John Byrne's essential telly for the coming week includes new dramas Smalltown, Victoria and HBO's The Night of, the return of The X Factor, and a documentary series looking at Ireland's health service. Oh, and The Late Late's back too.
Saturday August 27th
The X Factor, TV3
It's the 13th season of this monster of a talent show. Dermot O'Leary is back on board as presenter, while our own Louis Walsh - and Sharon Osbourne - return to the judges' panel. Simon Cowell and Nicole Scherzinger make up the rest of the team.
Everyone knows the drill at this stage, so let's just get on with it, eh? Besides, the real fun begins when Strictly returns next week and the two shows get on with their UK ratings war.
Casualty, BBC One
The Beeb's long-running and much-loved medical drama for people who stay in on Saturday nights reaches a landmark 30th anniversary and this ambitious one-hour special promises to be quite an eventful one.
The show returns to last season's finale where Steph had her revenge on Connie, forcing her off the edge of a cliff after a frantic car chase. Connie and Grace's lives hang in the balance as the car lies at the bottom of the ravine.
Back at the hospital, the team plan a surprise party to celebrate Charlie’s 30th anniversary. When news of Connie’s accident reaches the hospital party, preparations are put on hold and it’s all hands on deck. Again.
The trailer looks great!
Sunday August 28th
Are You Being Served? BBC One
The Beeb are celebrating 60 years of TV comedy with a series of one-off revivals, starting with the innuendo-laden Are You Being Served?
The show follows the misadventures of the staff of a retail floor of a fictional London department store called Grace Brothers, and featured character such as Molly Sugden's Mrs Slocombe, who never tired of talking about her pussy.
Porridge is served afterwards, and the fun continues on Friday with Goodnight Sweetheart and Young Hyacinth, a prequel to Keeping Up Appearances.
Victoria, UTV Ireland
Former Doctor Who star Jenna Coleman resurfaces as the legendary monarch who ruled the British Empire at its height. Victoria's image is that of a dour oul wan, but she came to power at the tender age of 18, when she could still manage the odd smile.
When the teenage Victoria becomes Queen, her mother the Duchess of Kent and her advisor, Conroy, circle around the young monarch, itching to seize power for themselves. Hating Conroy and exasperated by her mother's dependence on him, Victoria shuns them both.
Monday August 29th
Keeping Ireland Alive - The Health Service in a Day, RTÉ One
This new series goes behind the scenes of Ireland's health service to look at the human stories behind the statistics and headlines. It should be illuminating.
In the first episode, the cameras visit Dublin's Beaumont Hospital, where consultant neurosurgeon Mr David O’Brien prepares to carry out a major surgery to remove a tumour from the spine of bus driver Brendan Flanagan.
Meanwhile, at the maternity unit of University Hospital Kerry, midwife Joanne Malik is helping Shauna Corcoran as she goes into labour with her second baby.
Down in Limerick, today is the 70th consecutive day in ICU for 43-year-old Micheál O’Flynn from Ballingarry, Co Limerick, after he developed complications from swine flu.
Tuesday August 30th
New York: America's Busiest City, BBC Two
Presenters Ade Adepitan, Anita Rani, Ant Anstead and Dan Snow are given the ultimate access-all-areas pass to three of New York's most iconic public spaces, revealing the astonishing daily systems that allow the Big Apple to function.
First up is the magnificent Grand Central Terminal, taking a look at behind-the-scenes operations responsible for keeping the world’s biggest railway terminal running to schedule. To get there, the three presenters join 5.5 million commuters on the iconic Staten Island ferry, the subway, the suburban railroad and citibikes.
Thursday September 1st
The Night of, Sky Atlantic
It’s the HBO crime drama that has swept US critics away and is easy-peasy the show of the week.
Nasir ‘Naz’ Khan (Riz Ahmed) seems like any other New York college student. He’s a quiet, unassuming young man who shows promise in his business studies class and tutors other students in his own time. An American-born son of Pakistani immigrants, he embodies the American Dream.
All of this changes over the course of one night, when a spontaneous run of events leave him as the sole suspect in a murder trial.
With only a scruffy, shifty and streetwise defence lawyer, Jack Stone (John Turturro) for support, Naz is left on his own to survive a maximum-security prison as the slow wheels of justice begin to turn.
For the voracious viewer, all episodes are available on Sky Box Sets from Thursday.
Smalltown, TV3
This looks the business as acclaimed Irish filmmaker Gerard Barrett takes to the small screen for a slice of rural Irish life that tells a familiar story of emigration and finding your way back home.
Pat Shortt heads a talented young cast, which includes Charlie Kelly as the central character. Conor is a young man who heads for a new life London, but finds himself back home to spend time with his mother, who has cancer.
Friday September 2nd
Narcos, Netflix
Season two of this extremely watchable (I nearly wrote addictive!) action drama about infamous drug baron Pablo Escobar sees the hunt for the notorious criminal intensify.
The show's gone through a few showrunners since Chris Brancato moved on after the first season, and that's never a good sign. Still, that first run was pretty spectacular so you'd have to give this sophomore season a chance as it heads into Escobar's final years.
The Late Late Show, RTÉ One
Ryan Turbridy is back for another season at the helm of this evergreen of Irish TV. Don't expect any dramatric departure but, as Tubs told the RTÉ Guide: "Every year you get a new presenter . . . It's the same guy but changes and age is the big thing.
"There was a time when I was younger than most of the guests," he added. "Now I'm the older lemon to some of them."
If it ain't broke etc. Here are Bridget and Eamon interrupting Ryan during last season's run:
Box Set of the week
Criminal Minds, Sky Box Sets from Thursday
Still going strong despite several defections and sackings amongst a cast that has featured the likes of current Homeland star Mandy Patinkin and the recently departed Thomas Gibson, here are the first ten seasons of this hugely popular procedural.
Each episode follows an elite team of FBI profilers who analyse America’s most twisted criminal minds and anticipate their next moves before they can strike again. Formulaic but fun.
John Byrne
