There's a documentary about the life of British billionaire Richard Branson, Simon Schama's History of Now continues, Anything Goes on BBC Four, and Robert Redford bows out in The Old Man & the Gun . . .
Pick of the Day
Branson, 9.00pm, Sky Documentaries
Streaming on NOW
What are these mega-wealthy heads like? Well, this HBO documentary aims to get inside the head of British billionaire Richard Branson.
Sixteen days before Branson is scheduled to make a potentially historic flight as the first passenger to reach space in his own spacecraft in July 2021, he sits down for a conversation with acclaimed filmmaker Chris Smith.
Smith ultimately takes viewers on an expansive and intimate 70-year journey, beginng with Branson’s upbringing as the son of a spirited, tough-love mother in Britain.
It then moves on to his pursuits of extreme, personal daredevilry that serve both to grow his businesses’ brands and feed his insatiable, lifelong thirst for high-stakes adventure.
With added insight from family members, business associates, and journalists, and illustrated by decades of archival and home video footage, the documentary reveals the ups and downs of a man driven by risk-taking in both his business and personal life.
After dropping out of school where he struggled with dyslexia, Branson began his career as a 15-year-old publisher of a student magazine and went on to become a millionaire by the age of 22 with the booming success of Virgin Records.
His launch of the airline Virgin Atlantic soon followed, along with a myriad of other Virgin branded businesses with varying levels of success, culminating in the launch of Virgin Galactic, his commercial spaceflight company in 2004.
Don’t Miss
Simon Schama's History of Now, 9.30pm, BBC Two
This week the historian Simon Schama (below) explores how artists and writers have led the fight for equality, generating empathy and mobilising resistance against injustice.
He recalls seeing American writer James Baldwin in a debate with William Buckley at the Cambridge Union in 1965, and also explores the story behind Nina Simone's song Mississippi Goddam, which was inspired by the murder of a civil rights activist.
This Cultural Life, 10.20pm, BBC Four
Comedian, actor and composer Tim Minchin (below), the songwriter behind Matilda the Musical, reveals his creative influences to John Wilson.
A multi-talented and outspoken individual, the English-born Australian has a varied background in the creative arts and this is well worth investigating.
New or Returning Shows
Anything Goes: The Musical, 8.00pm, BBC Four
Here’s a show overflowing with great songs that should put a smile on your face.
It’s a production of the classic Cole Porter musical comedy filmed at London's Barbican, featuring a cast led by Broadway star Sutton Foster reprising her Tony Award-winning performance as Reno Sweeney.
Alongside her are Robert Lindsay, Felicity Kendal and Gary Wilmot . A heart-warming romance, spectacular dance routines and some of theatre's most memorable songs.
The story – which is largely an excuse for some cracking tune - follows the SS American as it heads out to sea.
Etiquette and convention are quickly abandoned by many on board as two unlikely pairs are set on the course to true love.
New to Stream
Prancer: A Christmas Tale, Sky Cinema & NOW
James Cromwell stars in the latest installment of the popular Prancer family film franchise.
Ten-year-old Gloria and her recently widowed grandfather Bud befriend a mysterious reindeer when the family gather for Christmas.
Bud comes to believe that Prancer may actually be magical, but Gloria fears his theory will send him straight to a retirement home.
Sunday Cinema
The Old Man & the Gun, 9.30pm, RTÉ2
Fact-based crime drama, starring Robert Redford in his final role, Casey Affleck and Sissy Spacek. Well worth a look if you haven’t seen it before.
Redford plays Forrest Tucker, a criminal since the age of 15, has escaped from most of the prisons that tried to hold him.
At the end of his career, he has become a gentleman bank robber. However, cop John Hunt becomes determined to catch him.
Ocean's 8, 9.30pm, RTÉ One
Crime caper, starring Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway and Mindy Kaling in an extra-fluffy, female take on the frothy film franchiise.
Following in the footsteps of brother Danny, light-fingered Debbie Ocean plans to steal the Toussaint, a $150million necklace from Vogue's Met Gala, with the "help" of a famous actress.
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, 2.00pm, BBC Two
Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's superb satirical drama, starring Roger Livesey, Deborah Kerr, Anton Walbrook and John Laurie.
Powell and Pressburger's career in movies is often reduced to the wonderful A Matter of Life and Death, but many of their films are exceptional, including this one from 1943.
Livesey is great as Major-General Clive Wynne-Candy, a British Home Guard officer serving during World War II who’s outraged by the disrespect for tradition shown by younger soldiers.
In a series of flashbacks he recalls his military adventures during the Boer War and First World War, as well as his three great loves.
Family Flick
Deck the Halls, 4.45pm, Channel 4
Christmas comedy, starring Danny DeVito, Matthew Broderick, Kristin Davis and Kristin Chenoweth.
A man's proud status as the neighbourhood's king of Christmas comes under threat when a newcomer broadcasts his intention to decorate his house with so many lights that they will be visible from space.
Heading for all-out war, the pair resort to increasingly desperate measures to outdo each other.
World Cup Watch
FIFA World Cup Live, RTÉ2
Streaming on RTÉ Player
From 2.30pm Tony O’Donoghue presents live coverage of the Round of 16 meeting between France and Poland. The panel consists of Kenny Cunningham and Stephen Kelly, with commentary from Des Curran and Pat Fenlon. KO 3pm.
Then at 6.30pm Joanne Cantwell hosts live coverage as England face Senegal for a place in the quarter-finals. Richie Sadlier and Shay Given are on the panel while commentary comes from Darragh Maloney and Ronnie Whelan. KO 7pm.
Today’s highlights are at 11.10pm.
