Channel 4's new three-part documentary series The Murder Detective follows the investigation into the 2019 murder of journalist Lyra McKee in Derry. Filmed across seven years, the series gains impressive access to the detectives hunting for her killer. The team struggle to persuade any witnesses—there were more than 150—to come forward and gradually realise that they are, in fact, investigating the leadership of the New IRA.
Other highlights this evening
Surviving Earth, 8pm, Sky One: This Walking With Dinosaurs-style series is set in the Triassic era, a period when evolution was forcibly redirected by extinction events. The programme makers tell the story of a squat young ischigualastia dealing with food scarcity to make a looming ice age relatable.
Bookish, 8pm, U&Alibi: Back to 1946 London for more genteel, meticulous detective work with Mark Gatiss's bibliophile sleuth, Gabriel Book. Series two begins in the world of mediums as Book examines a seance resulting in the apparent killing of Harold Sneed (Jason Watkins). For all the supernatural woo-woo, could the answer be surprisingly earthbound?
More to watch
Professor T, 9pm, ITV1: Ben Miller's compulsive criminologist finds himself at the scene of a violent murder in a posh retirement village. The fact that DS Winters (Barney White) hates his guts could derail the case. Might a joint therapy session help?
The Never Ending Murder, 10pm, Channel 4: This series promises new revelations concerning one of the most serious unsolved crimes in British legal history. In 1991, somewhere between her home and that of her parents, 18-year-old Nicola Payne vanished. She hasn't been seen since, but the police have been unable to make any progress towards uncovering her fate.
Rainbow Warrior, 10pm, Sky Documentaries: Back in 1985, the ideas propagated by Greenpeace hadn't quite reached the mainstream. However, its campaign to stop French nuclear testing in the South Pacific—which culminated in the bombing of the titular boat—was a turning point. This lively, fascinating documentary hears from many of those directly involved.
Film choice
The Day Shall Come (Christopher Morris, 2019), 1.25am, Film4: Chris Morris's scathing 2019 satire about the US government's “war on terror” and the innocents caught up in it may be the most neglected of his brilliant career, but in its plausibility and bleak comedy it deserves more love. Moses Al Shabazz (an endearing Marchánt Davis) is a delusional Miami preacher who leads a radical black power movement (members: three) that is infiltrated by an FBI branch desperate for a win, despite posing no actual threat. Not as surreal as Four Lions, but it still possesses a sharp bite.
