Tonight in HD: November 24

SoHo Highlight: Treme (Sky 10, 9.30, 5.1) Albert finds the body of his ‘Wild Man’; Davis barters freedom for piano lessons; Antoine hits rock bottom; Annie (Lucia Micarelli, above) gets a birthday gig. This may be the finest drama series on SoHo but the AV Club’s Scott Tobias make a valid point when he writes: “Great as David Simon’s series have all been, Treme underlines his weakness for painting those outside the show’s generously considered inner circle with too broad and too contemptuous a brush. And make no mistake: As viewers, we’re very much on the outside here. There are times when I worry I’m simply not cool enough to hang out with Treme. It gets mad when I neglect it, but it isn’t happy with my interest, either. Because no matter how hard you try, you’re never gonna be New Orleans enough for it. (The New Yorker’s Nancy Franklin puts it more succinctly: ‘The series virtually prohibits you from loving it, while asking you to value it.’)” If you’ve yet to experience Treme, Franklin’s excellent critique may help you to make the transition from outsider to insider. ✭✭✭✭✭

Shortland Street (TV2, 7.00)

Friends (TV2, 6.30, R) Monica and Rachel fight over Phoebe’s ugly painting, and Ross has the chance to get a big grant — but Charlie’s ex-boyfriend is in charge of it. ✫✫

Shortland Street (TV2, 7.00) Hunter stays under the radar; Lana uncovers a shocking truth; Luke’s eyes are finally opened. ✫✫✫

The X Factor USA (TV3, 7.30, 5.1) Only the best are still left .. but for how long?  ✫✫

Rove LA (TV3, 9.30) With Family Guy’s Seth McFarlane, Lauren Graham (The Gilmore Girls) and Black Eyed Peas’ Will.i.am. ✫✫✫✫

Chuck (TV2, 10.30) The team jets to Morocco to rescue Roan Montgomery (guest star John Larroquette), Morgan prepares to meet Alex’s mum, and Mary bonds with her family. IGN called Chuck vs the Seduction Impossible “one of the most purely enjoyable episodes of the season”. But the AV Club said “Chuck doesn’t do baby steps well, and because last week’s episode was so epic, Seduction Impossible was a lot of tiny strides and fabricated drama“. ✫✫✫✫

Diplomatic Immunity (TV One, 11.35, R) Repeat of the South Pacific Pictures comedy about a fictional South Pacific embassy. Said The Dominion Post’s Jane Clifton: “It’s a bold, hammy, superbright sort of comedy, from which you expect major pratfalls and belly laughs. But the laughs it generates are more for its subtleties – the ironies in the plot, the quite believable farce of the diplomacy involved.” ✫✫✫

Underbelly: The Mr Asia Story (TV3, 11.45, R) Terry Clark’s drug empire starts to unravel when he is arrested for murder in the UK. ✫✫✫✫

Criminal Minds (TV One, 12.05, R) ✫✫

The Vampire Diaries (TV2, 2.35, R) ✫✫✫