Flor Lynch

unread,

Sep 14, 2025, 2:57:46 PMSep 14

to 'Emma May' via VIBISTRO

TV & Radio

TV guide: the best new shows to watch, starting tonight

September 14th-19th: including Who’s Building Ireland?, Coldwater, and The Black Rabbit

Who's Building Ireland? Photograph: Peter Houlihan

Kevin Courtney

Sun Sept 14 2025 - 05:00

Pick of the week

Who’s Building Ireland?

Wednesday, RTÉ One, 9.35pm

The way the Government talks about housing, you’d think they were living in Minecraft, and homes will simply materialise with just a few clicks of a console. But the reality is that the 300,000 new homes needed by 2030 are not going to magically build themselves – we need actual builders to physically put together the bricks and mortar so we can reach those real-life housing targets. In this documentary we meet the people on the ground in the construction industry who are laying the foundations for the country’s future, and hopefully building a better world for our children in which owning your own house isn’t a pipe dream. Among the tradespeople and craftspeople featured are Estonian-Irish electrical apprentice Chantreen O’Connor, who is a “construction influencer” using social media to encourage young women to take up trades; 21-year-old Kate Fahy, one of the world’s youngest tower crane operators; Colombian carpenter Juan, who fled his country after criminal cartels murdered his brother; and Romanian builder-priest Adrian Groza, who runs his construction company during the week, and delivers sermons in God’s house on Sundays.

Highlights

The Records Show

Sunday, RTÉ One, 6.30pm

Katie Hannon bravely risks allergies and sneezes as she blows the dust off another pile of old documents buried deep in the National Archives. Okay, it’s probably not all that musty – this isn’t Hogwarts – but Hannon will be hoping to uncover more long-forgotten stories about Ireland’s past as she sifts through some hitherto undisturbed documents in this second series of The Records Show. Once again she will travel the country to follow up on the stories she finds, visiting such places as Curracloe Beach in Co Wexford, where Steven Spielberg filmed D-Day scenes for Saving Private Ryan, and Castleblayney, Co Monaghan, which happens to be the hub of Ireland’s sports car industry, and hear tales of the inventor who promised to make Ireland a world energy leader, and the illegal arrival who had lunch with Ireland’s president, and meet historians and local experts as part of her quest to put flesh on the bones of recent Irish history. Over the three episodes in the series, Hannon will also look ahead to the much-anticipated release of the 1926 census – the first to be taken since independence, and a snapshot of the population at the birth of the State.

Rob and Rylan’s Passage to India

Sunday, BBC Two, 9pm

Rob Rinder and Rylan Clark reunite for another overseas adventure, buoyed up by the Bafta-winning success of their first outing, where they visited the cultural hotspots of Italy, retracing the steps of Byron 200 years before. This time they’re taking author EM Forster’s novel A Passage to India, published 100 years ago, as their guidebook, exploring the country’s ancient wisdom, art and culture, and maybe learning a bit more about themselves in the process. “Following in the footsteps of my literary hero, EM Forster, and being in India gifted me the sense of being more alive,” says Rinder. We’re promised teeming streets, incredible artworks and a bit of sexual tension between our hosts. “This place is so beautiful, it makes you want to propose,” says Rinder. “Don’t,” snaps back Clark. Their first stop is the country’s capital, Delhi, with a population of 34 million people, where they visit a chaotic street market and a tomb with a view, meet a billionaire art collector and a street rapper, and try their hands at puppeteering.

Coldwater

Sunday, UTV, 9pm

As men approach middle age, the advice is to get out of the mancave and make new friends, but what if you befriend the wrong bloke and end up in a cycle of violence and murder? John is a desperately unhappy, repressed dad with a cellarful of bottled-up rage and a marriage that’s fizzling out. He and his wife, Fiona, decide to move to a remote Scottish village in the hope of rebooting their lives, but when John falls in with their charismatic next-door neighbour Tommy, their new lives quickly begin to unravel. Tommy heads up the village’s men-only book club and his wife, Rebecca, is the local vicar, but Fiona is not too happy about the blossoming bromance between her husband and this oddball, and, sure enough, things soon come to a head and John and Fiona are in it up to their necks. The Walking Dead’s Andrew Lincoln stars as John, making his return to British TV after 10 years, with Indira Varma as Fiona, Ewen Bremner as Tommy and Eve Myles as Rebecca.

Abandoned Ulster

Sunday, BBC Two, 10pm

What can derelict buildings tell us about the past and the lives of previous generations? This 30-minute documentary looks at the work of photographer Rebecca Brownlie, who travelled around Northern Ireland taking pictures of abandoned sites, including a former linen mill in Co Antrim, a farmhouse in Co Down and a mission hall in Co Armagh, focusing on places with a link to Ulster-Scots culture. Complementing Brownlie’s evocative images are the spoken-word reflections of Ulster-Scots writers Darren Gibson and Anne McMaster.

Nationwide at the Áras

Monday, RTÉ One, 7pm

All good things must come to an end, and this year will bring the curtain down on the presidency of Michael D Higgins, as he and his wife Sabina prepare to hand over the keys of the Áras to Ireland’s next president, whether that be a former MMA fighter, dancer, GAA manager or weather reporter. As a sort of last hurrah for Michael D’s 14-year stint, Bláthnaid Ní Chofaigh goes behind the scenes at the annual garden parties at the Áras, which usually take place over three weeks in late June/early July and see up to 600 guests benefit from the Higgins’s hospitality. Ní Chofaigh gets an insight into the painstaking preparations for these events, which have been a tradition in the Áras since 1939, and meets some of the staff who keep the show running smoothly, including executive head chef Tina Weir and her talented team, who create the sandwiches and delicacies for the guests, and head gardener Robert Norris, who maintains the stunning formal gardens, walled gardens and tree-lined avenues of the Áras. “There are not many presidents in the world that would open their houses free of charge to people to come in to,” notes household staff supervisor Bernadette Carroll. “What is the magic thing about it is, we are here for 14 years and in 14 years every garden party has been a beautiful sunny day,” says Sabina Higgins.

Twiggy

Monday, BBC Two, 9pm

In the 1960s, teenager Lesley Hornby from Neasden in London was the modelling world’s most famous face, known to millions as Twiggy. She was an icon of the Swinging Sixties, and this documentary film by Sadie Frost looks back at her amazing career, as she successfully navigated the shark-infested waters of the fashion industry and emerged relatively unscathed to become a British national treasure. The film delves in to her working-class upbringing and her sudden success at just 15, her marriages and relationships, and her constant reinvention following her retirement from modelling at just 22. This is a snapshot of an innocent age of glamour, with contributions from Dustin Hoffman, Paul McCartney, Charlotte Tilbury, Joanna Lumley and Brooke Shields.

Scannal – Death on Ireland’s Eye

Tuesday, RTÉ One, 7pm

On September 6th, 1852, a young Irish artist, William Kirwan, and his wife, Maria, went on a day trip to Ireland’s Eye, but only William returned to the mainland. He claimed his wife had gone swimming while he sketched, and when she didn’t return he searched the entire island but found no sign of her. Her body was subsequently found in an inlet, and an inquest found that she had died by drowning, but when it was discovered that the marriage had been marked by cruel behaviour and that William had been living a double life, he went from grieving husband to prime murder suspect. In this episode of Scannal, Sinéad Ní Churnáin and Síomha Ní Ruairc explore the story of a murder trial that gripped the nation in Victorian times. To dig deeper into this mystery, read Death on Ireland’s Eye by Dean Ruxton, of this parish.

Streaming

The Morning Show

Apple TV+ from Wednesday, September 17th

Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon kick up more sparks in the fourth series of the drama set in the studios of a popular Manhattan morning-news programme. Aniston, who plays The Morning Show’s cohost Alex Levy, and Witherspoon, as news anchor Bradley Jackson, are working in a very different environment since the merger between the UBA and NBN networks. The broadcasters have to navigate new work practices and a new reality where AI, deepfakes, conspiracy theories and corporate skulduggery threaten to undermine fact-based reporting. As usual, The Morning Show is packed with stars, including Billy Crudup, John Hamm, Mark Duplass and Greta Lee, plus new arrivals Marion Cotillard and Jeremy Irons.

Black Rabbit

Netflix from Thursday, September 18th

Jude Law stars as Jake Friedkin, who runs a popular New York restaurant and VIP lounge called Black Rabbit. The business is on the cusp of becoming the jewel of Big Apple nightlife, but when Jake’s wayward brother, Vince (Jason Bateman), returns to the family business, he brings a heap of trouble with him. Soon everything they’ve worked hard for is in danger of collapsing like a badly made soufflé. Will their brotherly bond save the business or destroy it?

Flor Lynch

unread,

Sep 21, 2025, 4:01:29 PMSep 21

to 'Emma May' via VIBISTRO

September 21st-26th highlights: including Disease X: Hunting the Next Pandemic, The Hack, and House of Guinness

The Hack: David Tennant and Toby Jones. Photograph: ITV Studios

Kevin Courtney

Sun Sept 21 2025 - 05:00

Highlights

Today

Monday-Friday, RTÉ One, 3.30pm

While we spend our afternoons toiling away in our Tara Street sweatshop, churning out TV preview columns for a pittance to feed the ever-hungry media machine, some people are relaxing in their Roche Bobois sofas and watching their favourite afternoon TV shows. This lucky cohort will be rejoicing at the news that Maura Derrane, Dáithí Ó Sé and Sinead Kennedy are back to present a new season of the ever-popular Today show. It’s Ireland’s longest-running afternoon programme, and this 14th series promises more afternoon delights including fashion tips, foodie recipes and fab studio guests, plus new quizzes, competitions and cash giveaways. This season, viewers are being asked to look in their attics to see if there are any priceless heirlooms lying about, and to look inside themselves to find that hidden talent or unlock that dilemma they’ve been grappling with.

Disease X: Hunting the Next Pandemic

Monday, BBC Two, 9pm

Here’s some nice, alarming news to add to your overflowing feed: Covid-19 may be in the rear-view mirror, but apparently there’s another global pandemic waiting just up the road, and this one could be an even bigger car crash than Covid. Even more alarming, scientists have no idea what Disease X looks like or where and when it will raise its ugly head, but most health experts are agreed it could happen again in our lifetime, and could be even deadlier than any outbreak that has happened before. Virologist and broadcaster Dr Chris Van Tulleken is determined to hunt down the pathogen – nicknamed Disease X by the World Health Organisation – that will trigger the next pandemic, and in this documentary he travels around the globe, visiting epidemic hotspots and meeting scientists and medical experts to learn more about how novel viruses emerge, how they spread and how public health policy and vaccinations play their part in tackling new diseases. Sure you might as well start stocking up on toilet paper now, just in case.

Scannal: Money. Mobiles, Moriarty

Tuesday, RTÉ One, 7pm

Remember the Moriarty tribunal? Who could forget - it seemed to go on for aeons (over 14 years, to be exact), becoming part of the wallpaper of Irish political life, and racking up eye-watering costs with each day it ran (€80 million and counting). The tribunal was set up to investigate payments to politicians, with the focus on TD Michael Lowry and former taoiseach Charles Haughey and their links with businessman Ben Dunne, along with Lowry’s connections with billionaire Denis O’Brien. But the Irish public was left with one big, unanswered question: was the tribunal just a huge waste of time and taxpayers’ money? In this two-part series, the Scannal team and presenter Cormac Ó hÉadhra dive back into the morass to find out how it all started and whether it achieved any of its goals.

The Hack

Wednesday, UTV, 9pm

David Tennant, Toby Jones and Robert Carlyle head a heavyweight cast in this drama series telling the story of Britain’s notorious phone hacking scandal which led to the closure of the News of the World and the opening of the Leveson inquiry. Tennant is investigative journalist Nick Davies, who uncovers evidence of widespread phone hacking in the newspaper industry. Among the public figures targeted by tabloid journalists were princes William and Harry, David Beckham, Steve Coogan, Sienna Miller, Charlotte Church and Jude Law. But it wasn’t just rich celebs who were targeted. Unscrupulous journalists had also targeted the parents of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler, hacking into their voicemails. Toby Jones plays Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger, who published Davies’ exposé, and Robert Carlyle plays detective chief superintendent Dave Cook, who, in a parallel storyline, is in charge of a case involving the brutal murder of a private investigator in 1987, which turns out to be connected to the phone-hacking scandal. Dougray Scott plays politician Gordon Brown – doing Brown to a T. The series is written by Jack Thorne, who wrote this year’s big water-cooler drama, Adolescence, and produced by the team who created the highly acclaimed Mr Bates vs The Post Office.

RTÉ Investigates: Forced Fashion

Wednesday, RTÉ One at 9.35pm

We’ve long been warned to avoid the perils of fast fashion – cheap, bad-quality clothing churned out in Asian sweatshops by low-paid workers. But in recent years evidence has emerged of a darker stain on the fashion industry: clothes made from cotton picked and processed through forced labour. In China’s Xinjiang province, minority Uyghurs in detention camps are sent out to the fields and forced to pick and process cotton to make cheap clothing for global exports. Global fashion brands have vowed to cut off all ties with China’s state-sponsored exploitation of ethnic minorities, but are the clothes on our high streets really free of forced labour cotton? In this RTÉ Investigates special, reporter Joe Galvin unravels the clothing supply chains and learns that some Irish retailers have still not fully divested themselves of this dark material.

Shadow Scholars: The Fake Essay Scandal

Wednesday, Channel 4, 10pm

Next time you encounter some insufferable smarty-pants with a degree from a posh British university, don’t waste your time feeling inferior. They might actually be a total thicko who only got through thanks to the work of some shadowy ghostwriter in Kenya. This documentary looks at a scandal sweeping through UK academia, in which students are handing in fake academic papers to earn degrees and move into top careers. The papers are actually written by highly educated scholars in Kenya, who earn their living from helping students in the UK and other countries to game the system. Oxford academic Prof Patricia Kingori travels to Nairobi to meet some of these ghostwriters, and asks the question: if college degrees can be bought, are they worth the paper they’re printed on?

The Graham Norton Show

Friday, BBC One, 10.40pm

Why does every A-lister line up to place their priceless posteriors on Graham Norton’s famous red sofa? Is it the affable Cork man’s easygoing manner and ability to immediately put his guests at ease? Is it his mischievous and slightly racy line of questioning that veers close to the edge without crossing the line of good taste or breaching the stars’ strict PR conditions? Either way, the biggest chatshow on this side of the Atlantic is back for a fab new series, and Graham’s first guests are biggies: The Rock, aka Dwayne Johnson, and Emily Blunt, here to chat about their new sports biopic, The Smashing Machine. Also on the couch is Matthew McConaughey, promoting his new thriller, The Lost Bus; and Aimee Lou Wood, cowriter and star of new romantic comedy/drama series Film Club. British jazz/pop/soul sensation Raye delivers the musical goodies.

Streaming

Slow Horses

Apple TV+ from Wednesday, September 24th

The best spy series on television is back for a fifth series – and if you think that’s good news, Apple TV+ has confirmed that it has already greenlit a sixth and seventh series based on the novels by Mick Herron. Gary Oldman returns as the slovenly, irascible and utterly brilliant Jackson Lamb, who heads the team at Slough House, MI5’s dumping ground for spies who have screwed up. But Lamb is not about to let his slow horses go out to pasture: under his cantankerous guidance the team set out to give the big guns at the intelligence agency’s Regent’s Park HQ a run for their money and outsmart them in the spying game. This series is based on the novel London Rules, which finds Lamb and his team trying to find the connections between a series of bizarre occurrences around the city. As things get more complicated, Lamb and his team must follow London rules – cover your back – if they’re to stay alive.

House of Guinness

Netflix from Thursday, September 25th

Have you ever sat drinking a pint and thought, “You know what, the story of the Guinness family would make a great TV series?” Steven Knight, the Peaky Blinders writer, had that thought – and he has turned the story of one of Ireland’s greatest dynasties into an epic tale of sibling rivalry and ambition as the heirs to the world’s largest brewery battle to keep Guinness as the country’s number-one tipple and grow it into a global brand. It’s like Succession with a creamy head. The eight-part series, set in Dublin and New York in the 19th century, begins with the death of Sir Benjamin Guinness, who has made the brewery a huge success. His four adult children – Arthur, Edward, Anne and Ben – are tasked with taking over the brand, but the siblings are a wild bunch, with a huge lust for life, and you never know what they’re going to do next. The cast includes Anthony Boyle, Louis Partridge, Emily Fairn, Fionn O’Shea, James Norton, Dervla Kirwan, Michael McElhatton, Niamh McCormack, David Wilmot and Jack Gleeson.

Wayward

Netflix from Thursday, September 25th

Welcome to Tall Pines, an idyllic village where the mysterious Evelyn Wade runs an academy for troubled teens. When cop Alex Dempsey moves to the town with his wife, Laura, he encounters two young people – Abbie and Leila – who are trying to escape the school. What’s really going on at Tall Pines Academy, and is Evelyn a caring guardian or a prison-camp commandant? As Alex delves deeper into the secrets of Tall Pines, he finds himself caught in a battle between two generations, and between truth and lies. Toni Collette stars as Evelyn, with Mae Martin, who also created the series, as Alex.

The Savant

Apple TV+ from Friday, September 26th

You need nerves of steel and brains to burn if you’re going to infiltrate online hate groups and prevent them from carrying out atrocities. Enter the Savant, an undercover investigator with a talent for getting close to the United States’ most dangerous extremists and uncovering their plans to disrupt civil society and undermine democracy. Jessica Chastain stars in a tense eight-part thriller based on the real-life story of a woman, known as the Savant, who was the subject of a magazine article headlined “Is it possible to stop a mass shooting before it happens?”

Flor Lynch

unread,

Sep 28, 2025, 6:53:20 AMSep 28

to 'Emma May' via VIBISTRO

Kevin Courtney

Sun Sept 28 2025 - 05:00

September 28th-October 3rd highlights: including The Walsh Sisters; How Are You? It’s Alan (Partridge); and Monster: The Ed Gein Story

Pick of the Week

The Walsh Sisters

Sunday, RTÉ One, 9.30pm

Fans of Marian Keyes will already know the Walsh sisters – Anna, Rachel, Helen, Claire and Maggie – and will have followed all their family, career and relationship mishaps, missteps and miscalculations over seven bestselling novels and a short-story collection. Now their messy lives are up on the screen in this new series that promises to deftly blend a uniquely Irish humour with darker themes of addiction, marital breakdown and long-buried family secrets. The series is adapted by Stefanie Preissner – creator of Can’t Cope, Won’t Cope – and screenwriter Kefi Chadwick, and stars Preissner as Maggie, with Louisa Harland from Derry Girls as Anna, Máiréad Tyers from Extraordinary as Helen, Caroline Menton as Rachel and Danielle Galligan as Claire. The cast also features Carrie Crowley as Mammy Walsh and US actor Aidan Quinn as Jack “Daddy” Walsh. Episode one brings us to Dublin, where Anna and Rachel are sharing a flat and partying hard – although it soon becomes apparent that Rachel is partying a lot harder than most, and when she is hospitalised after a particularly heavy bender, the girls have to face some hard truths. Will this series fill the Normal People-shaped hole in the TV universe? We’ll be watching.

Highlights

Big Brother Live Launch

Sunday, UTV, 10.15pm

Big Brother has been like an unloved child of late, farmed around from network to network in increasingly desperate efforts to restore its original ratings glory. ITV took in the poor wee bairn in 2023, and we’re assured that the programme is settled nicely in its latest home. Now comes its third outing on the channel, and hosts AJ Odudu and Will Best will once again oversee all the shenanigans in the Big Brother house, which has been given a big makeover to make it a bit less gaudy and headache-inducing. The producers are so confident that this series will be a hit they’ve added an extra week of BB house action, and are promising “new twists and turns, elaborate tasks, intense nominations and live evictions”. We’re also promised a celebrity version some time next year, but ITV boss Kevin Lygo has admitted that because it’s getting harder to book A-list names, they’ll be going a bit further down the alphabet to find “interesting and niche” participants.

I Fought the Law: The Ann Ming Story

Sunday, Virgin Media One, 10.30pm

When Ann Ming’s 22-year-old daughter, Julie Hogg, disappeared from her home in Durham in November 1989, she suspected the worst. But when police finally agreed to send a forensics team to examine Julie’s house, they found no evidence of foul play. Three months later, however, Ann discovered her daughter’s decomposing body hidden behind a panel in the bathroom. She had been strangled by local man Billy Dunlop, but despite the overwhelming evidence against him, the jury couldn’t reach a verdict. A second trial was also inconclusive, and Dunlop was freed. Under Britain’s 800-year-old double jeopardy law, he couldn’t be tried again for the crime, but after Ming heard about Dunlop bragging in pubs that he’d got away with murder, she set out on a 13-year-long quest to get the double jeopardy law changed and bring her daughter’s killer to justice. Sheridan Smith stars in this four-part drama based on Ming’s memoir, For the Love of Julie.

Blue Lights

Monday, BBC One, 9pm

Siân Brooke, Katherine Devlin and Nathan Braniff return as new PSNI recruits Grace, Annie and Tommy in the third series of the hit police procedural set in Belfast. After two years in the pressure-cooker environment of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, the trio are not such rookies any more – in fact, they’re settling nicely into their jobs. But there’s no room for complacency as the team find themselves in uncharted territory: dealing with a global organised crime gang now running the city, and the phalanx of “respectable” accountants and lawyers helping the gang members hide their criminal assets and evade justice.

Secrets of the Brain

Monday, BBC Two, 9pm

Human minds are grappling with the implications of AI, and dreading the inevitable day when the technology becomes self-aware and decides we’re surplus to requirements. There’s reassurance on offer in this two-part series presented by theoretical physicist Jim Al-Khalili, in which he charts the evolution of the human brain over 600 million years and unravels its vast complexity. ChatGPT is only three years old, so that gives us – let me check with Google – a 599,999,997-year head start. Apparently, the human brain has about 100 billion neurons and more than 100 trillion connections, so AI will probably need a data centre the size of Jupiter to come anywhere near our level of brainpower. Mind you, that won’t save us from the inevitable AI takeover, but as we line up to be thrown into the wetware disposal unit, we can at least go to our doom with a knowing grin.

Build Your Own Home

Wednesday, RTÉ One, 9.30pm

For cash-strapped homeowners, the idea of getting in the builders to do a refurb or put in an extension can be daunting, but what if you could cut out the construction firm and just do the job yourself? In this series, master builder Harrison Gardner takes homeowners under his wing and shows them how to renovate their rundown old gaff – or build themselves an entirely new home – at a fraction of the cost of hiring professionals. The Australian is firmly of the belief that anyone can learn to build – definitely not music to the ears of millionaire developers – and in this second series he shares his considerable expertise with members of the Clare Island community and helps them create a spanking new tourist attraction out of a local facility that has fallen into neglect. In the first episode Gardner helps young couple Aoife and Louis add a huge modern extension to their tiny 200-year-old cottage in Tuam, Co Galway.

Borderline

Friday, UTV, 9pm

Cross-Border co-operation is the theme of this crime drama series set in Northern Ireland and the Republic, and starring Eoin Macken and Amy De Bhrún as a mismatched pair of cops investigating a murder on the Irish Border. Detective inspector Philip Boyd is the reserved, slightly repressed northerner; Aoife Regan is the sweary southerner who shoots from the hip. Both have to put aside their differences if they’re going to solve the case. Imagine, two people from opposite sides of the Border working together – what next, cats and dogs joining forces to fight crime?

How Are You? It’s Alan (Partridge)

Friday, BBC One, 9.30pm

The revered broadcaster is back on British telly after a year working in Saudi Arabia, and he’s leaving behind a lucrative career making commercials for Saudi radio to help his fellow Britons sort out their mental health problems. In this new series, he’ll take a personal journey through the world of mental health, adopting a caring, concerned expression and asking “important questions” about the state of Britain’s collective noggin. As you know, Partridge likes to fly by the seat of his chinos, and this series began as a diary of his homecoming to Blighty, but when he realised that neither making lots of moolah in the Middle East nor being back home in his beloved Norwich was making him happy, he decided instead to address the state of the nation’s health and see if he could provide some televisual therapy. But he can’t do this alone, so he’s set up a crowdfunder appeal offering personalised birthday voicemails and even dinner at a restaurant of your choosing (it’s cheaper if he gets to choose the restaurant). Steve Coogan stars as the not-at-all-narcissistic presenter, with Felicity Montague returning as long-suffering PA Lynn, and Tim Key back again as Sidekick Simon.

Streaming

Chad Powers

From Tuesday, September 30th, Disney+

Meet Russ Holliday, star college quarterback with good looks, a talent for touchdowns and an ego the size of Texas. Now say goodbye to Russ, as he’s just blown his budding football career with a display of showboating that ends in disaster for his team. He’s become America’s most hated QB, but Russ is determined to get back on the gridiron, so he decides to “do a Mrs Doubtfire” and don a disguise, becoming the dorky but affable Chad Powers, and joining struggling football team the South Georgia Catfish. Needless to say, Chad’s prodigious talents make the Catfish contenders in the big league, but can Russ keep up his oddball alter-ego under the glare of the spotlight? And can he ever escape the shame of his infamous fumble? As he says himself: “Russ was an asshole; Chad doesn’t have to be.” Glen Powell plays Russ and Chad in this new comedy series based on a sketch by Eli Manning for sports channel ESPN.

Monster: The Ed Gein Story

From Friday, October 3rd, Netflix

Your grandparents were terrified by Hitchcock’s Psycho; your parents were creeped out by Silence of the Lambs. But both films were inspired by one monster who ruled them all: Ed Gein, America’s most notorious serial killer. A psychotic loner with a twisted Oedipus complex, Gein perpetrated his gruesome deeds in a lonely house in the snowy wastes of Wisconsin in the 1950s, abducting and killing his victims, and using their corpses to make human masks and suits. Gein’s horrific crimes have long fascinated Hollywood, and his influence is visible in an entire genre of slasher movies including The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Charlie Hunnam immerses himself in the role of Gein, with Laurie Metcalf as his mother, Augusta, the object of his deadly obsession, and Addison Rae as Evelyn, believed to have been one of his many victims. This is the third instalment in the Monster anthology series created by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan, following The Jeffrey Dahmer Story and The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.

Flor Lynch

unread,

Oct 5, 2025, 7:38:10 AMOct 5

to 'Emma May' via VIBISTRO

Kevin Courtney

Sun Oct 05 2025 - 05:00

Pick of the week

Tony Cascarino: Extra Time

Monday, RTÉ 1, 9.35pm

What are we to make of the rollercoaster life and career of former Republic of Ireland international and now TV pundit Tony Cascarino? This new documentary by Brick Films is a candid look at Cass’s 20-year football career, when he veered from zero to hero and back again, taking in his marital infidelities, allegations of doping and bribery, and his sensational admission that he was a “fake Irishman” who was never eligible to wear the green jersey. (He revealed his Irish ancestry came through adoption, but the FAI have since said that wouldn’t have affected his eligibility.) The documentary follows the highs and lows of his football career, including his disastrous signing to Celtic for a club record fee of £1.1 million, his redemption in the south of France, when he became top goalscorer for Ligue 2 side Marseille, earning the nickname “Tony Goal”, and his chaotic final international match with Ireland, when he got into a fight with a Turkish defender as Jack’s Army failed to qualify for Euro 2000.

Highlights

DIY SOS: The Big Build

Sunday, RTÉ Two, 7pm

Cayden (9) with mother Sinéad, father Donald, brother Ethan (15) and presenter Baz Ashmawy at home in Tallaght. Photograph: RTÉ

Baz Ashmawy is back to oversee a new round of home renovation projects in this latest series of DIY SOS. Once again, Ashmawy cajoles and corrals a diverse group of builders, carpenters, electricians, plumbers and engineers to transform a deserving family’s house and adapt it to their very particular needs. And we’re not talking about needing a bigger kitchen island or a walk-in wardrobe. These families are dealing with difficult personal circumstances, whether it’s illness or disability, and find their homes are ill-equipped for their day-to-day living requirements. In episode one, Baz meets nine-year-old Cayden, who was born with arthrogryposis, a condition which affects the joints of his hands and feet, and also suffers from scoliosis. He can’t get around the house in his wheelchair because the doors are too narrow, and there is no accessible toilet and nowhere to store all the equipment he needs for his daily life. Baz and the team set about turning the house into a comfy home for Cayden, widening the door frames, putting in a downstairs toilet and bedroom, and building a ramp for him to get in and out of the house.

Frauds

Sunday, UTV, 9pm

You need a dream team to pull off a good heist drama, and who better than Suranne Jones and Jodie Whittaker to lead this new series as two career con artists looking to do one last job before finally jacking it in. Jones plays Bert, who just got out of prison; Whittaker is Sam, who is not exactly living the high life from the spoils of crime. No sooner have they reunited than they’re burning rubber Thelma and Louise-style with a wad of stolen cash. But Bert has a bigger plan in mind: stealing one of Spain’s most valuable artworks, and with the landscapes of southern Spain as a suitably evocative backdrop, the pair set about putting together a crack team to carry out this audacious caper. They’ll have to get through some seemingly insurmountable obstacles to get their hands on his heavily guarded masterpiece, but there’s one thing that could derail the whole thing – and that’s the complicated relationship/rivalry between these two criminal masterminds. “Don’t go rogue on us, now,” says one of the team. Oh, don’t worry, they will.

Rob Brydon’s Honky Tonk Road Trip

Sunday, BBC Two, 9pm

The Welsh actor/comedian/presenter gets on his Stetson and cowboy boots and sets out on a journey to the achy breaky heart of country music – and discovers there’s a lot more to it than line dancing and cryin’ into your beer. Country music is having a global revival, with new artists such as Morgan Wallen and Zach Bryan hitting the mainstream charts, and Beyoncé bringing country into her R&B sound. In this three-part series, Brydon heads for the southern states to trace the origins of country music, and to learn what sparked its recent resurgence. He starts his journey, naturally, in Nashville, Tennessee, and it’s a good place to start, as the city is celebrating the 100th year of the Grand Ole Opry. In the Appalachian Mountains, he learns about a British wave of music long before The Beatles, when folk and trad ballads sung by British settlers influenced early country music. He also meets some grandees of country music, including Carlene Carter, visits Dollywood, where he meets Dolly Parton’s niece Heidi, and drops in to Sun Studios in Memphis, where Elvis and Johnny Cash forged their legendary sounds.

Murders in Paradise: The Byron Bay Killings

Sunday, Channel 4, 10.25pm

Byron Bay on Australia’s east coast is one of the most beautiful coastlines in the world – and one of the deadliest. Along this strip of idyllic beaches, between the late 1970s and late noughties, 67 young women have vanished without a trace, and in the absence of answers, the idea has taken hold that they may have been victims of a single serial killer who has somehow evaded detection for 30 years. Is the Byron Bay serial killer real or a myth? The two-part documentary follows the investigations led by politician Jeremy Buckingham into what happened at Byron Bay, and whether any of these disappearances could be linked to Australia’s most notorious serial killer, Ivan Milat.

Never Mind the Buzzcocks

Tuesday, Sky Max & Now, 9pm

You could spend a fortune on old vinyl to relive your musical youth. Or you could just watch the new series of Never Mind the Buzzcocks, and get your weekly nostalgia fix while also keeping your mind sharp as you try to remember the name of the band behind Einstein A Go-Go or identify the guitarist from Johnny Hates Jazz. Greg Davies, fresh from Taskmaster duty, is the quizmaster once more, with team captains Noel Fielding and Sophie Willan, and regular panellist Jamali Maddix reactivating their musical memory banks. Look out for pop legends on the panel, including Matt Goss, Boyzone, Tom Grennan, Jessi J, PinkPantheress, Tinie Tempah and the golden 1980s goddess that is Debbie Gibson. Spicing up this series will be special 1980s and 1990s themed episodes, plus an unmissable Britpop v Madchester special featuring Pepsi & Shirlie, Melanie Blatt from All Saints and Bez out of Happy Mondays.

Worlds Apart

Tuesday, Channel 4, 9.15pm

Signing up for a reality TV contest means stepping out of your comfort zone, and for the dozen contestants in this new series, the comfort zone is on the other side of the world. Six young people are paired up with six pensioners for a treasure hunt across Japan – the youngsters have never had to fend for themselves abroad, while the oldsters never dreamed they’d be going anywhere farther than the local shops. Each intergenerational pairing must race to find the treasure and win the 50 grand prize, learning to work together despite their age difference, and keeping their wits about them as they navigate this unfamiliar land and culture.

The Celebrity Traitors

Wednesday, BBC One, 9pm

The huge global success of The Traitors confirms what we always knew: lying, cheating and betrayal will get you everywhere. Whichever country adopts the format, it’s a guaranteed ratings hit, and the Irish version has been so well-received, they’re thinking of airing it on British television. Two series of the UK version, presented by Claudia Winkleman, have already been watched by millions, and now comes the celebrity version, in which famous people become turncoats and back-stabbers in an effort to win a big cash prize for the charity of their choice. Strictly must be green with envy, as the line-up for the BBC’s first-ever celeb Traitors is packed with legends, including actors Stephen Fry, Celia Imrie and Mark Bonnar, comedians Alan Carr, Lucy Beaumont and Joe Wilkinson, musicians Cat Burn, Charlotte Church and Paloma Faith, presenters Clare Balding, Jonathan Ross and Kate Garraway, historian David Olusoga and Olympian Tom Daley. “We’re incredibly lucky these brilliant people have said yes,” says Winkleman. “I’d love to say we’ll take it easy on them and they’ll just wander round the castle and eat toast for a couple of weeks but that would be a lie.” Still, it won’t come near brilliance of The Traitors Ireland.

Streaming

Boots

From Thursday, October 9th, Netflix

Back in the 1990s it was illegal for gay people to be in the military, so many young recruits had to stay under the radar. This comedy-drama series follows a closeted marine recruit, Cameron Cope (Miles Heizer), as he navigates the hazards of boot camp while trying to hide his true self. He’s also dealing with a chaotic family life and a self-centred mom (Vera Farmiga) who refuses to take responsibility for her irresponsible actions. Cameron’s best friend, Ray McCaffey (Liam Oh), is also struggling to fit in: his father is a decorated marine, and Ray has an enormous weight of expectation on his shoulders. Cameron’s mentor is the elite marine Sgt Sullivan (Max Parker), who is harbouring a few secrets of his own. The series is based on The Pink Marine, Greg Cope White’s memoir.

The Last Frontier

From Friday, October 10th, Apple TV+

A plane crashes in the Alaskan wilderness, but fortunately the passengers appear to have survived. The only problem is that the plane is transporting prisoners, and the passenger list is a rap sheet robbery, violent crime and murder. Now they’re all at large in this remote part of Alaska, and it’s up to US marshal Frank Remnick (Jason Clarke) to protect his town from the escapees. But he soon begins to suspect that the crash was no accident and that something big is being planned. Sounds reminiscent of the 1990s blockbuster Con Air, in which a gang of crazed convicts led by John Malkovich stage a mid-air hijack.

Flor Lynch

unread,

Oct 12, 2025, 7:49:26 AMOct 12

to 'Emma May' via VIBISTRO

Kevin Courtney

Sun Oct 12 2025 - 05:00

Pick of the week

Obituary

Tuesday, RTÉ One, 10.15pm

In The Paper, Domhnall Gleeson tries to bring local newspaper the Toledo Truth Teller back to life as hapless new editor Ned Sampson. In the second series of Obituary, meanwhile, Siobhán Cullen returns as Elvira Clancy, obituary writer with local paper the Kilraven Chronicle, and she’s busy killing more readers to ensure there’s no shortage of macabre material for her columns. So far she’s got away with her multiple murders, and as series two begins, her career and her love life have been resurrected. But suddenly Elvira’s new-found equilibrium is upended by the death of her dad, Ward, and she finds the only way to deal with her grief is by starting on another killing spree. Máiréad Tyers from The Walsh Sisters joins the cast as the paper’s manipulative new boss, Vivienne, who immediately pits Elvira and her colleague/boyfriend Emerson (Ronan Raftery) against each other in a battle for promotion. Elvira has another problem to deal with: a scheming intern named Ruby who’s been nicking her story ideas. Obviously she’ll have to die, but before Elvira can dispatch the plagiaristic cow, another killer steps in and does the job – and Elvira is now feeling the heat as Detective Rose Mulcahy (Noni Stapleton) has made her the chief suspect. Elvira will have to turn amateur sleuth to unmask this mysterious serial killer invading her turf, and Vivienne promises her the editor’s job if she can crack the case. Meanwhile, Elvira’s old boss, Hughie (David Ganley), who knows exactly what she did last series, is biding his time in his prison cell, waiting for the moment he can get out of jail and get his revenge. Forget writing for The Irish Times – looks like the Kilraven Chronicle is where all the action and excitement is at.

Riot Women

Sunday, BBC One, 9pm

Sally Wainwright is the screenwriting powerhouse behind such acclaimed series as Happy Valley, Gentleman Jack and Last Tango in Halifax, all featuring strong women in the leads, and now she’s written a new series that requires her cast to not only be strong, but also gobby, snotty and uncompromisingly loud. Riot Women tells the story of five menopausal women who get together to form a punk rock band and kick up some anarchy in the UK. But what do these mumrockers have to rebel against? Quite a lot, as it turns out, including grown-up kids who don’t seem to have grown up, husbands and partners who have either buggered off or simply clocked out, and a world that has all but deleted older women from life’s playlist. Lorraine Ashbourne is pub landlady Jess (drums), Tamsin Greig is retired cop Holly (bass), Joanna Scanlan is teacher Beth (keyboards), Amelia Bullmore is uptight midwife Yvonne (guitar), and Rosalie Craig is hard-drinking Kitty (vocals), with an appetite for self-destruction, but also an abundance of raw talent. Soon they’re writing their own songs and making waves on the music scene, but they still have to juggle complicated lives, jobs and family dynamics – not to mention hot flushes and other side effects of The Change. “We write songs about being middle-aged, menopausal and invisible,” says Beth, “and you thought The Clash were angry.” However, there’s a dark secret buried deep in the vinyl vault that threatens to break up the band before it can break big. Wainwright says she was inspired by one of her favourite TV shows as a child, Rock Follies, about three feisty women trying to make it in the music biz in the 1970s.

Hunted

Sunday & Monday, Channel 4, 9pm

What would it be like to be Jason Bourne, on the run with a crack team of fugitive hunters hot on your heels? Pretty stressful, I would imagine, but in this new series of Channel 4’s real-life thriller, 14 people have willingly signed up to become the target. Divided into seven pairs, they’ll have to escape from Stansted Airport and avoid capture by commander Ray Howard, who has an army of hunters and helicopters at his disposal, not to mention state-of-the-art surveillance and facial-recognition tech to track down his prey wherever they are. If they can outwit the hunters and remain at large for three weeks, they’re in line for a share of a £100,000 prize. Among the fugitives are sisters Emma and Jenni, mother and daughter Saffron and Dionne, farmers Andrew and Robin, and newly engaged couple Cameron and Simran.

Made of Stone

Monday, RTÉ One, 9.35pm

During the Covid lockdowns, many people pivoted to a different way of working, while others found an unusual new hobby or discovered a hidden talent, whether it was making tea cosies or making up a new TikTok dance. David Keohan found himself fascinated by big stones, and, inspired by a short story by Liam O’Flaherty, set out to revive the ancient tradition of lifting stones. Yes, it was apparently a thing back in the days of the druids, and this documentary tracks Keohan’s quest to learn the history and folklore of stone-lifting. He delves into the archives of the National Folklore Collection, and visits graveyards, beaches, hills and pubs in search of these almost-mythical stones. As he documented his unusual interest on social media, he soon became known as Indiana Stones, able to hoist big rocks like a seasoned weightlifter. Needless to say, don’t try this at home unless you want to become Indiana Groans.

The End of the World with Beanz

Tuesday, RTÉ One, 7pm

Comedian Martin Beanz Warde tackles some serious issues facing the world today in the second series of the travel show with a difference. Over six eye-opening episodes, Beanz visits places where people are dealing with difficult challenges, from climate change and geopolitical conflict to culture wars. With all that’s going on the world, he certainly won’t be short of raw material. Each week he’s joined on his explorations by a celebrity cohost, including presenter Darren Kennedy, singer and Eurovision winner Niamh Kavanagh, comedians Neil Delamere and Enya Martin, and actor Norma Sheahan. In the first episode Beanz visits Los Angeles, where entire neighbourhoods were destroyed in January’s devastating wildfires. He and singer Samantha Mumba, an LA resident, visit some of the worst-hit areas, and meet an Irish record producer who lost everything in the fires.

Donal’s Real Time Recipes

Wednesday, RTÉ One, 8.30pm

My family knows I’m a devoted disciple of Jamie Oliver’s bish-bash-bosh style of cooking – no-nonsense, no-fannying-about recipes for busy lives. If any Irish celeb chef could challenge Jamie for the culinary crown in our kitchen, it would be Donal Skehan, and I’ve got my notebook and pen at the ready for his new series of Real Time Recipes. Over 10 episodes, Skehan will share his ideas for no-fuss, uncomplicated and flavoursome meals that can be rustled up in half an hour or less, and don’t require fiddly preparation or fancy techniques. Of course, the series is an accompaniment to Skehan’s latest cookbook, which features recipes for chop tomato pesto pasta, saffron chicken and rice, braised one-pan lamb and chicken katsu in a flash, and of course I’ll be adding it to my kitchen library.

How I Made £1 Million in 90 Days

Thursday, Channel 4, 10pm

Right, you had me at £1 million – now tell me how I can make that kind of money in time for Christmas. Well, according to Oobah Butler, you just need to put your conscience aside and be willing to follow some dodgy get-rich-quick schemes, no matter how outrageous and unethical they might seem. He sets out on a quest to boost his bank account by a million quid in just three months, meeting self-styled business gurus and exploring the world of start-ups, unicorns and business ideas that seem just too good to be true. Butler – who once tried to market an energy drink make out of Amazon delivery drivers’ urine – soon learns that the entrepreneurial dream is often built on delusion and dishonesty.

The Iris Affair

Thursday, Sky Atlantic & Now, 9pm; Friday, Sky Atlantic & Now, from 9pm

Niamh Algar and Tom Hollander star in this new tech thriller series where survival depends on brainpower – and maybe a bit of blind luck. Algar plays Iris Nixon, who has a talent for cracking codes and solving complex puzzles. She’s recruited by brilliant and charming entrepreneur Cameron Beck (Hollander) to help him hack in to some top-secret tech. You don’t have to be a genius to guess that the gadget in question turns out to pose a global threat, so Iris steals the yoke’s activation code and goes on the run with just her big brain to help her avoid capture by Beck and his cronies. She might be a dab hand at sudoku or chess, but can she win this high-stakes game of hide-and-seek?

Streaming

Murdaugh: Death in the Family

From Wednesday, October 15th, Disney+

Alex Murdaugh and his wife, Maggie, had it all: part of a successful legal dynasty that went back generations, highly respected by and influential within their South Carolina community, and enjoying all the trappings of wealth and privilege. But beneath it all was something darker and deadlier, and when their son Paul is involved in a tragic boat accident, skeletons – and corpses – start emerging from the Murdaugh closet. When both Maggie and Paul are found dead, the spotlight turns on Alex. This true-crime story, which is inspired by the hit podcast The Murdaugh Murders, stars Jason Clarke as Alex and Patricia Arquette as Maggie.

To Cook a Bear

From Wednesday, October 15th, Disney+

It seems like ages since we’ve had a good Nordic noir series to get stuck into. Here’s a sort of OG Nordic noir thriller, set in the mid-19th century and dealing with dark, mysterious doings in a remote village in northern Sweden. Its stunning landscapes, marauding bears, fire and brimstone, and member of the Skarsgård acting clan should be noir enough for anyone. Gustaf Skarsgård, from Vikings and Oppenheimer, is the new pastor of the village of Kengis, and he quickly dispenses with the niceties and starts delivering fiery sermons to his new flock. But something evil is afoot: people are vanishing, and some villagers are whispering about bear attacks. The pastor sets out to investigate – and what he finds threatens to drive the community to the edge of madness.

The Diplomat

From Thursday, October 16th, Netflix

If you think Donald Trump’s White House is a mad circus, get ready for total Capitol lunacy in the third series of the political thriller starring Keri Russell, Rufus Sewell and Alison Janney. Russell is ambassador Kate Wyler, and she’ll need to muster all her diplomatic skills to deal with a new crisis facing the administration. The president has died, and Kate’s husband, Hal, was the last person to speak to him. The volatile vice-president, Grace Penn (Janney) – who Kate has accused of being behind a terrorist plot – takes over as commander-in-chief, and it’s not long before things go pear-shaped and the US is preparing to go to war with – of all places – the UK. Meanwhile, Hal continues to push for Kate to become the next veep, but who is the handsome stranger, played by Aidan Turner, spotted flirting outrageously with her? Get ready for another wild West Wing adventure.

Flor Lynch

unread,

Oct 19, 2025, 6:36:00 AM (12 days ago) Oct 19

to 'Emma May' via VIBISTRO

Kevin Courtney

Sun Oct 19 2025 - 05:00

Leonard and Hungry Paul. Photograph: Subotica/BBC

Pick of the week

Leonard and Hungry Paul

Monday, BBC Two, 10pm

Nothing much happens in Rónán Hession’s bestselling novel about two thirtysomething friends living quiet, uneventful lives. So of course we’re hugely excited about this TV adaptation by writers Richie Conroy and Mark Hodkinson, which promises to bring all the languid, leisurely action of the award-winning novel to the small screen. Alex Lawther stars as Leonard, who ghostwrites children’s encyclopaedias for a living, and Laurie Kynaston is part-time postal worker Hungry Paul. Both are big into boardgames, and both are well settled in their contented routines, but life events – including the death of Leonard’s mother and the upcoming wedding of Hungry Paul’s sister – threaten to gently nudge the two men out of their comfort zones and force them to engage with the wider world. The novel’s charm was in the way it focused on the small details of everyday life. Can this adaptation make us appreciate the ordinary once again? This feel-good series, a co-production with BBC Comedy, Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland and RTÉ, also features Jamie-Lee O’Donnell from Derry Girls, Lorcan Cranitch and Niamh Branigan, but wait – whose voice is that narrating the series? Omigod, it’s Hollywood legend Julia Roberts! Sorry, this is just too much excitement for me.

Highlights

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

Sunday, UTV, 10.20pm

Beam me up again, Scotty! The crew of the USS Enterprise have landed on terrestrial TV, but are there any trekkies left out there to tune in every week? Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has been a hit on Paramount+, regularly orbiting or landing in the list of top 10 streaming series, and is about to launch its fourth season on the on-demand platform. But now us ordinary earthlings can get to watch it on regular telly, just like we used to back in the 1960s and the 1980s/1990s. SNW is the 11th Star Trek spin-off, and it takes up where Star Trek: Discovery left off, also serving as a sort of prequel to the original Star Trek series starring William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy. We’re back on the starship Enterprise, going at warp speed and with phasers set to thrill, as we follow the adventures of the Enterprise crew, led by Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) and featuring Number One (Rebecca Romijn), a young Spock (Ethan Peck) and a whole cast of humans, Klingons, Vulcans and what-have-you. There’s even a young Uhuru and James T Kirk among the spacefaring cast. The showrunners have gone back to the old-fashioned episodic format, with a new adventure every week, so no need to keep up with a long story arc. They’ve also had some irreverent fun with the format, with an all-musical episode, a murder mystery episode, and – in series four – an episode in which it seems the Enterprise has been taken over by The Muppet Show. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves here. Series one opens with Pike reluctantly returning to active space duty and tasked with rescuing Number One from a planet on the brink of civil war, and stopping the planet’s leaders from deploying a doomsday weapon they have developed. And just in case you need more trekkie action, next year sees the release of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy – basically Hogwarts in space.

Will AI Take My Job?

Monday, Channel 4, 8pm

It’s the biggest existential worry of the age: the fear that artificial intelligence will make humans obsolete in the workplace and, just to rub it in, do our (former) jobs better than any of us could ever have done. We seem to have accepted the inevitable and are already mentally clearing out our desks in expectation of the coming AI takeover. The masterminds behind AI claim it can perform most tasks better than the professionals, but has anyone actually put this claim to the test? Dispatches has decided to try a little experiment to see if AI is all it’s cracked up to be on its CV. They’ve chosen four experts in their fields – a GP, a fashion photographer, a trainee solicitor and a composer – and brought them to a specially-designed test centre, where they are given a range of tasks to complete. Meanwhile, AI is given the exact same tasks. Will human or machine prove more competent? No cheating and using AI, now, people.

The Ridge

Thursday, BBC Two, 9pm

Lauren Lyle is best known for her role as Karen Pirie in the eponymous detective series, but she’s not sitting around waiting to see if the acclaimed show is going to be renewed for a third series (it will, of course). Here she stars as Mia, a woman whose life in Scotland is falling apart, and who is looking for some way to reset the dial. When she is invited to New Zealand to attend her estranged sister’s wedding, Mia sees it as a chance to change things up. On her arrival in the small community, however, she is greeted by the shocking news that her sister is dead. No prizes for guessing that an attraction springs up between Mia and the groom-to-be, while dark secrets threaten to shatter the town’s tranquillity.

The 2 Johnnies Late Night Lock In

Thursday, RTÉ2, 9.35pm

Move aside all you trendy, frappuccino-guzzling Dublin 4 tech types – Johnny B and Johnny Smacks are back to lead another Tipp takeover of Montrose, bringing the craic, ceoil and unashamed love of GAA along with them. Every now and again, we Dubs need to be reminded there’s a whole world outside the M50, and this third season of Late Night Lock In will be another raucous session in the studio, with lots of music, surprise guests, mad games and challenges, and with Gaelic games and a mention of Marty Morrissey never too far away from the conversation. In August the lads put out the call for audience members and contributors for the new series – they’re looking for anyone with a weird talent or unusual party trick, or just a funny story to share with the nation.

Unreported World: Sex, Power, Money: South Africa’s Slay Queens

Friday, Channel 4, 7.30pm

Meet the slay queens: young, glamorous women who have learned to monetise their assets and use their charms to fund their glitzy lifestyle. Bling is their thing, and if you’ve got the cash to flash around, they’ll be sashaying by your side, adorned in top fashion brands and looking like a million dollars is small change to them – and it’ll all be captured on their social-media channels for their fans to follow. But are they glamorous influencers and entrepreneurs, or cynical gold-diggers using their sexuality to get what they want? In this documentary, reporter Symeon Brown delves into the dazzling world of South Africa’s slay queens and the rich men they date, who gift them designer handbags, jewellery and cars, but he also explores the darker side of the phenomenon, where slay queens are accused of using romance scams and walking a dangerous line between dating and prostitution, and fuelling an industry in sex trafficking. He also looks at a growing backlash, with an online manosphere promoting hatred and violence against these self-motivated women.

Fleadh Cheoil

Friday, RTÉ One, 8pm

The Ploughing Championships may be the biggest festival in the land, but Fleadh Cheoil is not too far behind, and this year’s Fleadh in Wexford attracted an estimated 850,000 visitors over eight days of music and entertainment in various venues and on the streets of this historic town. Presenter Dáithí Ó Sé and musician Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh are back to host this round-up of the best on offer at the Fleadh, and they meet a mix of local musicians and international stars, including Michael Flatley, Foster & Allen, Aoife Scott and Andy Irvine. They’ll also bring us memorable musical performances by the likes of Cuckoo’s Nest, Megan McGinley and Marty Barry, Damian Mullane and Seán Ó Meara, and céilí band Glór na dTonn, winners of this year’s senior céilí band championships.

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon

Friday, Sky Max & Now, 9pm

Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon. Photograph: Manuel Fernandez-Valdes/AMC

We just can’t seem to get enough of marauding, flesh-eating zombies, and The Walking Dead has shuffled its way through 11 seasons, proving there’s life in the old horror genre yet. The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon is the third spin-off series from TWD, and centres on the fan favourite character as he navigates his way through the epicentre of the zombie apocalypse, somewhere in France. In series one, Dixon (Norman Reedus) washes up on a French shore with no idea how he got there, and has to figure out a way to get home, encountering paramilitary groups, a nun with a chequered past, and a new, deadlier type of walker along the way. Series three sees Dixon and his friend Carole Peletier (Melissa McBride), with whom he reunited in series two, continue on their homeward quest, which brings them to Spain, and dealing with more threats – both human and undead – on their perilous journey. A fourth series is already in production, so enjoy those endless zombie vibes.

Streaming

Harlan Coben’s Lazarus

From Wednesday, October 22nd, Prime Video

Pick a word, any word. Now put Harlan Coben’s name in front of it, and what have you got? Another twisty, creepy hit series that’s guaranteed to mess with your mind. This latest psychological thriller from Coben and Danny Brocklehurst, the bestselling author and Bafta-winning screenwriter, stars Sam Claflin as the forensic psychologist Joel Lazarus, who is plunged into a personal nightmare after his father, Dr Jonathan Lazarus (Bill Nighy), dies by suicide. Soon Joel is being tormented by unexplained events, including the seeming return of his dad from the dead. Could these strange encounters be connected to the murder of Joel’s sister, 25 years ago? Or is Joel just going mad? We’re expecting the completely unexpected.

Nobody Wants This

From Thursday, October 23rd, Netflix

Kristen Bell and Adam Brody are reunited for a second series of the romantic comedy drama. Clearly everybody wants this. Bell returns as the iconoclastic podcast host Joanne, who doesn’t really do the organised-religion thing. Brody plays Noah, the “hot” rabbi, who takes an unconventional approach to his role as a religious leader in his Jewish community. Their differences are apparent, but their mutual chemistry proves too strong to ignore, so here we are in series two, and the mismatched couple are determined to turn their spark into an eternal flame. But watch out: there are more obstacles, and with luck a few more laughs, in store.

Flor Lynch

unread,

Oct 26, 2025, 8:01:55 AM (5 days ago) Oct 26

to 'Emma May' via VIBISTRO

Kevin Courtney

Sun Oct 26 2025 - 05:00

Hector Ó hEochagáin Down Under, plus Trigger Point, Down Cemetery Road, The Witcher and more

Laurence Fishburne and Liam Hemsworth in The Witcher. Photograph: Netflix/Susie Allnutt

Pick of the week

Hector OZ/NZ

Thursday, TG4, 9.30pm

While the whole country has been arguing over who is best qualified to represent Ireland on the international stage, Hector Ó hEochagáin has been getting on with the job, travelling the world and working his Irish charms on entire peoples in far-flung lands. You could drop Hector in the most inhospitable place on Earth and within 10 minutes he’d have all the locals under his spell, having the craic and singing Irish songs – and probably making him honorary headman of the tribe.

In this new series, Hector heads on an epic adventure down under to explore Australia and New Zealand, veering off the well-beaten tourist trail to meet real Aussies and Kiwis, including Aboriginal elder Aunty Joy and Maori activist Tame Iti. It’s been nearly 20 years since Hector last visited Australia, but on arrival in Melbourne’s cultural melting pot, he soon gets back in the groove. He visits the old opal-mining town of Coober Pedy, where many of the population live underground to escape the searing heat, and heads to Perth, where many Irish expats have been drawn like moths to a flame. In New Zealand, Hector learns how Maori culture integrates with modern life on the North Island, and experiences the envied west-coaster lifestyle on the South Island.

Highlights

The Unreal

Sunday, RTÉ One, 5.10pm

The Kelly Family are back, just in time for Halloween, and they’re about to encounter another gaggle of ghosts, apparitions and scary spirits from Irish mythology in the new series of the spooky, family-friendly show. In the first series, bored 12-year-old Kevin finds an ancient artefact called a VHS player, complete with a tape of a children’s show from the 1980s. When he plays the tape, however, he unleashes a pooka – a sort of Bosco from the Underworld – who wreaks havoc on the family’s lives.

But the pooka is not the only escapee from 1980s telly – turns out the Kellys themselves are fictional characters from an 80s sitcom, and in series two they’re trying to live normal lives in the 2020s. And what could be more normal than visiting a creepy, dilapidated hotel to attend a 1980s TV convention? It’s not long before more creepy creatures from Irish mythology emerge from the shadows, including a fetch – a sort of ghostly Doppelgänger of Kevin.

The Unreal has been acclaimed as good, scary family fun that looks at the stresses and demands of modern life though the looking-glass of Irish folklore, so get the family around the telly, turn off the lights, and enjoy the fright night.

Oíche Shamhna: An Ancient Mystery

Sunday, RTÉ One, 7.30pm

Just when and where did Halloween originate? It’s hugely popular in the US, and has taken off in many countries around the world, but who was first to come up with the idea of a night celebrating all things spooky, with people dressing up as ghosts, ghouls and ghastly creatures, and descending on people’s houses to demand treats? This two-part documentary delves into the Irish origins of Halloween – the Samhain festival, the ancient celebration on the threshold of winter. But is there any evidence to back up our claim to have invented Halloween?

The series uses new scientific breakthroughs, along with archaeological discoveries and clues from folklore and mythology to build up the case for Halloween to have originated in ancient Hibernia. Now that we have the ownership issue cleared up, we’ll expect the Taoiseach to arrive at the White House on October 31st with a nice big bowl of hemlock.

Daisy May and Charlie Cooper’s NightWatch

Sunday, BBC One, 9.30pm

The comedy partnership of Daisy May Cooper and her brother Charlie Cooper reunite for a series that promises to be so funny, it’s scary. Or so scary, it’s funny – take your pick. The siblings have always been fascinated by the paranormal – blame their parents, who let them stay up late watching horror movies when they were kids. The upshot of it now is that they need something stronger than slasher movies to give them a terror-thrill. So in this new series, they challenge themselves to stay the night in some of Britain’s most haunted places. Can they make it to the next morning without getting the living daylights scared out of them, or without making each other laugh so much they puke? Along the way, they learn lots of spooky facts about the place they’re staying – and learn a few things about each other too. Their first port of call is a disused prison in Gloucester, where they spend the night in a cell and hope to god they’re the only inmates there.

Trigger Point

Sunday, UTV, 9pm

Lana Washington is a maverick bomb-disposal expert – or EXPO – who doesn’t like to follow orders. Caution isn’t in her vocabulary – she’ll charge right into the danger zone and risk everything to disarm an explosive device or take down a terrorist. It’s not quite by the book, and the wired-up storylines are faintly ridiculous, but it’s worked for viewers, who have made the Trigger Point one of the most-watched series on ITV over the past couple of years. Vicky McClure returns as Lana in a third series of TP, and this time she and her bomb-disposal team face a threat from a bomber who is targeting individuals in what looks like a vendetta. The team will have to work fast if they are to outsmart this bomber before they can claim their next victim. “We want to make this new series even more exciting, keep everyone on the edge of their seats,” says McClure. We’ll be seated and ready.

Once Upon a Time in Space

Monday, BBC Two, 9pm

So, what’s it like actually being in space? Since the dawn of space travel, fewer than 700 people have actually left the Earth’s atmosphere, and this documentary series, presented by James Bluemel, charts the story of human space flight from the perspective of those who’ve been up there. The four-part series uses unseen archive footage and personal accounts from pioneering astronauts and cosmonauts, to give a new perspective of space travel, and also a new perspective on the changing world below. With a new space race to Mars in the offing, this series looks at how we got to this stage in space travel, and where we are going next.

IT: Welcome to Derry

Monday, Sky Atlantic & Now, 9pm

Okay, calm down, don’t get so excited. This is not a Stephen King-meets-Derry Girls spin-off – although that sounds like it would be great scary-funny craic. This Derry is not the town in Northern Ireland we know and love so well, but of course the fictional Derry, Maine, which has featured in several of King’s novels – including IT – and is modelled on the author’s own hometown of Bangor, Maine. It’s your typical telly American small town, which means, of course, that there are typically dark goings-on beneath the picket-fenced, lawn-sprinklered surface.

The series is a prequel to the box-office hit horror movies IT and IT: Chapter Two, set in the 1960s, two decades before the evil entity calling himself Pennywise the Dancing Clown proved that coulrophobia was definitely not an irrational fear. It’s an origin story of sorts, delving deep into the sewers of Derry to get to the dark heart of what spawned this psychotic Pierrot. The good news is that Bill Skarsgård will be returning as Pennywise, and the bad news – for the townspeople – is that a lot of folk are about to die screaming before this nine-parter is even halfway through.

Heat My Home

Tuesday, RTÉ One, 8pm

Gas and electricity costs aren’t getting any lower, and many Irish homeowners are opting to retrofit their houses to save energy and bring down their heating bills. But what kind of retrofit should you choose, and how much savings could you expect to make once the retrofit is in? Builder, designer and engineer Kieran McCarthy, previously seen on Cheap Irish Homes, presents a brand new series in which he guides homeowners through the whole retrofitting rigmarole, cutting through the technical jargon and taking the mystery out of making energy upgrades. In the first episode, retired speech and language therapist Sylvia Thompson is looking to turn her chilly 1950s cottage in Tralee into a warm, cosy, sustainable home, which will involve digging up floors and disposing of an old and very inefficient fossil fuel oil burner.

Streaming

Down Cemetery Road

From Wednesday, October 29th, Apple TV+

Fans of Mick Herron, the Slow Horses author, will relish this latest televisual treat, adapted from his novel of the same name, and starring Ruth Wilson and Emma Thompson. It all starts in a quiet suburb of Oxford, where a huge explosion in a house shatters the peace. Neighbour Sarah Tucker (Wilson) and private investigator Zoë Boehm (Thompson) soon become embroiled in a wide-reaching conspiracy, where long-deceased people seem to be mysteriously back from the dead. Worse, there seems to be no shortage of living people suddenly swelling the ranks of the dead. Sarah and Zoë will have to unravel this mystery before they end up among the ex-living.

The Witcher

From Thursday, October 30th, Netflix

Eagle-eyed viewers might notice something different in season four of the fantasy series: Henry Cavill has been replaced by Liam Hemsworth in the role of the titular demon-slayer. Apart from that, it’s business as usual for Geralt of Rivia: lots of nasty, supernatural creatures to fight, and lots of strong women to fight off. The Australian actor takes up the mantle of the Witcher for the last two series, and he’s joined by Anya Chalotra as Yennefer, Freya Allen as Cirilla, and a sprawling cast of characters, plus another new arrival: Laurence Fishburne, playing a charismatic healer and higher vampire named Regis. Will Hemsworth fill Cavill’s big boots as he takes over the iconic role of the monster-masher? We’ve no doubt he’ll crush it.

Reply all

Reply to author

Forward

TV guide: the best new shows to watch, starting tonight – The Irish Times

Flor Lynch

TV guide: the best new shows to watch, starting tonight

September 14th-19th: including Who’s Building Ireland?, Coldwater, and The Black Rabbit

Pick of the week

Who’s Building Ireland?

Wednesday, RTÉ One, 9.35pm

Highlights

The Records Show

Sunday, RTÉ One, 6.30pm

Rob and Rylan’s Passage to India

Sunday, BBC Two, 9pm

Coldwater

Sunday, UTV, 9pm

Abandoned Ulster

Sunday, BBC Two, 10pm

Nationwide at the Áras

Monday, RTÉ One, 7pm

Twiggy

Monday, BBC Two, 9pm

Scannal – Death on Ireland’s Eye

Tuesday, RTÉ One, 7pm

Streaming

The Morning Show

Apple TV+ from Wednesday, September 17th

Black Rabbit

Netflix from Thursday, September 18th

Flor Lynch

September 21st-26th highlights: including Disease X: Hunting the Next Pandemic, The Hack, and House of Guinness

Highlights

Today

Monday-Friday, RTÉ One, 3.30pm

Disease X: Hunting the Next Pandemic

Monday, BBC Two, 9pm

Scannal: Money. Mobiles, Moriarty

Tuesday, RTÉ One, 7pm

The Hack

Wednesday, UTV, 9pm

RTÉ Investigates: Forced Fashion

Wednesday, RTÉ One at 9.35pm

Shadow Scholars: The Fake Essay Scandal

Wednesday, Channel 4, 10pm

The Graham Norton Show

Friday, BBC One, 10.40pm

Streaming

Slow Horses

Apple TV+ from Wednesday, September 24th

House of Guinness

Netflix from Thursday, September 25th

Wayward

Netflix from Thursday, September 25th

The Savant

Apple TV+ from Friday, September 26th

Flor Lynch

September 28th-October 3rd highlights: including The Walsh Sisters; How Are You? It’s Alan (Partridge); and Monster: The Ed Gein Story

Pick of the Week

The Walsh Sisters

Sunday, RTÉ One, 9.30pm

Highlights

Big Brother Live Launch

Sunday, UTV, 10.15pm

I Fought the Law: The Ann Ming Story

Sunday, Virgin Media One, 10.30pm

Blue Lights

Monday, BBC One, 9pm

Secrets of the Brain

Monday, BBC Two, 9pm

Build Your Own Home

Wednesday, RTÉ One, 9.30pm

Borderline

Friday, UTV, 9pm

How Are You? It’s Alan (Partridge)

Friday, BBC One, 9.30pm

Streaming

Chad Powers

From Tuesday, September 30th, Disney+

Monster: The Ed Gein Story

From Friday, October 3rd, Netflix

Flor Lynch

Pick of the week