{"id":568749,"date":"2026-07-26T09:46:14","date_gmt":"2026-07-26T09:46:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/568749\/"},"modified":"2026-07-26T09:46:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-26T09:46:14","slug":"tv-guide-the-best-new-shows-to-watch-starting-tonight-the-irish-times-8","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/568749\/","title":{"rendered":"TV guide: the best new shows to watch, starting tonight \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pick of the WeekIn the Opinion of the CensorMonday, RT\u00c9 One, 9.35pm<\/p>\n

The role of the film censor has been, to say the least, a controversial one since the passing of the Censorship of Films Act in 1923. In this documentary, Ireland\u2019s final film censor (and its first director of film classification), John Kelleher<\/a>, looks at 100 years of film censorship in Ireland and how it has reflected the political, social and cultural evolution of the State itself. Kelleher presents the programme, looking at the power held by individual film censors to ban or cut films if \u2013 in their opinion \u2013 they were \u2018indecent, obscene, blasphemous, or contrary to public morality\u2019. This is certainly one for those interested in both Irish film history and social history. Plus, expect to see clips from classic films such as Casablanca, which was censored in 1942 due to Ireland\u2019s neutrality and the implication of an extramarital affair between the characters Rick and Ilsa. <\/p>\n

HighlightsThe Rapture Sunday, BBC One, 9pm\"RuthRuth Madeley stars as clinical psychologist Dr Gabrielle Fox in The Rapture. Photograph: BBC\/Mammoth Screen <\/p>\n

This new psychological thriller is based on Liz Jensen\u2019s 2010 book of the same name, and stars Ruth Madeley as Gabrielle \u2018Gabs\u2019 Fox, a clinical psychologist for adolescents. Fox starts a job at a high-security psychiatric hospital, which is where she meets 17-year-old Bethany Krall (India Amarteifio, whom you might have seen in Queen Charlotte<\/a>). Bethany was sectioned two years earlier for the shocking murder of her mother, Carys. The case was made all the more intriguing as Bethany\u2019s father, Leonard Krall (Sam Hazeldine) is the leader of a spiritual movement. Bethany says she is innocent, but also maintains (gulp) that she can see into the future. Gabs begins to look into what happened around Carys\u2019s death, but is she being manipulated by Bethany? Notably, this is set in a heatwave, which adds an intensity to the story and echoes the UK\u2019s hot weather spell.<\/p>\n

TUMTHAMonday, RT\u00c9 One, 10.35pm<\/p>\n

Directed by Mary Keane, TUMTHA is a documentary about the Col\u00e1ist\u00ed Ullmh\u00fach\u00e1in. These were seven all-Irish second-level boarding schools that were established in the early years of the State to support the revival of the Irish language. Keane interviews the last generation to experience the schools, capturing their memories of their time there and in doing so tells the story of this cultural experiment, as well as showing how language itself shapes identity and memory.<\/p>\n

The Vampire Lestat: Interview with the Vampire Tuesday, BBC Two, 9pm\"SamSam Reid as Lestat de Lioncourt in the BBC’s The Vampire Lestat: Interview with the Vampire. Photograph: BBC\/\u00a9 2026 AMC Networks Entertainment LLC. All Rights Reserved\/Sophie Giraud <\/p>\n

Three series in, this screen adaptation of Anne Rice<\/a>\u2019s novel series The Vampire Chronicles is undergoing a bit of a change. First there\u2019s the title, which has evolved from the more simple Interview with the Vampire, and then there\u2019s the details of the narrative itself. As we begin the third season, it\u2019s 2025 and the focus has shifted to Lestat de Lioncourt (Sam Reid<\/a>). He has decided to become a rock god \u2013 as you do \u2013 in order to tell his side of the story after the publication of the titular interview with him. But his band members don\u2019t know the full truth about their leader. Alongside Lestat is Louis de Pointe du Lac\/Thomas Pitt, played by Jacob Anderson<\/a>, aka Grey Worm from Game of Thrones, who was the main focus of the previous seasons. <\/p>\n

The Irish QuestionWednesday, RT\u00c9 One, 9.35pm\"FormerFormer US president Bill Clinton gives his view on The Irish Question. Photograph: RT\u00c9 <\/p>\n

A Border poll is becoming more and more of a possibility. But do we really understand what it might mean for everyone living on the island of Ireland? That\u2019s the core question at the heart of this programme, which features a whole heap of political talking heads giving their take on the issue. So expect to hear from Bill Clinton<\/a>, Bertie Ahern<\/a>, Mary Lou McDonald<\/a>, Mike Nesbitt<\/a>, Leo Varadkar<\/a>, Monica McWilliams<\/a>, John Major<\/a>, Susan McKay<\/a>, Fintan O\u2019Toole<\/a>, Gerry Adams<\/a> and Linda Ervine<\/a>, among others. We\u2019re promised that instead of tired old conversations, The Irish Question \u201ctakes a fresh and sometimes surprising look at the dark trauma of the past and the unique possibilities of the future\u201d. It\u2019s certainly an urgent conversation right now, and this exploration of it is headed up by acclaimed film-maker Alan Gilsenan<\/a> and journalist John Walsh.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t Date Brandon Thursday, Channel 4, 10pm\"AmberAmber Rasmussen and Athena Klingerman in Don’t Date Brandon. Photograph: Paramount <\/p>\n

This three-part documentary kicks off tonight, featuring a woman named Amber Rasmussen who met a guy named Brandon Johnson when she tried online dating. Brandon was handsome, had a great job, and their whirlwind romance turned into marriage. But Amber started to suspect her new man wasn\u2019t all he seemed. Who did she draft in to help? His ex-wife, Athena Klingerman. Soon the women were, as is people\u2019s wont in the 2020s, making their own podcast about Brandon and his cheating ways. But when more of his exes came forward, their allegations were that Brandon did more than lie. Part two and three follow tonight, so you can binge-watch in one go.<\/p>\n

RamyFriday, Channel 4, 12.10am\"RamyRamy Youssef stars as Ramy in the comedy of the same name on Channel 4. Photograph: Jon Pack\/Hulu <\/p>\n

Don\u2019t let the fact this comedy is on at such a late hour put you off. If you missed it the first time around, the third season of Ramy \u2013 about a first-generation American Muslim-Arab living in New Jersey \u2013 is getting an airing on Channel 4. Series creator Ramy Youssef has won a Golden Globe for his depiction of Ramy, who in the third season is trying to move on two years after his divorce from ex-wife Zainab. Ramy is dating while also attempting to earn enough money to pay off the dowry. In this first episode, Ramy\u2019s dedication to Islam is tested; meanwhile his uncle Naseem gets stopped by airport security. Episode two follows at 12.45am.<\/p>\n

StreamingFuriousFrom July 27th, Disney+\"Furious:Furious: Emmy Rossum as Alice Black and Scoot McNairy as NYPD detective Danny. Photograph: Disney\/Sarah Shatz <\/p>\n

Alice Black is an FBI agent on the trail of a mysterious serial killer called Catherine, who targets wealthy men. In a highly charged cat-and-mouse game, an intense relationship builds up between the law enforcement agent and her quarry, until the lines between right and wrong become very blurred indeed. Sounds as if we\u2019ve got our new Killing Eve for summer 2026. Emmy Rossum is Alice, with the Irish actor Lola Petticrew<\/a> as Catherine, and Scoot McNairy<\/a> as the seasoned NYPD detective Danny. The series is created and produced by Liz Meriwether, loosely based on the 1987 film Black Widow, which starred Debra Winger and Theresa Russell.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Pick of the WeekIn the Opinion of the CensorMonday, RT\u00c9 One, 9.35pm The role of the film censor…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":568750,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[137934,1578,894,37002,1795,10450,93,17948,33743,3660,61,60,111979,3581,75252,3658,49233,6085,234626,240013,282],"class_list":["post-568749","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-alan-gilsenan","tag-bbc","tag-bertie-ahern","tag-bill-clinton","tag-channel-4","tag-disney-plus","tag-entertainment","tag-eurovision","tag-fintan-otoole","tag-gerry-adams","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-john-major","tag-leo-varadkar","tag-lola-petticrew","tag-mary-lou-mcdonald","tag-mike-nesbitt","tag-rte","tag-scoot-mcnairy","tag-susan-mckay","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/568749","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=568749"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/568749\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/568750"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=568749"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=568749"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=568749"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}