What’s on TV tonight: The Undeclared War, The Hotel Inspector, and more – msnNOW

Chanel 4 Simon Pegg in The Undeclared War - Chanel 4Thursday 30 June

The Undeclared War

Channel 4, 9pm

Every now and then Channel 4 comes up with a humdinger of a drama series (Its a Sin, Humans and Utopia, among others) that insists upon itself because there is simply nothing else like it. Peter Kosminskys razor-sharp cyber thriller takes us into the future of 2024, to look at the world of the British intelligence malware analysts working at GCHQ, fighting the informational good fight against an onslaught of potentially catastrophic cyber attacks emanating, mostly, from Russia. Were grabbed from the outset, plunged straight into the mindscape of Saara Parvin (Hannah Khalique-Brown), a new intern whose first day throws her in the deep end of the battle against an invisible enemy.

Kosminsky avoids a surfeit of tech geekery by expanding the drama into the world of global realpolitik, with a superb cast including Adrian Lester as Britains prime minister (said to have deposed Boris Johnson 15 months previously), Hattie Morahan, Ed Stoppard and Alex Jennings as various Cabinet ministers, and Simon Pegg as the GCHQ boss torn between the demands of his political masters. All episodes are on All 4 from today and it will take some restraint to not binge one of 2022s most compelling dramas. GO

Golf: John Deere Classic

Sky Golf, 6pm

Traditionally played one week before The Open, this PGA event has often struggled to attract a stellar field. This year, however, it has moved back a week, so expect to see the worlds best sharpening their game ahead of a trip to St Andrews in mid July. GO

Sarah Beenys Little House, Big Plans

Channel 4, 8pm

A pair of novice DIYers in Poole want to make more space in their pokey 1930s semi by creating an open-plan kitchen-diner but money is very tight; and in Plymouth a couple set about supersizing their three-bed bungalow into a seven-bedroom, three-floor home with the help of a modular building company. GO

Who Do You Think You Are?

BBC One, 9pm

One of the better editions of the current run sees Death in Paradise star Ralf Little track back though both sides of his family to find evidence of some wealthy antecedents from his hometown of Manchester, and to get to the bottom of rumours of former sporting glory in his football-mad genes. GO

The Murder of Logan Mwangi

ITV, 9pm; Wales, 10.45pm

Another shocking true-life tale of appalling child neglect, abuse and murder follows the rock solid police investigation, and subsequent trial and convictions, that followed the tragic discovery, in July of last year, of the body of five-year-old Logan Mwangi in a river 300 metres from his home in Bridgend, south Wales. GO

The Hotel Inspector

Channel 5, 9pm

Alex Polizzi tackles the Grade II listed Caer Beris Manor in the Brecon Beacons. This family run establishment has 22 bedrooms, a 30-seat restaurant and two very ambitious owners who are reaching for the (Michelin) stars. But first, they may do well to tackle the dodgy decor and employ a professional chef. Polizzi has the unenviable task of levelling their enthusiasm in order to go back to basics. GO

The Lazarus Project

Sky Max, 9pm

Skys time-bending thriller may be a little creaky around the edges at times but it is helped by a charismatic central performance by leading man Paapa Essiedu as George. Tonight, George ignores Archies (Anjli Mohindra) instructions to step back and, as he turns for help to the projects sworn enemy, Rebrov (Tom Burke), he gets a glimpse of a far darker side to the organisation than he ever suspected. GO

Bradford on Duty

BBC Two, 9.30pm

An episode entitled The Greater Good explores the ambitious 800 million project which intends to regenerate Bradford city centre, along with the street-level effort being made to make it a more pleasant, safer place to live, as seen through the eyes of some of the citys 150-plus community support officers. GO

Arctic (2018)

Great! Movies Action, 7.05pm

Joe Pennas Arctic delivers what might be called Max Mads: a heady, sustained and sinew-stiffening hit of the Danish actor, ideal for Mikkelsen fans. This is a snowbound endurance thriller featuring the star of Another Round and Hannibal at his most icily charismatic, as the sole survivor (or so he thinks) of a plane crash, north of the 66th parallel. But as the story unfolds, his suffering reaches sadistic heights.

The Full Monty (1974)

5STAR, 9pm

Youll never look at Tom Wilkinson in the same way again after youve seen him gyrate on stage as a male stripper in Peter Cattaneos lovable comedy. The film follows six Sheffield men (including Robert Carlyle, Hugo Speer and Mark Addy) who, depressed and out of work, form a male dance troupe in order to raise some funds. And theyre willing to reveal all to surprising acclaim. Disney+ is reviving this as a new series with the original cast.

Joan of Arc (1948)

BBC Four, 10.40pm

Ingrid Bergman received a Best Actress Academy-Award nomination for her performance in Victor Flemings (Gone with the Wind) pseudo-historical epic about the still-popular French farm girl turned saint. Flemings adaptation, from Maxwell Andersons Broadway stage hit Joan of Lorraine, is low on action but heavy on the dialogue. Some eyebrows were also raised at Bergman playing the role of a 15-year-old while aged 33, but it works.

Stranger Things

Netflix

After a compelling first volume of season four, with momentous events in both Hawkins, Indiana and the Upside Down, the second volume drops in two lengthy episodes (85 minutes and a whopping two hours, 30 minutes) to complete the series. Released in May, volume one became Netflixs most watched show, and as an added extra even managed to put Kate Bush back at the top of the charts after her 1985 song Running Up That Hill was featured prominently.

The shows creators, Matt and Ross Duffer, have intimated that not all of its beloved characters will necessarily make it to the fifth and final season, which is expected to come in 2023. Most of the fan speculation concerns the fate of Steve (Joe Keery) but the brothers have thrown googlies before and might do so again. More pressing in these two episodes is whether Joyce (Winona Ryder) and Murray (Brett German) can rescue Hopper (David Harbour) from the Russians, despite the Demogorgon guarding their way out. Will Nancy (Natalia Dyer) manage to escape the Upside Down, where she is held in the clutches of super-baddie Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower)? And is Hawkins High School counsellor Ms Kelly (Regina Ting Chen) really as lovely as she first appears? VL

Cycling: Tour de France 2022

Eurosport1/ITV4, 12.45pm/2.45pm

For the first time in its 118 years, the Tour de France will set off from Denmark, with todays Grand Dpart a 13 km individual time trial in Copenhagen. Following two more stages in Scandinavia, the Tour moves to northern France on July 5, before ending in Paris on July 24, via sojourns in Belgium and Switzerland. A wonderfully varied route will take in cobblestones, Alpe dHuez, Carcassonne and La Planche des Belles Filles. Geraint Thomas is in good nick following his Tour de Suisse win, but it is hard to look beyond the mighty Tadej Pogaar. VL

The Terminal List

Amazon Prime Video

Chris Pratt stars in this eight-part psychological drama adapted from Jack Carrs novel. He plays James Reece, leader of a platoon of US Navy Seals who are killed while on a covert mission; returning home, he is questioned but his memories differ from the official records. One for conspiracy fans. VL

Queer As Folk

StarzPlay

Stephen Dunn relocates Russell T Daviess seminal gay drama series, shown on Channel 4 in 1999, to present-day New Orleans. Its brash and lively, with transgender and gender-fluid characters now part of the colourful mix, but it cant match the originals superlatively exuberant taboo-breaking. Kim Cattrall plays the mother of the central character, commitment-phobe Brodie (Devin Way). VL

One Question

Channel 4, 8pm

Claudia Winkleman hosts as more contestants sit on the comfy sofa in this deceptively simple game show. Each pair is given the answer to a question (this weeks set includes What is square?) but then have to eliminate 19 incorrect questions to find the right one, with Winkleman offering clues that will cost them part of the 100,000 prize. VL

Worlds Most Scenic Railway Journeys

Channel 5, 8pm

All aboard the luxury Rocky Mountaineer, starting in Denver, Colorado, journeying through the Rockies in what was once the Wild West to Moab, Utah. Bill Nighy narrates as we learn about the mid 19th-century Gold Rush, and the USAs continental divide (geological in this case, not political) and that train manager Zac takes it as a personal affront if anyone ends their journey hungry. The views are majestic. VL

British Planes That Won the War With Rob Bell

Channel 5, 9pm

The documentary series about military aviation continues by examining the fearsome Lancaster bomber, which was used in the Dambusters raid. Historians including this papers former editor, Max Hastings and aviation experts talk about the planes central importance to the Allies in the Second World War. VL

Rig 45: Murder at Sea

More4, 9pm

Shown as part of the Walter Presents strand, this suspenseful Swedish crime thriller with a multinational cast follows a damage regulator, Andrea Burell (Catherine Walker), who investigates a fatal accident on an oil rig shut for maintenance over Christmas. Theres only a skeleton crew, but everyone has a secret. VL

King Richard (2021)

Sky Cinema Premiere, 8pm

Will Smith stars in this sports biopic as Richard Williams, father and early coach of tennis superstars Venus and Serena Williams. Reinaldo Marcus Greens film follows the Williams family from Compton, Los Angeles, in the mid-1980s to the Florida tennis academy where the sisters trained under Rick Macci (a very funny Jon Bernthal), until the beginnings of Venuss professional career in 1994. Its a satisfying, if sanitised, image of parental drive.

The Festival (2018)

E4, 9pm

The Inbetweeners Joe Thomas stars as Nick, a drippy and freshly single graduate, in this spiritual sequel to that franchise from Iain Morris, who co-created it with Damon Beesley. With its reliance on the same gross-out scatology and cringeworthy encounters, The Festival could almost be a post-uni catch-up with Thomass lovelorn Simon, older but none the wiser when it comes to sensing when his romantic chances are zip.

Kick-Ass 2 (2013)

BBC One, 11.40pm

After the amateur heroics on display in 2010s Kick-Ass, a new generation of crime fighters have risen up to don ridiculous costumes and patrol the streets. But Red Mist (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) has returned from the dead and re-branded himself with an unprintable moniker. Hes killing off the heroes, so Kick-Ass (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) must team up with Chlo Grace Moretzs Hit-Girl and Jim Carreys Colonel Stars and Stripes to save the day.

Jack Taylor (JT), Veronica Lee (VL),Gerard ODonovan (GO), Vicki Power (VP), Gabriel Tate (GT) and Chris Bennion (CB)

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What's on TV tonight: The Undeclared War, The Hotel Inspector, and more - msnNOW