carnival series
Friday 17 February prime video
Orlando Bloom and Cara Delevingne return to the exciting world of fantasy. carnival series, for the second and final round of steampunk action. Despite leaving the police force, Inspector Philostratus (Bloom) is still helping to investigate a serial killer plaguing the city. He soon discovers evidence linking the murders to his former lover, Vignette Stonemoss (Delevingne), who has taken it upon herself to punish the people who tortured their fellow fairies.
star struck
Saturday, February 18, 20:30, ITV1
Aired shortly after the final The Masked Singer, the singing show in which tribute artists compete for £50,000, is back to spice up ITV1’s Saturday nights. Country music legend Shania Twain is on the jury this year, along with Adam Lambert, Beverly Knight and Jason Manford. Tom Jones, Sam Smith and Chaka Khan are the first singers to impersonate others. Let’s hope they don’t turn it on by accident.
British Academy Film Awards 2023
Sunday 19 February 19:00 BBC One
German war film No news from the western front leads this year’s Film Baftas with 14 nominations, including Best Picture. Should Everything, everywhere, all at once AND Banshee by Inisherin10 in each. For the first time, Richard E. Grant will host the ceremony live from London’s Southbank Center (though only for the last four categories).
Go hard or go home
Sunday 19 February 21:00 BBC One
Radio 1 DJ Jordan North is hosting a new series of fitness reality shows (yes, another) that sees eight Britons spend 28 days on a beautiful tropical island in hopes of a physical and mental reboot. These “trainees” team up with “warriors” who have used sports and fitness to defeat their own demons, who will take them through extreme trials and grueling routines to turn their lives around. More like her than me.
Ukraine from above: secrets of the front
Sunday, February 19, 22:00, Channel 4
This documentary chronicles the year-long resistance of Ukrainian citizens who used sophisticated aerial tactics to defeat Putin. They include a pop star who went to the front lines and learned how to use combat drones, brothers who learned how to hack home drones with 3D printers, and teenagers who use their own amateur drones to carry out attacks. Shocking aerial photos comparing pre-war and post-war photos also reveal the true scope of Russia’s attack on Ukraine.
conditional release
Monday 20 February 21:00 BBC Two
Parole board decisions often make headlines for the wrong reasons, but few of us know exactly how the system actually works. This docu-series aims to shed light on how the board determines which inmates are eligible for parole by following the queue of inmates hoping to get approved for parole. We will see how prisoners who have served their sentences will try to prove to the board that they are no longer a danger to society.
desperate measures
Tuesday, February 21, 21:00, Channel 5
When her son Finn (Jesse Chescutti-MacFarlane) is forced into a drug deal that goes awry because of a local gang, bank teller Rowan (Amanda Abbington) has no choice but to get his lost money back. Threatened by an imposing and violent gang leader, Rowan plans to rob the bank where she works with the help of her outlaw ex-husband Patrick (Warren Brown).
Fleishman in trouble
Wednesday, February 22, Disney+
This adaptation of journalist Taffy Brodesser-Akner’s best-selling book follows recently divorced Dr. Toby Fleischman (Jesse Eisenberg) as he enjoys a single life thanks to New York City’s many dating apps. But when his ex-wife Rachel (Claire Danes) leaves town, Toby must balance his new bachelor lifestyle while raising two children. He soon sets out to find Rachel, but comes across the real reason for their breakup.
You and me
Thursday 23 February ITVX
Written by newcomer Jamie Davis and produced by broadcaster Russell T Davis, this new relationship drama promises to explore what it takes to not only find love, but keep it. Told in three episodes spanning two different timelines, You and I run into Ben (Harry Lawty, Industry), Emma (Jessica Barden, End of the damn world) and Jess (Sophia Brown, Geary/Hadji), three young people who have survived a tragedy and are given a second chance at love.
Supervet: Special Safari
Thursday, February 23, 21:00, Channel 4
Super fat Noel Fitzpatrick traded his practice in Surrey on the prairies of South Africa. There he meets two rhinos: Bruno, who has a poaching tracking device implanted in his horn, and Kolisi, for whom Fitzpatrick designs and builds the world’s first prosthetic rhinoceros leg. He also helps the arthritis-ridden tiger Laziz walk without pain and performs complex surgery on Richie the lion, whose legs are deformed from inbreeding and life in captivity.