The Bear returns with more culinary chaos and capers

The Bear
From Thursday, Disney+
After a peerless first two seasons of the hit Chicago restaurant drama, there was a sense that it was beginning to coast by the third. Can we expect the strained situation between Jeremy Allen White’s highly strung Carmy and ambitious sous chef Sydney (Ayo Edebiri, pictured top) to be resolved this time round? The Bear’s drama has always derived from the claustrophobia of its working environment – the characters are as close as family and equally prone to explosive emotions. As the restaurant’s horizons widen, Carmy faces the realisation that certain changes, while painful to contemplate, may be necessary. A promisingly primed pressure cooker. Phil Harrison

Amol Rajan Goes to the Ganges
Wednesday, 9pm, BBC One
Journalist Amol Rajan has been “in a bit of a funk” since his father died three years ago. Rajan realised that his mother, a practising Hindu, “seemed to have an emotional toolkit that I lacked”. Has this lack of faith made it harder to come to terms with bereavement? Rajan travels to India to take part in the Hindu festival Kumbh Mela. Initially, he’s slightly overwhelmed by the intensity of the pilgrimage, not to mention emotionally triggered by seeing so many older Indian gentlemen who remind him of his dad. And he’s soon faced with more tragedy as a crush causes 30 deaths. In the wake of this new sadness, can he find closure? PH

Squid Game
From Friday, Netflix
The rebellion has failed but the game goes on. The inventive dystopian drama nears its endgame, and the horror is becoming inescapable. The thwarted uprising has done wonders for the prize fund but, for reasons he can’t understand, its psychologically shattered instigator Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) has not been killed and is back in the contest. But does hope lie in the guards’ workroom, which has been infiltrated? Squid Game feels less subtle as a satire as it reaches its climax, but as betrayals multiply and alliances are destroyed, the sense of an ending raises the dramatic stakes considerably. PH

Smoke
From Friday, Apple TV+
Three years after collaborating on underrated drama Black Bird, actor Taron Egerton and writer Dennis Lehane reunite for this thriller about arson investigator Dave Gudsen (Egerton) and detective Michelle Calderone (Jurnee Smollett), who has been assigned to help him catch two serial arsonists. Initially, it’s a slow burn as the paranoid pair (she’s a traumatised ex-marine, while he’s seen too many blazes) learn to trust each other. But things hot up: the identity of one of the perpetrators is quickly apparent but his motives reveal themselves gradually. PH

Noel Edmonds’ Kiwi Adventure
Friday, 9pm, ITV1
“I think I might have found my paradise,” says Noel Edmonds, gazing out across the majestic New Zealand landscape as this barmy series continues. In truth, this episode pushes Noel’s Zen calmness to the limit. Rain has kept visitors away from the bar-restaurant and a sharp frost could destroy the vineyard. It’s a good job he has a voluminous collection of motivational catchphrases (“When it rains, look for the rainbows”) to make sense of it all. PH

For local listings and availability, visit justwatch.com.