John Byrne’s TV choices for the week ahead (Dates covered: Saturday Oct 24-Friday Oct 30)
Scream Queens, Sharon Horgan, Hardy Bucks and Irish Bake Off. It's another busy week on the box.
Pick of the week
Scream Queens, Monday, E4
This could be amazing. Probably best known for co-creating Glee, Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuck and Ian Brennan are also responsible for the horror anthology series American Horror Story. So what we have here is a bit of both: a camp slasher comedy that has it in for posh mean girls.
Kappa House, an American university sorority (I thought it was a pub in Finglas), has recovered from catastrophic events in 1995 when a party ended in tragedy. It's now the most sought-after sorority and is ruled with an iron fist by Chanel Oberlin (Emma Roberts).
All hell breaks loose when anti-Kappa Dean Cathy Munsch (Jamie Lee Curtis) decrees that sororities must be open to all female students, and not just the school's silver-spooned elite. On top of that, a killer disguised as a devil begins wreaking havoc across the campus on the 20th anniversary of the party.
A great cast also includes Lea Michele, Oliver Hudson, Ariana Grande and Nick Jonas.
Star of the week
Sharon Horgan
Catastrophe, Tuesday, Channel 4
It's taken a while for her to become an overnight success, but Sharon Horgan - born in London, brought up in Meath - has been acting and writing for more than 20 years. Finally, and ironically, Catastrophe has given her an unlikely career high.
It says a lot about this potty-mouthed sitcom that its second season is going out within the same year as its first. It was an instant hit when it first appeared on Channel 4 back in January and by episode two a second season was commissioned.
Written by and starring Horgan and Rob Delaney, who enjoy a remarkable chemistry, it began as the tale of an accidental pregnancy when a businessman over from the US and an Irish school teacher share a one-night stand. They decide to give it a go despite being relative strangers.
As the second run opens, times have changed for the lovers with their new arrival back home. A party is arranged and coincides with a visit from Rob's mother (Carrie Fisher). Then things get a bit complicated.
Starting this week
The Great Irish Bake Off, Sunday, TV3
Back for a third run, the Irish version of this baking competition has a new judge - food writer, blogger and cook, Lilly Higgins.
She joins fellow judge Paul Kelly and show host Anna Nolan as 12 new contestants battle it out to see who gets crowned the 2015 champion. The first test is dessert week, while the first technical challenge is making an exotic cheesecake.
Nurses, Thursday, RTÉ2
This observational documentary series tells the story of modern Irish nursing from the perspective of trainee nurses from a range of backgrounds.
Pawnbrokers, Tuesday, TV3
Another new observational documentary series, this one examines how customers of a family-run pawnbroker's are coping in the current climate.
Class of 92: Out of their League, Thursday, BBC One
This series follows the exploits Four former Manchester United stars - Ryan Giggs, Phil and Gary Neville, Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt - as they start out as owners of English non-league side Salford City FC.
Cuffs, Wednesday, BBC One
Documentary series about a team of frontline police officers as they strive to protect the public, keep the streets safe and solve crimes in the English seaside city of Brighton.
Ending this Week
Vikings, Monday, RTÉ2
The appearance of the Viking fleet causes panic among the population of Paris, whose commander, Count Odo, is confident that the city is prepared for the attack.
The Taste of Success, Tuesday, RTÉ One
Tonight, one person will walk away with a prize worth €100,000 and see their product on the shelves of over 140 Lidl stores across Ireland.
Mount Pleasant, Friday, Sky 1
In a fiery season five finale, the truth behind landlord Trevor’s scheming is revealed and puts the residents of Mount Pleasant into grave danger.
Elementary, Wednesday, RTÉ2
Season two of this modern, New York-based take on the classic detective ends with the relationship between Holmes and Watson coming to a crossroads. They agree to put their differences aside to help Sherlock's brother Mycroft, who faces accusations of treason and murder.
Drama
The Affair, Wednesday, Sky Atlantic
The Golden Globe-winning drama - to be honest, I thought it was pretty dull - returns for a second run with a double bill of episodes.
As well as the perspectives of lovers Noah (Dominic West) and Alison (Ruth Wilson), the story introduces two new points of view into the mix, those of their former partners Helen (Maura Tierney) and Cole (Joshua Jackson).
In the first instalment, Noah and Helen are starting divorce proceedings and it’s not long before things get acrimonious.
Supergirl, Thursday, Sky 1
Having escaped the doomed planet of Krypton along with a very young Kal-El, Kara Zor-El (played by Glee's Melissa Benoist), the cousin of Superman, got lost in the Phantom Zone and arrived on Earth much later than her fellow Kryptonian.
After years of keeping her superhuman abilities a secret on Earth, Kara embraces her phenomenal powers and takes to the skies to protect National City.
The Blacklist, Friday, Sky Living
James Spader's back - and hopefully still hamming it up - as deceiving and intriguing master criminal Raymond Red Reddington in this quirky US thriller, which also stars Megan Boone.
Comedy
Hardy Bucks Ride Again, Monday, RTÉ2
The Bucks are back. And this time around they're joined by a couple of Irish actresses: Fair City’s Aoibheann McCaul and Susan Loughnane from Love/Hate.
All the gang are back, Martin Maloney as Eddie Durkan, Chris Tordoff as The Viper, and Owen Colgan as Buzz McDonnall - and in-between the usual mayhem and bad behaviour, the lads get caught up in a Mayo love triangle.
Citizen Khan, Friday, BBC One
The loud-mouthed, tight-fisted, but big-hearted self-appointed community leader Mr Khan (Adil Ray) and his long-suffering family return for another run.
Documentary
Better off Abroad, Sunday, RTÉ One
In the first of a new two-part series on the Irish abroad, George Lee travels to Dubai to meet the Irish lured to Dubai’s golden shores and see what a city in the middle of the desert has to offer them. Next stop is Silicon Valley.
Reality Bites: Skin Deep, Thursday, RTÉ2
Tattoo fan Sinead Kennedy hosts what promises to be an insightful documentary looking at what it is that drives people to permanently mark their bodies with ink.
On Demand
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Netflix
This has been on Netflix since March but you may have missed it. Created by Tina Fey and Robert Carlock, it's a comedy starring Ellie Kemper as Kimmy Schmidt, who adjusts to life in New York City after being rescued from a doomsday cult in Indiana.
Oozing positivity (I know - just bear with it), Kimmy befriends her street-wise landlady and finds a roommate in struggling actor Titus Andromedon (Tituss Burgess), and gains a job as a nanny for the melancholy and out-of-touch socialite Jacqueline Voorhees (Jane Krakowski).
The premise is awful, but the show is very funny and razor-sharp.
Film of the Week
Misery, Wednesday, Sky Movies Horror
It's a quarter of a century since this very black comedy/drama surfaced and it's as relevant now as it was then. James Caan stars as Paul Sheldon, a famous writer who decides to kill off his romantic novel heroine so he can concentrate on more serious work.
Unfortunately for him he gets caught in a blizzard and ends up rescued by a nurse (Kathy Bates in her breakthrough and Oscar-winning role). She's an obsessive fan of his books, and goes psycho when she discovers his plans. Painfully hilarious.
John Byrne
