TV tonight: supernatural thriller The Nevers lands at last

Ammar Kalia, Ellen E Jones, Phil Harrison, Hannah J Davies, Damon Wise

17 May 2021 at 1:00 am·3-min read

<span>Photograph: Album/Alamy</span> — Photograph: Album/Alamy

The Nevers
10.10pm, Sky Atlantic

Joss Whedon’s return to television with this Victorian supernatural series may have been marred by the allegations of bullying that recently surfaced, yet the resulting show is still artfully executed by its other cast and crew. We find ourselves in London in 1899, where in the aftermath of a supernatural event, people – mainly women – find themselves with newfound, unusual abilities. Immediately persecuted, widow Amalia True (Laura Donnelly) and inventor Penance Adair (Ann Skelly) set about protecting their kind. Ammar Kalia

The Pact 9pm,
BBC One

This Welsh-produced drama follows five female friends who are bound into a pact of silence when their boss at the brewery where they work is found dead. Breaking Bad’s Lydia Rodarte-Quayle plays Laura Fraser, while Julie Hesmondhalgh plays her friend, Nancy, and Noughts and Crosses’ Rakie Ayola stars as DS Holland. AK

Motherland 9pm,
BBC Two

Julia gets caught out by catchment areas in this week’s instalment of middle-class mum-mania. Then she blusters on, regardless: “If I’ve got to bullshit a nun to get my kid a cracking education …” Meg and Kevin confront more challenges, but the writing remains as unsentimental as ever. Ellen E Jones

Innocent

9pm, ITV

The return of a sturdy crime drama that does a decent job of toying with audience sympathies. Teacher Sally Wright (Katherine Kelly) has been convicted of murdering a student, with whom she was alleged to be romantically involved. But is the conviction stable? Further investigation opens recent wounds. Phil Harrison

Catching Paedophiles: Crime and Punishment

9pm, Channel 4

A confronting look at the work undertaken by Hampshire constabulary’s Internet Child Abuse Team in this doc. With almost 300 incidents of child sexual abuse discovered by online investigators in the UK every day, we examine the toll taken on the policing team. AK

Inside No 9
9.30pm, BBC Two

Another dollop of scarily sideways comedy-horror in the company of Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton. This week, we enter the world of a fantasy TV show – The Ninth Circle – whose season seven finale was a dud. Enter a superfan with a plan to spike the ratings. Nick Mohammed guest stars. Hannah J Davies

Film choice

The Florida Project (Sean Baker, 2017), 11.55pm, Film4
For once, Willem Dafoe is the good guy: in Sean Baker’s candy-coloured, but weather-worn, fable he’s the mild-mannered janitor of the motel that is home to desperate single mother Halley (Bria Vinaite) and her daughter Moonee (Brooklynn Prince). Not so far away, the Magic Kingdom casts a long, dark shadow. Damon Wise

Live sport

Cycling: Giro d’Italia 12.35pm, Eurosport 1. Stage 10 coverage, from L’Aquila to Foligno.

Championship Football 5.30pm, Sky Sports Main Event. Semi-final first-leg play-off, followed by another at 8pm.

Rugby Union: Bristol Bears v Gloucester 7.30pm, BT Sport 1. Gallagher Premiership match from Ashton Gate.

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The Nevers10.10pm, Sky Atlantic

The Pact 9pm,BBC One

Motherland 9pm,BBC Two