'Hooked' dives deep into science of addiction and recovery

TV WEEK (Wednesday 2nd to Tuesday 8th)

TOP SPECIALS

Sci-Fi in the Atomic Age (Sky Arts, Thursday 3rd, 8pm)

This four-part series explores the history of science fiction in the atomic age – the creation of the atomic bomb by Oppenheimer, the Cold War, and its many evocative visions of the future expressed in the greatest works of science fiction.

First Dates Ireland (RTÉ 2, Thursday 3rd, 9.30pm)

In a celebration of the 10th season of First Dates, the restaurant staff – Mateo, Neil, Alice, and Pete – celebrate the art of matchmaking and lessons learned from a decade of dates. Get ready for steamy recollections from their own dating history, and flashbacks including memorable match-ups, killer lines, cringe-inducing clangers, loved-up Lotharios, awky mo-mos, bathroom besties and beautiful dreamers.

Paddy And Nigel’s Tourist Trap (BBC 1, Friday 4th, 10pm)

Many tourists go to Northern Ireland to visit well-known attractions such as the Titanic Museum and Giant’s Causeway, often overlooking smaller rural towns. In a bid to rectify that, Northern Ireland Promotional Society have enlisted comedian Paddy Raff’s posh alter-ego, Nigel, to shine a light on some of Northern Ireland’s ‘lesser known’ tourist attractions – from milking cows to making gin.

Tribe With Bruce Parry (BBC 2, Sunday 6th, 9pm)

Filmmaker Bruce Parry ventures deep into the unforgiving Namib desert in southern Angola, a region only recently accessible after years of civil war and a legacy of landmines. Invited to live with the Mucubal, he is the first white person some of the villagers have ever seen, and is allowed witness tribal practices including the ritual removal of teeth and circumcision ceremonies.

Jack the Ripper: Written in Blood (Sky History, Tuesday 8th, 9pm)

Rather than focusing on the identity of Jack the Ripper, this series delves into how the Whitechapel Murders fuelled the rise of tabloid journalism, and shines a light on one newspaper in particular – The Star – and its shameless exploitation of the killings to boost circulation and profits, hindering the police investigation to further its own agenda.

WATCH OF THE WEEK

Hooked (RTÉ 1, Wednesday 2nd, 9.35pm)

This gripping three-part documentary dives deep into the science of addiction and recovery, across phones, alcohol, gambling and hard drugs. Trinity College neuroscientist and lecturer Dr Brian Pennie knows well the horrors of addiction; he was a heroin addict before he miraculously turned his life around. Now he lifts the lid on how modern addictions are rewiring our brains and asks what we can do to break free.

BEST FILMS

Sex And The City (RTÉ 2, Wednesday 2nd, 9pm)

Carrie Bradshaw and her intermittent lover, Big, are in a committed relationship. Meanwhile her gal pals are meeting their own challenges: Samantha has survived cancer, Charlotte lives on Park Avenue, and Miranda feels the pressure of family life in Brooklyn.

Kingsman: The Golden Circle (Film4, Friday 4th, 9pm)

With their headquarters destroyed and the world held hostage, members of Kingsman find new allies when they discover a spy organisation in the United States known as Statesman. The elite secret agents from both sides of the pond band together to battle a ruthless enemy and save the world. Colin Firth and Taron Egerton re-ignite their spy craft chemistry once more.

Autumn In New York (RTÉ 1, Friday 4th, 11.15pm)

Richard Gere is a 50-something playboy New York restaurateur, and a lifetime master of no-commitment seduction. That is until he meets Winona Ryder – a 21-year-old free spirit yearning to get out and taste the excitement of adult life.

Cuckoo (Sky Cinema Premiere, from Saturday)

Seventeen-year-old Gretchen and her mute half-sister Alma reluctantly leave their American home to live with her father and his new family in the German Alps. But right from the start something doesn’t seem quite right in this vacation paradise as the girls are plagued by strange noises and bloody visions.

CLASSIC MOVIE

The Kid Stays In The Picture (Sky Documentaries, Thursday 3rd, 2pm)

This traces the meteoric rise and fall of legendary Hollywood producer Robert Evans, who made classics like Chinatown; it is adapted from his tell-all autobiography, which acts as an intimate journey into the dynamics of Hollywood and its major players. Packed with great anecdotes and the people who make the movie world spin.

KIDSSTUFF

Hey Fuzzy Yellow (RTÉjnr, Wednesday 2nd, 9.05am)

Every day, kids are bombarded with messages about how they should act and who they should be. Hey Fuzzy Yellow says enough! You decide who you want to be — today, tomorrow, and far into the fuzzy future. Fuzzy Yellow and friends give kids the tools, and confidence, to try on plenty of hats, learning all about our textured world along the way.

Despicable Me 4 (Sky Cinema Premiere, from Friday)

Gru, the world’s favourite super-villain-turned-Anti-Villain League-agent, returns for a new era of Minions mayhem as Gru, Lucy and their girls – Margo, Edith and Agnes – welcome a new member to the Gru family, Gru Jr.

ON DEMAND

Holland (Netflix)

Nicole Kidman adds another twisty drama to her CV as a teacher and homemaker with a picture-perfect life in the small town community of Holland, Michigan. Happiness is interrupted and normal things begin to go astray when she and her work colleague Gael García Bernal discover a secret that indicates nothing in their lives is what it seems.

David Blaine: Do Not Attempt (Disney+)

Finding unusual individuals who perform the strangest of real feats, Blaine investigates some of the world’s most extraordinary cultures, and what they call ‘normal’. Learning how to handle snakes in an intimate way will have you checking under the sofa…

Million Dollar Secret (Netflix)

If you liked The Traitors, this one is definitely for you. In a luxury lakeside estate in Canada, one lucky player finds a suitcase with $1 million, while 11 others engage in a ruthless pursuit to track and capture the cash prize for themselves. Peter Serafinowicz is the host with a two-faced outlook that keeps everybody guessing.

SPORTS CENTRE

UEFA Women’s Nations League (RTÉ 2, Friday 4th, 2.30pm)

Clare MacNamara is joined by Niamh Fahey and Rianna Jarrett for live coverage of Greece v Republic of Ireland from Heraklion, Crete. Commentary from Des Curran. KO 3pm.