By Bridget McManus
THE SECRET LIFE OF MARILYN MONROE
★★★★
8.35pm, SBS
The supremely reliable Susan Sarandon delivers a stunning performance as Gladys Mortenson, the bitter, neglectful mother of the Hollywood siren presumed largely responsible for her daughter's vulnerability and personal failings. In this second and final part of the telemovie based on J. Randy Taraborrelli's bestseller, Sarandon owns a pivotal scene in which, with expert timing, she lobs a grenade into the relationship between Marilyn (Kelli Garner) and Joe DiMaggio (Jeffrey Dean Morgan). Not surprisingly, the costumes are to die for.
NEW GIRL
★★★
8pm, Ten
The Thanksgiving stuff-ups at the hippest loft in LA don't end with the turkey, which does cop a pretty hard hit. Male bonding issues play out between Schmidt (Max Greenfield), his playboy dad (Peter Gallagher), and stood-up Nick (Jake Johnson). Hostess with the leastest, Jess (Zooey Deschanel) fishes to find the right moment to dump Robby (Nelson Franklin), whose broken leg provides plenty of slapstick. This is a predictable but polished Friends for a fresh generation.
HAPPY VALLEY
Series return ★★★★★
9.20pm, ABC
In a follow-up season teeming with brilliant performances, the standout coupling is of Grantchester's James Norton as convicted rapist Tommy Lee Royce, and his needling, simpering moll, Frances Drummond (Scottish actress Shirley Henderson, who played Gail in Trainspotting). So physical are their interactions as they plot misguided revenge on Sergeant Cawood (Sarah Lancashire) that he simmers with rage while she pulsates with lusty evil. Never have two people up to no good been so bewitching to watch.