What's on? TV picks for Friday, Saturday and Sunday

Here's what's worth watching on the telly this weekend between now and Sunday night . . . and there's loads on offer!

Pick of the weekend

The Good Place, from Friday, Netflix

Oh fork! The hugely entertaining comedy about life, death and the afterlife returns for its fourth and final season, with episodes dropping in the traditional once-a-week fashion.

The cast is one of the show's great strengths, and once again Kristen Bell (as Eleanor Shellstrop), William Jackson Harper (as Chidi Anagonye), Jameela Jamil (as Tahani Al-Jamil), Manny Jacinto (as Jason Mendoza), D'Arcy Carden (as Janet) and Ted Danson (as Michael) are all back on board.

Most of the premiere is dedicated to dealing with the various incomplete plot threads left over from season three, and introducing the final two test subjects in the grand experiment to save humanity.

"It'll really hit the heartstrings," Jacinto told E! News. "In these later seasons we're kind of getting down to the emotions and really trying to get people invested in these characters and what they've gone through."

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New or Returning Shows

World on Fire, 9.00pm Sunday, BBC One

Sunday night. BBC One. Period drama. You just know this is going to be good.

This new series covers the first year of World War II, from ordinary life in Manchester to the beaches of Dunkirk, getting right under the skin and into the hearts and minds of those living their lives during this extraordinary time as they grapple with the unthinkable: a world in flames.

It's the summer of 1939 and translator Harry (Jonah Hauer-King) is working at the British Embassy in Warsaw, falling in love with Polish waitress Kasia (Zofia Wichłacz).

When German tanks roll into Poland and Britain declares war on Germany, Harry and Kasia are faced with terrible choices.

With her life in grave danger, the only way for Kasia to be safe is to escape. Can Harry help her - and if he does, how will he ever explain himself to factory worker and singer Lois Bennett (Julia Brown), the girl he left behind in Manchester?

As the Nazi threat spreads across Europe, Kasia must choose between love and fighting for her country, Harry must find his place in the world, and Lois seizes new opportunities the war throws up.

Oh, and by the by: how anyone can look at WWII and see 'the good old days' is clearly someone who's never seen the inside of a ration book.

Bodyguard, 9.00pm Friday, Virgin Media One

If you missed this cracking drama when it was first shown on BBC One, here's another chance that should not be missed.

Richard Madden is nothing less than magnificent as Sergeant David Budd, who serves as a Principal Protection Officer (PPO) in the Royal and Specialist Protection Command of London's Metropolitan Police (RaSP).

He's a troubled war veteran who gets assigned to protect Julia Montague (the always superb Keeley Hawes), a controversial British politician who may be the target of a terror plot.

This is real edge-of-the-seat stuff, written by Jed Mercurio, the brains behind Line of Duty.

Raised by the Village, 6.30pm Sunday, RTÉ One

This new series looks very promising and tells the story of two city families who need major help with parenting and are taking drastic steps to get it.

In a last-ditch attempt to rein in their rebellious kids, they’re each moving their troublesome teen to the heart of the countryside and, under the guidance of one of Ireland’s top child psychotherapists, Stella O’Malley, the problem pair will get a dose of teenage life Irish village-style.

But will the two teens learn to behave better when they’re part of a tight-knit community where the local adults keep a very close eye on what they get up to?

In the opening episode, Warren and Jordan head to Ballintubber in Roscommon for a week to see what life is like on a farm.

Box Office, 8.30pm Friday, Virgin Media Two

Lisa Cannon is back with film reviews, interviews and previews and all the latest news from Hollywood and beyond.

Lewis Capaldi Live, 11.25pm Friday, BBC One

This year’s breakthrough UK pop sensation Lewis Capaldi performs the biggest headline show of his career at Croxteth Park in Liverpool, entertaining a sell-out crowd of 12,500.

Black Music Legends of the 1980s, 8.00pm Friday, BBC Four

Janet Jackson: Talking Control is the first of four documentaries highlighting the impact four black American performers had on pop music in the 1980s.

It covers her career from US sitcom Diff'rent Strokes to a recording career that has seen her sell more than 65 million albums worldwide.

Janet discusses the difficulties she has faced in controlling her creative and personal life, including her troubled relationship with father Joe and her collaborations with influential R&B producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.

Joan Armatrading: My, Myself, I, 9.00pm Friday, BBC Four

Known for her reclusiveness and barriers, veteran singer/songwriter Joan Armatrading has for the first time granted access to her life and music.

In this film she recounts her story from Caribbean emigre to being one of the most revered songwriters of her generation.

Suzi Q, 9.00pm Saturday, Sky Arts & NOW TV

The definitive, unexpurgated story of Suzi Quatro, the girl from Detroit City who redefined the role and image of women in rock 'n’ roll when she broke out around the world in 1973.

The trailblazer and inspiration for a generation of female rock musicians who followed her, Suzi Q promises to remind contemporary audiences of her pioneering influence.

Marianne and Leonard: Words of Love, 9.00pm Saturday, BBC Two

Documentary film-maker Nick Broomfield charts the relationship between Leonard Cohen and his Norwegian muse Marianne Ihlen, who first met on the Greek island of Hydra in 1960.

The film follows their relationship from the early days on Hydra, a humble time of `free love' and open marriage, and reveals how their love evolved when Leonard became a successful musician.

Hotel Beau Séjour, 11.00pm Sunday, Channel 4

This Belgian supernatural drama centres on 19-year-old Kato Hoeven, who wakes up bruised and bloodied in Hotel Beau Sejour and sees her own dead body lying in the bath.

She flees and tries to get help, but no one seems able to see or hear her - although there are exceptions. Eventually, Kato's body is fished out of one of the town's flooded gravel pits.

She is dead, but somehow still among the living.

Stacey Dooley: Face to Face with the Arms Dealers, 11.00pm Sunday, BBC Two

Dooley meets a family of arms dealers in Arkansas who sell high-grade weapons to more than 100 countries.

She discovers how deals are made in this secretive business, which arms military forces, law enforcement agencies, private security companies and private individuals, and learns about the code of ethics governing the trade.

New to Download

The Doireann Project, RTÉ Player

Back for a second season, this comedy sketch series features Doireann Garrihy, who impersonates a host of Irish characters and celebrities.

The new run includes six episodes, with all available from Friday September 27, and sees Doireann raise the stakes as she takes on no fewer than 15 well-known characters, and taking part in 35 costume changes.

The Politician, from Friday, Netflix

Payton Hobart (Ben Platt), a wealthy student from Santa Barbara, California, has known since he was seven that he's going to be President of the United States.

But first he'll have to navigate the most treacherous political landscape of all: Saint Sebastian High School.

Ending this Weekend

Music Icons, 8.00pm Friday, Sky Arts & NOW TV

In this week's double-bill there's Patti Smith, dubbed the punk rock laureate, and Scottish rock group Simple Minds, whose 1985 hit Don’t You (Forget About Me) became a quintessential 1980s' anthem.

Inside the Vatican, 9.00pm Friday, BBC Two

The closing episode charts a time of change, as Pope Francis appoints 14 new cardinals and a sex abuse scandal erupts just as he embarks on a historic visit to Ireland.

Weekend movies

Ant-Man, 10.00pm Saturday, RTÉ Two

This is great fun, with Paul Rudd in the lead role as a thief attempting to go straight who gets recruited by a scientist who provides him with a suit that gives him the power to shrink.

He must use his new skills to help the inventor steal back his miniaturisation technology from a ruthless businessman who intends to turn it into a deadly weapon.

Blazing Saddles, 1.20am Saturday/Sunday, RTÉ One

Easily one of the greatest comedy films ever made, it's a running certainty Mel Brooks' Western spoof wouldn't be green-lighted these days as it's as un-PC as can be.

The plot revolves around a crooked railway tycoon whose men are terrorising a frontier town arranges for a black sheriff to be appointed, hoping the racist residents will reject him.

Brooks co-stars alongside Cleavon Little, Gene Wilder and Madeline Kahn.

Annie Hall, 10.35pm Saturday, BBC Two

Another of the greatest comedies ever made, this Woody Allen classic is quite the opposite of Blazing Saddles, but just as brilliant.

Allen plays a neurotic and self-obsessed New York Jewish comedian who looks back on his affair with a scatterbrained singer (Diane Keaton), from their first encounter to the seemingly inevitable breakdown of communication, and tries to work out what went wrong.

In the Shadow of the Moon, from Friday, Netflix

In 1988, Philadelphia police officer Thomas Lockhart (Boyd Holbrook), hungry to become a detective, begins tracking a serial killer who mysteriously resurfaces every nine years.

But when the killer's crimes begin to defy all scientific explanation, Locke's obsession with finding the truth threatens to destroy his career, his family, and possibly his sanity.

Hotel Mumbai, from Friday, Sky Cinema Premiere & NOW TV

Dev Patel, Armie Hammer and Jason Isaacs star in this Sky Cinema original based on a true story, available to watch on Sky Cinema at the same time as its release in cinemas.

On November 26, 2008 a wave of devastating terror attacks throughout Mumbai catapult the bustling Indian metropolis into chaos. In the heart of the city’s tourist district, Jihadi terrorists lay siege to the iconic Taj Palace Hotel.

Don't Miss

The Graham Norton Show, 10.35pm Friday, BBC One/10.30pm Saturday, Virgin Media One

Back for a 26th run, Graham Norton's celeb-tastic chat show opens with yet another impressive guest list.

Together on the sofa are Oscar-winner Helen Mirren, starring in new TV drama Catherine the Great; comedian and actor Jack Whitehall; author, adventurer and documentary-maker Simon Reeve; and RuPaul, who's bringing his hit show to the BBC in the shape of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK.

The musical guests are Danish popsters Alphabeat.

Here's the trailer for Catherine the Great:

Box Set Binge

Brexit: the Uncivil War, All4

Strictly speaking this isn't a box set, as it's a one-off, feature-length drama about a person who's pivotal in the whole Brexit shambles – current UK PM Boris Johnson's key advisor, Dominic Cummings.

But it's extremely topical.

Starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Cummings, it depicts the lead-up to the 2016 UK-wide referendum on EU membership through the activities of the strategists behind the Vote Leave campaign.

Back then, Cummings was the Campaign Director of the official designated Brexit-supporting group, Vote Leave, and is widely regarded as being the person whose tactics pushed the 'No' vote over the line.