Scandal 

Scandal shows the dark side of politics, the shady backdoor deals, selfish betrayals and hurtful lies. 

Monday:

Springwatch

BBC Two, 8pm

Springwatch returns for another series with Martin Hughes-Games, Michaela Strachan, Chris Packham and Gillian Burke.

The “vote” of the UK’s independent television producers on the EU referendum could hardly have been more emphatic. The poll, conducted by Pact, the independent producers’ group, showed 85% in favour of remaining in the EU and 15% against – rather different from the UK’s vote.

There was no political campaign by Pact: the results were published but vanished into the pre-referendum maelstrom of claim and counterclaim.

The joint event – organised by the RTS Centre and IABM, the international trade association for suppliers of broadcast and media technology – was chaired by Dick Hobbs.

It featured a cross-section of industry luminaries: a vendor/service provider, Mike Knowles from Ericsson; consultants, Bruce Devlin from Mr MXF and Broadcast Innovation’s Russell Grute; a customer, former BBC and Disney executive Keith Nicholas; and IABM’s John Ive.

Speaking during a self-published video of their investor call, Netflix CEO and co-founder Reed Hastings began: "There are so many competitors and everyone is working hard to build the best content. We're seeing growth in the overall internet TV market."

When pressed if there were any plans to purchase an existing film company in order to produce content more easily, chief content officer Ted Sarandos confirmed: "we're building it versus buying it [...] not just in our films, but in several of our series Netflix is the studio and the network." 

1. Cooked

This slow-starting series is both beautifully shot and engagingly presented.

The show centres around the ways food is prepared around the world and the role that food, and eating, impact us on a social, cultural and personal level. Each of the four episodes is named after one of the classical elements (earth, air, fire and water) and examines how these four elements form the basis of every meal that we eat.

HBO’s President of Programming, Michael Lombardo, might have a reputation for being a touch obsessive, but, when it comes to his list of hit shows, it seems that such qualities work just fine.

In a smooth transition, the personable Polly Hill has become the BBC’s new Controller of Drama Commissioning. She takes over without so much as dropping a script from LA-bound Ben Stephenson.

Her new job is one of the most coveted and powerful positions in UK television. Hill is responsible for the wide range of drama across BBC One and BBC Two, an estimated budget of £200m annually, spiced with the challenge of devising a new online policy, principally for BBC Three. She also has oversight of EastEnders, Casualty and Holby City.