in all its down-at-heel austerity as Smiley (Gary Oldman) negotiates a plot of double- and triple-cross. Among the fine cast are Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hardy, Mark Strong and Colin Firth. Paul Howlett
Today’s best live sport
Test Cricket: West Indies v England 1pm Sky Sports Cricket. Day one of the first Test.
League Cup Football: Burton Albion v Manchester City 7.30pm, Sky Sports Main Event. Burton seek to overturn a nine-goal deficit from the first leg.
Golf: Dubai Desert Classic 4am Sky Sports Main Event. The Emirates Golf Club hosts the European Tour event.
