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

Fleadh 2023: Na Cúige

Sunday, TG4, 9.30pm

Mullingar is gearing up for the return of the Fleadh Cheoil, as musicians, singers and dancers descend on the Co Westmeath town for an eight-day festival of ceoil agus craic. Joe Dolan will be looking on approvingly – well, his statue at least – as the town is taken over once again by the hugeworld’s biggest festival of music, song and dance. Before it all kicks off, though, would-be All-Ireland musical champions will have to get through the four provincial finals, and Doireann Ní Ghlacáin and Peadar Ó Goill will be in Ballina, Dublin, Tralee and Dromore to cover all the musical action. Then it’s off to Mullingar for four consecutive nights’ coverage of the Fleadh itself, starting on Thursday at 9.30pm.

Doireann Ní Ghlacáin will be one of the Fleadh presenters. Photograph: Eamon Ward

Alone

Sunday, Channel 4, 9pm

Welcome to the jungle – well, the Canadian wilderness, actually, for the UK version of the hit international survival show. Eleven people, none of whom are Bear Grylls, are abandoned in different locations in the vastness of northwest Canada, and have to fend for themselves alone, without even a make-up assistant. They’ll have to use all their wit and native wisdom to survive – and avoid getting eaten by bears, wolves and other predators. This is a far cry from the cosy I’m a Celebrity camp – the competitors here will have to stay on their toes and keep their heads if they’re going to live through this and bag the ultimate prize: a hundred grand.

Australia in Colour

Monday, RTÉ2, 7pm

Aussie actor Hugo Weaving is the narrator of this four-part documentary from 2019 tracing the modern history of the country and showing how it grew to become the nation it is today. This is Australia as you’ve never seen it, with amazing footage from throughout the 20th century, all rendered in colour and bringing a social history of the country far from the cliched images of Down Under.

A Cotswolds Farm Shop

Monday, Channel 4, 8pm

At first glance, Gloucester Service Station looks like any other bog-standard garage off the motorway. But look closer and, alongside the usual petrol station essentials, there is a fully stocked farm shop whose shelves are stacked high with goodies from local farmers, food producers and artisan craftspeople. So you can fill up with petrol and then purchase a nice block of Gloucester cheese from Jonathan Crump’s farm, using the milk from his rare breed cows. In episode one, we meet the farm-shop buyer Alex, who visits Jonathan’s farm to try out his new flavoured cheese, and buyer Jane, who is off to Tom Oliver’s Herefordshire farm to try out his refreshing new perry drink, made from pears.

From Tuesday, August 8th, Disney+

Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez are back as cross-generational sleuthing team Charles, Oliver and Mabel in series three of Disney’s lockdown hit. The trio have little in common except that they live in the same apartment building and share a passion for true crime. They have a starry cast in tow for this series, including Meryl Streep and Paul Rudd as Broadway actors Loretta Durkin and Ben Glenroy. They are starring in Oliver’s new production, but when Ben’s burgeoning career is cut short by his death, it’s up to the others to unmask the backstage killer.

Ultimate Wedding Planner

Tuesday, BBC Two, 9pm

So, you’ve got the X Factor, you’ve got talent, and you’ve got the Voice. But can you plan an entire wedding and make sure your clients get hitched without a hitch? In this new reality TV series, eight aspiring wedding planners have just three days to organise the big day for six real-life couples. This is not a wedding rehearsal – this is the most important day of their lives, and judges Fred Sirieix, Sara Davies and Raj Somaiya will be watching the wedding plans closely as they unfold – or unravel. In episode one, the planners hope to get off to a flying start by transforming a giant Concorde hangar into a first-class wedding party venue.

Turas Réaltaí TG4 i bPeil na mBan

Wednesday, TG4, 9.30pm

Here’s a travel show with a difference: A trip to Austin, Texas in the company of the All Stars of women’s Gaelic football. The women of the LGFA were invited by local Austin club the Celtic Cowboys to see the sights and play an exhibition game with the Texan club’s finest players. The best players from different counties are handpicked for this prestigious outing, and the cameras follow the footballers as they get the full Texan hospitality and get to know their friendly rivals from across the pond.

Sally Wainwright: This Cultural Life

Wednesday, BBC Four, 10pm

What inspires the maker of such hit TV series as At Home with the Braithwaites, Last Tango in Halifax, Gentleman Jack and Happy Valley? Dramatist and director Sally Wainwright talks to John Wilson about the cultural milestones that have marked her journey from TV-obsessed teen to writing and directing award-winning shows. She delves into her early influences, such as 1980s detective series Juliet Bravo, and how she learned her craft writing for The Archers and Coronation Street.

Painkiller

From Thursday August 10th, Netflix

Matthew Broderick stars as the slick, cynical head of the pharma company at the centre of the opioid crisis in the US, in this explosive true-life drama. Richard Sackler was the head of Purdue Pharma, which developed the pain relief drug OxyContin and aggressively marketed it to Americans as the ultimate panacea. The fictionalised series tracks the rise of the billionaire Sackler family as they set about building their drug empire on the back of ordinary people’s pain – and the investigators who tried to hold them accountable.

Once Upon a Time in Northern Ireland

Thursday, RTÉ One, 10.10pm

Episode four in this landmark series takes us up to the late 1980s, when the violence in the North reached new levels of savagery. The escalation of tensions and terror is encapsulated in two shocking events that took place over two weeks in 1988. First, three people were killed when an IRA funeral was attacked by a lone loyalist wielding guns and grenades. Then, at another IRA funeral a few days later, two British soldiers who had driven into the funeral cortege were dragged out of their car and brutally murdered on the street. We see these events through the eyes of the ordinary people who witnessed them unfold.

Adam Hills: Grow Another Foot

Friday, Channel 4, 11.05pm

Comedy wasn’t the first choice of career for Adam Hills. He would have preferred to be an international rugby star, but one little thing prevented him from pursuing his dream: he was born with only one foot. Luckily the comedy alternative worked out well for him, but in this programme, Hills has a chance to live his rugby dream by taking part in the first-ever Physical Disability Rugby League World Cup. Finally, he can play his beloved sport at international level, but the Sydney-born star has a dilemma: should he wear the England shirt or the Wallabies’ green and gold?

Billions

Friday, Sky Atlantic & Now, 9pm

[ Damian Lewis: ‘We had a sadness in our family’ ]

It got overshadowed by Succession, but the moneyspinning drama series is still going, and it’s back for its final spending spree, as a toxic mix of power, money, greed and betrayal bubble over for one last explosive storyline. Paul Giamatti stars as dogged New York attorney general Chuck Rhoades, out to take down the wealthy criminals who think they can buy their way out of trouble. The big news is that Damian Lewis will return as Chuck’s old nemesis, hedge fund billionaire Bobby Axelrod. What can we expect from this final series? Whatever happens, it will all revolve around lovely money.