Here’s our TV tonight picks for Thursday, July 17 (for more information about what’s on TV, see our TV Guide)…
Untamed, Netflix
When a young woman falls from a precipice in Yosemite National Park, troubled federal agent Kyle Turner (Eric Bana) sets out to discover the cause of death, with the help of rookie park ranger Naya Vasquez (Lily Santiago).
Not unlike Matthew Goode’s detective in Dept. Q, the taciturn Turner is pretty much universally disliked by the people who have to liaise with him — with the exception of his friend and mentor, veteran chief ranger Paul Souter (Sam Neill), who, along with Turner’s ex-wife Jill Bodwin (Rosemarie DeWitt), keeps an eye on his wellbeing. A six-parter, it was co-written by The Revenant’s Mark L Smith and, like that film, plays out against a backdrop of beautiful but dangerous wilderness.
The Hotel Inspector, 5, 8 pm
Business expert Alex Polizzi is back to help struggling hoteliers, and this week she heads to Devon to give her trademark no-nonsense advice to Terry and Nikki, who run a self-catering guest house in Dartmoor.
Alex is horrified to see a crumbling exterior, a filthy outdoor kitchen, a cluttered lobby and unusable outdoor spaces, but her suggestions are met with constant excuses from Terry. He and Nikki have invested every penny they have into the nine-bedroom accommodation, as well as borrowing from loved ones, maxing out their credit cards and cashing in Terry’s pension. Can Alex convince them to make some vital changes?
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Paramount Plus
The widely loved sci-fi prequel spin-off boldly returns for a third 10-part season, and beams us straight back into the chaos of the Season 2 cliffhanger. Following the reptilian Gorn species’ attack on a human colony, some of the USS Enterprise crew have been captured.
But will Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) follow Starfleet’s orders to retreat? The younger incarnation of Montgomery “Scotty” Scott (Martin Quinn, who debuted in the last series’ finale) is back, along with James T Kirk (Paul Wesley) and Spock (Ethan Peck). Brace for impact!
Govan Fair Queen, BBC3, 11 pm
Comedy royalty Elaine C Smith – of Rab C. Nesbitt and Two Doors Down fame – stars in this one-off short as Linda, a sharp-tongued matriarch who persuades her granddaughter Abigail (Harper Blue Hamilton) to enter the annual Govan Fair Queen pageant in the hope of winning a holiday in Florida. But when old community rivalries start to complicate matters, Linda is faced with a choice between settling a score and allowing Abigail to be herself.