Saturday, 24 September 2022 | 8.1°C Dublin
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Y our day-by-day guide to all the best shows and films you don’t want to miss
Kenneth Branagh as Boris Johnson in 'This England'
The Last Black Man in San Francisco
Neven’s Portuguese Food Trails
Lost Home Movies of Nazi Germany
Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story
Eat The Rich: GameStop Saga
Claudia Winkleman attends Sky's Up Next event
Paul Whitington and Sheena McGinley
Pick of the week This England, Wednesday, Sky Atlantic, 9pm
W hen Boris Johnson finally left Downing Street a few weeks ago, he found time to make a grandiloquent parting speech in which he cited the many achievements of his brief but eventful premiership. An alien arrived fresh from another planet might wonder, ‘Who is this God-like ruler, this prince among men?’ But those Britons who endured his reign might feel rather differently.
Posterity will arrive at its own, rather less sunny assessment of Johnson’s time in office, and first out of the blocks is this Michael Winterbottom dramatisation of perhaps the most crucial period in Johnson’s time as PM — Covid’s arrival, and the first lockdown.
Kenneth Branagh, buried beneath thick folds of prosthetics, is uncannily good as the embattled Tory leader, who misses no opportunity to strike Churchillian poses, but presided over a calamitous response to the crisis that was most keenly felt in poorer areas and care homes.
In This England, Simon Paisley Day plays Dominic Cummings, the Iago of the piece, who was sacrificed on the altar of Covid rules but would later get his own back. Downing Street parties, dodgy contracts... it would all come out in the end, but Johnson swaggered into the sunset insisting he’d be back. Let’s hope not.
Condemned in the court of public opinion before it was ever released, Cats was a truly ghastly adaptation of an inexplicably popular Andrew Lloyd Webber stage show. But was also oddly watchable, and Francesca Hayward is very good as Victoria, a domestic pet who must fend for herself when abandoned on the streets of London. Rebel Wilson plays Jennyanydots, a lazy indoor cat with an unexpected passion for training mouse choirs, James Corden gives it socks playing Bustopher Jones, a rather grand Mayfair cat who dines from the bins of exclusive gentlemen’s clubs, and a well-cast Ian McKellen sings a delightfully wistful song as the ageing ham, Gus the Theatre Cat.
SATURDAY Strictly Come Dancing BBC1, 6.45pm Autumn is here, and so is Strictly, and tonight the celebrity contestants take to the dance floor in the first live show, which is presented by Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly, with Shirley Ballas leading the judges.
Film Unsane RTÉ One, 12.40am Steven Soderbergh’s clever thriller stars Claire Foy as a woman who finds herself committed against her will to a mental asylum after accidentally signing a consent form. With Amy Irving.
UEFA Nations League RTÉ2, 7pm Stephen Kenny’s Republic of Ireland face Scotland at Hampden Park in Group B1 of the Nations League, with a 7.45pm kick-off.
SUNDAY Frozen Planet II BBC1, 8pm The mountains of Japan are among the snowiest on Earth, and provide a hostile environment for a lone male Macaque who’s been cast out of his troop. David Attenborough presents.
The Last Black Man in San Francisco
Film The Last Black Man in San Francisco BBC2, 10.55pm Intriguing drama starring Jimmie Fails as an African-American man who becomes obsessed with reclaiming the downtown Victorian home in which he was raised.
Keys to My Life RTÉ One, 8.30pm Former Liverpool and Republic of Ireland star Ronnie Whelan takes Brendan Courtney on a tour of the places that hold special memories for him, including his first flat in Liverpool, and the nightclub where he met his wife.
MONDAY International Football Channel 4, 7pm As the first ever winter World Cup looms, England face perennial contenders Germany at Wembley in a Nations League A3 fixture. Joe Cole, Eniola Aluko and Thomas Hitzlsperger set the scene, and kick-off is at 7.45pm.
Film The Finest Hours BBC2, 11.15pm When an oil tanker splits in two off Cape Cod during a terrible Atlantic storm, lone coastguard Bernie Webber sets out to attempt a rescue. With Chris Pine, Casey Affleck, Ben Foster and Holliday Grainger.
Lost Home Movies of Nazi Germany
Lost Home Movies of Nazi Germany BBC4, 9pm Home movies found in the attics of thousands of German homes offer fascinating insights into how ordinary people saw and recorded the regime.
TUESDAY The Great British Bake Off Channel 4, 8pm On bread week, the bakers face challenges including a classic pizza, a perfect pastry in the technical challenge, and for the showstopper, a complex Danish sandwich cake called the smorgastarta. Even saying it sounds difficult.
Film Bridge of Spies Film Four, 7pm Steven Spielberg’s drama is based on a true story and stars Tom Hanks as a 1950s Manhattan lawyer who’s not best pleased when asked to defend a suspected Soviet spy. With Mark Rylance.
Storyville BBC4, 9pm Documentary following pop star and activist Aryana Sayeed as she mentors young female singers for the TV show Afghan Star, which has only ever been won by men. But midway through the competition, the Taliban take over.
Neven’s Portuguese Food Trails
WEDNESDAY Neven’s Portuguese Food Trails RTÉ One, 8.30pm After meeting celebrated chef Hugo Freitas Araújo at his Solar dos Presuntos restaurant in Lisbon, Neven heads north to the city of Aveiro to watch seafood being carefully hand-processed and canned.
Film Harriet BBC1, 11.40pm Drama set in 1840s Carolina and based on the true story of Harriet Tubman, who escaped from slavery and returned to the South on numerous occasions to stage daring raids. Cynthia Erivo stars.
A Handmaid’s Tale RTÉ2, 10.35pm While the widowed Serena Waterford tries to make her mark in Toronto, Jane struggles to find a new purpose as she faces the consequences of having killed Commander Waterford. With Elisabeth Moss.
THURSDAY Cheap Irish Homes RTÉ One, 7pm Colin and Lisa are hoping to leave the Dublin suburb of Beaumont for a new life in the countryside, preferably in Co Cavan. Can Kieran McCarthy and Maggie Molloy help?
Film The Hurt Locker BBC4, 9pm During the second Iraq War, US Army bomb disposal expert William James becomes so addicted to the thrill of his work that he seems to have a death wish. Thriller, with Jeremy Renner and Ralph Fiennes.
Taskmaster Channel 4, 9pm Greg Davies and Alex Horne set more silly tasks for celebrity guests John Kearns, Sarah Millican, Fern Brady, Munya Chawawa and Dara Ó Briain.
FRIDAY URC Live RTÉ2, 7pm Ulster host Leinster at Kingspan Park in round two of the United Rugby Championship. Kick-off at 7.35pm.
Film Erin Brockovich RTÉ2, 9.50pm Drama based on a true story and starring Julia Roberts as Brockovich, a Californian single mother who exposed a water contamination scandal involving a national power supplier. With Albert Finney.
The Graham Norton Show BBC1, 10.40pm Peerless host Graham Norton welcomes the great and good of Hollywood to his sofa in a new series of his award-winning chat show.
Sheena McGinley’s stream of the week
Blonde, Netflix, Streaming now It’s the one everyone’s been waiting for. The Marilyn Monroe biopic to outshine every other depiction of her since her untimely death in 1962. Based on the bestselling novel by Joyce Carol Oates, Blonde boldly reimagines the life of one of Hollywood’s most enduring icons — from her volatile and unsettled childhood as Norma Jeane, through her rise to stardom, which was often overshadowed by romantic entanglements. This atmospheric offering blurs the lines of fact and fiction (all but necessary considering the sheer number of question marks hovering over her death) to explore the widening split between her public and private selves. Written and directed by Andrew Dominik, the film is led by Ana de Armas (Knives Out) and features Bobby Cannavale (The Station Agent), Adrien Brody (The Pianist), and Julianne Nicholson (August: Osage County).
Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story
Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story Netflix, streaming now Between 1978 and 1991, Jeffrey Dahmer took the lives of 17 victims. Starring Evan Peters in the titular role, Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story exposes Dahmer’s unconscionable crimes. Centred around the underserved victims, their communities impacted by the systemic racism, and institutional failures of the police that allowed one of America’s most notorious serial killers to continue his murderous spree in plain sight. For more than a decade…
Sidney AppleTV+, streaming now This documentary charts the rise of Bahamian actor Sidney Poitier who went on to be the first black man to win an Oscar. Told through his own words, and that of prominent African-American luminaries such as Oprah and Morgan Freeman, Sidney depicts a person with a true sense of self — despite the efforts of 1960s America.
Eat The Rich: GameStop Saga
Eat The Rich: GameStop Saga Netflix, Wednesday With exclusive access to key members of Reddit’s WallStreetBets community who fuelled the short burn movement, alongside everyday people who hitched their wagon to the GameStop train, this docuseries offers a humorous look at the unlikely cast of characters who brought about the latest shift in how the world’s money behaves.
The Old Man Disney+, Wednesday Based on the bestselling novel of the same name by Thomas Perry, The Old Man centres on Dan Chase (wonderfully portrayed by Jeff ‘The Dude’ Bridges), who absconded from the CIA decades ago and has been living off the grid since. When an assassin arrives and tries to take Chase out, the old operative learns that — in order to ensure his future — he now must reconcile his past.
A Jazzman’s Blues Netflix, streaming now Written, directed, and produced by Academy Award honoree Tyler Perry, this tale of forbidden love stars Joshua Boone and Solea Pfeiffer as star-crossed lovers Bayou and Leanne. The film unfurls four decades of secrets, lies, and deep-seated bigotry, all set to a soundtrack of juke joint blues.
Too Hot to Handle: Brazil Netflix, Wednesday Just when you thought things couldn’t get hotter, they only sent the Too Hot To Handle producers to Brazil. This time around, men and women come together in a tropical paradise for an unforgettable vacation — boasting a twist that we all know about at this point… no physical contact of any kind. With every slip, the prize money goes down. It remains to be seen if the serial singletons will be able to form deeper emotional connections in the absence of hanky panky.
Jungle Amazon Prime, Friday Viewed through the prism of UK rap/drill music, I’ll have more info on this much-anticipated release in next week’s column.
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