The best UK TV this week from Only Murders in the Building to Alone

On UK TV this week Paul Rudd and Meryl Streep join the cast of Only Murders in the Building as the cosy comedic whodunnit returns for a third season.

Plus gruelling survival series Alone arrives in the UK, The Last Leg’s Adam Hills is looking to fulfil his rugby dream, ITVX is investigating disgraced comedian Bill Cosby, and Nicola Walker returns to the Scottish waters for a new series of Annika…

Here's Yahoo's guide to the best UK TV to tune in to over the coming seven days.

Sunday 6 August, 9.00pm: Alone | Channel 4

This extreme and uncompromising survival series has already proved to be a hit in America, Denmark, Norway and Sweden. But now we get the UK version, which will see 10 contestants dropped into the remote northern Canadian wilderness, where they’ll be tasked with surviving completely alone.

Read more: Is Alone Channel 4's toughest reality show yet?

Equipped with just basic tools (and a camera to film their ordeal), each participant must battle adverse weather, loneliness – and maybe even the odd wild bear. The incentive, though, is a strong one, as whoever lasts longest out in the elements bags a £100,000 prize.

Tuesday, 8 August, 9.00pm: Ultimate Wedding Planner | BBC2

In another variant on the Bake Off/Sewing Bee/Pottery Throwdown style of talent contest, we now see eight wedding planners going into battle to prove that they are Britain’s next best wedding expert.

Their task? To design spectacular ceremonies for six couples. And judging their efforts? Dragons’ Den’s Sara Davies, First Dates favourite Fred Sirieix and industry expert Raj Somaiya, who’ll be tasked with sending home the weakest planner each week until just two remain in the final. It’s a familiar format – but this time there’s extra tulle and taffeta.

Tuesday 8 August: Only Murders in the Building (season 3, episodes 1 and 2) | Disney+

There’s an even starrier line-up for season three, which sees our trio of crime-solving podcasters Martin Short, Steve Martin and Selena Gomez joined by a couple of Hollywood A-listers: Paul Rudd and Meryl Streep.

Read more: Only Murders successfully updates its formula in S3

Rudd, of course, put in a brief appearance at the climax to the previous season in a scene that saw his alter-ego Ben Glenroy drop down dead after taking the lead in a play directed by Oliver (Short). As the events leading up to his shock demise are charted, Streep’s mysterious new character will also find herself part of the ever-engaging mix of comedy and sleuthing.

Wednesday 9 August, 9.00pm: Annika (season 2) | Alibi

Scotland’s waters continue to be a perilous place to be, with DI Annika Strandhed (Nicola Walker) and the rest of the Marine Homicide Unit set to be kept busy in the second series of the quirky crime drama.

These latest episodes will feature more complex murders to investigate, while on the domestic front, Annika’s family dynamics start to prove tricky when long-held secrets from the past start to threaten her relationships. Ukweli Roach – also a current key player in the BBC’s Wolf – co-stars.

Thursday 10 August: The Case Against Cosby | ITVX

The downfall of Bill Cosby has been charted once already this year in W Kamau Bell’s We Need to Talk about Cosby (still available on BBC iPlayer). But this new true-crime documentary spotlights the woman who was able to gain a conviction against the comedian: Andrea Constand.

The production team has gained access to Constand herself as well as family members and Cosby’s prosecutors. But threaded through too is testimony with five Cosby survivors, who discuss the impact of sexual trauma.

Thursday 10 August: Painkiller | Netflix

The invention of OxyContin comes under the spotlight in this new limited series about the origins and aftermath of the opioid crisis in America. Based on the book of the same name as well as the New Yorker article, ‘The Family that Built an Empire of Pain’, this six-part drama looks at a country forever altered – and a system that has failed hundreds of thousands of citizens.

Matthew Broderick stars as Richard Sackler, the US billionaire, physician and one-time president of Purdue Pharma, the company best known for its development of OxyContin.

Friday 11 August, 11.05pm: Adam Hills: Grow Another Foot | Channel 4

He may have been born with only one foot, but comedian and The Last Leg host Adam Hills has always dreamt of emulating his Rugby League heroes. Now, thanks to the Physical Disability Rugby League World Cup being held in the UK during 2022, he may well get to achieve his goal.

But before playing the sport he loves at an international level, Sydney-born Adam has a big choice to make: does he wear the green and gold of Australia or play alongside his regular rugby family who are competing in the England team? This 60-minute documentary reveals the decision he makes – and captures the bone-crunching action that follows.

Watch a trailer for Painkiller