TV guide: the best new shows to watch, starting tonight – The Irish Times
Flor Lynch
April 5th-10th highlights, including Other Voices presents Foo Fighters; Intinní Áille – Beautiful Minds; Tracks & Trails and The Testaments
Pick of the week
For Peat’s Sake
Monday, RTÉ One, 6.30pm
Long before oil crises and the wars in Ukraine and Iran, Irish people had a cheap, readily available source of energy right there in the soil. For thousands of years, turf has heated Irish homes and kept the cold at bay, and also fuelled an image of Ireland as a land of quaint cottages with turf fires burning. But in recent decades, Ireland’s peatlands have been revealed to be huge natural carbon sinks, essential to combating the effects of climate change, and also places of rich biodiversity.
Soon the EU was knocking at our door, calling for an end to turf cutting and for the peatlands to be protected, but locals didn’t take too kindly to Brussels bureaucrats telling us what to do with our own turf, and this one-hour documentary tells the story of the “battle of the bogs” that followed the EU’s intervention. Among the contributors are ecologist Piaras Ó Giobúin, Connemara councillor Tomás Ó Curraoín and Kerry turfcutters Mick and Denis Scannell.
Highlights
Other Voices presents Foo Fighters
Monday, RTÉ2, 9.30pm
Last month, the peace and quiet of St James’ Church in Dingle, Co Kerry was shattered by the thunderous sound of US rockers Foo Fighters – and no one was complaining. The band played a secret gig in the beautiful old venue last month, previewing tracks from their new album, Your Favourite Toy, released on April 24th, and the whole thing was captured on film for this Other Voices special. It’s been a long time since the band fronted by Dave Grohl played a venue this small, but the 80 lucky fans in St James’ Church got a performance worthy of a big stadium.
Ligas
Tuesday, Sky Atlantic and Now, 9pm
Lorenzo Ligas is a brilliant but unconventional lawyer with a messy private life. Sounds like every telly lawyer ever created, but this one, we are assured, is a cut above the usual small-screen legal eagles. Ligas is one of Milan’s most successful advocates, charming, talented and ingenious, supremely confident in both the courtroom and the bedroom, but he’s also unscrupulous and unpredictable, willing to break rules and bend laws to win his cases. His arrogance gets the better of him, though, and he’s fired by his high-powered law firm. But Ligas is determined to claw his way back to the top and, with help from idealistic trainee Marta, he takes on some of the city’s most hopeless cases, and sets out to win them. The series stars Italian film and TV star Luca Argentero.
The Copenhagen Test
Wednesday, Channel 4, 9pm and 10.15pm; Thursday, 10pm and 11.05pm
Governments and intelligence agencies worry about hackers getting into computer systems and causing all sorts of mayhem, but what if someone could actually hack into someone’s brain, and get access to everything that person sees and hears? Alexander Hale is an intelligence analyst who realises he’s not alone – someone else has got into his head, and they’re using him to steal secrets from his agency, known as The Orphanage. How can Hale convince The Orphanage he’s not the one who’s spying on them? And how can he find out who the hackers are and unplug them from his cranium?
Twenty Twenty Six
Wednesday, BBC Two, 11pm
So, are you getting excited about this summer’s World Cup? Me neither, but the BBC reckon the upcoming tournament, hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico, is ripe for satire, and this, if you will, mockumentary series stars Hugh Bonneville as Ian Fletcher, Fifa’s fictional newly hired director of integrity, tasked with making sure it all goes without a hitch and with Fifa coming up smelling of roses. But how to put a cool spin on the threat of several host cities becoming too hot for matches to be played? And how to convince Gen Z that the tournament is meeting its sustainability targets? Don’t see anything about the threat of Ice lifting fans out of stadiums, though, or Trump getting a “peace prize” from Gianni Infantino. Guess that’s just too far beyond satire.
Michael Jackson: An American Tragedy
Wednesday, BBC Two, 9pm
Following the Channel 4 documentary series Michael Jackson: The Trial and the 2025 documentary film Leaving Neverland 2: Surviving Michael Jackson, here’s a three-part documentary from the BBC charting the singer’s rise to stardom, from child prodigy propelling the Jackson 5 to fame, to global superstardom with the game-changing album Thriller, to his troubled private life and his legal battles over accusations of child sex abuse. The story we all know, but here it is woven into a single, three-part narrative, with contributions from friends and family, including Jackson’s sister LaToya. With a new biopic due in cinemas, starring Jackson’s nephew Jaafar Jackson as the former self-styled King of Pop, expect the battle over Jackson’s legacy to continue for years to come.
The Miniature Wife
Thursday, Sky Atlantic and Now, 9pm
Kids, I shrunk your mummy. Elizabeth Banks and Matthew Macfadyen star in this new comedy series as married couple Lindy and Les Littlejohn, whose relationship dynamic is upended when scientist Les accidentally shrinks Lindy with his latest invention. In a world where women are made to feel insignificant, Lindy now has to assert herself despite being only the size of a Barbie doll. Les does his best to make Lindy comfortable in her new situation, but soon, the couple are locked in a supersized marital power struggle as Lindy is determined not to end up under Les’s – or anyone else’s – thumb.
Intinní Áille – Beautiful Minds
Thursday, RTÉ One, 10.15pm
Presenter Róisín Ní Thomáin looks at the numerous challenges facing neurodivergent people in Ireland, meeting families who are struggling to get supports for their children who have been diagnosed with autism, ADHD or other neurodiverse conditions. No surprise to learn that society is ill-equipped to deal with the neurodivergent population, and a lot more needs to be done to help them thrive in a world that seems designed just for neurotypical people. This is a very personal project for Ní Thomáin as she herself prepares to be assessed for ADHD.
Tracks & Trails
Friday, RTÉ One, 8.30pm
The Irish landscape has inspired musicians, writers and poets, and in the 13th series of Tracks & Trails, Doireann Ní Ghlacáin heads out on another journey through some of the country’s most spectacular scenery in counties Louth, Roscommon, Longford, Antrim and Kildare, and also explores the walking trails around the coastal town of Dún Laoghaire. In the first episode, she is joined by broadcaster Anton Savage for a walk in Co Louth, which takes them through Ravensdale forest and alongside Carlingford Lough. And archaeologist Paul Gosling accompanies her on a walk through time from Slieve Foye Forest Park the medieval town of Carlingford.
Streaming
The Boys
From Wednesday, April 8th, Prime Video
It’s the fifth and final series of The Boys: can Butcher and his ragtag crew finally kill Homelander? You know the story – the world is plagued by “Supes”, supposed superheroes; the biggest and baddest is Homelander (Anthony Starr), an egomaniacal man-child who wields ultimate power and uses it to settle scores with anyone who has ever crossed him. The world is now completely under his thumb. His enemies are dragged off to so-called “Freedom Camp”, and no one seems able to muster any organised resistance to the Supe supremacy. That is, until the reappearance of Butcher (Karl Urban), who arrives armed with an anti-Supe virus. But Homeland has his own plan, and if he succeeds he’ll not only be all-powerful: he’ll also be immortal.
The Testaments
From Wednesday, April 8th, Disney+
The TV adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s novel The Handmaid’s Tale was a cultural phenomenon, and long before the sixth and final series in 2025, the show’s creators were preparing to adapt Atwood’s The Testaments, its sequel, for TV. Will it have the same seismic impact as its predecessor? Elisabeth Moss, who starred as Offred in The Handmaid’s Tale, is one of the producers of this new series set in Gilead. It tells the tale of two teenage girls, Agnes and Daisy, who have been sent to an exclusive prep school for future wives, where they will learn to be dutiful, pious and obedient servants of men in this brutal, repressive patriarchy. Will they prove to be apt pupils, or will a spark of resistance be ignited? The cast includes the recent Oscar nominee Chase Infiniti.
Big Mistakes
From Thursday, April 9th, Netflix
How do you follow a smash hit like Schitt’s Creek? Dan Levy, creator of the acclaimed comedy series in which he starred with his dad, Eugene Levy, the late, great Catherine O’Hara and Annie Murphy, has delivered his sophomore series. But will it suffer from second-album syndrome or confirm Levy as a comic auteur par excellence? Big Mistakes is a comedy thriller revolving around two chaotic siblings who are inadvertently plunged into the world of organised crime. Levy plays Nicky, with Taylor Ortega as his sister, Morgan. When they carry out an ill-advised theft, they find themselves being blackmailed into carrying out ever more dangerous crimes.
Flor Lynch
Top television and streaming picks starting from April 12th, including Young Forever: The Death of Ageing?, Gordon Ramsay’s Secret Service, Margo’s Got Money Troubles and more
Pick of the week
Young Forever: The Death of Ageing?
Monday, RTÉ One, 9.35pm
We’ve become obsessed with staying young, on a constant quest for new ways of halting the ageing process. We’re spending big bucks on anti-ageing products, and spending more time following fad diets and health regimes in a bid to stave off the inevitable. Billionaires are shelling out even bigger bucks in search of out-there scientific solutions for extending life expectancy. And all across social media, the pressure is on everyone – celebrities and nobodies alike – to look young and healthy, just like their AI-enhanced profile pic.
Kathryn Thomas has felt the pressure of having to look her best on telly, but the presenter, aged 47, is more concerned with staying active and healthy into her later years. She had her children in her 40s, and wants to be 100 per cent there for them through their growing up years and into their adulthood. In this new two-part documentary, Thomas explores the huge industry that has popped up around anti-ageing science, and tries to separate the snake oil from the nectar of life. She meets people on a mission to beat the clock and even turn back time, and talks to top scientists who are working on the age-old question of why we age. Can we really live forever, or should we just roll with it and accept the ageing process?
Highlights
Your Song
Sunday, Channel 4, 9pm
Everyone has a particular song that resonates with their lives and tells their story in a succinct three-minute chunk. So, what’s your song – So Lonely or Happy Together? In this new series by the creators of Bake Off and The Piano, and presented by Alison Hammond, ordinary Brits get a chance to let out the talent they’ve been hiding under a bushel and sing the one song that could have been written for them. Instead of singing in the shower, they’ll be performing in front of an audience on a pop-up stage with a live band, which will be visiting towns and cities in the UK throughout the series. It’s a singing competition, but it’ll be more about heart and soul than technique and prowess, and the singers will have help from mentors Paloma Faith and Sam Ryder. In the first episode, the team are in Liverpool, where they meet a teenager with a beautiful smile and equally beautiful voice, a lift operator who has dealt with life’s ups and down, and a kidney transplant recipient who has everyone singing along in the rain.
Gordon Ramsay’s Secret Service
Tuesday & Wednesday, Channel 4, 10pm
Sweary chef Gordon Ramsay usually can be seen shamelessly berating kitchen staff while others look on in terror, but in this new series, the kitchen nightmare is about to get worse, as Ramsay uses espionage to expose badly run restaurants and force them to change the way they operate. With help from an insider, Ramsay and his team will infiltrate restaurant kitchens and install sophisticated surveillance equipment so he can spy on the day-to-day operations and get to the bottom of why they’re struggling to stay in business. His first mission is Parthenon, a family-run Greek restaurant in Washington. He discovers its decor, equipment and hygiene are badly in need of an upgrade, and the only solution is for the owner’s son to take over the business. In episode two, Ramsay spies on Caffe Boa, an Italian bistro, owned by married couple Patrick and Jenny, and finds the couple’s toxic working relationship is threatening to sink the business – and their marriage.
Grayson Perry Has Seen the Future
Wednesday, Channel 4, 9pm
Many of us are wringing our hands with worry about how AI might affect our lives, but the artist Grayson Perry has decided to grab the bull by the horns and find out what the future holds for us as artificial intelligence becomes an integral part of our world. He heads straight to the heart of AI development, Silicon Valley in California, to find out how the tech revolution – particularly AI – is racing forward at breakneck speed to transform our lives forever. He meets some of the big players in the tech world, along with some whizz-kid young tech bros and sises, some ordinary folk who are both excited and alarmed about the direction the tech is taking humanity, and a creepily friendly chatbot.
Big Mood
Thursday, Channel 4, 10pm
Nicola Coughlan and Lydia West are back for a second series of the dark comedy revolving around friendship and mental health, and featuring the sort of un-Bridgerton-like behaviour that would require truckloads of smelling-salts to be administered. Coughlan is Maggie, who has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder; West is Eddie, Maggie’s best friend, who is dealing with her own mental health issues. It’s a year after their huge falling-out, and Maggie is recovering from lithium poisoning and trying to maintain a modicum of stability. Eddie, meanwhile, has moved to LA and found a new bestie – a Californian spiritual healer named Whitney (Hannah Onslow). But the former friends’ lives are about to collide again when they are asked to be bridesmaids at a mutual friend’s wedding. Both are determined to stay out of each other’s orbit, but the gravitational pull proves too much, and soon chaos theory reigns at the reception. In episode two of this double-bill series opener, Maggie and Eddie take an odyssey across London’s gay scene in search of tickets for their favourite drag act, Barbie & Skipper.
Ireland in Music
Thursday, RTÉ2, 11.05pm
This is the fifth series of the music show that brings together some of our best musicians in some of Ireland’s most beautiful settings, and lets the magic happen. Each week, presenter Denise Chaila – a musical force of nature – heads to a different scenic spot to meet some of our most enduring musical treasures, and first up is David Kitt, who has been shaping Ireland’s musical landscape over a 25-year career. Kittser will share stories and songs with Chaila, all to the backdrop of some stunning aerial photography, in this showcase of sights and sounds.
Streaming
At Home with the Furys
From Sunday, April 12th, Netflix
Think you’re ready to go another few rounds with heavyweight champion Tyson Fury and his lively family? The second series of the reality show finds Fury still trying to get his head around retirement and enjoy life in Morecambe Bay with wife, Paris, their seven kids and Tyson’s dad, John. But even though he tries out all sorts of ventures and adventures to keep the boredom at bay, including a road trip to Monaco and a flutter at owning a racehorse, Fury is still pining for the boxing ring, and is torn between the thrill of the fight and the chill of home life. While he decides whether he’s properly retired or not, Paris is keeping very busy, looking for new business opportunities, looking after a big family, preparing for their daughter’s extravagant 16th-birthday party and planning to renew their wedding vows.
Margo’s Got Money Troubles
From Wednesday, April 15th, Apple TV
Margo (Elle Fanning) is a bright college student and aspiring writer whose dreams are put on hold when she gets pregnant. But life as a single mom and college dropout is not easy, and she’s desperate to find work to support herself and her new baby. “I’ll even dig ditches,” she tells one prospective employer. “Looks like you’ve dug one already,” is the terse response. But when an opportunity comes up to do some “work” on the internet, involving scant clothing and a “sexy alien” persona, she thinks maybe she’ll give it a go. After all, her mom (Michelle Pfeiffer) was a Hooters waitress and her dad (Nick Offerman) was a pro wrestler, so maybe she has inherited the showbiz gene. But can Margo tap into all her unfulfilled creativity and get out of camgirl hell? We’re with her all the way in this star-studded comedy drama series based on the bestselling novel by Rufi Thorpe.
Beef
From Thursday, April 16th, Netflix
The first series of this comedy drama starred Steven Yeun and Ali Wong as two strangers whose lives collided (literally), throwing them into a doom spiral of spite and revenge. Everyone likes a good beef, so no surprise that the series created by Lee Sung Jin proved a hit. Now it’s back for a second season, with an entirely new cast and a fresh beef, this one involving a young couple (Charles Melton and Cailee Spaeny), their boss (Oscar Isaac) and his wife (Carey Mulligan). What starts as a “disagreement” between the boss and his wife soon turns into a four-way battle for power and status in the setting of an exclusive country club owned by a Korean billionaire.
Flor Lynch
April 19th-24th highlights, including Mint, Super Garden, The Neighbourhood and Unchosen
Pick of the Week
The Dry
Thursday, RTÉ One, 10.15pm
The bone-dry comedy about addiction, recovery and tricky family dynamics has hit the sweet spot with critics and viewers, but alas, we must now bid a fond farewell to the screwed-up Sheridan family, in this third and final series created by Nancy Harris and directed by Paddy Breathnach. Roísín Gallagher returns as recovering alcoholic Shiv Sheridan, whose road to sobriety is lined with traps and obstacles, not least her own family members, who have a myriad issues of their own to add to the toxic mix. Ciarán Hinds and Pom Boyd are Shiv’s parents, Tom and Bernie, and Siobhán Cullen is her sister, Caroline, with Adam John Richardson as Shiv’s little brother, Ant. Also returning is Moe Dunford as Jack and Eoin Duffy as Rory.
Having survived two series of squabbles, betrayal and destructive behaviour, Shiv faces a new challenge as a huge buried secret resurfaces and threatens to undermine the family’s fragile foundations. Meanwhile, Shiv’s bad judgment when it comes to the men in her life remains intact, as handsome, enigmatic Aussie Daryl muscles his way into her life – and seems to turn up unexpectedly at every opportunity, including at her recovery meeting. Is he a lovestruck lad, or just a creepy stalker? Whatever’s going on, Shiv starts to suspect that her drinking may have been just a symptom, and that the real problem may lie deep inside her.
Highlights
Mint
Monday, BBC One, 9pm
It’s hard enough for a young person to find true love in a disconnected world, but when your dad is the city’s biggest gangster, and your family name strikes terror into the community, well, your chances of winning the love lottery are considerably reduced. Emma Laird is Shannon, the daughter of crime boss Dylan (Sam Riley), in this romantic crime drama filmed in and around Glasgow. When Shannon meets Arran (Ben Coyle-Larner aka rapper Loyle Carner) at a train station late one night, the sparks fly across the tracks, but the two star-crossed lovers face powerful forces determined to keep them apart. The series, written by Charlotte Regan, focuses on the families rather than the leaders of organised crime gangs, and there’s a strong streak of magic realism that suggests a Scottish take on Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet.
Home of the Year finale
Tuesday, RTÉ One, 7pm
It’s decision time in the final episode of the home showcase series, completed before the death of architect and head judge Hugh Wallace last December. Wallace is joined by Amanda Bone and Siobhan Lam to pick an overall winner out of the 10 finalists who have made it this far. Seven of those are winners from individual episodes, but for the first time, the judges were given a golden key each to award to a runner-up of their choice and send them through to the final. Among the finalists are Lorcan and Adrian, whose home in Co Kildare is inspired by traditional farm buildings; Tara, who has renovated a former gate lodge in Co Down and turned it into a cosy cottage; Marie and Jo, who renovated their neo-Georgian house in west Cork, blending classical style with Marie’s own artwork; and Laoise, who transformed her turret-style house in Galway into a timeless classic.
Super Garden
Thursday, RTÉ One, 7pm
The return of Super Garden is a handy reminder to get your tickets booked for this year’s Bloom festival in the Phoenix Park, but it’s also a good way to see how a bog-standard patch of ground can be transformed into a lush, colourful haven for homeowners. Over the course of the next few weeks, five garden designers will take on a series of horticultural challenges, with their eye on the prize: a chance to showcase their garden design at Bloom over the June bank holiday weekend. Each contender will have just three weeks and a budget worth about €15,000 to create a garden that will catch the imagination of the judging panel and secure a plot at this year’s floral fiesta at the Phoenix Park. The judges are Brian Burke from Woodie’s, a previous winner of the contest, Bloom’s show gardens manager Kerrie Gardiner, Bord Bia’s horticulture manager Carol Marks and garden design lecturer Monica Alvarez. First up is Eoighan Mountaine-Barry, who grew up helping in his dad’s landscaping business, and went on to get his own degree in horticulture. Since gardening runs in the family, he’s called on his family – including his granny – to help him create his garden, which includes such elements as glass bricks and a centrepiece olive tree.
The Neighbourhood
Friday, Virgin Media One & UTV, 9pm
Graham Norton is back on our screens on Friday nights, but wait – who are those ordinary-looking people on the big sofa, and why are they scowling at each other? This is not Norton’s usual BBC chatshow featuring A-list stars, but a new style of reality gameshow in which a diverse group of real-life families and households are pitted against each other in a very un-neighbourly battle for a grand prize of a quarter of a million quid. There’s no sunny villa, creepy castle or sweaty clearing in the jungle – this is set in an entire street, with the families in each house completing tasks and challenges, socialising with other households in the street, and stabbing their neighbours in the back so they can get their sweaty hands on the cash. Sounds like EastEnders meets The Traitors. Norton will oversee all the plotting, conspiring and colluding as the families try to outwit each other and boost their popularity so they don’t get voted off. “Like everyone, I’m always intrigued by what goes on behind closed doors,” says Norton. “Add to that some dastardly challenges and a life changing prize and I’m hooked.” Let’s see if the rest of the nation is hooked too.
Streaming
Unchosen
From Tuesday, April 21st, Netflix
The up-and-coming Irish actor Fra Fee is among the stars of this psychological drama series created by Julie Gearey and directed by Jim Loach (son of Ken). The story revolves around a religious cult run by the charismatic Mr Phillips (Christopher Ecclestone) and his wife (Siobhan Finneran). Molly Windsor and Asa Butterfield play Rosie and Adam, a young married couple who are fully absorbed into the cult. The arrival of the enigmatic Sam (Fee) upends their lives and threatens to tear the entire religious edifice down. He turns out to be an escaped prisoner with a criminal past; as he worms his way into the cult, and wins the trust of the community, Rosie finds herself torn between the constraints of her marriage and the delicious danger of this mysterious interloper.
Criminal Record
From Wednesday, April 22nd, Apple TV
Peter Capaldi and Cush Jumbo return as rival cops in the second series of the acclaimed police drama set in the crime cauldron of London. Capaldi is Det Chief Insp Daniel Hegarty, a veteran cop with experience and wisdom to burn. Jumbo is Det Sgt June Lenker, a younger officer looking to establish herself as a force to be reckoned with. In season one they clashed over a cold-case murder investigation; in season two they must once again put aside their differences and work together following the killing of a young man at a political rally. Hegarty and Lenker soon uncover a far-right plot to carry out an atrocity in the centre of London.
Flor Lynch
April 26th-May 1st highlights: including Dermot Bannon’s Celebrity Super Spaces, Richard Gadd’s drama Half Man, and Straight to Hell
Pick of the week
Dermot Bannon’s Celebrity Super Spaces
Sunday, RTÉ One, 9.30pm
We love poking our noses into other people’s houses, and if those other people happen to be rich and famous, well, that just makes it all the more interesting. In this new series, celebrity architect Dermot Bannon is welcomed in to the gaffs of some of well-known figures in Irish entertainment, sport, business and arts, and hears their personal stories of why they chose where they live, and how they reimagined their homes to suit their own taste and aesthetic.
Bannon’s first stop is the house in Howth owned by Vogue Williams and Spencer Matthews. Williams tells Bannon how she first spotted the house and fell in love with it, promising herself that one day it would be hers. She and husband Matthews live in London with their three kids, but whenever Williams is back in Ireland, which is often, the Howth house makes the perfect bolt-hole.
Next stop is the home of jeweller Chupi Sweetman and her husband, Brian, which, unsurprisingly, is a gem, sparkling with gorgeous decor and dazzling design touches. It’s a house designed for generational living, with a separate private basement apartment accommodating Chupi’s mum, the writer and feminist Rosita Sweetman. Bannon also visits rugby international Andrew Porter’s home in Wicklow, which is a simple, no-frills affair, and also visits the gym that Porter designed himself. But the big surprise is the Cavan home and studio of composer and producer Don Mescall – a stunning converted church, complete with stained-glass windows.
The Cage
Sunday, BBC1, 9pm
Sheridan Smith stars as casino worker Leanne in this new crime drama created and written by Tony Schumacher. She’s the cashier at the inner-city Liverpool joint owned by a local gangster – it’s a high-pressure job, but Leanne does it with flair. When she finds herself in financial difficulties, however, she starts skimming cash from the safe, and that’s when the stakes get really high. She soon makes a shocking discovery: her boss, Matty (Michael Socha), is also stealing from the safe, and it’s not long before the casino’s criminal owner – and the police – are on their trail. Leanne and Matty will have to work together and play each hand skilfully to beat the odds quickly stacking up against them.
Masters: Keepers of Tradition
Monday, RTÉ One, 8.30pm
In the late 1970s, RTÉ aired a landmark documentary series entitled Hands, which opened viewers’ eyes to the skill and creativity of Irish craftspeople. This new series is, if you will, a follow-up to that programme, looking at the state of the Irish crafts industry nearly 50 years later, meeting contemporary artisans and seeing who is surviving and thriving in an increasingly challenging environment for those looking to make a living from their skills. Each episode showcases an individual craftsperson, getting up close to their work, getting insights in to their everyday lives, learning what inspired them to take up a traditional craft and seeing the reality of what it takes to keep these traditions alive today. In episode one, we meet master stonemason Julia Gebel, who came to Ireland from Germany to work on the restoration of Cormac’s Church on the Rock of Cashel, and has lived in Tipperary ever since, where she runs a stone and building conservation company with her business partner Christian Helling. As we join her, Geber is taking on another commission linked to Irish history: sculpting a bust of Irish revolutionary Dick Barrett out of a block of Kilkenny blue limestone.
Secret Service
Monday, UTV, 9pm
We’re still waiting patiently for news of a new James Bond, but meanwhile here’s a five-part spy thriller series starring Gemma Arterton, who played Bond girl Strawberry Fields in Quantum of Solace. Arterton plays senior MI6 operative Kate Henderson, who is trying to balance her demanding job heading the agency’s Russian desk with the responsibilities of her role as a suburban mum with two teenagers. It all goes out of kilter, though, when the agency suspects a Russian asset is embedded in the upper echelons of power – and it may actually be a top UK politician. Kate and her team find themselves in a race against time to unmask the traitor in Westminster, but a murder puts her and her team under the spotlight, and Kate suddenly doesn’t know who she can trust. The cast includes Rafe Spall as Kate’s ambitious husband Stuart, along with Mark Stanley, Aoife Hinds and Alex Kingston.
Half Man
Tuesday, BBC1, 11.10pm
Richard Gadd scored a huge hit with Baby Reindeer, the semi-autobiographical story of an aspiring comedian who is stalked by a customer at the pub where he tends bar. Gadd wrote and starred in the series, which bagged a number of Emmy and Golden Globe awards, and kept newspaper columnists busy for months analysing the numerous hot-button issues raised in the series. No surprise that anticipation is high for his follow-up series, again written by and starring Gadd, and dealing with violence, loyalty and the delicate dynamics of male relationships. Gadd plays hard man Ruben, with Jamie Bell as meek and mild Niall. Though they are not related by blood, they are sworn brothers, loyal to each other and bonded for life. The series follows this volatile relationship over 30 years, culminating in a shocking act of violence on Niall’s wedding day. Unlike Baby Reindeer, this is not semi-autobiographical, but it’s still sure to get people talking at the virtual water cooler.
A Taste for Murder
Wednesday, UTV, 9pm
Sunshine, stunning scenery, gourmet Italian cooking and murder – these are the main ingredients of this new series starring Warren Brown as a British detective investigating suspicious deaths in an island paradise in Italy. DCI Joe Mottram is grieving after the sudden death of his wife, and he decides to take a career break in Italy to deal with his bereavement and hopefully reconnect with his teenage daughter Angelica (Beau Gadsdon). He’s staying with his in-laws, chef Gennaro (Urbano Barberini) and Elena (Phyllis Logan), who run a popular restaurant on the island, and starts learning to cook. But when a local man is found murdered on a beach, and Gennaro’s nephew Luca is arrested, Joe is pulled back into default cop mode, and offers to help local inspector Lara Sarrancino (Cristiana Dell’Anna) investigate the killing. But when more people start turning up dead, Lara starts to wonder if Joe is a bit of a jinx. Joe soon realises that the clues are being handed to him on a plate, as the recipes he’s learning provide unlikely insights into the investigation.
The Salisbury Poisonings: The Untold Story
Wednesday, Channel 4, 9pm
Four years before Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine, the peaceful English city of Salisbury was the scene of an unprecedented attack that put thousands of innocent lives in danger. The targets were Russian former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia, and the weapon of choice was the toxic nerve agent Novichok, one of the most powerful and deadly poisons ever made. Skripal and his daughter were found unconscious on a park bench after the Novichok was placed on the handle of their front door, but they survived the attack. Others fell ill after exposure to the toxin, with one woman, Dawn Sturgess, dying after finding a perfume bottle containing the substance. The attack sparked a huge police and medical operation, as authorities tried to contain the toxin and prevent a public health catastrophe. This three-part documentary series tells the extraordinary story of this audacious and reckless assassination attempt that showed just how far the Russian leader was willing to go to eliminate his enemies.
Streaming
Straight to Hell
From Monday, April 27th, Netflix
Japan had its own Mystic Meg in the form of Kazuko Hosoki, a fortune teller who became a huge star, capturing the public’s imagination with her ebullient personality, and delivering such out-there predictions as “you will die” and “you’re going to hell”. She published bestselling books and was a constant presence on Japanese TV, but behind her success were accusations of fraud and links to Tokyo’s criminal underworld. This drama series starring Erika Toda tries to get behind the rumours and find out what Hosoki was really like, telling the story of her rise from poverty after the second World War to become one of Tokyo’s biggest nightclub impresarios, and her pivot into the world of fortune-telling. She presented herself as a modern-day prophet and selling 34 million books, gaining her an entry into the Guinness Book of Records. Was she a criminal, charlatan or just a self-help guru who got lucky?
Widow’s Bay
From Wednesday, April 29th, Apple TV
Tom Loftis is the mayor of a small town in New England, and top of his to-do list is boosting tourism to this quaint spot. But there’s one big problem: the town is on a remote island 60km off the coast, with no wifi and barely a mobile phone signal. And there’s another issue: the superstitious locals believe the island is cursed, and you’d be mad to invite tourists here. Loftis presses on with his plans, and soon visitors are arriving at Widow’s Bay ready to sample the island’s delights. Only one more problem: it seems the residents were right, and evil forces are lurking beneath the bucolic surface, ready to turn this nascent tourist hotspot into a hellscape. Matthew Rhys stars as the hapless mayor desperately trying to win the respect of the islanders while combating the forces of darkness in this comedy horror series.
Flor Lynch
May 3rd-8th highlights, including Dermot Bannon’s Celebrity Super Spaces, Attenborough’s Greatest Adventure and Amandaland
Pick of the Week
Come to Your Census
Sunday, RTÉ One, 6.30pm
In 1926, the newly established Free State carried out its first census, and this April it was made available free to the public online, giving people the opportunity to delve back into the past and get valuable insights into Irish society and their own family history 100 years ago. In this special two-part series, six well-known figures in Irish life step into the time machine and explore their own roots via these historic records. What will they learn, and what stories will they uncover about their own family’s past? In the first episode, trade unionist Mick Lynch goes back to the former slums of Cork city, where his widowed grandmother struggled to raise a young family on her own. Meanwhile, in Connemara, Raidió na Gaeltachta presenter Gormfhlaith Ní Thuairisg learns how the Irish language was central to her family’s identity even back then. Later, architect Dermot Bannon looks into the history of a small town in Waterford that was overshadowed by a very imposing building – an industrial school. The celebrity time-travellers won’t be going it alone – they’ll be guided by the experts at the National Archives, who will help them interpret the data and build up a picture of what life was like for their own families back in 1926.
Highlights
Dermot Bannon’s Celebrity Super Spaces
Sunday, RTÉ One, 9.30pm
Bannon’s new series is aptly titled, as he visits the homes and havens of well-known people, and finds that they are indeed rather super. This week, he flits between Dublin and London, with a stop-off at a beautiful castle in Hampshire. In London, he visits the home of comedian Joanne McNally in Clapham, and is greeted by a riot of bold colours. Back in Dublin, more bold colours and designs are on display in the dressingroom of Rory O’Neill aka drag queen Panti Bliss. Having spent years changing costume in toilets and cleaning cupboards, O’Neill treasures his luxurious changing space, where a whole history of drag couture is on display. Also in Dublin, Bannon visits the 1940s home of singer Camille O’Sullivan and actor Aidan Gillen, which the couple brought back from dereliction to create an award-winning space that works as both a family home and a place where performers can feel right at home. In Hampshire, England, Bannon visits a 300-year-old cottage in the grounds of Highclere Castle in Hampshire, where chef Clodagh McKenna lives with her husband, Harry, where they run a 100-acre sustainable farm with hens, ducks, pigs and Aberdeen Angus cattle. The couple have also restored a beautiful 18th-century walled garden and orchard on the castle grounds, and even built a bar in the sylvan surrounds.
Making Life on Earth: Attenborough’s Greatest Adventure
Sunday, BBC One, 8pm
You want to live a long, healthy and rewarding life? Become a wildlife TV presenter. On May 8th, writer, broadcaster and natural historian David Attenborough will reach the marvellous milestone of 100 years old, and to celebrate, this documentary looks back 50 years to when he began making his landmark series Life on Earth. It was the game-changer in wildlife programming, bringing the richness of the natural world into livingrooms around the world and making Attenborough the undisputed king of the telly naturalists. To make the series, Attenborough and his crew travelled to 40 countries and filmed 600 different species in their natural habitats, using groundbreaking filming techniques to bring the full wonder of the plant and animal kingdom to life and tell the story of evolution from the first fossils to the most complex primates. The acclaimed series also featured one of the most famous TV sequences of all time, when Attenborough mingled with mountain gorillas in Rwanda. The series was watched by 500 million people around the world and, 50 years later, Attenborough tells the story of how he made it, with help from members of the original film crew. They recall some of the perils they encountered, including a coup in the Comoros and being threatened by Saddam Hussein’s army in Iraq.
Rian na Fola
Monday, RTÉ One, 6.30pm
It’s a murder mystery that has remained unsolved for 100 years. Patrick M Foley was a well-known historian in his native Kerry, and had written several books about the history of the Dingle peninsula. But in 1908, Foley left his wife and two small children in Kerry and emigrated to the US, and was never heard from again until 12 years later, when the family received word of his death in Oklahoma. The shocking news was that Foley had been murdered, and the perpetrators were the Ku Klux Klan. Broadcaster and former GAA star Dara Ó Cinnéide decides to do some detective work and find out what exactly happened, so he follows Foley’s trail to Boston, Texas and the Deep South to get to the bottom of this century-old mystery. Helping him piece together the jigsaw along the way are historian Mike Cochran and Cherokee community leader Uriah Grass.
This Is a Bomb: The Nevada Casino Heist
Tuesday, BBC Two, 9.45pm
In August 1980, staff at the Harvey Casino in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, took delivery of a what they thought was an IBM copying machine, but which turned out to be a large, powerful bomb, meticulously designed to be bomb-squad proof. A ransom note accompanying the object warned that any attempt to defuse or disable the bomb would result in its detonation, and demanded a ransom of $3 million in exchange for instructions on how to neutralise the device. The mastermind of this audacious heist was 59-year-old John Birges, who had lost a fortune gambling at the Harvey and wanted it back – with interest. But his plan was doomed to failure, and he was caught and sentenced to life imprisonment, while an attempted controlled explosion caused huge damage to the casino, but resulted in no loss of life. This documentary tells the story of this failed heist and the aftermath.
Amandaland
Wednesday, BBC One, 9pm
Divorced mum Amanda Hughes is back, still stuck in SoHa (South Harlesden) but still trying to keep up appearances despite her less-than-salubrious circumstances, in this second series of the spin-off from acclaimed comedy series Motherland. In Amandaland, there’s one cardinal rule: don’t confront Amanda with reality – she will short-circuit faster than you can say skinny vanilla chai latte. Lucy Punch returns as the uber-pretentious Amanda, with Joanna Lumley as her brutally honest mum, Felicity, and Philippa Dunne as her put-upon best mate Anne. In series two, Amanda is making the most of her straitened circumstances and pushing ahead with her plans to become SoHa’s top influencer, via her online lifestyle brand Senuous and her “co-lab” gig at interiors store Kitchens Bathrooms and Kitchens, while still finding time to embarrass her teenage kids Georgie and Manus (Miley Locke and Alexander Shaw) and annoy the downstairs neighbour and possible love interest Mal (Samuel Anderson). But there are encouraging signs that SoHa may be feeling the Amanda effect, with the opening of a trendy new coffee shop. As Amanda says: “She came, she saw, she gentrified.”
David Attenborough’s 100 Years on Planet Earth
Friday, BBC One, 8.30pm
As we mentioned earlier, natural historian David Attenborough turns 100 on this very day (May 8th), and the BBC has laid on a big bash at London’s Royal Albert Hall to celebrate the man who transformed the landscape of wildlife TV programming. The event will be a voyage of discovery, featuring stories and reflections from an array of guests, including well-known faces and many leading figures from the world of natural history and wildlife conservation, and music from Attenborough’s best-known series performed by the BBC Concert Orchestra under Jérôme Kuhn.
Streaming
Citadel
From Wednesday, May 6th, Prime Video
There’s a fine line between edge-of-your-seat thriller and comfy-in-your-couch romp, and the second series of Citadel looks like it’s once again walking that line on a pair of Gucci stilettos. Richard Madden, Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Stanley Tucci return as the crack spy team of Mason, Nadia and Bernard, brought back together by a new global threat. With many of his former agents killed by the shadowy group known as Manticore, Bernard will have to recruit new operatives for this crucial mission, but of course he can’t do it without Mason and Nadia leading the operation. The world may be in imminent peril, but don’t worry, there’ll still be lots of time for wisecracking, eye-rolling, smouldering looks and slickly choreographed fight sequences.
Legends
From Thursday, May 7th, Netflix
In the early 1990s, drug gangs are running rampant through the UK, and smuggling narcotics across the country’s borders with seeming impunity. The cops can’t seem to stop it, so there’s only one thing for it: send in the civil servants. Legends is based on the true story of how a group of British customs officers were tasked with infiltrating the country’s most dangerous drug gangs and help take them down. These were far from highly trained operatives – they were just ordinary men and women more used to wielding a biro than a Beretta. Steve Coogan and Tom Burke head the cast in this six-part series created and written by Neil Forsyth.