TV Times – 15 August 2026

TV Times – 15 August 2026

Summary

David Mitchell and Anna Maxwell Martin return as the puzzle-solving duo in Ludwig season 2 on the cover of TV Times 15-21 August 2026, a 114-page weekly that devotes 6 pages to the BBC1 crime comedy. The new season drops the brothers into a locked-room mystery at a Cambridge college.

The Stars & Stories section runs 14 pages deep: Professor T season 4 with Ben Miller, ITV comedy drama Sunny Nights, Celebrity MasterChef, Van der Valk's Maimie McCoy profile, Coronation Street's Junade Khan, a 4-page autumn TV preview, You're Killing Me on U&Drama, and the Disney+ wildlife film Lion. Soaps cover 6 pages; films run 4 pages; the TV guide fills 70 pages.

Regulars close with puzzles, What You're Watching reader results, and a retro cover from 1959. Novak Djokovic: The Wolf in Winter appears as a Prime Video highlight.

Content Guide

▸ Cover Story / Comedy Drama

p.6 · Ludwig — David Mitchell and Anna Maxwell Martin Return
Season 2 opens with a murder inside a locked Cambridge college library. Mitchell performed his own sleight-of-hand card tricks for a scene that required 14 takes. The episode's solution hinges on a 17th-century book cipher — keep an eye on the bookshelf in the first 3 minutes.

p.8 · Professor T — Ben Miller Returns for Season 4
The criminology professor with OCD faces a case involving a serial arsonist who leaves Fibonacci-sequence patterns at each fire. Miller says he studied obsessive-compulsive behaviors with a clinical psychologist for the role. The arsonist's first fire appears at 11 minutes; count the sequence.

▸ New Series & Drama

p.11 · Sunny Nights — ITV Comedy Drama
A six-part series set in a Liverpool beach club. The creator wrote the pilot after managing a club in Ibiza for one summer. Each episode title is a cocktail name.

p.15 · Van der Valk — Maimie McCoy Profile
McCoy discusses playing Detective Sergeant Vos and the physical training required for the role's chase sequences. She trained in kickboxing for 6 weeks before filming. The season's climactic chase was filmed in a single unbroken shot through Amsterdam's Jordaan district.

p.16 · Coronation Street — Junade Khan
The actor playing a new Weatherfield GP talks about his character's secret medical history. Khan consulted with real NHS GPs to prepare for scenes involving a misdiagnosis storyline. The misdiagnosis reveal airs in episode 3 of the week.

p.21 · You're Killing Me — U&Drama
A dark comedy about a true-crime podcaster who discovers her boyfriend matches every serial killer profile she has covered. The lead actress delivered all her podcast monologues in single takes.

▸ Autumn Preview / Nature

p.18 · Our Huge Autumn Preview
A 4-page round-up of 24 returning and new shows across BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, Netflix, and Disney+. Highlights include a new David Attenborough series on ocean soundscapes and a Netflix thriller set inside a Mars habitat. Set your recorder for the Attenborough premiere on September 12.

p.22 · Lion — National Geographic and Disney+ Wildlife Film
A documentary following a single male lion across a flooded Okavango delta. The crew spent 87 days in the field to capture the crossing sequence. The flood-crossing scene at minute 34 is the most technically difficult wildlife shot of the year.

Editor's Take

Ludwig remains a reliable returning draw, and the autumn preview justifies the purchase for anyone planning their September-December viewing. The 24-show round-up is genuinely useful. Van der Valk's Maimie McCoy profile has the best behind-the-scenes detail this week — the kickboxing training and single-shot chase give the reader a real reason to watch. Sunny Nights feels like a premise still looking for a plot. The 1959 retro cover is a wasted half-page; the reader poll on page 113 is more engaging.

Strengths
• 4-page autumn preview covering 24 shows across 8 platforms
• Maimie McCoy behind-the-scenes with kickboxing and single-shot chase details
• Ludwig season 2 opener with the Cambridge college locked-room setting

Weaknesses
• Sunny Nights premise needs more than cocktail-themed episode titles
• Retro cover from 1959 is filler content

Verdict: Recommended — The autumn preview makes this a keeper for planning the next TV season.

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