Pick of the weekTrinity’s TreasuresFriday, RTÉ One, 8.30pm
What would happen if you went back to visit your alma mater? Would the big gates be slammed in your face or would the doors to its vast archives be thrown open for you to explore at your leisure? In this three-part series, famous graduates of Trinity College Dublin are not only welcomed back on the campus with open arms, they’re given full access to the college’s vast library, built in the early 1700s and housing some of Ireland’s oldest books and greatest literary treasures, including the Book of Kells. The stars are visiting the library during its first renovation in 300 years.
In this first episode, actor Ruth Negga – who has been nominated for an Oscar, Tony and Emmy award – goes back to where her glittering career began: in the library’s Drama Department, where Trinity’s librarian and archivist Helen Shenton lets her flick through the writings of Samuel Beckett and an early draft of JM Synge’s Playboy of the Western World (very carefully, of course). Negga has performed Playboy on the London stage and recently read a Seamus Heaney poem at a ceremony in Dublin Castle to launch Ireland’s EU presidency. At the Trinity library, she meets the new generation of budding actors, who perform works by Beckett, Synge and William Shakespeare for Negga’s delight and delectation.
HighlightsI, Jack WrightSunday, BBC One, 9.15pm
I, Jack Wright has a star-studded cast with Nikki Amuka-Bird taking the lead as Sally Wright. Photograph: BBC
When successful businessman Jack Wright is found dead, apparently by suicide, it sparks a huge battle over succession between his numerous ex-wives and children. But was this suicide – or murder? There is no shortage of suspects in this fast-moving whodunit, and no shortage of dark secrets behind the well-heeled family facade. The all-star cast includes Nikki Amuka-Bird, John Simm, Trevor Eve, Harry Lloyd, Ruby Ashbourne Serkis and Niamh Cusack. A second series is in production, so plenty more lies, betrayals and shocking revelations in store.
The DarkSunday, UTV, 9pm
Laura Donnelly as Detective Monica Kennedy in The Dark. Photograph: ITV
A serial killer is stalking the Scottish wilderness, and it’s up to Detective Monica Kennedy to track down this murderer hidden in the midst of a quiet rural community. As the killer’s campaign escalates, the whole town finds itself under the shadow of suspicion, mistrust and paranoia, in this eerie new drama series based on the GR Halliday novel From the Shadows. Laura Donnelly, best known from the Outlander series, stars as Detective Kennedy.
More than a Game: From D1 to PylaMonday, RTÉ One, 9.35pm
The village of Pyla in Cyprus is unique, as it’s the only place in the divided country where Greek and Turkish Cypriots live side by side. Since 1974, the island has been partitioned, with no interaction between the Greek and Turkish sides – except in Pyla. In this documentary marking the 50th anniversary of partition, a group of teenagers from Belvedere Youth Club travel to Pyla to meet Greek and Turkish teenagers and see first-hand how barriers can be broken down through shared activities and experiences. The trip is part of the Gateway Project, an initiative led by Detective Chief Superintendent Brian Woods, and designed to foster greater understanding and co-operation within historically divided communities.
Barra’s Return of the WildMonday, BBC One, 8.30pm
Barra Best returns for his fourth series tracking efforts to revive and restore wildlife and biodiversity under threat from climate change, industry and human expansion. He begins his travels around Europe in his home town of Belfast, and learns how the threatened disappearance of one of the city’s most spectacular natural phenomena, the evening murmuration of starlings at Albert Bridge, was averted. He then travels to the Balearic island of Ibiza, where the wall lizard is under threat from an invasive snake, visits a canal fish conservation project in the Netherlands, meets people in Berlin delicately handling a hedgehog problem, and looks up at the safe spaces being created high above Cork City for peregrine falcons.
EvolutionMonday, BBC Two, 9pm
Chris Packham in Evolution. Photograph: BBC
It’s safe to say that this new series, presented by Chris Packham, has been literally billions of years in the making. Packham’s mission is to learn how life on Earth evolved, and he takes five animal species as his starting point in an exploration that will take him back through the mists of time and around the world. How did elephants, ostriches, bats, dolphins and horses evolve into the animals we know today? Packham will explore the five main factors that feed into the evolutionary process – growth, reproduction, feeding, intelligence and movement – using cinematic visuals to look back through the various stages of evolution.
The Chase Around the WorldThursday, Virgin Media One & UTV, 9pm
Bradley Walsh takes The Chase on the road
You’ve whiled away many a weekday afternoon watching The Chase, the gameshow presented by Bradley Walsh. The brain-teasing series has been on air for 17 years (where does the time go?), and has been commissioned in 22 territories around the world, but in this new version of the beloved series, contestants will not only have pit their knowledge against the neuron-firing power of the Chasers, they’ll have to track them down in secret locations, using various clues and puzzles. At the end of it all is a prize pot of life-changing cash. “This bold new take on The Chase combines quizzing with travelling and will test contestants’ knowledge like never before,” says Walsh.
Breith, Beatha, BásThursday, RTÉ One, 8.30pm
The way Irish people celebrate big life events has changed subtly over the years, and this four-part observational documentary looks at the different ways we mark the milestones of birth, marriage and death, from traditional christenings, weddings and funerals to more quirky events. The series will travel around the country, meeting people as they prepare for the defining moments in their lives. In the first episode, we meet Nora, who is at a busy wedding fair in Donegal looking for the right ingredients for her perfect nuptials, and follow Ciara as she plans a naming ceremony. We also encounter Sinéad, who brings circus performance into the proceedings.
Ann DroidFriday, BBC One, 9.30pm
Diane Morgan and Sue Johnston in Ann Droid. Photograph: BBC
Imagine having your own personal robot assistant to help you do everyday tasks and handle all your household affairs, like an AI version of Jeeves? Unfortunately for recently widowed Sue, her robot assistant Linda talks with an annoying Bolton bark and is completely clueless, taking everything literally and managing to turn the most mundane household chore into a big disaster. Linda is a second-hand android assistant bot given to Sue by her son Michael, but this droid definitely should have been sent back to the workshop a long time ago. Diane Morgan stars as Linda, with Sue Johnston as Sue in what is essentially an upgrade of the traditional sitcom two-hander.
StreamingRide or DieFrom Wednesday, July 15th, Prime Video
Hannah Waddingham, Octavia Spencer, and Ed Skrein in Ride or Die. Photograph: Prime Video
You think you know your friends, but then your best mate turns out to be Spider-Man or an alien who hitchhikes around the galaxy, and your life is never the same again. In this new comedy thriller series, Octavia Spencer and Hannah Waddingham are best friends Debbie Claybourne and Judith Burton, but what Debbie doesn’t know is that Judith is actually an international assassin. When a hit goes pear-shaped, however, Judith’s secret is out, and soon the pair are doing a Thelma and Louise, hitting the road and heading across Europe with police, criminals and highly trained assassins hot on their heels. Bill Nighy co-stars as the shadowy operative known as The Director.
Lucky From Wednesday, July 15th, Apple TV
Annette Bening in Lucky. Photograph: Apple TV
Anya Taylor-Joy is a con artist trying to escape her criminal past in this high-octane thriller series based on the bestselling novel by Marissa Stapley. Spoiler alert: her past proves a lot harder to shake off than she thought. Her name may be Lucky, but when a multimillion-dollar heist goes wrong, it looks as if her luck is about to run out. With serious people on both sides of the law looking to track her down, Lucky needs to use all the resources she can muster and find a way to beat the odds against her. Timothy Olyphant and Annette Bening costar.
The HawkFrom Thursday, July 16th, Netflix
Will Ferrell stars in The Hawk. Photograph: Roy Rochlin/Getty Images for Netflix
Will Ferrell, making his small-screen acting debut, is Lonnie “the Hawk” Hawkins, a golf star making his comeback against all the odds, hoping to nail one last tournament win to complete the golfing grand slam and secure his place in the pantheon of greats. Back in 2004, the Hawk was the world’s number one, but now his career is on the back nine and his son, Lance (Jimmy Tatro), has taken over as golf’s golden boy. No one – his son, his ex-wife, Stacy (Molly Shannon), his long-time rival Golden Fisk (Luke Wilson) – believes for a minute that Lonnie can recapture his form, but the Hawk is determined to prove he can still be the Goat.