THERE is something doubly wicked about Sunday dramas that delve into the murkier reaches of the human soul. By tradition, the end of the week is meant to be a day for contemplation and relaxation, not revelling in behaviour most horrid.

This week saw the start of two tales which show, in the words of Terry Thomas, what an absolute shower humans can be given the chance. Fortunately, just one is true. The Handmaid’s Tale (Channel 4, Sunday, 9pm) only seems as though it could happen, which makes it more disturbing.

Set in a future America where women are enslaved to breed for the state, the first series stuck by Margaret Atwood’s book of the same name. The novel ended, but the viewers, this one included, wanted more. So now we have it. Ain’t capitalism grand?

Minutes in to the second season and it looked like a case of be careful what you wish for. Offred (Elisabeth Moss), having led a rebellion against the stoning of a woman in the last series, was led towards the gallows with the rest of the outlaws. Part of the joy of The Handmaid’s Tale are Offred’s interjections on voiceover. Like the bursts of music they don’t happen often, but when they do, they are sublime. Her reaction here included very non-Sunday language, and no wonder. I have a feeling this new series is going to outdo the first for nightmares.

Younger readers, or those of a sunny disposition, may find it hard to believe that the events at the centre of A Very English Scandal (BBC1, Sunday, 9pm) actually took place. But they did, and the whole sinister farce is conveyed wonderfully by Russell T Davies, working from John Preston’s book. Hugh Grant plays Jeremy Thorpe, the only party leader in British politics to stand trial for conspiracy to murder.

All that was still to come, though, as we saw the Liberal MP meet Norman Scott (Ben Whishaw), for the first time. With Scott stripped to the waist in a stable, it looked like a scene straight out of a Jilly Cooper novel, with a jolly tone to match. There were more laughs to come, including one lovely moment with Thorpe and Scott eating chips on the top deck of a bus. But Davies knew when to cut the cackle and get serious. In those days, being gay could land a person in jail. While Thorpe chose to hide his sexuality, Davies showed how other politicians were campaigning bravely to decriminalise homosexuality because lives were being ruined, and the number of suicides increasing, as long as it was against the law.

By the end of episode one, the first of three, we were in dark territory indeed with the fragile Scott making increasing demands on Thorpe, now party leader. Grant is magnificent as the charming but quietly monstrous politician, ditto Whishaw as the model who turned out to be made of stronger, finer stuff than many of his so-called elders and betters.

Jamie Oliver, being one of the original celebrity chefs, is knocking on a bit even if he is only 42. But as he told us in Jamie’s Quick and Easy Food (Channel 4, Monday, 8pm), he can still learn new tricks. “After all these years,” he declared, “I’ve come up with a new way of cooking that’s completely changed my life.” That was good timing, what with him having a new series to fill and a book to flog.

The whizz-bang idea this time was making dishes with only five ingredients. Very tasty they looked, too, as long as you weren’t veggie, but I wasn’t too sure about the “quick” part. Some 55 minutes prep and cook time for a sausage bake is a long time when baby birds are squawking.

Okay, BBC4, we want an art show. We need a presenter. Designer specs? Check. A black leather jacket? Check. Oh, and a pair of cowboy boots please. Eh? Courtesy of that last clue you may have guessed that the honcho who heads Big Sky, Big Dreams, Big Art: Made in the USA (BBC4, Wednesday, 9pm) is not the silky and dapper Simon Schama but ageing hipster Waldemar Januszczak.

This is a three part series which, judging by the way Januszckak was hopping around the country, cost a fair few dollars. On the evidence so far it is worth it. As our host showed, American art, with the exception of Native American art, was about selling things. Selling the idea of the west as a heaven on earth when in reality it was hellish. Selling the notion of the cowboy as a straight up hero.

Januszckak was able to ping back and forth across the ages and artists, making comparisons, drawing out significant points, because he knows his stuff every which way. Terrific. Get into it now and I’ll meet you back here in a couple of weeks’ time to swap notes. Cowboy boots optional.