What’s On TV Tonight? Our Pick Of The Best Shows: Friday 8th December including The Crown

The Crown Friday 8th December
(Image credit: Robert Viglasky / Netflix)

TV Times tops picks for tonight for Friday 8th December

What’s on telly tonight? Here the TV Times team of expert reviewers highlight three of the best shows on telly tonight for Friday 8th December

The Crown, Netflix

We thought we knew everything there was to know about the House of Windsor, but when this sublime and highly addictive drama debuted last year, it made the residents of Buckingham Palace even more fascinating, surprising and relatable than we thought. Now it’s back, picking up in 1956 with the Queen (Claire Foy) and Prince Philip (Matt Smith) heading towards a troubling turning point in their marriage. With appearances from JFK (Michael C Hall), political crises including the war in Suez and the Profumo scandal, and more diamonds and tiaras than you can shake a stick at, settle in for another right royal treat! Rating: *****

The Grand Tour, Amazon Prime Video

The Grand Tour

Clarkson and co are back for more high jinks after their big money move to Amazon paid off. There’s a big change – the tent is staying in one place (Chipping Norton, on Jeremy’s doorstep), but the all-important films will be as ambitious and international as ever. Tonight’s opener features a breathtaking sequence shot in Switzerland, where the lads compare a Lamborghini, a hybrid Honda NSX and an electric Croatian supercar, the Rimac Concept One. But it ends in horror when Richard Hammond has a near-fatal crash… maybe watch that bit from behind a cushion. Also tonight, new feature ‘Celebrity Face Off’ sees Ricky Wilson race David Hasselhoff! New episodes are released weekly. Rating: ****

Judge Rinder’s Crown Court, 8.00pm, ITV (ex Scot, Wales, NI)

Judge Rinder’s Crown Court

The TV judge revives the courtroom drama that originally ran for 879 episodes between 1972 and 1984. In this two-parter, he oversees a murder trial inspired by a real-life arsenic poisoning. Beginning with prosecution witnesses giving evidence, he guides viewers through the case, then they decide. Rating: ****

More previews tomorrow

David Hollingsworth
Editor

David is the What To Watch Editor and has over 20 years of experience in television journalism. He is currently writing about the latest television and film news for What To Watch.


Before working for What To Watch, David spent many years working for TV Times magazine, interviewing some of television's most famous stars including Hollywood actor Kiefer Sutherland, singer Lionel Richie and wildlife legend Sir David Attenborough. 


David started out as a writer for TV Times before becoming the title's deputy features editor and then features editor. During his time on TV Times, David also helped run the annual TV Times Awards. David is a huge Death in Paradise fan, although he's still failed to solve a case before the show's detective! He also loves James Bond and controversially thinks that Timothy Dalton was an excellent 007.


Other than watching and writing about telly, David loves playing cricket, going to the cinema, trying to improve his tennis and chasing about after his kids!