There's a busking special Late Late Show, Viola Davis stars in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, there's Micky Flanagan: Peeping Behind the Curtain, a Simply Nigella: Christmas Special, and The Story of A Fairytale of New York . . .
Pick of the Day
The Late Late Show, 9.35pm, RTÉ One
The Late Late Show is rounding-off an unprecedented year with a whopper of a show in support of the Simon Community.
Ten years ago, Glen Hansard first took to Grafton Street with an ensemble of well-known musician friends to raise money for Ireland's homeless, a tradition that he has kept going since.
This year, the traditional Christmas Eve busk cannot take place in Dublin city centre, but The Late Late Show will bring the magic of that Grafton Street evening directly into viewer's homes.
U2's Bono and The Edge will join Hansard on the show as well as Hozier, Danny O'Reilly, Roisin O, Declan O'Rourke and Kodaline's Steve Garrigan.
Imelda May will join from London for a very special performance of On Raglan Road, with John Sheahan, Finbar Furey, Lisa O'Neill, Hansard and Shane MacGowan joining in from The Late Late Show studio.
Don't Miss
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, Netflix
Tensions and temperatures rise over the course of a recording session in 1920s’ Chicago as a band of musicians await the legendary "Mother of the Blues," Ma Rainey (Viola Davis).
Late to the session, the fearless, fiery Ma engages in a battle of wills with her white manager and producer over control of her music.
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As the band waits in the studio's rehearsal room, ambitious trumpeter Levee (Chadwick Boseman, in his final role) spurs his fellow musicians into an eruption of stories, revealing truths that will change their lives.
The Graham Norton Show, 11.15pm, BBC One
Among this week’s guests are George Clooney (below), talking about his new sci-fi movie The Midnight Sky, Michael Sheen and David Tennant on the second season of Staged, while Viola Davis talks about new drama Ma Rainey's Black Bottom.
Also: Vanessa Kirby reflects on starring in the searing domestic drama Pieces of a Woman while Michael Ball and Alfie Boe take to the stage to perform Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.
New or Returning Shows
Micky Flanagan: Peeping Behind the Curtain, 9.00pm, Sky One & NOW TV
An extraordinary backstage pass to Micky Flanagan’s An Another Fing tour, the sell-out 02 stadium run that became the world’s biggest comedy tour.
Unlike anything else you’ve ever seen him in, this is an intimate and honest feature-length doc that reveals how Micky went from performing in East End pubs to creating a stadium tour that saw him performing to more people than Beyoncé and Take That.
New to Stream
The Grand Tour presents: A Massive Hunt, Amazon Prime
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Following their perilous watery escapades in the Mekong, the intrepid trio find themselves back on four wheels for their latest adventure on the exotic islands of Reunion and Madagascar.
Armed with three sports cars, Richard, James and Jeremy believe they are in for a cushy road trip as they arrive in Reunion and race on the world’s most expensive piece of tarmac.
But a bizarre challenge from Mr Wilman propels them across the ocean to Madagascar, where they tackle the toughest road in the world, in order to complete one of their toughest quests to date.
Sonic the Hedgehog, Sky Cinema & NOW TV
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Finding a new home on Earth, super-fast hedgehog Sonic settles in – until he accidentally knocks out a power grid and attracts the attention of manic scientist Dr Robotnik (Jim Carrey).
Can new friend Tom (James Marden) help him stop the evil genius’ plot for world domination?
On Pointe, Disney+
This is a six-part docu-series that captures a season in the School of American Ballet (SAB) in New York City.
Featuring unprecedented access to the famous ballet institution, the series follows the lives of students pursuing their dreams to become ballet dancers.
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Christmas
The Story of A Fairytale of New York, 10.00pm, BBC Four
A very welcome repeat, Richard E Grant narrates a look at the making of the Pogues and Kirsty MacColl's classic bittersweet love song.
The group return to the studio where the song was recorded, while director Peter Dougherty and actor Matt Dillon discuss the making of the video - which resulted in a brush with the law. With contributions from Jools Holland, Nick Cave and producer Steve Lillywhite.
Neven's Waterford Christmas 2019, 8.00pm, RTÉ One
The first of two programmes in which Neven Maguire goes in search of the best food in county Waterford, and also shares his own festive recipes, beginning with tips on glazing ham.
Simply Nigella: Christmas Special, 7.00pm, BBC Two
Nigella Lawson shares her foolproof guide to stress-free festive cooking and entertaining, featuring a selection of celebratory dishes that are both indulgent and practical.
She prepares a slow-cooked black treacle ham to replace the traditional turkey as the party centrepiece, paired with a potato and pepper bake and a sweet and sour vegetable slaw.
Here's a yummy baked ham from a previous Christmas special:
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