TV Tonight: our highlights for Thursday, July 7

Tv tonight – Saara struggles to get her concerns heard.
Saara struggles to get her concerns heard. (Image credit: C4)

On TV tonight, the tense thriller The Undeclared War continues on C4, while a new comedy/horror begins on Sky Atlantic/NOW, The Baby, featuring a bundle of joy with some very special superpowers. The Hotel Inspector continues on Channel 5 and playful documentary Toys That Built the World is on Sky History/NOW. Here’s what you shouldn’t miss on TV tonight.

  • Our hand selected recommendations for what's on TV tonight include four 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 Undeclared War, 9pm, C4

TV tonight Hannah Khalique-Brown stars.

Hannah Khalique-Brown stars. (Image credit: C4)

After finding the hidden threat in the malware that everyone missed, Saara (Hannah Khalique-Brown) notices her colleagues have grown curiously cold towards her in tonight’s second instalment of the chilling cyber-thriller. Perhaps because she made them look bad, or because she created more work for them? While scrolling endless lines of code for further threats, Saara encounters an encryption that looks suspicious, but when her supervisor declines to investigate further, Saara recruits former classmate Gabriel (Alfie Friedman) and fellow outcast Kathy (Maisie Richardson-Sellers) to work out what secrets it conceals… 

★★★★ SP

The Baby, 9pm, Sky Atlantic/NOW

TV tonight Natasha finds herself landed with a baby.

Natasha finds herself landed with a baby. (Image credit: Sky)

When is motherhood not a joy? When your baby is a murdering monster! In this clever comedy-horror, which opens tonight with a double bill, The Duchess’s Michelle de Swarte stars as proudly non-maternal Natasha. The gobby chef rents a creepy cabin near a cliff from mysterious chain-smoking Mrs Eaves (Amira Ghazalla), only to find herself landed with a baby – literally – when one plummets into her arms (it’s a boy!). But this isn’t any baby; this is The Baby, an unnatural born killer who’s chosen Natasha as his new mum. And any attempts to offload the problem child results in murder and mayhem. A welcome new addition to the genre. 

★★★★ ER

The Hotel Inspector, 9pm, Channel 5

TV tonight Will Alex play her cards right?

Will Alex play her cards right? (Image credit: Channel 5)

Alex Polizzi needs an ace up her sleeve as she tackles the quirky Pack o’ Cards in Combe Martin, Devon, which was built in 1690 and designed to look like a pack of cards. It’s owned by husband-and-wife team Chris and Debbie, and they bought the Grade II-listed inn with rooms hoping to make a quick buck and move on – 25 years ago. But luck has well and truly run out for the couple, who, despite being in an amazing location, are stuck in a rut with their dreams of retiring disappearing fast. As always, Alex doesn’t hold back, but will the exhausted pair take a gamble on her bold idea? 

★★★★ JL

Toys That Built the World, 10pm, Sky History/NOW

This niche documentary details the challenges faced by 20th-century toymakers. Episode one tells the stories of some surprising by-products of wartime – our favourite playthings. In 1943, mechanical engineer Richard James was devising equipment supports for ships and accidentally made a ‘runaway spring’, the slinky, while chemical engineer James Wright invented silly putty when developing a rubber replacement. The different outcomes for their creators is a history lesson in postwar entrepreneurship. 

★★★ NT

Best box set to watch on TV tonight

The Terminal List, Prime Video

TV tonight Chris Pratt plays a Navy SEAL commander

Chris Pratt plays a Navy SEAL commander. (Image credit: Prime Video)

Prime Video has already brought all-action heroes Jack Ryan and Jack Reacher to the screen, and now there’s a new tough guy on the block in explosive thriller The Terminal List. The eight-part series stars Chris Pratt as Navy SEAL commander James Reece, who we first meet planning a covert mission to kill a dangerous terrorist hiding out in Syria. But the operation goes catastrophically wrong when his platoon is ambushed while making their way through a series of underground tunnels. Were the terrorists tipped off by a traitor in the US? Back home, Reece is determined to uncover the truth, joining forces with journalist Katie Buranek (Constance Wu) in a bid to find out more. But as new evidence emerges, Reece discovers dark forces working against him. 

Best film to watch on TV tonight

Freaks, 9pm, Film4

This smart, dark drama has echoes of The Twilight Zone, as seemingly unhinged dad Emile Hirsch keeps his daughter (a superb Lexy Kolker) locked away from the outside world. He claims she has to pretend to be 'normal' if she's ever caught. But what's really going on? An intriguing, highly entertaining movie which will keep you scratching your head. 

Live Sport

  • Wimbledon 2022, from 12.30, BBC Two/One
  • Women's Euro 2022, Norway vs Northern Ireland, 7.30pm (k-o 8pm), BBC One
  • International T20 Cricket, England vs India, 5.30pm, Sky Sports Main Event/NOW

Soaps on TV tonight

If you watch just one thing on TV tonight…

Don't miss The Undeclared War On TV tonight — why is no one listening to Saara's concerns? 

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

Happy viewing!

CATEGORIES
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. 

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