Friday 31 May
The Ones Who Live
Sky Max, 2am & 9pm
“I tried. Please know, I tried.” Rather than Andrew Lincoln talking about resisting a return to the role which has occupied him almost exclusively since 2010, these are the first words of Lincoln’s Rick Grimes in this spin-off from hit zombie series The Walking Dead. The Ones Who Live finds his redoubtable sheriff trying to track down the equally maverick love of his life, samurai sword-wielding Michonne (Danai Gurira), and his daughter, Judith, who have long presumed him dead. Rick, last seen on screen back in 2019, is now in Philadelphia working for the paramilitary CRM, who are prepared to overlook his dogged detachment and repeated attempts to escape thanks to his zombie-killing talents and obvious leadership potential.
Initially intended as a film before the onset of a real-world pandemic, The Ones Who Live inevitably labours in the shadows of such fresher, more vigorous post-apocalyptic epic series as The Last of Us or Fallout, but the occasional set-piece still impresses and Lincoln’s gruff charisma endures. While newcomers will be baffled, long-time fans will be delighted by a few other familiar faces over the six episodes. GT
Kafka
Channel4.com
Walter Presents’ latest import is an enjoyably irreverent six-parter from novelist Daniel Kehlmann and director David Schalko, with Joel Basman as the writer whose mastery of bureaucracy is counterbalanced by the chaos of his private life, anxious relationship with his father and rollercoaster friendship with Max Brod (David Kross).
Smart Motorways: The Shocking Truth
Channel 5, 7pm
This is a sober report on the disastrous introduction of smart motorways in Britain, with alarming anecdotal evidence to go with the cautionary statistics, and contributions from Telegraph journalist Steve Bird. Hell on the Highway at 8pm, on the other hand, asks analysts to comment on an array of road accidents.
Double the Money
Channel 4, 8pm
Sue Perkins’s curiously compelling reality show reaches its penultimate stage with the remaining couples given three weeks to make £8,000 from £4,000: a party-bus tour threatens to veer off track, unwanted bric-a-brac may not prove a money spinner and tickets prove hard to shift for haphazardly conceived food and music festivals (former Apprentice contestants will watch on with enormous sympathy).
Have I Got News For You
BBC One, 9pm; Wales, 9.30pm
The Telegraph’s TV columnist Victoria Coren Mitchell sits in the hotseat for the 19th time, with comedian Chris McCausland and debutante Sophy Ridge, the Sky News journalist, joining Paul Merton and Ian Hislop.
Hidden Treasures of the National Trust
BBC Two, 9.30pm
Urban Huttleston Rogers Broughton had a collection almost as extraordinary as his name, with some of Anglesey Abbey’s 15,000 objects showcased tonight including books, paintings and crucifixes. There’s also time to visit a superficially boring Worksop semi and Killerton House’s rare fashion collection.
The Nevermets
Channel 4, 10pm
This neat twist on the dating show continues with three more long-distance couples meeting for the first time: a law graduate hopes to meet her elusive boyfriend in Dubai, a 17-year-old forks out for a 4,500-mile journey to Kerela, and Sarah goes even further – her boyfriend lives in the Philippines with a phalanx of friends who could turn her trip into a waste of time.
We’re the Millers (2013) ★★★
ITV2, 9pm
David (Jason Sudeikis) is a small-time drug dealer who takes on a job to clear a debt, disguising himself as a family man alongside a stripper (Jennifer Aniston) and two loner children. The key to the film’s success is Aniston’s hilarious play against type, her character struggling in vain to maintain her sweetheart persona as she gets caught up in the mad goings-on of the criminal underworld. Rawson Marshall Thurber (Dodgeball) directs.
Dunkirk (2017) ★★★★★
BBC One, 10.40pm
Christopher Nolan is still riding high after his Oscars sweep for Oppenheimer and consequent knighthood. But as any admirer will know, Dunkirk is Nolan at his most ambitious: technologically impressive, yet not a bit of CGI in sight, and entrusting a young cast – Fionn Whitehead, Tom Glynn-Carney, Harry Styles – with bringing his vision to life. The story is told through three perspectives, taking place in the air, sea and on land.
Team America: World Police (2004) ★★★★
Channel 4, 11.05pm
The film that answered the question we never thought to ask: what would happen if South Park were crossed with Thunderbirds? A group of all-action marionettes must save the world from terrorists, led by Kim Jong-Il. This is a hysterical romp that remains remarkably relevant, but it’s not one for the easily offended – it caused quite a stir when it was released. Trey Parker directs the puppets.
