What's on? TV picks for the weekend

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

Ireland's Fittest Family, 6.30pm Sunday, RTÉ One

You pretty much can't get more mainstream, Sunday evening viewing than this.

Mairead Ronan returns to host and join coaches Anna Geary, Davy Fitzgerald, Donncha O’Callaghan and Derval O’Rourke as they put some of Ireland's fittest family teams through their paces.

The competition begins with 15 families who will be put through extreme endurance challenges in locations around the country, from steep sand dunes to airports to Irish bogs and the sheer gradient of Kilternan’s 180 metre Ski slope.

Once again all roads lead to Croker where the final will take place and the four surviving families will battle it out to be crowned Ireland’s Fittest Family 2019.

New or Returning Shows

Seven Worlds, One Planet, 6.15pm Sunday, BBC One

Millions of years ago incredible forces ripped apart the Earth’s crust, creating seven extraordinary continents. Here, David Attenborough will reveal how each distinct continent has shaped the unique animal life found there.

Episode one takes in Antarctica - the coldest, windiest, most hostile continent, where only the toughest can survive.

From Weddell seals that grind back the ice with their teeth, to colourful starfish carpeting the seabed beneath the ice; huge colonies of king penguins crowd any ice-free land, and four-tonne elephant seals fight for territory on the beach.

Life comes here because the ocean that surrounds the continent is incredibly rich. Thousands of penguins, seals, albatross, and over a hundred great whales feast on krill baitballs. However, the ocean here is warming - and with that comes an uncertain future.

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Westwood: Punk - Icon - Activist, 9.00pm Saturday, BBC Two

With exclusive access to the behind-the-scenes workings of one of Britain’s most iconic fashion houses and an unprecedented cast of real life characters, this is the story of the grand dame of punk and the enfant terrible of British fashion.

A self-proclaimed daydreamer, Vivienne Westwood came from humble beginnings in the north of England, arriving in London at 17 in the midst of the swinging 60s.

Her life changed course dramatically when she met future Sex Pistols Manager and impresario Malcolm McLaren and their Kings Road shop launched punk, and revolutionised popular culture.

Over the next 40 years Westwood persevered through failed relationships, personal vendettas, the mockery of the press, and financial hardship, to endure as a cultural icon and global fashion phenomenon.

Harry Hill's Clubnite, 11.05pm Friday, Channel 4

Harry Hill (below) returns with a brand-new late-night series which promises a combination of controlled chaos and his favourite funny people on the planet.

He'll introduce his favourite acts on the comedy circuit alongside sketches, games, music and all the madness you'd expect from a Harry Hill experience!

Joining Harry in the first episode are Bridget Christie, Spencer Jones, Rosie Jones, EGG and Anna Mann.

Rudeboy: The Story of Trojan Records, 9.00pm Saturday, Sky Arts & NOW TV

This documentary explores the origins and ongoing love affair between Jamaican and British Youth culture.

Combining archive footage, freshly shot interviews and drama, it tells the story of Trojan Records by placing it at the heart of a cultural revolution that unfolded in the council estates and shanty towns of the late 60’s and 70’s.

K-Pop Idols: Inside the Hit Factory, 9.30pm Friday, BBC Four

The K-Pop phenomenon is shaking up the pop world. For the first time ever, there is a serious challenge to the West’s domination of the global music industry.

Leading the way is the biggest boy band in the world, BTS. But how has this happened?

Music Journalist James Ballardie travels to South Korea to uncover the secrets behind this worldwide success story.

For Sama, 9.00pm Saturday, Channel 4

Here's an epic and intimate journey into the experience of conflict through the eyes of a young mother, Waad al-Kateab. It's from PBS, so it's going to be good.

Filming through five years of the uprising in Aleppo in Syria, Waad tells her story of how she falls in love, gets married and eventually gives birth to Sama.

Gogglebox: Celebrity Special for Su2c, 9.00pm Friday, Channel 4

Some very famous faces join Channel 4's opinionated viewers in a special episode of Gogglebox for this year's Stand Up To Cancer.

It's followed at 10pm by The Last Leg Su2c Special. Adam Hills, Josh Widdicombe and Alex Brooker will be joined live in the studio by comedian and actress Kathy Burke and comedian and TV star Harry Hill.

Here are the Dyers from last year - with strong language from the start:

It's Grime Up North, 10.00pm Sunday, Channel 4

This funny, light-hearted documentary series charts the rise of an unlikely internet sensation in the north of England seaside town of Blackpool.

Josh, AKA Little T, who found fame aged just 11 when his first shocking video made him an overnight sensation.

Now he wants to move away from the explicit lyrics, with the help of his doting mum Donna and managers Sam and Ash.

New to Download

The Kominsky Method: Season 2, from Friday, Netflix

Michael Douglas (Kominsky) and Alan Arkin (Newlander) continue their journey as two friends tackling life’s inevitable curveballs as they navigate their later years in Los Angeles, a city that, above all else, values youth.

This season, Sandy meets and bonds with his daughter’s new boyfriend (guest star Paul Reiser) who is uncomfortably close to Sandy’s age. Meanwhile, Norman reconnects with an old flame from his youth (guest star Jane Seymour) and after fifty years, they decide to start again.

Halloween, from Friday, Sky Cinema Premiere and NOW TV

Forty years after the genre-defining 1978 original, Jamie Lee Curtis returns to the role that launched her career, confronting the masked ghoul that has haunted her ever since she narrowly escaped his Halloween killing spree.

Boy Erased, from Sunday, Sky Cinema Premiere & NOW TV

Joel Edgerton writes, directs and stars in a powerful drama following a young man’s struggles when forced to undergo gay conversion therapy.

Jared (Lucas Hedges) is the son of a Baptist pastor, who finds himself outed to his parents (Nicole Kidman and Russell Crowe) and given an ultimatum of wither attending a conversion therapy program or be cast out by his family, friends and faith.

Monzon, from Friday, Netflix

This series explores the criminal investigations of Argentine boxing champion Carlos Monzón, who in 1989 was found guilty of the violent murder of his wife Alicia Muñiz.

Prank Encounters, from Friday, Netflix

Monstrous frights meet funny reveals as real people land in their own horror movie. Gaten Matarazzo (Stranger Things) hosts the hidden-camera show.

Dolemite Is My Name, from Friday, Netflix

Academy Award nominee and Golden Globe winner Eddie Murphy portrays real-life legend Rudy Ray Moore, a comedy and rap pioneer who proved naysayers wrong when his hilarious, obscene, kung-fu-fighting alter ego, Dolemite, became a 1970s Blaxploitation phenomenon.

It Takes a Lunatic, from Friday, Netflix

An intimate portrait of Wynn Handman, a teacher who impacted generations of actors and directors, including Denzel Washington, Christopher Walken, Connie Britton, John Leguizamo, Aasif Mandvi, Alec Baldwin, Burt Reynolds, Joanne Woodward and many more.

Ending this Weekend

The Live Lounge with Stormzy, 7.30pm Friday, BBC Four

This run of the show where various artists play live at the BBC Radio 1 studios comes to an end with Stormzy performing several songs, including this cover of Beyoncé’s Brown Skin Girl:

Weekend movies

Good Night and Good Luck, 10.45pm Saturday, TG4

Fact-based drama charting broadcast journalist Edward R Murrow's decision to take a stand against Senator Joseph McCarthy in the 1950s.

He questioned the bullying tactics and the climate of fear and reprisal behind the politician's anti-communist campaign and the House Un-American Activities Committee.

Starring David Strathairn and George Clooney, who also directed, alongside Frank Langella, Robert Downey Jr and Patricia Clarkson.

The Fault in Our Stars, 10.30pm Friday, RTÉ 2

This romantic drama based on the bestselling novel by John Green stars Shailene Woodley, Ansel Elgort, Laura Dern and Willem Dafoe.

Indianapolis teenager Hazel has terminal thyroid cancer and attends a patients' support group, where she meets fellow teen Gus, who lost a leg to the disease.

The two fall in love and a shared passion for books leads them on a literary pilgrimage to Amsterdam in search of reclusive author Peter van Houten.

Laura, 12.30pm Saturday, BBC Two

Here's a classic slice of Noir from 1944, starring Gene Tierney, Dana Andrews, Clifton Webb and Vincent Price, and directed by Otto Preminger.

A woman presumed murdered turns up alive and well, confounding the suspicions of the New York detective working on the case, who thought the killer could have been one of her many socialite friends.

Meanwhile, he finds himself irresistibly drawn to her as he tries to establish the victim's real identity.

Don't Miss

Pose, 10.20pm Friday, BBC Two

Already renewed for a third run, here's a double bill season two opener of Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Steven Canals' hugely enjoyable drama about the New York ballroom scene in the 1980s.

Sensing that the ballroom scene is on the verge of breaking into the mainstream, Blanca encourages her House of Evangelista children to follow their dreams.

Angel pursues her ambition of becoming a fashion model. Meanwhile, Pray Tell joins an activist organization fighting for the rights of HIV positive people.

In episode two, Blanca launches a business venture with her life's savings. But being a transgender businesswoman of colour, and from a poor background, means that the odds are stacked heavily against her.

Box Set Binge

Silicon Valley, Sky Box Sets

With season 6 starting on Monday night on Sky Atlantic, it's an ideal weekend to binge on the show's five previous seasons.

Set in the tech start-up Hollywood that is Silicon Valley, this is the terrifyingly realistic tale of a bunch of tech-wannabes and the horrendous people who control an industry awash with money.

Season one is particularly hilarious as it features the late Christopher Evan Welch as tech investor Peter Gregory, a bizarre blend of Apple guru Steve Jobs and Beach Boy Brian Wilson.