TV guide: 12 of the best shows to watch this week, beginning tonight

Wild Isles

Sunday, BBC One, 7pm

David Attenborough has travelled over land, sea, jungle and desert to make incredible, award-winning wildlife programmes, but in this new series, Attenborough is closer to home, exploring the diverse wildlife and landscapes of the British Isles. The series will take him around Britain and Ireland to explore woodlands, grasslands, rivers, lakes, coasts and even those mythical sunny uplands, as he demonstrates how these isles are crucial to the survival of several species and provide haven for many migrating birds.

Academy Awards

Sunday, Sky, midnight

It’s Oscars time again, and all we want to know is: will The Banshees of Inisherin spirit away the best film award, and will An Cailín Ciúin make a big noise in Hollywood? The ceremony comes from the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, and sees Colin Farrell battle with Paul Mescal in the best actor category, and Brendan Gleeson up against Barry Keoghan for the best supporting actor gong. Last year’s ceremony was dominated by host Chris Rock getting slapped in the face by Will Smith. This year’s host is Jimmy Kimmel, who says he’s been dieting for the occasion because “I don’t want to show up looking like Cocaine Bear”.

Paula

Monday, Channel 4, 9pm

Who was the real Paula Yates? This two-part documentary looks at the life and times of Yates, who led a new generation of TV presenters in the 1980s, and became a target of the tabloids when she left her husband Bob Geldof for INXS singer Michael Hutchence. The documentary will draw on two never-before-heard interviews made in the two years before her death in 2000, in which she talks candidly about her life and the difficulties of dealing with the constant scrutiny of the media.

Brian & Arthur’s Very Modern Family

Monday, RTÉ One, 9.35pm

What happens when Dancing with the Stars judge Arthur Gourounlian and his husband, TV and radio presenter Brian Dowling, decide to have a baby? This documentary follows the couple shopping for baby clothes, choosing the nursery decor and planning the baby shower as they prepare for the new arrival to their family, baby Blake. The couple have asked Brian’s younger sister Aoife to be their surrogate, but while Brian might be the one posing in the maternity gear holding his newborn, it’s Aoife who has had to go through most of the pain and emotional strain of pregnancy, including carpal tunnel syndrome and a Caesarean.

Tuesday, BBC One, 9pm

In advance of Comic Relief 2023, starting on BBC One on Friday at 7pm, Emma Willis, Oti Mabuse and Rylan Clark take on a daunting fundraising challenge: reaching the summit of the majestic Cairn Gorm mountain in Scotland. The telly trio will be risking more than a red nose as they endure freezing arctic conditions, treacherous terrain and head-spinning heights – all in the name of raising money for to help vulnerable people in the UK and around the world.

The Holy Land and Us: Our Untold Stories

Tuesday, BBC Two, 9pm

Actor and writer Sarah Agha and author and broadcaster Rob Rinder make a personal journey into their very different family histories, exploring how past events in Palestine and Israel have shaped their lives today. Agha’s Palestinian family were displaced following the founding of the state of Israel; Rinder’s Jewish family experienced the horrors of the Holocaust. In this special documentary, Agha and Rinder focus on the human stories from the Middle East conflict, and try to gain a greater understanding of the deep divisions which have become embedded in the region.

Ted Lasso

Wednesday, Apple TV +

Jason Sudeikis has turned Ted Lasso into one of TV’s most iconic characters – up there with Walter White and Don Draper – and he’s back for a third season as the hapless American football coach taking on the task of leading an ailing English soccer squad out of the relegation zone. Season three sees AFC Richmond facing up to some heavy losses, but Lasso has a solution: write the word “believe” on a piece of paper and stick it up in the dressingroom. That oughta do it. Meanwhile, Nate (Nick Mohammed) is not settling in to his new coaching role at West Ham. There are hints that this could be the final whistle for Ted Lasso, but don’t bet on it.

Christine McGuinness: Unmasking My Autism

Wednesday, BBC One, 9pm

When the model and former wife of TV presenter Paddy McGuinness learned she had autism, it changed her whole perspective, and in this one-off documentary, she explores how autism has affected her life up to now, and meets other women who spent years dealing with undiagnosed autism. For McGuinness, her autism diagnosis explained many things about her past, including her troubled childhood growing up in Liverpool and her struggles with self-image and eating disorders. She also learns how autism can present differently in women, and how little research has been done into women with autism.

A Town Called Malice

Thursday, Sky Max and Now, 9pm

This crime thriller series is set in Spain’s Costa del Sol in the 1980s, and on the menu is sun, sea, sex, shooting, stabbing, strangling, all to a classic synth-pop and hair metal soundtrack. The Lord family are prominent south London gangsters, but business has gone a bit pear-shaped and, following a gangland war, Gene Lord and his fiancee Cindy flee to the Costa del Sol to try to reinvent themselves with help from Gene’s uncle Tony. Jason Flemyng, Jack Rowan, Tahirah Sharif, Martha Plimpton and Dougray Scott are among the cast.

RTÉ Choice Music Prize

Thursday, RTÉ2, 10.30pm

Ireland’s annual music biz beano took place in Vicar Street on March 9th, so if you were there, you’ll know who won what and who went home empty-handed. All the highlights of the event will be covered in this special programme, including the big one, Album of the Year, with the likes of CMAT, Fontaines DC, The Mary Wallopers, Aoife Nessa Frances and Dermot Kennedy in the mix. There will also be prizes in three new categories, Irish Artist of the Year, Irish Breakthrough Artist and Classic Irish Album, along with some choice live music performances from shortlisted acts.

David Letterman in Dublin with the Edge and Bono of U2 for their Disney+ special

Bono & The Edge: A Sort of Homecoming with David Letterman

Friday, March 17th, Disney+

To celebrate St Patrick’s Day, Bono and the Edge, from U2, invite the beardy TV presenter David Letterman on his first visit to their hometown of Dublin for a bit of ceol and craic, but no paddywhackery, in this Disney special made by the award-winning director Morgan Neville. Who better than the Youies to show Letterman a good time in the capital? The pair will be taking their guest through the making of Songs of Surrender, their new LP of reworked U2 classics, and it will all end in a musical lock-in featuring Glen Hansard, Imelda May, Dermot Kennedy, Loah, Saint Sister, Markéta Irglová and, from Fontaines DC, Grian Chatten.

The Late Late Show St Patrick’s Day Special

Friday, RTÉ One, 9.35pm

RTÉ has plenty of Paddy’s Day coverage lined up, beginning with the St Patrick’s Day Parade (RTÉ One, 12.15pm), with presenters Dáithí Ó Sé, Sarah McInerney, Emer O’Neill and Thomas Crosse. If you’re still vertical after the day’s revelry, Ryan Tubridy has a full-on chatfest in store for the day that’s in it, and we’re sure he’ll be wearing the green jumper for a night of singing, storytelling and surprises as the world goes completely Irish-mad. His star guest is none other than the man with the very particular set of skills, Liam Neeson, who has something of his own to celebrate: he’s just made his 100th film.