TV tonight: our highlights for Friday 25th September

TV tonight Secret Society of Second-Born Royals

Secret Society of Second-Born Royals is just one of the gems on today...

Action film Secret Society of Second-Born Royals is new to Disney+, Amazon Prime Video's drama Utopia is very close to home, and Jools Holland celebrates the Mercury Prize winner in a special edition of Later…

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

Utopia, Amazon Prime Video

TV tonight Utopia

The comic book fans must save the world

Prepare for TV imitating life as John Cusack and Rainn Wilson star in this US reboot of C4’s dystopian series about a pandemic. It follows a group of comic book readers who meet online and bond over their obsession with a book called Utopia. But they soon realise its pages contain hidden meanings, predicting a threat to humanity, including a conspiracy involving a pandemic. What follows is a high stakes adventure… 

★★★★ NC

Secret Society of Second-Born Royals, Disney+

TV tonight Secret Society of Second-Born Royals

Peyton Elizabeth Lee’s Sam is a princess with special powers

Teenage life is tough, but when you’re also dealing with being a royal, and you’ve special powers and must save the world, the pressure is on! That’s the premise of this action film in which rebellious young princess Sam (Peyton Elizabeth Lee) is recruited into a group of royal teens who all share a gene that has given them superpowers. As their first mission finds them on the trail of an escaped convict, danger strikes… With an impressive cast, dazzling visuals and an empowering message about being true to yourself, this is a lovely family watch and will hopefully lead to more royal adventures. 

★★★★ CC

Later… With Jools Holland: Mercury Prize 2020

A special edition of the long-running music show to celebrate the 2020 Mercury Prize winner. There was no awards ceremony this year so the victorious artist was revealed live on The One Show yesterday. Tonight they will be chatting to Jools about what it means to bag the biggest prize in British music as well as performing from their award-winning album. There are 12 artists on the shortlist including Dua Lipa, Stormzy, Laura Marling and the soulful Michael Kiwanuka. 

★★★★ JL

Best box set to watch 

Wallander, seasons 1-4, BBC iPlayer, Netflix

TV tonight Wallander

Sir Kenneth Branagh stars

With Young Wallander currently streaming on Netflix, now is the perfect time to revisit the original BAFTA-winning series, which sees Sir Kenneth Branagh playing the Swedish detective in later years when he’s an inspector. Branagh is excellent as the dedicated but troubled cop dealing with some very dark investigations in a superb crime drama.

Best film to watch on TV tonight

Judy, 8pm, Sky PremiereNOW TV

TV tonight Judy

Renee Zellweger is Judy Garland

Concentrating on her five-week residency at London’s Talk of the Town in 1968, just a few months before she died aged just 47, this biopic of Judy Garland rises and falls on its central performance. Fortunately, Renee Zellweger is more than up to the task, positively inhabiting the role of the troubled star.  It’s a truly remarkable turn, as we witness Garland’s struggles, plagued by her much-documented alcohol and drug dependency, but determined that the show must go on. The movie is a tad shallow and rarely takes a deep dive on much of this, but Zellweger’s take on the icon makes it all worthwhile. 

Live sport

  • Championship Football: Bournemouth v Norwich City 7pm (k-o 7.45pm), Sky Sports Football

Soaps on TV tonight

If you watch just one thing on TV tonight… 

Don't miss Secret Society of Second-Born Royals on TV tonight – Disney princesses with superpowers!

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

Happy viewing!