Today’s top TV and streaming picks: Stacey Solomon’s Sort Your Life Out, The Hangover and docuseries Photographer




Planning a night in? Here are today’s top TV and streaming choices:
The Real Serpent: Investigating a Serial Killer Channel 4, 9pm Those of you who watched the recent BBC drama The Serpent will have been fascinated by the exploits of Charles Sobhraj, a con man and murderer played with menacing charm by Tahar Rahim. But the plotting of the series seemed so outlandish it was hard to believe the whole thing was real. Unfortunately, it was.
Born in Saigon in 1944, Sobhraj was robbing houses while still in his teens. As Vietnam was still a French colony at the time of his birth, he was entitled to citizenship, and turned up in Paris in the early 1960s, where he was arrested for burglary and sent to jail. But Sobhraj was able to turn any situation to his advantage. While in prison, he charmed a wealthy volunteer into letting him stay with him. He wooed a girl from a wealthy Parisian family, got her pregnant, then fled east to avoid being arrested again for stealing a car.
Charles Sobhraj
But it was on the so-called hippie trail across southeast Asia that Sobhraj really came into his own. There, with a string of accomplices, he robbed his way from Thailand to Iran, killing at least 12 people and potentially as many as 30. In this three-part documentary series, Sobhraj agrees to a series of interviews as criminal experts and psychologists try to get to the bottom of his many crimes, and decide whether or not, at almost 80, he still poses a threat to society.
Sort Your Life Out BBC1, 9pm Stacey Solomon and the team come to the aid of the Yates family, and their hopelessly cluttered home. After a major clearout, Iwan gives the place a spring clean, Dilly reorganises the bedrooms and carpenter Rob creates a dance studio for daughters Amelia and Madeline.
Home of the Year
Home of the Year RTÉ One, 8.30pm Hugh Wallace, Sara Cosgrove and Amanda Bone visit a renovated 1950s bungalow in Offaly, a refurbished 1920s house in Belfast and a beautifully restored duplex townhouse in Kildare. Mary & George Sky Showcase, 9pm Mary decides to take down Somerset for good when she discovers he is plotting to sideline George and humiliate him. Francis Bacon senses an opportunity and starts meddling with her son’s affairs. Julianne Moore, Nicholas Galitzine, Tony Curran and Nicola Walker star.
The Hangover
The Hangover RTÉ2, 9pm When groom-to-be Doug and his three best friends travel to Las Vegas for a stag weekend, they wake from a wild night of drinking to find themselves somehow in possession of a tiger and a baby. Ed Helms and Bradley Cooper star in Todd Phillips’s unsubtle comedy.
3 Body Problem Netflix, streaming now If you ever found yourself wondering what the creators of Game of Thrones have been up to, and willing them to create a dystopian world spanning decades (with mandatory Liam ‘Davos Seaworth’ Cunningham), then wonder no more! Opening in 1960s China, a young woman’s fateful decision reverberates across space and time. Fast forward to 1977, and a signal is detected. The ‘Wow!’ signal. Now, with the laws of nature inexplicably unravelling before humanity writ large, a close-knit group of brilliant scientists join forces with an unorthodox detective to confront the greatest threat in humanity’s history. The question is, how will humanity choose to be remembered? Alongside Cunningham, expect an accomplished cast including John Bradley, Rosalind Chao, Eiza Gonzalez, Jess Hong, Alex Sharp, Zine Tseng and Jonathan Pryce, plus Benedict Wong, who will forever be remembered as Sean Lock’s wallpaper-loving lodger from 15 Storeys High.
Physical: 100 — Underground
Physical: 100 — Underground Netflix, streaming now Prepare yourselves to hear “Uwaaah!” on repeat, for Physical:100 returns for its second season of torso-smashing fair. This time, the muscle-bound contestants are going underground (literally, it looks like a mine) to partake in tougher quests and gruelling tasks in the name of entertainment. Photographer Disney+, streaming now The only thing that can change the world is stories. Photographers, who immerse themselves in the field, are the custodians of that storytelling. This docuseries flips the lens on some extraordinary visual storytellers, to see what makes them click.
Irish Wish
Irish Wish Netflix, streaming now If Lindsay Lohan’s foray into the schmalzy Christmas movie market — in Falling For Christmas — is any indication, consider this a recommendation to avoid at all costs, even on St Patrick’s Day. Should you be looking for some romance more in the vein of Bridgerton, perhaps Mr Malcolm’s List (released Thursday last) might tickle your fancy. The Outreau Case Netflix, streaming now This true crime docuseries delves into one of France’s largest judicial tragedies, which rocked the nation in the late Nineties and early Noughties.
Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour
Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour Disney+, streaming now Are you ready to squeal your way through the top-selling concert film of all time? Directed by Sam Wrench, this cinematic juggernaut grossed more than $260m worldwide. Now, you can let Taylor swaddle you in her Cardigan whenever you like. Manhunt AppleTV+, streaming now Tobias Menzies plays the person charged with capturing John Wilkes Booth (Anthony Boyle) in this jaunty dramatisation of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination. Speaking of Anthony Boyle, Tom Hanks narrates the new documentary, The Bloody Hundredth, which celebrates the heroes portrayed in Masters of The Air.
Join the Irish Independent WhatsApp channel
Stay up to date with all the latest news