TV tonight: Chris Packham’s wondrous series about evolution

His epic exploration starts with the mystery of the African elephant. Plus: top prankster Oobah Butler takes on the housing crisis. Here’s what to watch this evening

9pm, BBC Two Chris Packham begins his wondrous five-part series next to a Kenyan watering hole, laughing with pleasurable astonishment at the awesome creation that is the African elephant. Nobody would design an animal like that, so how did it evolve? The answer is an epic 4bn-year-old story of hunger, conflict and Earth-shaking natural disasters, all of which made the survivors stronger. Jack Seale

6pm, Sky One Four seasons have already aired in the US, and now this sitcom about Seattle animal control officers makes its way to the UK. The opener features a plot about a wild weasel in an attic and another where one of the team slips a snack into his colleague’s pocket just as they approach a dozen ostriches. Alexi Duggins

9pm, Channel 4 A return to the hectic Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham for more emergency assessments. The parents of a 10-week-old baby are distraught after a choking episode; has any milk made it into his lungs? Elsewhere, a veteran bus driver is admitted with a nasty-looking leg infection that turns out to be very serious indeed. Graeme Virtue

9pm, Sky Atlantic The crown weighs ever heavier on the head of Rhaenyra Targaryen: having taken the Iron Throne, she now discovers the full extent of the perfidy she’s up against. With even arch-schemer Daemon uncovering devastating secrets, the Game of Thrones prequel delivers a neat study of the difference between power and control. JS

Twenty-five years on from a case that shocked Australia, a man shot in the outback while travelling with his girlfriend, a forensic search specialist who worked on the Soham double murder case and a retired FBI profiler who was part of the Madeleine McCann investigation join forces to try to solve this cold case. A nail-biting two-parter. Priya Elan

10pm, Channel 4 Hypnotising an estate agent? Selling £20 avocados? Pitching living spaces the size of Guantánamo Bay cells? This can only be Oobah Butler’s takedown of the housing crisis, including a chat with Andy Burnham, as he attempts to get on the ladder. But there’s no predicting the final moments when his mission takes an unexpected turn. Hollie Richardson