Dancing with the Stars returns this Sunday

TV WEEK (Wednesday 7th to Tuesday 13th)

TOP SPECIALS

The Rainmaker (TG4, Wednesday 7th, 10.50pm

Legal drama based on the John Grisham novel, much of which was filmed in Ireland, this stars Milo Callaghan as hotshot young lawyer Rudy Baylor who is fired from his prestigious white-collar firm and forced to sign on with a dubious small firm based in a converted restaurant. His first case puts Rudy up against his former employer on a wrongful death case involving a man who died while undergoing hospital care.

The Tommy Tiernan Show (RTÉ 1, Saturday 10th, 9.35pm)

Tommy Tiernan is back with series 10 of his chat show where he goes face-to-face with guests totally unprepared and without prior knowledge of who is coming on the show. As ever, he delivers masterful and insightful conversations with whoever is seated in front of him.

Room To Improve (RTÉ 1, Sunday 11th, 9.30pm)

Architect Dermot Bannon is back, bringing his signature vision to a diverse range of properties, while quantity surveyor Claire Irwin keeps the numbers in check with tightly controlled budgets. With building costs on the rise, Dermot, Claire and the homeowners juggle growing pressures, tough choices, and the occasional headache, as they fight to keep their dreams on track. Series 17 follows four families as they transform a diverse mix of homes – from a 1990s semi-detached to an untouched bungalow, a spacious four-bed, and a compact ex-council terrace – on budgets of €200k to €350k.

On The Beat (RTÉ 1, Monday 12th, 9.35pm)

On The Beat goes behind the scenes with An Garda Síochána, and with unprecedented access delves into the massive challenges faced by the men and women of our police force across Ireland. Filmed over six months, the series goes behind the front desks, inside the control centres, on raids and on the beat with gardaí in Limerick, Monaghan and Waterford to capture the realities of policing urban and rural Ireland.

WATCH OF THE WEEK

Any Given Day: Cork University Hospital (RTÉ 1, Wednesday 7th, 9.35pm)

Six-part series following staff shifts and patient journeys across the hospital; together, they tell a bigger story of Cork University Hospital. On any given day 4000 staff come to work in one of Ireland’s busiest hospitals. On any given day staff care for some 800 inpatients, 800 outpatients and more than 240 emergencies. On any given day in CUH, hearts are broken and hearts are mended, lives are lost and lives are saved, and families find enormous strength in each other. The stories were captured on one single day – together they tell the bigger story of CUH on Any Given Day.

BEST FILMS

All the Devils Are Here (Sky Cinema Premiere, from Wednesday)

After a heist, four criminals lie low in a remote safe house, waiting for orders. As paranoia builds, one thing becomes clear – the real threat may not be outside, but among them. Taut thriller starring Eddie Marsan, Sam Claffin, Suki Waterhouse and Rory Kinnear.

Jackie (Sky Cinema Drama, Wednesday 7th, 6.10pm)

After her husband’s assassination, Jackie Kennedy is reeling with grief – yet, over the course of the following week she has to console their children, vacate the White House she painstakingly restored, and plan how history will define her husband’s legacy – and how she herself will be remembered. Natalie Portman is magnetic.

Shaun Of The Dead (ITV, Friday 9th, 10.45pm)

Shaun is a 30-something loser living in a small suburban flat with his slovenly buddy, Ed. His girlfriend Liz wants Shaun to grow up and be a man – which is exactly what happens when the entire town is taken over by zombies – and only Shaun can save the day. Simon Pegg and Dylan Moran star.

The Old Oak (BBC 2, Friday 9th, 11pm)

The Old Oak is the last pub standing in a once thriving mining village in northern England, a gathering space for a community that has fallen on hard times. The anger and resentment of the community are magnified when a group of Syrian refugees move in to the village, fuelled by deep prejudices in the divided locality. Legendary British director Ken Loach said it is his final film.

CLASSIC MOVIE

The English Patient (RTÉ 2, Friday 9th, 9.20pm)

The vast Sahara desert is the setting for a wartime love affair as a badly burned man, Laszlo de Almasy, is tended to by nurse Hana in an Italian monastery near the end of World War II. Charting his past through flashbacks of his work mapping the African landscape, he draws the lonely nurse into the tangled web of his life story. Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche star.

KIDS STUFF

Beast Games (Amazon Prime)

A hundred contestants compete in physical, mental and social challenges – a Strong v Smart battle – for a chance to win a $5 million cash prize. Contestants use their strength and wit to stay in the game, with the hope of being the multi-million-dollar winner.

New Wave (RTÉ Player)

Young Irish surfers chase national titles and a place on Team Ireland. With multiple age divisions and a tough qualification system, only the best will reach the Euros. When an unusually calm Atlantic stalls the competition season and surfers wait for waves, rivalries form, friendships deepen, and the pressure of qualification builds onshore.

ON DEMAND

Harlan Coben’s Run Away (Netflix)

Simon had the perfect life – until his daughter ran away to the city, strung out on drugs and living hand to mouth. When he tries to bring her home, Simon’s search takes him into a dangerous underworld, revealing deep secrets that could tear his family apart forever.

The Night Manager (Amazon Prime)

Nine years have passed since Jonathan Pine tricked Richard Roper in Egypt and sent him into the hands of his Syrian captors. Now, Roper is dead, and Pine has become Alex Goodwin, a low-level intelligence officer with MI6. All is well in his new life until Pine sees an old Roper mercenary in London – and his new secure life begins to unravel. Tom Hiddleston returns in a role he made famous in the first series.

People We Meet On Vacation (Netflix)

Poppy and Alex have been unlikely best friends for a decade, spending every summer holiday together. The careful balance of their friendship is put to the test when they begin to question what has been obvious to everyone else for ages – could they actually be the perfect romantic match?

SPORTS CENTRE

Dancing With The Stars (RTÉ 1, Sunday 11th, 6.30pm)

Okay, so it’s not, strictly speaking, a sports show – but it does include many sporting personalities moving their bodies in a dynamically athletic manner to brighten up our dreary January evenings. Twelve well-known figures team up with professional dancers to perform live routines every week – dancing a different genre from the Charleston to Salsa – and with just seven days to perfect their routines before performing live before the nation. The expert panel include new head judge Oti Mabuse, Brian Redmond, Arthur Gourounlian and Karen Byrne.