Tonight: Shetland Series 11 Begins on BBC One

What to Watch Tonight UK · Thursday 12 November 2026

Ashley Jensen is back as DI Ruth Calder when Shetland series 11 begins on BBC One at 9pm, in Alison O’Donnell’s final run as Tosh. On streaming, the final season of The Empress lands on Netflix and Scrubs reaches season 2, episode 8 on Disney+. Philomena Cunk takes on the movies with all three episodes of Cunk on Cinema on BBC iPlayer, Ron Howard’s acclaimed Avedon is new on Netflix, and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home turns 40 this month.

Tonight’s two streamers: Netflix and Disney+

NETFLIX: The Empress season 3, the final season

• Service: Netflix, all six episodes from today
• Episodes: Season 3, episodes 1 to 6; seasons 1 and 2 are also on Netflix
• Age rating: 15
• Starring: Devrim Lingnau Islamoğlu, Philip Froissant, Melika Foroutan, Johannes Nussbaum and Dejan Bućin
• Critics: The series holds 83% on Rotten Tomatoes and won an International Emmy
• UK availability: Streaming on Netflix in the UK with a subscription

Netflix’s lavish German drama about Elisabeth of Austria comes to an end. Emperor Franz returns from the Sardinian War a broken man, his unfaithfulness shakes the marriage, and Elisabeth’s failing health drives her away from Vienna. On her travels she meets the Hungarian revolutionary Count Andrássy, while Franz’s brother Maximilian sets off to become Emperor of Mexico. With six episodes, it is an easy finale to finish over a weekend, and it was one of our weekly streaming highlights.

Perfect if you liked The Crown, Bridgerton or The Great.

DISNEY+: Scrubs season 2, episode 8, “My Emergency”

• Service: Disney+, new episode today
• Episode: Season 2, episode 8 of 10; new episodes arrive every Thursday
• Runtime: About half an hour
• Age rating: 12
• Starring: Zach Braff, Donald Faison and Sarah Chalke
• UK availability: Streaming on Disney+ in the UK with a subscription; all nine seasons of the original series are there too

J.D., Turk and Elliot are now the senior doctors at Sacred Heart, mentoring a new set of interns. In tonight’s episode an overflowing emergency room throws the hospital into chaos, and J.D. is surprised to find out why, while Turk helps intern Dashana with a problem in her personal life. It is still warm, silly and quick, and at half an hour it slots in before anything else tonight.

Perfect if you liked the original Scrubs, Shrinking or Abbott Elementary.

ALSO DROPPING TODAY: The Good Daughter on Sky Atlantic and NOW

• The Good Daughter, Sky Atlantic and NOW: All six episodes of the Karin Slaughter thriller are on NOW from today, and episode 1 is on Sky Atlantic at 9pm. Rose Byrne and Meghann Fahy play sisters still haunted by one violent night 20 years ago. Reviews so far are mixed, with 57% on Rotten Tomatoes. Our preview has more.

ON TV TONIGHT: Shetland series 11, BBC One at 9pm

• Channel: BBC One at 9pm, and on BBC iPlayer from 9pm
• Episode: Episode 1 of 6; new episodes every Thursday
• Starring: Ashley Jensen, Alison O’Donnell and Steven Robertson, with Stella Gonet, Christine Bottomley and Gregor Fisher
• UK availability: Free on BBC One and BBC iPlayer; series 1 to 10 are on iPlayer to catch up

A car is pulled from the sea with the skeleton of an unknown man in the boot. It belongs to Dr Raymond Linden, a respected local GP who left the isles under a cloud nine years ago, and Calder and Tosh soon find that his mother, his brother and his ex-wife all remember him very differently. This is also Alison O’Donnell’s last series as Tosh, so expect it to hurt. Gregor Fisher guests as a lonely old man who gets caught up in the case.

Perfect if you liked Vera, Broadchurch or Karen Pirie.

NEW ON IPLAYER: Cunk on Cinema, all three episodes

• Service: BBC iPlayer, all three episodes from 6am today; episode 1 is also on BBC Two at 10pm
• Episodes: 3 episodes of 30 minutes
• Starring: Diane Morgan as Philomena Cunk, created by Charlie Brooker
• UK availability: Free on BBC iPlayer and BBC Two

Philomena Cunk turns her blank stare on the history of film, from the invention of the camera and the French New Wave to CGI and what AI might do next, all from a lumpy seat with stale popcorn. Michael Bay and Benedict Cumberbatch are among the experts trying to keep a straight face. The whole series is about an hour and a half, so you can watch it in one go. Our trailer story has a taste.

Perfect if you liked Cunk on Earth, Cunk on Life or Black Mirror’s lighter moments.

NEWLY ADDED: Ron Howard’s Avedon (2026), Netflix

• Service: Netflix, added on 11 November
• Runtime: 1 hour 44 minutes
• Directed by: Ron Howard
• Critics: 100% on Rotten Tomatoes
• UK availability: Streaming on Netflix in the UK with a subscription

A documentary about Richard Avedon, the photographer whose fashion shoots and stark portraits shaped how the 20th century saw itself. Howard had full access to Avedon’s archive, including unseen photos and behind-the-scenes recordings, and the result is fast, rich and surprisingly moving. You do not need to know anything about photography to enjoy it. Our Super Review goes deeper.

Perfect if you liked Pavements, Finding Vivian Maier or The September Issue.

STAR TREK CLASSIC: Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986), Paramount+

• Service: Paramount+, also on NOW Cinema
• Runtime: 1 hour 59 minutes
• Age rating: PG
• Directed by: Leonard Nimoy
• Starring: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley and Walter Koenig
• Critics: 81% on Rotten Tomatoes
• UK availability: Streaming on Paramount+ in the UK with a subscription

An alien probe is wrecking Earth’s oceans, and only the song of the long-extinct humpback whale can answer it, so Kirk and his crew fly a stolen Klingon ship back to 1986 San Francisco to find two. It is the funniest Star Trek film by a mile, and it turns 40 this month, in the franchise’s 60th year. Chekov’s hunt for “nuclear wessels” is also a fond way to remember Walter Koenig, as we did in our Star Trek news. There is more in our Star Trek watch guide.

Perfect if you liked Galaxy Quest, Back to the Future or Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.

More dates are in our UK release calendar. More picks: What to Watch.

What are you watching tonight?

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