Patrick Kielty and CMAT are on The Late Late Show, RuPaul and Benedict Cumberbatch call on Graham Norton, ends Death in Paradise and Vikings: Valhalla lands on Netflix . . .
Pick of the Day
The Late Late Show, 9.35pm, RTÉ One
With his first-ever starring role in new movie Ballywalter and a brand new stand-up tour, busy comedian Patrick Kielty (below) joins Ryan Tubridy for a chat.
Ryan will also be chatting to the team behind An Cailín Ciúin, the Irish language film that won at the Berlin Film Festival and got ten IFTA nominations.
Also, Theresa Haughey will share her experience as a foster mother who cared for more than 100 children over the past 20 years.
On the musical side of things, CMAT makes her Late Late debut with a song from her forthcoming album, while D Cullen is also back on the show to perform his current hit Radio.
Don’t Miss
The Graham Norton Show, 11.05pm, BBC One
Celebrated drag queen and recording artist RuPaul joins Graham (below) to chat about BBC Three show RuPaul's Drag Race UK vs the World.
Also, Benedict Cumberbatch talks about his Oscar-nominated performance in Jane Campion's The Power of the Dog, while former Normal People star Daisy Edgar-Jones discusses her latest role, in twisted thriller Fresh.
Star of comedy series Mandy, Diane Morgan, is also on the show. Plus, Regard x Years & Years perform their new single, Hallucination.
Friday Night Soccer, 7.30pm, RTÉ2
As one of the thousands of Shamrock Rovers fans who won’t make it to Foyleside tonight, I’m really looking forward to this.
Peter Collins presents live coverage of the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division encounter at Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium between Derry City’s new-look squad and the Hoops.
Stephen Bradley’s boys are aiming for a third consecutive title, while Ruaidhri Higgins’ Candystripes will be looking to build on their fourth-place finish in 2021.
Match analysis is provided by Alan Cawley and Stuart Byrne, commentary by John Kenny and Pat Morley, and reports from Tony O'Donoghue.
New or Returning Shows
Inside Culture with Mary Beard, 7.30pm, BBC Two
The cultural review show returns, hosted by Mary Beard (below), returns for a new run.
In this first edition, she explores how thousands of years of stories and images stereotyping women have shaped thinking, and what this means for women in positions of power today.
She’s joined in her quest by a group of glass-ceiling-smashing women who have operated at the highest levels of political power.
They include the former Prime Minister of Australia and the first Black woman to serve as a Minister in the British cabinet.
Plus, there’s an interview with US presidential candidate and former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.
New to Stream
Vikings: Valhalla, Netflix
Set 100 years after Vikings, tensions between the Vikings and the English royals reach a bloody breaking point and the Vikings themselves clash over their conflicting Christian and Pagan beliefs.
Leif Erikson, Freydís Eiríksdóttir and Harald Hardrada] begin an epic journey that will take them across oceans and through battlefields, from Kattegat to England and beyond, as they fight for survival and glory.
The series shows the end of the Viking Age, marked by the Battle of Stamford Bridge in 1066.
Blackout, All4
Here’s a tense Belgian thriller from the ever-reliable Walter Presents stable.
What so many people predicted on numerous occasions becomes a reality when the Belgian power grid suddenly collapses.
The nationwide blackout is the result of a sabotage of a reactor at the Westerdonk nuclear power plant. Who is behind it all? And why?
Meanwhile, the act of sabotage at a nuclear facility causes a national blackout. But if the Prime Minister restarts the power, her kidnapped daughter will die.
The Desperate Hour, Sky Cinema & NOW
Recently widowed mother Amy Carr (Naomi Watts) is doing her best to restore normality to the lives of her young daughter and teenage son in their small town.
As she's on a jog in the woods, she finds her town thrown into chaos as a shooting takes place at her son's school.
Miles away on foot in the dense forest, Amy desperately races against time to save her son in a pulse-pounding thriller that takes place in real time.
Wolf Like Me, Amazon Prime
Nestled in suburban Adelaide, South Australia, in the last place you’d ever expect anything crazy to happen, widower Gary (Josh Gad) lives with his 11-year-old daughter, Emma.
They’re both suffering from the loss of Emma’s mother and struggling to connect with one another.
One morning, Gary and Emma’s car is violently hit by a Jeep running a red light. Emma has a panic attack and is comforted by Mary (Isla Fisher) who - to Gary’s amazement - is able to calm Emma in a way he’s not able to.
As their connection deepens, Mary and Gary grow more and more terrified that their baggage will tear them apart, but if they keep following the signs, maybe they’ll find everything they’ve been searching for.
Tyler Perry's A Madea Homecoming, Netflix
Tyler Perry returns with the latest A Madea movie.
This one centres around Madea's great-grandson's college graduation, though the celebratory moment hits a halt as hidden secrets and family drama threaten to destroy the happy homecoming.
Of Irish interest, the film features a guest appearance by Brendan O'Carroll, who matches Madea's comedic prowess as Finglas mammy Agnes Brown.
Ending Today
Death in Paradise, 9.00pm, BBC One
The Caribbean-set detective drama, starring Ralf Little, Don Warrington and Tahj Miles, concludes for another year.
When a prestigious chess match ends in murder, the team members have to work out how and why the killing was carried out.
Meanwhile, the Commissioner is confronted with his past by the very last person he was expecting to see.
