Pick of the Week
Dancing with the Stars
Sunday, RTÉ One, 6.30pm
We’ve warmed up with Strictly Come Dancing on the BBC, but now we move to Montrose for the main attraction. This season’s celebrity contestants are the model Aishah Akorede, Mrs Brown’s Boys star Danny O’Carroll, comedian Gearóid O’Farrelly, taekwondo Olympian Jack Woolley, singer Mickey Joe Harte, TikTok personality Kayleigh Trappe, Kin actor Yasmin Seky, chef Kevin Dundon, broadcaster Elaine Crowley, Olympic champion Rhys McClenaghan and meteorologist Joanna Donnelly. There’s a new judge on the panel this year: the professional dancer Karen Byrne, who has won DWTS twice with a celebrity partner, will join judges Lorraine Barry, Brian Redmond and Arthur Gourounlian. Jennifer Zamparelli and Doireann Garrihy will present another glittering floorshow.
Highlights
Playing Nice
Sunday, UTV, 9pm
Niamh Algar and James Norton star as young parents Maddie and Pete in a high-concept drama about two couples whose worlds are shaken when they find out that their babies had been swapped at birth. Needless to say, it’s all a bit of a shockaroony, especially since the kids are now toddlers and firmly bonded with the wrong parents. As Maddie and Pete and the other couple, Miles (James McArdle) and Lucy (Jessica Brown Findlay), begin to process this new reality, they face an agonising decision of whether to swap their children back or just leave things be. But soon, mistrust and paranoia begin to set in as each couple becomes suspicious of the other’s motives.
Room to Improve
Sunday, RTÉ One, 9.30pm
Dermot Bannon takes on four renovation challenges in his latest series, starting with a derelict building in Charlestown, Co Mayo. Its owner, Karen Mulligan, is returning to her home village after 14 years in London, and her goal is to create a home she’ll never want to leave. Can Dermot deliver, and will there be a row over choice of cladding? Quantity Surveyor Claire Irwin will be on hand to make sure the project comes in on time and within budget.
The Meaning of Life
Sunday, RTÉ One, 10.30pm
Champion athlete Sonia O’Sullivan is Joe Duffy’s first guest in this new series delving into the things that really matter. O’Sullivan will talk frankly about the highs and lows of her career, how being in the public eye has affected her relationships and family life, and how the recent death of her mother has put many things into perspective.
Prosthetics, a body suit and a standout performance: Why Colin Farrell deserves his Golden Globe for The Penguin
RuPaul’s Drag Race winner The Vivienne dies aged 32
Golden Globes 2025 red carpet: Demi Moore and Cate Blanchett in full-metal gúnas, Andrew Scott in full Technicolor
Room to Improve review: Dermot Bannon’s fancy pants design runs into a client’s wish for a lovable and liveable home
Vótáil
Monday, RTÉ One, 8pm
This four-part series looks at four of the most iconic elections in recent Irish history – I doubt if this year’s damp squib of a general election will be included. First up is the election of 1977, at a time when Ireland was particularly feeling the pinch of global inflation, unemployment and oil shortages, and when Fianna Fáil under Jack Lynch were out to topple the Fine Gael-Labour coalition led by Liam Cosgrave.
Michael Lynn: The Fugitive
Monday, RTÉ One, 9.35pm
In 2007 the solicitor Michael Lynn fled to Brazil after duping Irish banks to the tune of millions of euro. But he didn’t escape justice, spending five years in a Brazilian jail before being brought back to Ireland. This documentary tells the story of how the investigative journalist Michael O’Farrell tracked Lynn down.
High Road, Low Road
Tuesday, RTÉ One, 7pm
Two celebrities, one destination, different experiences. In the first episode in the new series the comedians Neil Delamere and Colin Murphy head to Wroclaw, in Poland, but one will be travelling in the lap of luxury while the other will have to go the budget route. Who will have the most fun, though?
Neven’s Portuguese Food Trails
Wednesday, RTÉ One, 8pm
Chef Neven Maguire makes his third foodie foray in to Portugal, and once again he’s banging the drum about the country’s great cuisine. France and Italy may be top culinary destinations, but Maguire believes he’s found a food lover’s paradise on the Iberian Peninsula, and this seven-part series sees him travel from the north to the south of the country to visit different regions and discover their cuisine and food traditions. In the first episode, Maguire visits the picturesque coastal town of Viana do Castelo in the north, enjoying freshly caught Atlantic seafood, traditional cakes and local wines.
First Dates Ireland
Thursday, RTÉ2, 9.30pm
Can IT manager Paddy hit the right note with singer-songwriter Dervla? Will Brazilian waiter Luis and Nigerian playwright Doyle make it past opening night? And will Paul Mescal lookalike Hugh get the thumbs-up from trainee solicitor Aisling? We’ll find out in the 10th series of the dating show, as the First Dates restaurant gets a bright new look.
No Worries If Not
Thursday, RTÉ2, 10.30pm
Ireland’s brightest young comedians return for a second season of their comedy sketch show – and this one promises to be bigger, bolder, faster and funnier than the first. Seán Burke, Emma Doran, Justine Stafford, Michael Fry and Killian Sundermann star in a series of madcap sketches, and the titles might give you clues to the hilarity in store: Winning Shriek, Granny’s Den, Last Dates, Áras Has Fallen and Bros of Tralee. There’s also a new twist on the family roots format, Who (the F**k) Do You Think You Are?, featuring Marian Keyes.
Streaming
Jerry Springer: Fights, Camera, Action
From Tuesday, January 7th, Netflix
In the 1990s The Jerry Springer Show pioneered a new genre of “trash TV”, where guests hurled insults and punches at each other while the audience gleefully egged them on. Springer was the anti-Oprah, presiding over a chaotic mix of relationship squabbles, infidelities and petty feuds, and pouring oil on the fire at every opportunity. This two-part series looks under the bonnet of the tabloid TV behemoth, which ran for 27 years, and uncovers some uncomfortable stories about how it may have destroyed lives and reputations in the pursuit of ratings.
American Primeval
From Thursday, January 9th, Netflix
Danger waits at every turn in the Wild West in the 1850s: you might be ambushed by another western cliche at any moment. American Primeval director Peter Berg wants to tread a different trail, however: this ensemble piece promises to be a raw and violent dissection of the pioneer spirit as well as a story of survival in an ultrahostile environment. Taylor Kitsch stars as Isaac, a deeply troubled soul charged with guiding a young mother, Sara Rowell (Betty Gilpin), and her son Devin across a lawless frontier. As one character observes, “‘Civilisation’ and ‘civilised’ are two different words entirely.”
Goosebumps: The Vanishing
From Friday, January 10th, Disney+
Twins Devin and Cece have moved back in with their divorced dad, Anthony, who is given to telling terrible dad jokes. He’s got just one rigid house rule: no going into the basement. That just makes the kids want to go straight down there, of course, to find out what lies beneath. But when things start going bump in the house, they and their friends Alex, CJ and Frankie find themselves investigating the mysterious disappearance of four teenagers 30 years ago, and dealing with a nasty invasive plant species that burrows its way into its victims. David Schwimmer stars in this latest series based on the hugely successful teen horror novels by RL Stine.
