Slow Horses returns for a new run, RTÉ Investigates looks at Forced Fashion, David Tennant and Toby Jones star in The Hack, there's Sneaker Wars: Adidas v Puma and the final episode of The Donald Trump Show . . .
Pick of the Day
Slow Horses, Apple TV+
The superb espionage drama following a dysfunctional team of British intelligence agents in a dumping ground department of MI5 known affectionately as Slough House, returns.
This fifth season will adapt Mick Herron's fifth novel, London Rules.
The six-parter opens with everyone getting suspicious when resident tech nerd Roddy Ho has a glamorous new girlfriend - but when a series of increasingly bizarre events occur across the city, it falls to the Slow Horses to work out how everything is connected.
After all, disheveled Slough House leader Jackson Lamb (played by the peerless Gary Oldman) knows that in the world of espionage, the London Rules - cover your back - always apply.
The ensemble cast also includes Kristin Scott Thomas, Jack Lowden, Saskia Reeves, Rosalind Eleazar, Christopher Chung, Aimee-Ffion Edwards, Ruth Bradley, James Callis, Tom Brooke and Jonathan Pryce.
New or Returning Shows
RTÉ Investigates: Forced Fashion, 9.35pm, RTÉ One and RTÉ Player
This special dives into Ireland's clothing supply chains and finds that some of Ireland's largest retailers are exposed to forced labour cotton.
Joe Galvin follows the threads back to China's Xinjiang province, where people in a forced labour regime pick and process cotton that may be used to make many of the clothes sold in Ireland.
When horrifying reports of severe human rights violations and forced labour in China’s cotton heartland first emerged, clothing retailers vowed to halt sourcing from the region.
Evidence that China has built a system of state repression, targeting a minority known as the Uyghurs in Xinjiang, has led many countries to boycott Xinjiang cotton and it is banned by the US.
But it’s not illegal to import forced labour cotton into the EU.
Major Irish retailers say their cotton is not from the Xinjiang region, but can they be sure?
RTÉ Investigates examines if shoppers can really be confident about the origin of cotton used in clothes sold in Ireland.
Through extensive research and painstaking investigation reporter Joe Galvin reveals that cotton from Xinjiang, picked and processed by a repressed minority called the Uyghurs, may still be found in Irish shops.
The Hack, 9.00pm, UTV
Art imitates life here as David Tennant – himself a victim of phone tapping – stars alongside Toby Jones in this new drama.
Investigative journalist Nick Davies receives an anonymous tip-off regarding Rupert Murdoch's News of the World.
Following the trail, he discovers damning evidence that proves phone hacking at the paper was not the work of 'one rogue reporter' - as has been claimed for years - but was endemic.
Nick and his long-time editor and friend Alan Rusbridger decide to risk their careers and their newspaper to go up against one of the most powerful media organisations in the world.
The Shadow Scholars: Fake Essay Scandal, 10.00pm, Channel 4
Oxford academic Professor Patricia Kingori delves into the multibillion-dollar fake-essay industry.
This is a world in which thousands of educated but under-employed Kenyans are working in essay mills, providing work for Western students to submit as their own.
These 'shadow scholars' help cheating students in countries such as the UK secure degrees and launch careers, all without doing the work themselves.
Hustle: Romesh Ranganathan Live at the O2, 9.00pm, Sky Max
Streaming on NOW
Here’s a travelogue series following Romesh Ranganathan (below, without his customary beard) as he takes his debut arena tour, Hustle, and brings it into a real-world, hopefully funny, documentary series.
Featuring exclusive material from his latest tour, he heads out on a hilarious eye-opening mission across the world, exploring the different cultures and approaches to getting that work-life balance to a tee.
After sharing his take on life to 250,000 people, Romesh decides to finally fact-check his tour. Can Romesh prove any of his theories, or even better, figure out the key to modern life?
The series opens as Romesh takes to the stage at London's O2 arena, where he shares his latest thoughts on life, family, the art of self-improvement and the world’s 'hustle’ culture.
The Ibiza Final Boss: Haircuts and Hangovers, 12.05am, Channel 4
Jack Kay's life changed overnight when a video of him dancing in Ibiza was shared on TikTok.
This documentary reveals how he is building on his new-found fame and asks whether he can turn one short clip into a million-pound career.
Cracking the Case, 10.00pm, BBC Two
This series opens with a murder investigation which was sparked by the discovery of a human torso dumped at a Salford beauty spot.
More body parts and DNA were uncovered at six other locations in Greater Manchester.
A journalist, a forensic psychiatrist and a former police detective delve into the details of the case, determining how the crime was committed, explaining what police work was involved and evaluating what it takes for someone to commit such a serious crime.
New to Stream
Sneaker Wars: Adidas v Puma, Disney+
With exclusive access to two of the biggest brands in the world, this documentary offers an unprecedented look into the fierce, decades-long rivalry between two global sportswear giants, born from a family feud.
Brothers Adi and Rudi Dassler founded Adidas and Puma, turning their personal conflict into a battle for dominance in the athletic world.
Featuring top athletes, ‘sneakerhead’ experts, and brand insiders including David Beckham, Usain Bolt, Neymar and more, the series charts the origins of the Dassler split, as well as their much-loved merchandise.
Hotel Costiera, Prime Video
This six-part drama stars Jesse Williams as Daniel De Luca, a half Italian former US marine who returns to Italy, the land of his childhood, as a fixer in one of the world’s most luxurious hotels.
It's located on the spectacular coastline of Positano, so this is going to at least look great.
In addition to dealing with the hotel's wealthy guests’ problems, Daniel is also on the trail of Alice, one of the owner's daughters who disappeared a month earlier.
Daniel must do everything he can to bring her home, but facing those who kidnapped the girl will be more challenging than any problem Daniel has ever faced.
Ending Today
The Donald Trump Show, 9.00pm, Channel 4
This show that recuts archive news clips as drama to retell the Donald Trump story, comes to a conclusion.
This time, the Tangerine Terror tackles the world's biggest problems in his own inimitable way.
He sets out an unlikely foreign policy agenda and is forced to make some big decisions about which wars to get involved in, and whose side he's on.
Trump's loose strategy keeps everyone guessing - with no one knowing what will happen.
Imagine awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to this geezer?
