{"id":594798,"date":"2026-08-16T06:58:11","date_gmt":"2026-08-16T06:58:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/594798\/"},"modified":"2026-08-16T06:58:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-16T06:58:11","slug":"tv-guide-the-best-new-shows-to-watch-starting-tonight-the-irish-times-11","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/594798\/","title":{"rendered":"TV guide: the best new shows to watch, starting tonight \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pick of the week The Healy-Raes: Blood Sweat & TearsWednesday, RT\u00c9 One, 9.35pm\"DannyDanny and Michael Healy-Rae at the Healy-Rae Bar <\/p>\n

The Healy-Rae dynasty has enjoyed 50 years of political dominance in Kerry. But how does the family do it, and how have they weathered recent storms such as Michael\u2019s resignation as minister of State in the wake of the fuel protests? If you\u2019re curious about the world of the Healy-Raes, this documentary from film-maker Jerry Kennelly tantalisingly promises us \u201cunprecedented access\u201d to brothers Michael and Danny. So we\u2019ll follow them from the 2024 general election to the fallout from Michael\u2019s resignation. We\u2019ll get to see them on the farm, at work in their business ventures, and figure out what makes them tick. Plus, we\u2019ll meet the lesser-known Healy-Rae family members who have their eye on political roles in the future. And no look at the family is complete without meeting supporters from the \u201cHealy-Rae army\u201d, the volunteers behind the machine. <\/p>\n

HighlightsCelebrating Graceland at the Proms Saturday, BBC Two, 7.30pm<\/p>\n

During a personal and professional low point in the mid-1980s, Paul Simon was inspired to head to South Africa after hearing mbaqanga street music on a tape lent to him by musician Heidi Berg. He returned to the United States having recorded his masterwork, Graceland, which, despite concerns around his breaking of the cultural boycott of South Africa, nonetheless drew global audiences to the country\u2019s music and contributed to the discussion around the impact of apartheid-era restrictions. Forty years on, the album sounds as fresh and vital as ever. On August 5th, a Proms concert celebrating the album was recorded. On Saturday, audiences get to watch Simon\u2019s original collaborators Ladysmith Black Mambazo perform at the Royal Albert Hall in London, joined by special guests including Laura Mvula, James Bay, Flyte and the Nu Civilisation Orchestra directed by Peter Edwards. It\u2019s incumbent on you to dance in your livingroom as you watch, just so you know.<\/p>\n

Sunny Nights Sunday, ITV1, 10.15pm<\/p>\n

Comedian and actor Will Forte and actor D\u2019Arcy Carden team up in this eight-part drama-comedy to play American siblings Martin and Vicki Marvin. They have flown to Sydney after setting up a spray-tan company, believing it\u2019s the best place to make a go of it given the population\u2019s concern about skin cancer. They check into the Sunny Nights motel, where they are unfortunate enough to meet con artist Susi (Jessica De Gouw) and her boss Kash (Miritana Hughes), who soon set their sights on them. While getting involved in the local criminal underworld wasn\u2019t on the cards, the pair have to survive some pretty nefarious behaviour in order to keep their business afloat. This series is less about realism than entertainment, but you\u2019re always in good hands when Forte and Carden are on the screen. <\/p>\n

Rose of Tralee Monday\/Tuesday, RT\u00c9 One, 8pm\"DáithíD\u00e1ith\u00ed \u00d3 S\u00e9 and Kathryn Thomas, hosts of the Rose of Tralee <\/p>\n

Sixty-six years after it was created, the Rose of Tralee still maintains a strong cultural foothold in Ireland. Though the idea of choosing the lovely girl of all lovely girls feels a little old-fashioned, it\u2019s fair to say the competition has moved with the times and there\u2019s a lot of affection for the Rose of Tralee across the country \u2013 not least because the Roses are always a hugely impressive bunch. Returning hosts this year are D\u00e1ith\u00ed \u00d3 S\u00e9 and Kathryn Thomas, who will interview the final 32 Roses live from Tralee at 8pm on Monday and Tuesday. This year, 32 Roses will represent Irish counties and the Irish diaspora, including the United States, UAE, Australia and New Zealand. The most fun part of the show is when the contestants unveil their hidden talents, so let\u2019s hope this year includes a few unexpected moments. <\/p>\n

Little BirdTuesday, Sky Atlantic, 9pm\"EllynEllyn Jade and Osawa Muskwa in Little Bird <\/p>\n

Canadian network Crave has gone from an unknown in this part of the world to a buzzword for high-quality programming, thanks to the huge success of its queer romance Heated Rivalry. The series Little Bird also comes from Crave, but it\u2019s a very different show. This six-part series is about indigenous woman Bezhig Little Bird (Darla Contois), who was removed from her home in Saskatchewan and adopted into a Montreal Jewish family at the age of five, renamed Esther Rosenblum. The story sheds light on the \u201cSixties Scoop\u201d, a chilling period of Canadian history lasting until the 1980s, when indigenous children could be taken by child welfare from their homes and sent to white families. In her 20s, Little Bird sets out to find the family she lost, and the show traces her journey to being reunited with them. Though the series first aired in Canada in 2023, it\u2019s a good chance for audiences here to learn more about this element of the country\u2019s history.<\/p>\n

Love You to Death Wednesday, Channel 4, 9pm<\/p>\n

Lisa Hayden-Johnson claimed her son Matthew had a range of illnesses, from diabetes to an intolerance to sunlight. She appeared on several TV programmes in the UK speaking about her son and his multiple needs, received welfare benefits and donations towards his care. But it turned out her son was not ill at all, and in January 2010 the 35-year-old was jailed for child cruelty and perverting the course of justice. Sixteen years on, this documentary looks at this case of Munchausen syndrome by proxy. Crucially, Lisa is interviewed for the first time since leaving prison.<\/p>\n

Ludwig Thursday, BBC One, 9pm\"DavidDavid Mitchell returns for season 2 of the detective show Ludwig. <\/p>\n

The name makes this sound like a show about Austrian musical history, but the Ludwig at the centre of this series is John \u201cLudwig\u201d Taylor, played by David Mitchell. This is the second series of Ludwig, and the man himself is a reclusive genius who is on the search for his missing brother DCI James Taylor. In series one, Ludwig posed as his twin brother, but when the series returns, his true identity is now public and he\u2019s officially working with the police as a crime scene consultant. But while this does put some constraints on his searching, leave it to Ludwig to figure out new ways to look for his brother. Also back on the show is James\u2019s wife, Lucy, played by the always brilliant Anna Maxwell Martin; newcomers include Mark Bonnar (Line of Duty) and Sian Clifford (Fleabag). <\/p>\n

StreamingAverage JoeFrom Wednesday, August 19th, Paramount+<\/p>\n

When we last saw Pittsburgh plumber Joe Washington, he was plumbing away happily until he discovered that his recently deceased dad had double-crossed the Russian mob, and now they were coming after him and his family, looking for their $10 million back. And their Lamborghini. Luckily Joe was able to tap into his inner Super Mario and give the Russians the bum\u2019s rush and as the first season ended, he was settling back down to everyday life fixing folks\u2019 pipes and faucets. But it\u2019s not long before a spanner is thrown in the works and Joe has to strap on his tool belt and save his family from a mysterious new threat. His latest mission will take him and his team to Cape Town in South Africa, where they\u2019ll soon learn they\u2019re not in Kansas any more. Deon Cole returns as Joe, with Malcolm Barrett as Leon, Cynthia McWilliams as Cathy, Michael Trucco as Touch and new cast members Katlego Lebogang as the mysterious Imani and Hakeem Kae-Kazim as Cape Town crime boss Sipho. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Pick of the week The Healy-Raes: Blood Sweat & TearsWednesday, RT\u00c9 One, 9.35pmDanny and Michael Healy-Rae at the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":594799,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[1578,1795,23881,176653,93,61,60,24878,66371,6085,15640,282],"class_list":["post-594798","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-bbc","tag-channel-4","tag-danny-healy-rae","tag-david-mitchell","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-michael-healy-rae","tag-rose-of-tralee","tag-rte","tag-sky","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/594798","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=594798"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/594798\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/594799"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=594798"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=594798"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=594798"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}