WATCH OF THE WEEK: Dermot Bannon’s Super Spaces
TV WEEK (Wednesday September 4 to Tuesday September 10)
TOP SPECIALS
The Zelensky Story (BBC 2, Wednesday 4th, 9pm)
The extraordinary story of Volodymyr Zelensky, a comedian who played the president, then became the real President of Ukraine. Told across three episodes, the series charts Zelensky’s journey from young actor and entertainer to one of the most recognisable leaders on the planet, presiding over a nation at war with Vladimir Putin’s Russia.
Apples Never Fall (RTE 1, Wednesday 4th, 10.35pm)
Retirement is not what Joy and Stan Delaney hoped it would be - especially when a mysterious visitor arrives. Then, when Joy goes missing, her children suspect foul play, and are left to question everything they thought they knew about their parents. Annette Benning and Sam Neill lead the cast in this who and why dunnit drama.
Funny Woman (Sky Max, Friday 6th, 9pm)
Funny Woman is back and the second series finds Sophie (Gemma Arterton) on a high. She is the nation’s favourite TV comedy star; she’s got a group of good friends and her romance with Dennis is full of promise. But trouble is just round the corner...
On The Beat (RTE 1, Monday 9th, 9.35pm)
From street crime and mental health “callouts” to combating violent or serious criminals, there is no “normal day in the office” for the men and women in the Gardai. Filmed over three months, we witness the challenges and issues being faced by the Gardaí as they police urban and rural areas as the series goes behind the front desks, inside the patrol cars and on the beat across Dundalk, Longford and Waterford.
Best Place To Be (RTE 1, Tuesday 10th, 7pm)
Baz Ashmawy returns, bag packed and passport in hand, to hit the road meeting Irish people who have left Ireland behind to set up home somewhere else in the world. Across the series, Baz visits Belgium, Portugal, France, Sweden, Switzerland, and Cyprus - spending time with a host of Irish expats, learning about their new lives and how they’ve adapted to places far from home.
WATCH OF THE WEEK
Dermot Bannon’s Super Spaces (RTE 1, Wednesday 4th, 9.35pm)
The well-known architect travels around Ireland to visit a variety of spaces, from beautifully renovated homes to outdoor swimming pools, award winning houses and Limerick’s International Rugby’s visitor experience. First up, Dermot heads to Connemara, to Fernwood Farm, where Simon and Anne Ashe have created a luxurious get away on their 150 acres property - perched on stilts.
BEST FILMS
The Last Right (RTE 2, Friday 6th, 9.30pm)
Colm Meaney and Brian Cox are cameo players in this feelgood drama/comedy about a fateful exchange on a flight from New York to Ireland that ends up having complicated consequences for Daniel Murphy in bringing a corpse to its desired final destination.
The Three Musketeers: Milady (Sky Cinema Premiere, from Friday)
The second part of director Martin Bourboulon’s adaptation of Alexandre Dumas’ swashbuckling classic. In a kingdom divided by religious wars and under threat of British invasion, a handful of men and women will battle and tie their fate to that of France. Starring Vincent Cassel and Eva Green.
JoJo Rabbit (RTE 1, Friday 6th, 9.35pm)
Jojo is a lonely German boy who discovers that his single mother is hiding a Jewish girl in their attic. Aided only by his imaginary friend - Adolf Hitler - Jojo must confront his blind nationalism as World War II continues to rage on.
Moving On (Sky Cinema Premiere, from Saturday)
Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin star as estranged friends who reunite to seek revenge on the petulant widower (Malcolm McDowell) of their recently deceased best friend. Along the way, Fonda's character reunites with her great love (Richard Roundtree) as each woman learns to make peace with the past and each other.
CLASSIC MOVIE
Another Round (Channel 4, Friday 6th, 1.20am)
Worth setting the recorder for, it concerns four high school teachers who agree to consume alcohol on a daily basis to see how it affects their social and professional lives. Led by Mads Mikkelsen, this quartet of bored educators go from experimental to outrageous in pursuit of greater literacy ability via the bottle. Hilarious and dramatic, it has one of the best closing scenes seen in a long time.
KIDS STUFF
Rob & Romesh vs Heavy Metal (Sky Max, Wednesday 4th, 9pm)
Things are going to get loud for the usually mellow pairing of Rob Beckett and Romesh Ranganathan as they head to Download Festival to perform in front of 4,000 die-hard heavy metal fans. Helping on their way will be a band that describe themselves as "Pure Scottish Metal", Bleed from Within - as they try to educate Rob and Romesh in the ways of the headbanger.
Frankie Drake (RTE 1, Friday 6th, 4.45pm)
Set in stylish 1920s Toronto, the series follows the female-only agency Drake Private Detectives, led by Frankie Drake and her partner Trudy Clarke. Incorporating a brand of justice that doesn't always follow the law, Frankie and Trudy investigate mysteries and crimes that either the police refuse to take on, or that their clients cannot take to the police at all.
ON DEMAND
The Perfect Couple (Netflix)
Nicole Kidman and Liev Schreiber star in this drama series where a lavish wedding ends in disaster before it can even begin - with a body discovered just hours before the ceremony. The end result is that everyone in the wedding party is a suspect. Eve Hewson also stars.
The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power (Amazon Prime)
Season two of this epic drama is set thousands of years before the events of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings - an era in which great powers were forged, kingdoms rose to glory and fell to ruin, unlikely heroes were tested, hope hung by the finest of threads, and the greatest villain that ever flowed from Tolkien's pen threatened to cover all the world in darkness.
Adam Sandler: Love You (Netflix)
Adam Sandler hits the stage for an unpredictable comedy special featuring songs, jokes, party-crashing dogs and plenty of love. Hitting the stage with just his guitar, this movie madcap actor shows the mellow side of his character in a breezy mixture of comedy and music.
SPORTS CENTRE
US Open Tennis (Sky Sports, all week 3pm)
As we funnel down into the quarter finals, it will likely be Alcaraz and Djokovic in the mens final, with Coco Gauff v Sabalanka in the womens. One of the more dramatic of all the Grand Slam events - the evening atmosphere and the partisan Big Apple crowds make for a unique event.