TV tonight: our highlights for Friday 17th July

Cursed best Netflix series

Cursed is just one of the gems on today...

It's a Wild Year in The North York Moors, it's the final episode of The Other One, and new drama Cursed comes to Netflix. Here’s what you shouldn’t miss on TV tonight. 

  • Our hand-selected recommendations for what's on TV tonight include three TV shows, a film, live sport and the latest trending need-to-binge-on-now box set 
  • Keep up to date with the latest soap spoiler storylines on TV tonight with our daily soap synopsis 
  • For more information about what’s on TV tonight see our TV Guide 

What's on TV tonight 

Our expert TV journalists have picked the best things on TV tonight... 

Best TV shows on TV tonight

The Other One, 9pm, BBC1

TV tonight The Other One

Can Cat cheer up Cathy with a trip away?

In the wake of her non-wedding, Cathy’s feeling low, but Cat’s got a brilliant idea: the two of them go on a honeymoon of their own! Cat’s even got a destination in mind that will allow them to feel closer to their dad. Meanwhile, Tess finally moves on (in a great bit of acting from Rebecca Front), and Marilyn finds the courage to go outside by herself. It all ends with a brilliant twist that demands a second series – please? 

★★★ SP

The North York Moors: A Wild Year, 9pm, BBC2

TV tonight: The North York Moors: A Wild Year

Lewis and his flock

Unlike most of us in lockdown, the North York Moors’ Swaledale sheep have been able to get a haircut! The final film in this rather beautiful series heads north and follows farmer Lewis Barraclough and his flock over a year. Between lambing season, shearing and showing  off his most handsome sheep at a show (after facials and pedicures!), there’s never a dull moment! Other highlights include the spectacular sight of salmon breeding and the – frankly quite brutal  – dinner habits of carnivorous sundew plants.

★★★ ER

Cursed, Netflix

TV tonight Cursed

That’s quite an overreaction to a bee

The story of King Arthur has been told many times, but always tends to be a bit blokey. Not so this Netflix series, based on the novel  by Frank Miller and Tom Wheeler, which puts Nimue (13 Reasons Why  star Katherine Langford) centre-stage. Weighed down by the burden of her new-found magical skills, Nimue plans to run away, but after the evil Red Paladins attack her home, she embarks on an epic search for Merlin. Visually stunning, binge-watching is essential. 

★★★ SP

Best box set to watch 

Strike, seasons 1-3, BBC iPlayer

TV tonight Strike

Tom Burke and Holliday Grainger star

The detective novels of JK Rowling, which she wrote under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith, have been turned into thoroughly  entertaining crime drama series. There are excellent performances from Tom Burke as brooding war veteran turned private detective Cormoran Strike and Holliday Grainger as his sardonic but trusted receptionist and assistant Robin Ellacott.

Best film to watch on TV tonight

Ad Astra, 8pm, Sky Premiere/NOW TV

TV tonight Ad Astra

Brad Pitt goes on an emotional journey in space

A work of pure visual splendour, James Gray’s sci-fi epic sees Brad Pitt’s spaceman deal with daddy issues. These are in the form of Tommy Lee Jones, who headed a mission deep into space to search for extraterrestrial life, but vanished. Pitt’s astronaut is sent to find out whether his father is still alive and bombarding the Earth with deadly rays. From bases on the Moon and then Mars, we follow Pitt as he slowly uncoils to reveal the pain of a lost parent. Profound and beautiful with superb acting. 

Live sport

  • Cricket: England v West Indies 10.30am, Sky Sports Cricket/NOW TV (highlights, BBC2, 7pm)
  • Golf: The Memorial Tournament 12.15pm, Sky Sports Golf

Soaps on TV tonight

If you watch just one thing on TV tonight… 

Don't miss The North York Moors: A Wild Year on TV tonight – stunning scenery!

Not found anything you want to watch on TV tonight? Check out our TV Guide. 

Happy viewing!