If you were to do your driving test again, would you pass?
TOP SPECIALS
The Random Driving Test (RTÉ 1, Thursday 17th, 7pm)
Comedian PJ Gallagher and former top driving tester Brian Harnett travel to different towns across Ireland asking motorists a simple question: If you were to do your driving test again, would you pass? Experienced drivers of all ages and backgrounds are put back behind the wheel to see if they can successfully re-pass the driving test in a light-hearted and fun competition with a €1,000 prize.
Hey Beautiful: Anatomy of a Romance Scam (BBC 2, Thursday 17th, 9pm)
A docu-series featuring three women duped by scammers who used pictures of the same good-looking man as bait and who ended up giving away thousands of dollars. The three women explain why their lonely lives and the need for companionship left them open to the worst kind of trickery. Their stories were global – Roxy in Connecticut, Annette in Ontario, Gaby in Frankfurt – and stand as a warning to others.
The Late Late Show (RTÉ 1, Friday 18th, 9.35pm)
It’s another sign that we’re leaving summer behind for the upcoming season of mists and mellow fruitfulness. Yes, Patrick Kielty is back in the hot seat of the world’s oldest talkshow for a new season of The Late Late Show. Live from RTÉ Studios on Friday nights, join Patrick for celebrity guests, a live studio audience, and the stories that have Ireland talking.
Saturday Night Live (Sky 1, Saturday 19th, 10pm)
The British incarnation of NBC’s legendary late-night showcase returns for its second series, and a new guest host takes the helm each week, putting their own distinctive stamps on the SNL formula, alongside a chart topping musical guest. Every episode is staged in front of a live studio audience and delivers an opening monologue, topical sketches, live music, and a UK twist on SNL’s iconic news satire.
WATCH OF THE WEEK
Culture Night Live 2026 (RTÉ 1, Friday 18th, 8pm)
Culture Night Live will bring viewers at home a vibrant mix of live performances from the historic St Canice’s Cathedral and Round Tower in Kilkenny, as well as celebrations in Killarney and events taking place nationwide.
Mick Flannery and Susan O’Neill will perform ‘The Rebel’ from Mick’s new album ‘The House Must Win’. Cork Mezzo soprano Niamh O’Sullivan will perform ‘Send In The Clowns’ accompanied by concert pianist Gary Beecher.
Actress and podcaster Norma Sheahan visits The Butter Museum in Cork to celebrate Irish food culture and heritage, and author Michael Harding will explore if Gulliver was a Cavan man, kicking off the county’s 300th anniversary celebrations of Gulliver’s Travels.
BEST FILMS
She Said (Film 4, Wednesday 16th, 11.10pm)
Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan star as New York Times reporters Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor, who broke one of the stories that helped propel the #Metoo movement to uncover decades of unreported sexual assault in Hollywood and which went on to alter American culture forever.
Terms Of Endearment (Sky Cinema Drama, Wednesday 16th, 12.25am)
A classic weepie with spirit best describes this tale involving widow Aurora Greenway (Shirley MacLaine) and her daughter, Emma (Debra Winger), who’s made a bad marriage to Flap Horton (Jeff Daniels) – a teacher with a roving eye. Matters get worse when Emma is diagnosed with terminal cancer, and her mother turns to former astronaut Garrett Breedlove (Jack Nicholson) for comfort.
Anzio (Film4, Friday 18th, 6.40pm)
This cracking WWII story tracks the important and costly assault on the Italian mainland and what happens to a group of Allied soldiers caught behind enemy lines, starring the tough guys of the time – Robert Mitchum, Peter Falk and Robert Ryan.
CLASSIC MOVIE
Sicario 2: Soldado (BBC 1, Wednesday 16th, 11.40pm)
FBI agent Matt Graver calls on mysterious operative Alejandro Gillick when Mexican drug cartels start to smuggle terrorists across the US border. Thing escalate when they kidnap the daughter of a criminal boss to deliberately increase the tensions. Josh Brolin and Benicio del Toro star in an all-action sequel thriller.
KIDS STUFF
Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 (Netflix)
Return to Hawkins with this new animated series set in the winter of 1985 as snow blankets the town and the horrors of the Upside Down are finally fading. Our heroes Eleven, Mike, Will, Dustin, Lucas, and Max have settled back in to a normal life of snowball fights, and quiet days. But beneath the ice, something terrifying has awakened. Could it be from the Upside Down?
Minerva Academy (Netflix)
Teen drama series set in a military high school in Naples, where students are woken up at dawn for the flag-raising ceremony, where mobile phones and civilian clothes are not allowed, and where subjects include military tactics and fencing lessons. It is a world where love stories are forbidden and every mistake means paying a high price.
ON DEMAND
Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story (Netflix)
This fourth instalment of Ryan Murphy’s Monster anthology is about one of US culture’s most iconic killers, the person who inspired a familiar rhyme starting: ‘Lizzie Borden took an axe / And gave her mother forty whacks.’ Ella Beatty (daughter of Warren and Annette Bening) plays Lizzie, accused but never convicted of the axe-murders of her father and stepmother in 1892.
Brothers (Apple TV)
Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson play fictionalised versions of themselves, but a lifelong friendship is thrown into chaos when they uncover a decades-old secret. When Woody takes his family to Austin for an extended stay at Matthew’s ranch, Ma Mc accidentally lets slip a long-buried secret that the two friends might actually be brothers. Cue chaos and fraternal confusion.
Neagley (Amazon Prime)
This spin-off from the established Reacher series is driven by the strongman’s no-nonsense former military police colleague Frances Neagley from their days serving as part of the 110 Special Investigators. In this first outing, the equally tough female embarks on a perilous mission to expose a sinister threat, risking her life to unravel the mystery.
SPORTS CENTRE
EFL Carabao Cup Live (Sky Sports, Wednesday 16th, 7.30pm)
Manchester United’s Carabao Cup campaign will begin at home to fellow Premier League outfit Brighton and Hove Albion in the third round. Fabian Hurzeler’s men are also entering the competition at the upcoming stage, as potential participants in the league phase of this season’s UEFA Conference League.