Pick of the week
North Circular
Wednesday, RTÉ One, 9.35pm
If you could find one street that encapsulates the spirit of Dublin, which would you pick? Film-maker Luke McManus has chosen a place where the city’s history and present day collide, and this documentary takes us on a musical journey along the North Circular Road, from the Phoenix Park to Dublin Port, with performances from a host of folk musicians, including Lisa O’Neill, John Francis Flynn, Willa White, Seán Ó Tuama and Gemma Dunleavy. Along the way we’ll meet the people who live and work along this vital Dublin artery and get a glimpse into historic events that have taken place over the past century and more, and some of the modern struggles facing locals, including the campaign to save the Cobblestone pub, which has been home to trad music in north Dublin for decades but now faces demolition by developers. The film is shot in black-and-white and in 4:3 ratio, which adds to the timeless atmosphere: you’re never sure whether you’re watching footage from the 2020s or the 1920s.
Highlights
Cooking with the Stars
Sunday, UTV, 7pm
The celebrity cooking contest returns with a fresh batch of wannabe masterchefs, each one accompanied by a professional chef just to make sure they don’t completely make a dog’s dinner of their dishes. This year’s celebrities include reality TV star Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu, actor and comedian Hugh Dennis and media star Jack Osbourne, son of the late Prince of Darkness Ozzy Osbourne. Presenters Emma Willis and Tom Allen will be back to oversee the kitchen chaos. “I can’t wait for everyone to see what culinary delights (and disasters) our new batch of stars cook up,” says Willis. “The sheer nerve of these celebrities to step into our kitchen and attempt culinary greatness (or just, you know, edible food) is truly something to behold,” adds Allen.
Fleadh25
Sunday, TG4, 9.30pm
This year’s Fleadh Cheoil kicks off on Sunday in Wexford, with eight days of ceoil, rince agus craic in store for visitors to the southeastern town. Just to get you into the swing of things, presenters Doireann Ní Ghlacáin and Cathal Ó Curráin will be bringing coverage of the four provincial finals for the Fleadh, in Ballinasloe, Drogheda, Cork and Warrenpoint. The programme will showcase some of the country’s finest emerging talent as they compete for a place in the world’s biggest festival of Irish music.
Parenthood
Sunday, BBC One, 7.20pm
It isn’t easy being a parent in these days of social media and play-date politics. It’s no less challenging in the animal kingdom, where parents also have to guard their young against predators and navigate the complicated social mores and strict pecking order within their group. David Attenborough presents this new series exploring the world of animal parenthood, backed up by a crack team of wildlife film-makers, who spent 2½ years observing animals as they try to protect their young and equip them to survive in a dangerous world. The series will feature extraordinary animal behaviours that have never been seen before, and lift the lid on just how far parents will go to ensure their young have the best chances in life – and we’re not talking about pulling strings at PwC.
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Na Féilte Tine – Lúnasa
Monday, RTÉ One, 6.30pm
The series exploring Ireland’s ancient festivals began last October with Samhain, then continued with Imbolg in February and Bealtaine in May. Now it’s the turn of Lúnasa, the Celtic celebration of the harvest, to get the deep-dive treatment in this fourth and final episode, on the August bank holiday. Before the days when mobile phones ran our lives, people followed the rhythm of the natural world and the changing of the seasons. Producer Ciarán Ó Cofaigh wants to reconnect us to a more organic way of life, and this episode looks at how the original celebration of the sun god Lú has evolved into modern-day summer festivals such as Puck Fair in Killorglin, and how the spirit of Lúnasa can be found in contemporary music festivals such as Night & Day in Roscommon. The programme will also visit Eamhain Mhacha, the sacred hill of Ulster, where we’ll meet the scary-looking Armagh Rhymers, and drop in to the Irish Culture Retreat in Leitrim, run by Edwina Guckian, to get some insights in to the traditions of Lúnasa.
MasterChef
Wednesday, BBC One, 8pm
The long-running cookery contest has been in the news for all the wrong reasons, with the recent sacking of presenter Gregg Wallace over historical allegations of inappropriate behaviour on set, followed quickly by the sacking of his co-presenter John Torode over allegations of using racist remarks on set. The allegations came to light after this series was filmed, and the BBC faced a dilemma – should it scrap the series out of respect to complainants, or broadcast and be damned? The Beeb has opted for the latter, saying that the focus should be on the amateur contestants, for whom the competition is a life-changing journey.
“We believe that broadcasting this series is the right thing to do for these cooks who have given so much to the process.” The shows may be re-edited to give Wallace and Torode less prominence, but a former member of the MasterChef production staff said the decision was “profoundly disrespectful” to people who had filed complaints. Either way, it’s still bound to be an uncomfortable watch, even though it is all about the blameless contestants.
The Fortune Hotel
Wednesday, UTV, 9pm
Stephen Mangan is back to present a second series of the reality contest, where guests at an idyllic Caribbean resort have to outsmart each other to get their hands on a coveted suitcase containing a cool quarter of a million quid. You know the score: each pair of guests is given a mysterious suitcase on arrival at the hotel, but only one of them contains the cash. What follows is a tense and gripping game of cat and mouse, as suitcases are swapped, porkies are told, trust is betrayed and surprises are sprung. It’s been called a cross between The Traitors and The White Lotus – with lots of intrigue and deception going on behind the luxury facade, and contestants facing such fiendish challenges as the Night Cap, the Day Trip and Room Service.
Tradfest: The Fingal Sessions
Friday, RTÉ One, 8pm
Fiachna Ó Braonáin hosts this musical exploration in the grounds of Ardgillan Castle in Fingal, and this week the haunted castle will be visited by the ghosts of the bluesmen and women of the US deep south 100 years ago. This week’s session has a distinctly bluesy edge to it, with blues legend Eric Bibb dropping in to perform a few tunes. He’ll be joined by young Irish blues sensation Muireann Bradley, who impressed Jools Holland so much he invited her to perform in his annual New Year’s Eve hootenanny. Also dropping in to Ardgillan Castle is Grammy-winning Bronx fiddler Eileen Ivers.
Streaming
Wednesday
From August 6th, Netflix
From the moment Jenna Ortega did her awkward zombie/corpse/skeleton/whatever dance in the first series of Wednesday, Netflix had a hit on their hands, and fans are eagerly awaiting the second series – particularly Irish fans, as this series was filmed in Ireland. Tim Burton is in the director’s crypt once again, and Ortega returns as uber-moody Gen-Z’er Wednesday Addams, with Catherine Zeta-Jones and Luis Guzmán as her parents Morticia and Gomez Addams. Wednesday is starting another term in with her fellow outcasts in Nevermore Academy, and she faces a chilling new mystery to solve, and new threats to neutralise – including a serial killer who is under the delusion that Wednesday is his next victim. This year the school has a gung-ho new principal, Dort (Steve Buscemi), who’s on a mission to make Nevermore great again (Mnga?). Other star additions to the show include Joanna Lumley as Wednesday’s flamboyant, formidable grandmama Hester Frump, Billie Piper as Nevermore’s head of music Isadora Capri and Lady Gaga as the “mysterious and enigmatic” Rosaline Rotwood.
Platonic
From August 6th, Apple TV+
Will and Sylvia are made for each other – they’ve got the chemistry, the almost-psychic bond and an uncanny ability to spark mayhem whenever they meet up. No surprise to learn that they’re not actually a couple – although, to all intents and purposes, they may as well be. Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne return as the two best friends trying to navigate their way through one midlife crisis after another, and doing their best to support each other through relationship ups and downs, and numerous disasters at home, work, weddings and on the golf course. The series, co-written and directed by Nick Stoller and Francesca Delbanco, has been critically acclaimed, and series two promises to crank the chaos and non-marital conflict up to the next level.
