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.
RM Block
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
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.
