TV Tonight: our highlights for Friday, September 24

Tom Brittney and Robson Green star.
Tom Brittney and Robson Green star. (Image credit: ITV)

On TV tonight, there are cracks in Geordie and Will's friendship as Grantchester continues on ITV, the king of the chat show Graham Norton returns to BBC1 and Ted Danson stars in a new comedy Mr Mayor on Sky Comedy. 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

Grantchester, 9pm, ITV

TV tonight Robson Green as DI Geordie Keating.

Robson Green as DI Geordie Keating. (Image credit: ITV)

DI Geordie Keating (Robson Green) and Revd Will Davenport (Tom Brittney) are firm friends, but cracks start to show this week as the pair investigate the death of a young American airman. With his comrades closing ranks and saying little, it’s clear the men are protecting someone. But who and why? As Geordie and Will probe further into the relationship between this band of brothers, the case prompts a revelation from Will, and makes Geordie realise that Will isn’t the man he thought he was. Can their friendship survive the shock? 

★★★ VW

Graham Norton, 10.35pm, BBC1

TV tonight Graham Norton.

Graham’s back with a James Bond special. (Image credit: BBC)

Back with a bang, Graham’s got none other than James Bond himself, Daniel Craig, in to talk about No Time to Die, a film that’s been held up so long by the COVID pandemic that it was beginning to look like Blofeld might have had a hand in it all. With Daniel are his 007 co-stars, Léa Seydoux, Lashana Lynch and Rami Malek, who won an Oscar playing Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody. And there’s music from Ed Sheeran. Talk about setting the bar high. 

★★★★ SM

Mr Mayor, 8.30pm Sky Comedy/NOW

TV tonight Ted Danson plays the accidental mayor

Ted Danson plays the accidental mayor. (Image credit: Sky)

This brand new comedy sees Ted Danson’s retiree Neil Bremer running for mayor of LA just to prove to his teenage daughter he’s ‘still got it’. Imagine Neil’s shock when, against all expectation, he’s voted in! He now has to deal with his biggest critic, no-nonsense deputy mayor Arpi Meskimen (Oscar-winner Holly Hunter). Originally designed as a spin-off to 30 Rock by the brilliant Tina Fey, it’s a great showcase for Ted Danson and packed full of ‘did he just say that?’ moments. 

★★★★ VW

Best box set to watch on TV tonight

Sex Education, season 3, Netflix

TV tonight Asa Butterfield as Otis and Emma Mackey as Maeve.

Asa Butterfield as Otis and Emma Mackey as Maeve. (Image credit: Netflix)

Few shows have captured the pleasure, pain and passionate intensity of teenage life as exquisitely as Netflix’s comedy drama Sex Education. And as the third run begins from Moordale Secondary School, there are twists and turns aplenty as the fallout from last series’ shocking STD outbreak continues. Moordale’s nerdy but loveable resident sex guru Otis, played by Asa Butterfield, would usually be eager to steer his fellow students through any sexual crises, but he has vowed to stop doling out advice, and is involved in a surprising romance of his own. Joining the cast are Jason Isaacs as ex-headteacher Mr Groff’s brother and Girls’ Jemima Kirke, who plays Moordale’s cool new head Hope Haddon.

Best film to watch on TV tonight

Captain Phillips, 9pm, ITV4

TV tonight Tom Hanks stars as Captain Phillips

Tom Hanks stars as Captain Phillips. (Image credit: ITV4)

Acclaimed director Paul Greengrass’ background in documentary film-making at Granada TV stands him in good stead in this tale of piracy on the high seas. Greengrass gives it all the shaky-cam documentary urgency of the best Bourne films (three of which he directed), and Tom Hanks stars as the captain of a container vessel being chased down by Somali pirates in fast boats. The ever-dependable Hanks puts a human face on the captain, a decent guy in a very tight spot. There’s some sympathy for the pirates, too, with Barkhad Abdi effective (and scary as hell) as the gaunt, wild-eyed Somali forced by poverty into criminality. An action movie all the better because there’s a true story behind it. 

Live Sport

  • Ryder Cup Golf, 11am, Sky Sports Main Event/NOW
  • Premiership Rugby Union, Gloucester v Leicester Tigers, 7pm (k-o 7.45pm), BT Sport 1

Soaps on TV tonight

If you watch just one thing on TV tonight…

Don't miss Grantchester on TV tonight — an interesting episode about the bond between Geordie and Will. 

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

Happy viewing!

Joanne Lowles
Freelance writer and editor

Joanne Lowles has been writing about TV since 2002. After graduating from Cardiff University with a Postgraduate Diploma in Magazine Journalism, she worked for All About Soap magazine covering the ups and downs of life on the cobbles, the square and the Dales. 


Next came nearly 10 years at TV Times magazine as a writer and then deputy features editor. Here she spent many happy days interviewing the biggest names in entertainment and visiting the sets of some of our most popular shows including Downton Abbey, Call the Midwife and Strictly Come Dancing


With a love of nature and wildlife she’s also interviewed the leading experts in this area including David Attenborough, Chris Packham and Steve Backshall. She’s also travelled the world visiting Mongolia, Canada and South Africa to see how the best in the business make the most brilliant natural history documentaries. 


Freelance since 2013, she is now is a digital writer and editor for What to Watch, previews the best on the box for TV Times mag each week and loves being constantly surprised, entertained and informed by the amazing TV that she is lucky enough to watch.