Kick-start your TV week with this TV guide to what is worth watching on TV tonight.
Reviewed by Andrew Mercado (AM) , Dan Barrett (DB) and James Manning (JM)
All-Star Family Feud – 7.30pm on Nine
OK, I might be a little bit obsessed by which couple’s “marriage” is over on Married At First Sight tonight, even though no couple’s marriage is real to begin with. That means there is going to be lots of flicking tonight between Nine and Ten because I also want to watch Joel Creasey and Chrissie Swan going head to head on Family Feud. Now that the All-Stars format is using celebrities and their families (rather than Ten shows or football codes), this show could go forever. (AM)
The Larry Sanders Show – Stan
Hey now! All six seasons of HBO’s defining comedy series The Larry Sanders Show are now available to stream. Following the recent passing of series creator and star Garry Shandling, interest in the series is very high right now. The show is a behind the scenes look at a late night comedy show in the post-Johnny Carson era and was instrumental in launching the careers of a wealth of comedic talent, including writers Judd Apatow and Paul Simms along with performers Jeffrey Tambor, Janeane Garofalo, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Sarah Silverman, and Jeremy Piven. Some of the references are dated, but it remains very funny still. (DB)
Michael Mosley: Do We Need Health Tests? – 7.30pm on SBS
This was a BBC episode of Horizon screened in the UK in mid-2015 where the prolific Mosley investigated health tests. He tells how his grandfather died of heart failure after being treated for prostate cancer, with Mosley wondering if he may have lived longer without the invasive prostate cancer surgery. (JM)
Phone Shop Idol – 9pm on SBS2
TV’s strangest programs are frequently on SBS2 but has it really come to this – a reality series that searches for Britain’s finest mobile phone salesman? Yes, really. The show’s title is a play on Pop Idol, the 2001 TV hit that led to Australian Idol and a glut of other talent shows. Whether or not Phone Shop Idol leads to a glut of handset shows remains to be seen. (AM)
For viewers with a real estate addiction you can’t mis the start of the third season this program about flogging your own home and buying a new one. The series is from Canada’s prolific property brothers Drew and Jonathan Scott who pump out four separate series from their Scott Brothers Entertainment business. There is also a third elder brother in the family business, JD Scott, who has performed as a celebrity impersonator for Adam Lambert and David Bowie! (JM)
Downton Abbey – 9pm on Seven
Tears tonight as the world’s favourite period drama comes to an end after six seasons and 52 episodes. This episode screened in the UK on Christmas night and gave ITV the highest rating Christmas show over the BBC for the first time in 15 years. Given die-hard fans will have already watched this (especially given you could legally buy the sixth series on DVD from England in mid-November and this movie-length special from Boxing Day), don’t expect record ratings for Seven. Expect a big screen movie to follow … or maybe a prequel series.
Mad Men – 11pm on SBS
Presto subscribers are able to pick and choose which episodes of all seven seasons of Mad Men they would like to watch. However the final season gets a FTA airing on SBS starting tonight with the first two episodes screening after 11pm. If you haven’t seen these excellent episodes yet don’t forget to set your PVR or check them out on SBS On Demand. (JM)
The Jeselnik Offensive – 2:15am on SBS
Offense-based comedian Anthony Jeselnik’s TV series, which offered a mix of sketch comedy, stand-up, and in-studio panel never quite caught on with viewers. Slightly out of step with audience tastes, the show quietly slipped away just prior to the launch of Inside Amy Schumer. Jeselnik certainly isn’t for everyone, but if you’re in the mood for hearing crass one-liners and topical references from 2013, set your PVRs for this early morning show. (DB)