If you're going no further than the sofa, here are some tips on what's worth watching on the box over the weekend. As ever, it’s a busy one . . .
Pick of the weekend
The X Factor Final, 7.05pm Saturday and 7.15pm Sunday, TV3
This year’s X Factor comes to a close over the weekend with the series Live Final.
Each of the remaining contestants is just one step away from winning a potentially life-changing record contract and being crowned 2017’s X Factor winner at this year’s decider.
The final contestants will perform over the weekend in front of the judges and a live audience in the hope of impressing viewers at home who will be voting for their 2017 champion.
Also over the final weekend, an outstanding line-up of guest stars will perform.
Here's who made it:
New or Returning Shows
Babylon Berlin, 9.00pm Sunday, Sky Atlantic
Season two of this impressive, visually stunning German period drama set in the decadent world of pre-WW2 Berlin begins.
Inspector Rath has concluded the mission that brought him to Berlin, but he has become seduced by the city’s dark and unrestrained side, and has decided he will not be returning to his home in Cologne.
But he’s made some powerful enemies in the criminal world, and is a target to those who wish to control him through clandestine methods. With his unorthodox but effective partnership with Lotte terminated, he's friendless and alone in an increasingly dangerous city.
Would You Believe: Life for a Life, 10.30pm Sunday, RTÉ One
Could you ever imagine forgiving the murderer of your child and grandchild? Agnes Furey did just that.
In the process, she not only gave the killer his life back, but rediscovered her own sense of purpose.
Ending this weekend
Howards End, 9.00pm Sunday, BBC One
It’s the fourth and final episode of this BBC adaptation of the EM Forster novel, starring Hayley Atwell and Mathew Macfayden.
Refusing to punish Henry for his past transgressions, Margaret resolves to uphold their engagement.
Helen leaves for Europe with no explanation for her absence, only agreeing to return to London on hearing that Aunt Juley has fallen seriously ill.
Desperate to reconnect with their sister, Margaret and Tibby appeal to Henry who suggests a plan to resolve the issue at Howards End - where the Schlegels, the Wilcoxes and Bast have a final encounter.
Robot Wars, 8.00pm Sunday, BBC Two
The Grand Final begins with the biggest battle in Robot Wars history, the Ten Robot Rumble!
All second and third place robots from the heats will be given one last chance to battle it out in a ten-way, no time limit, last robot standing, fight to the death - with the winner securing the Wildcard and last spot in the Grand Final.
Here's a flavour:
Gregory Porter’s Popular Voices, 10.00pm Friday, BBC Four
In this final episode, Porter examines how early 20th century blues growlers like Bessie Smith paved the way for the rhyme and flow of hip-hop; how truth became a quest of rock’n’roll’s greatest poets, from Woody Guthrie and Gil Scott-Heron to Lou Reed and Suzanne Vega; and why great popular voices (rather than singers) including Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen and Kurt Cobain don’t have to be technically perfect to resonate so deeply.
The Late Toy Show Unwrapped, 7.00pm Friday, RTÉ One
With the main event on later, here’s the third and final episode of this year’s Unwrapped, as Late Late Toy Show superfans David Rawle and Ian O’Reilly take viewers on one last exclusive access all areas journey behind the scenes.
New to Download
Voyeur, from Friday, Netflix
Netflix is releasing another intriguing true-crime documentary - with this one promising to be as controversial as the genre gets.
And it also looks like being one of its creepiest.
Voyeur tells the story of Gerald Foos, a Colorado motel owner who allegedly spent decades spying on his guests using an elaborate system of specially designed vents.
Foos himself is interviewed extensively and the results are both fascinating and disturbing.
Dark, from Friday, Netflix
The disappearance of two young children in a German town brings light to the fractured relationships, double lives and past of four families living there.
The big question is not who has kidnapped the children . . . but when.
Coming on the back of Babylon Berlin, it would seem that German TV is on the up.
Don't Miss
Nathan Goes to Nashville, 9.30pm Sunday, RTÉ One
This is a repeat, but it’s really, really good – and you don’t have to be a Nathan Carter fan to enjoy it.
The Scouse singer goes on the trip of a lifetime to Nashville, Tennessee, immersing himself in the city’s vibrant scene and finding out why country music means so much to so many people.
Chat Show Line-ups
The Graham Norton Show, 11.05pm Friday, BBC One & 10.15pm Saturday, TV3
Graham’s sofa stars are veteran singer/songwriter Elton John, actor and TV presenter Stephen Fry, Oscar nominee Carey Mulligan and pop star Robbie Williams. Music from Pink.
The Ray D’Arcy Show, 9.55pm Saturday, RTÉ One
TBC
Weekend movies
Ted, 9.00pm Sunday, E4
Mark Wahlberg and Mila Kunis star in Seth MacFarlane's irreverent and vulgar comedy-drama about the relationship between a man, a woman and the man's toy bear.
The young John Bennett had such an unpleasant and lonely childhood that he wished his soft toy, Teddy, would come alive and be his friend.
And to everyone's surprise it did.
Now, Bennett (Wahlberg) is a directionless slacker in his 30s and still inseparable from Ted.
Also . . .
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, 8.00pm Saturday, Channel 4
Judi Dench, Bill Nighy and Maggie Smith are among the ensemble cast of this gentle comedy-drama from Shakespeare in Love director John Madden.
A group of ageing Brits seduced by the prospect of spending their retirement in low-cost luxury at a plush Indian hotel they've seen in a brochure.
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, 9.00pm Sunday, Channel 4
Tom Cruise stars as secret agent Ethan Hunt in the fourth instalment of the spectacular action-thriller franchise.
After the Kremlin is destroyed, seemingly by the Impossible Missions Force, the US government puts the Ghost Protocol into play, denying all knowledge of the IMF and cutting all ties with their agents.
Box Set Binge
Black-ish: Season 1, from Friday, Sky Box Sets
This Golden Globe Award-wining comedy stars Anthony Anderson as Andre ‘Dre’ Johnson, a successful family man who worries that his four children are losing touch with their heritage because of their upbringing.
As a result, Dre and his wife Rainbow (Tracee Ellis Ross) try to teach their children about various aspects of black culture, but in trying to balance individuality and cultural identity they encounter a number of bumps in the road.
Co-stars Lawrence Fishburne as Earl ‘Pops’ Johnson, Dre’s father.
