Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Hollie Richardson, Hannah Verdier, Jack Seale, Ali Catterall and Simon Wardell

TV tonight: Adam McKay’s cool LA Lakers drama debuts on Sky Atlantic

Quincy Isaiah as Magic Johnson and Carter Redwood as Brian.
Ballsy … Quincy Isaiah as Magic Johnson and Carter Redwood as Brian. Photograph: HBO/2022 Home Box Office, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty

9pm, Sky Atlantic

“Welcome to sunny Los Angeles: great for tans, shit for fans,” says ballsy businessman Jerry Buss (John C Reilly) to camera in this 10-part drama. It’s 1979, and he’s leaving the Playboy Mansion to go and buy the lacklustre LA Lakers basketball team. First on his to-do list: sign up college star Earvin “Magic” Johnson (Quincy Isaiah), much to the concern of his coach Jerry West (Jason Clarke). The Lakers are now one of sports’ most revered teams, and this series shows us that journey. Produced by Adam McKay, it’s a stylish and confident dive into a world riddled with elitism, racism and sexism – which also boasts some of the greatest sports stars in history. Hollie Richardson

Beyond Reasonable Doubt: Britain’s Rape Crisis

9pm, BBC One

Why do only just over 1% of rape cases in the UK end with a conviction? Prepare to feel furious as Panorama follows Derbyshire police and the women and girls behind the statistics. While most of the victims understandably remain anonymous, the show includes two twentysomething sisters who have reported their dad for repeated rape – and the youngest asks for the statement she made as an 11-year-old to be broadcast. It’s painful to watch but shows what victims go through. HR

Holding

9pm, ITV

Charlene McKenna, Siobhán McSweeney and Helen Behan in Holding.
Stunningly powerful … Charlene McKenna, Siobhán McSweeney and Helen Behan in Holding. Photograph: ITV

Graham Norton’s charming crime story gently rolls on. After a month there are still no leads in the case of the discovered human remains, but when new information comes to light, the spotlight falls on Mrs Meany. Brenda Fricker’s resulting monologue is stunningly powerful and delivered with calm grace as she reveals secrets from her past. Hannah Verdier

Newark, Newark

9pm, Gold

A new sitcom with notes of Gavin and Stacey and Victoria Wood – while not well-crafted enough to be in that league, it’s affable and wields a fistful of tart zingers. Morgana Robinson and Jai Hollis, as a restless divorcee and her teenage son, are an adorable leading pair. Jack Seale

Hot Property

10pm, BBC Three

The dating show where singletons snoop around the empty houses of three potential mates welcomes a celebrity participant, of sorts: Apprentice alumnus Ryan-Mark Parsons, whose provocative opinions you may have heard on Russia Today or GB News, is looking for love. JS

Couples Therapy

11.15pm, BBC Two

Relationship counsellor Dr Orna Guralnik offers more frank advice to warring, or at least exceedingly passive-aggressive couples, including Gianni and his boyfriend, Matthew. Blisteringly honest and often horribly familiar, it is a bit like Gogglebox for masochists. Ali Catterall

Film choice

James Stewart and Marlene Dietrich in Destry Rides Again.
Star attraction … James Stewart and Marlene Dietrich in Destry Rides Again. Photograph: Richter/Cinetext/Universal/Allstar

Destry Rides Again (George Marshall, 1939), 3pm, Film4
The sight of the glamorous Marlene Dietrich singing The Boys in the Backroom in a spit-and-sawdust saloon is enough to make George Marshall’s 1939 western a must-see. This was also the laconic James Stewart’s first oater, and they make a vibrantly atypical pair. She is Frenchy, the star attraction in a small town run by corrupt landowner Kent (Brian Donlevy). He is Tom Destry, the son of a famous sheriff, who arrives to restore law and order using his wits rather than his guns. Simon Wardell

Live sport

Tour Championship snooker 12.45pm, ITV4. Day one at Venue Cymru in Llandudno.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.