Watch Of The Week: ‘North Circular’, an award-winning documentary musical
TV WEEK (Wednesday 6th to Tuesday 12th)
TOP SPECIALS
Nationwide (RTÉ 1, Wednesday 6th, 7pm)
Two hundred and fifty years after his birth, Daniel O’Connell, the man known as ‘The Liberator’, remains one of the most influential figures in Irish history, celebrated for his campaign of Catholic Emancipation through peaceful and political means. When he died, half a million people lined the streets of Dublin to honour him.
Sightless Cinema (RTÉ 1, Wednesday 6th, 11.15pm)
The Sightless Cinema network is a group of blind and visually impaired people who create audio dramas for performance in theatres and cinemas. Founded in 2015 by theatre director Ciarán Taylor, and sound artist Rachel Ní Chuinn, it has grown from a tiny group to a nationwide community, and here members candidly discuss their sight loss and how their lives have been shaped by blindness.
Destination X (BBC 1, Thursday 7th, 9pm)
In a globetrotting reality competition hosted by Rob Brydon, players embark on the international adventure of a lifetime as they travel across Europe in a bus with blacked-out windows to beautiful yet mysterious locations. In each episode, they compete in challenges to earn clues that will help them answer one simple question – where in the world are they?
Hunting My Sextortion Scammer: Untold (CH4, Thursday 7th, 12.05am)
Presenter and musician Jordan Stephens explores sextortion – the practice of catfishing young men into messaging explicit photos, then blackmailing them for money – which has been linked to the suicides of a number of individuals who were targeted in such scams.
WATCH OF THE WEEK
North Circular (RTÉ 1, Wednesday 6th, 9.35pm)
An award-winning documentary musical travelling the length of Dublin’s fabled North Circular Road, where local characters share their emotive stories, accompanied by traditional ballads and folk music. Travelling from the Phoenix Park to Dublin Port, the film evokes the history of the city and nation, from colonialism to mental health, and including the battle to save the legendary Cobblestone Pub, centre of Dublin’s recent folk revival.
BEST FILMS
Ad Astra (Film4, Wednesday 6th, 6.40pm)
Thirty years ago, Clifford McBride led a voyage into deep space, but the ship and crew were never heard from again. Now his astronaut son embarks on a daring mission to Neptune to uncover the truth about his missing father and a mysterious power surge that threatens the stability of the universe. Brad Pitt and Tommy Lee Jones star.
The Beatles: Eight Days A Week (Sky Documentaries, Thursday 7th, 9pm)
Filmmaker Ron Howard examines the early years of the Fab Four, from their early club dates at The Cavern Club in Liverpool to their huge concert tours across Europe and the USA as millions went mad for Beatlemania. Rare re-mastered archive footage intercut with input from stars of today make this a hit for fans of the legends.
September 5 (Sky Cinema Premiere, from Thursday)
During the 1972 Munich Olympics, a hostage crisis pushed legendary TV executive Roone Arledge (Peter Sarsgaard) to thrust an untested sports producer into the spotlight of breaking news coverage. With lives hanging in the balance and the world watching, this pivotal moment, based on a true story, reshaped journalism forever.
Licorice Pizza (RTÉ 2, Friday 8th, 9.25pm)
The romantic story of Alana Kane and Gary Valentine, running around and falling in love in the San Fernando Valley, 1973. Written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, the film tracks the challenging navigation of first love, and offers a nostalgic backward glance to the way we were.
CLASSIC MOVIE
Dear Evan Hansen (BBC 2, Wednesday 6th, 12.30am)
Ben Platt adapts his Tony and Grammy award winning play about the need for connection in today’s fast-paced society to the silver screen as an isolated high school student who creates social chaos by pretending to have been the best friend of another classmate who just committed suicide.
KIDS STUFF
Young Millionaires (Netflix)
Friday the 13th in Marseilles, childhood friends Samia, Léo, David and Jess hit the lottery jackpot. But at 17, it is impossible for them to cash the ticket. This is the first problem in a long series, because hitting the jackpot at this age opens the door to an avalanche of problems. After all, can you be serious when you’re 17 – and especially when you’re 17 with 17 million?!
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (Sky Cinema Premiere, from Friday)
Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails reunite against a powerful new adversary, Shadow, a mysterious villain with powers unlike anything they have faced before. Team Sonic seek out an unlikely alliance in hopes of protecting the planet.
ON DEMAND
Stolen: Heist Of The Century (Netflix)
On 17 February 2003, detectives from Antwerp’s infamous ‘Diamond Squad’ investigated the brazen robbery of an allegedly impregnable vault in the middle of the City of Diamonds. It is estimated that between 100 million and half a billion dollars worth of diamonds were stolen – and have never been found – by an ingenious gang of Italian master jewel thieves, known as ‘The School of Turin’.
Platonic (Apple TV)
Season two picks up with best friends Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne contending with new midlife hurdles, including work, weddings and partners in crises. The duo try their best to be each other’s rock, but sometimes rocks only end up breaking things. The cast also includes Luke Macfarlane and Carla Gallo.
Wednesday (Netflix)
Wednesday Addams (Jenna Ortega), returns to prowl the Gothic halls of Nevermore Academy, where fresh foes and woes await. This season, which was filmed entirely in Ireland, Wednesday navigates family, friends and old adversaries, propelling her into another year of dark and kooky mayhem armed with her signature razor-sharp wit and deadpan charm.
My Oxford Year (Netflix)
This old fashioned love story has Anna (Sofia Carson), an ambitious young American woman, setting out for Oxford University to fulfil a childhood dream. But her normally well ordered life goes completely off the rails when she meets a charming local who profoundly alters both of their lives.
SPORTS CENTRE
Dublin Horseshow (RTÉ 2, Friday 8th, at 1.45pm)
Though it may not have quite the impact it had in times of yore, the Dublin Horse Show remains a big jump in the Irish sporting calendar. Ruby Walsh is joined by Gerry Mullins and Nicola Fitzgibbon for live coverage from the RDS, including the Nations Cup.