If 'The Thursday Murder Club' is half a good as Richard Osman’s best seller, it will be huge
TV WEEK (Wednesday 27th to Tuesday 2nd)
TOP SPECIALS
Emerald Nightingales – Irish Nurses In The NHS (RTÉ 1, Wednesday 27th, 10.35pm)
The powerful and long-overlooked story of a vital pillar of the NHS: the Irish migrant nurses who helped shape its early decades. During World War II Irish trained and trainee nurses were exempt from war time restrictions on Irish immigration, and with the launch of the NHS in 1948, recruitment campaigns throughout the 1950s and the 1960s sent NHS staff travelling across Ireland, often setting up in local hotels, in big cities and remote rural areas, to interview and recruit Irish teenagers for nursing training.
Atomic (Sky Atlantic, Thursday 28th, 9pm)
When the path of free-spirited drug smuggler Max collides with the enigmatic fugitive JJ, an unlikely friendship is swept into a chaotic, high-stakes mission – trafficking highly enriched uranium across North Africa and the Middle East, with the CIA, MI6, and a global web of opposing forces closing in fast. Leading the CIA is relentless officer Cassie Elliott – forcing the pair on a wild road trip, confronting covert operatives and deadly cartels.
Ridley (Virgin Media One, Friday 29th, 9pm)
Adrian Dunbar plays Ridley, a retired detective inspector now a co-owner of a jazz club and who returns to police work as a consultant after losing his wife and daughter in a fire. He is brought in by his former protégé, DI Carol Farman, to help with a complex murder case. This second series may not be up there with Line Of Duty, but it’s worth a look.
Peacemaker (Sky Max, Friday 29th, 10pm)
A Man Is Only As Good as His Bird gets season two under way following Christopher ‘Chris’ Smith, aka Peacemaker, the vigilante superhero as he struggles to reconcile his past with his newfound sense of purpose while continuing to kick righteous evil-doer butt in his misguided quest for peace at any cost.
Disaster at Sea: The Piper Alpha Story (BBC 2, Monday 1st, 9pm)
On July 6, 1988, a series of explosions destroyed the Piper Alpha oil platform – 167 men were killed, only 61 survived. It remains the worst offshore disaster. In minute-by-minute detail, this series tells the story of how the disaster unfolded and the search for truth. Britain in the 1970s was struggling with industrial decline and mass unemployment, but when the first oil came flowing from the North Sea, it brought hope. At the heart of the boom is Piper Alpha.
WATCH OF THE WEEK
The Traitors Ireland (RTÉ 1, Sunday 31st, 9.30pm)
Siobhan McSweeney leaves Derry Girls far behind to host this global phenomenon of guile, treachery and stylish skulduggery in a world where shadows stir in the dark, loyalty is fragile and suspicion is inevitable. Filmed on the banks of the Boyne at Slane Castle, this spine-tingling new adaptation of the international success brings suspicion, strategy and sabotage to Irish soil.
BEST FILMS
Downton Abbey: A New Era (RTÉ 1, Friday 29th, 9.35pm)
The much-anticipated cinematic return of the global phenomenon reunites the Downton clan as they go on a grand journey to the South of France to uncover the mystery of the Dowager Countess’s newly inherited villa. Expect stunning locations, period costumes and Maggie Smith’s acid tongue at full flow.
The Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim (Sky Cinema Premiere, from Friday)
Set 183 years before the events chronicled in the original trilogy of films, this tells the fate of the House of Helm Hammerhand, the legendary King of Rohan, who, with his fearless daughter Hera, leads his people to make a daring last stand in the ancient stronghold of the Hornburg – a mighty fortress that will later come to be known as Helm’s Deep.
The Prosecutor (Sky Cinema Premiere, from Sunday)
Inspired by an actual legal case in Hong Kong, this follows the story of a man who falsely pleads guilty to drug trafficking after being framed. Despite the confession, the veteran policeman-turned-prosecutor handling the case is convinced of the man’s innocence and pursues his own investigation, risking both his career and his life to bring the real perpetrator to justice.
CLASSIC MOVIE
Brooklyn (RTÉ 1, Saturday 30th, 9.25pm)
Colm Tobin’s much loved novel is adapted for the big screen with Saoirse Ronan as young Irish immigrant Eilis Lace, who navigates her way through 1950s America, where her early homesickness is quickly forgotten as a Brooklyn romance sweeps her into a New World love affair. As time passes, Eilis has to choose between the past and the future.
KIDS STUFF
Emerald (Sky Kids, Monday 1st, 4.25pm)
Emerald’s life changes from being a regular mermaid living with her father and his girlfriend above their restaurant, to inheriting a princess step-sister, and becoming a princess herself when her mother marries the Sea King! Navigating this new world, living between two homes and being part of a blended family are all new to Emerald, but luckily Theodore the Sea Unicorn and Shelly the Sea Turtle are there to help her.
Dr Seuss – Red Fish, Blue Fish (Netflix)
This classic Dr Seuss adventure was first published more than 60 years ago, and is still a bestseller today. An hilarious exploration of opposites, colours, numbers and nonsense, it is the perfect gift for children of any age, as Dr Seuss paints a crazy world of singing Yings, boxing Goxes and seven-hump Wumps.
ON DEMAND
The Thursday Murder Club (Netflix)
Based on Richard Osman’s international bestselling novel, this follows four retirees – Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Ben Kingsley and Celia Imrie – who spend their time solving cold case murders for fun. When an unexplained death occurs on their own doorstep, their casual sleuthing takes a thrilling turn as they find themselves with a real whodunit on their hands. If it’s half a good as the book, this will be huge.
Are You My First? (Disney+)
This new dating show featuring 21 virgins looking for love includes a tour guide and stand-up comedian from Austin, Texas, a dance teacher from Los Angeles, a web developer from Provo, Utah, a cocktail waitress from Tampa, Florida, and Miss New Orleans USA, and an NFL cheerleader from New Orleans.
The Twisted Tale Of Amanda Knox (Disney+)
A drama series inspired by actual events exploring how media and the court of public opinion collided around a case that captured the world’s attention. It offers a dramatised look at the wrongful conviction of Amanda Knox for the tragic murder of Meredith Kercher and the relentless media storm that followed. The project presents a layered, character-driven study alongside broader commentary on public perception and the rush to judgment.
SPORTS CENTRE
US Open Tennis (Sky Sports, all week, various times)
Has the new order finally taken over in tennis now that Rafa and Federer have retired – or will Alcaraz still have to cope with wily Djok, who is still intent on amassing enough Grand Slams to become the game’s greatest? In the hothouse of New York, anything can happen.