More proof that Scandinavia has more to offer the televisual world than gloomy crime thrillers, this is a bitterly funny series about the decline of a once revered filmmaker. The opener deals mostly with the crushing pain of unfavourable reviews, and the impact of such on not just the creator of the unloved work, but on his family. The direction in which the whole saga is heading is not entirely unexpected.

THE HEIGHTS

Double episode ★★★★

8.30pm, ABC

Staple soap themes of love and teenage angst are a part of the ABC's edgy answer to Neighbours and Home and Away, but here there's a true reflection of marginalisation. Gritty reality is treated as everyday, not as a source of pathos, and the result is engrossing relationship drama that overlaps with wider narratives. Tonight, there's a development in the storyline of a beleaguered family living outside the unloved towers.

CLEANING UP

Series premiere ★★★★

8.30pm, Seven

Single mothers driven to crime to keep their households running seems to be a common theme among recent British drama. Over on the BBC, Jodie Whittaker is playing a single mum committing identity fraud to get by (Trust Me, Thursdays, 9.30pm, SBS). Here, from ITV, is Sheridan Smith (Gavin & Stacey) playing a single mum who falls into insider trading. They're very different characters, from opposite sides of the tracks, but their desperation is universal.