Pick of the WeekIndustryMonday, BBC One, 11.10pm
It’s an investment banker’s world, and we’re just paying for it. But at least we can look forward to a laugh as the top dogs of Pierpoint & Co return, bigger, bolder and more outrageously ostentatious than ever. Over three series, the HBO drama has skewered the world of high finance and the greed, lust and soul-destroying self-interest at the heart of the machine.
Returning cast members include Myha’la who returns as Harper Stern, Marisa Abela as the uber-ambitious Yasmin, Kit Harington as tech bro Sir Henry Muck and Ken Leung as Eric Tao, with new cast members including Max Minghella as flashy fintech boss Whitney Halberstram, who pulls Harper into his twisted orbit, Charlie Heaton from Stranger Things as finance journalist Jim Dycker, Claire Forlani as corporate PR queen Cordelia Hanani-Spyrka and Jack Farthing as Sir Henry’s chum Edward Smith, who is also a bit of a troublemaker. So, what can we expect from series four of the highly acclaimed show? Exactly what you would expect, Myha’la told Radio Times. “Drugs, sex, rock’n’roll. It’s going to be great.”
The new series sees Harper joining a dodgy company whose business model seems to be betting shorts based on insider information, while Sir Henry and Yasmin are making their big wedding plans. But soon all three are feeling the gravitational pull of Whitney’s payment processing firm Tender – and in danger of burning up in the financial stratosphere.
Call the MidwifeSunday, BBC One, 8pm
Call the Midwife: Rebecca Gethings, Jenny Agutter and Fenella Woolgar. Photograph: BBC/Neal Street Productions/Chamaine Man
The nuns of Nonnatus House are back for a 15th season of delivering babies and also delivering dramatic storylines tackling the hot-button topics of yesteryear, including the bra-burning issue of women’s lib. Series 15 takes us up to the year 1971, as protesters gather outside Nonnatus House and set their Playtexes on fire – and some of the staff join in the protest. Meanwhile, in the maternity ward, the midwives have to deal with urgent issues including premature birth and placenta previa, a painful and potentially dangerous pregnancy complication. Other characters grapple with kidney cancer, tuberculosis and modern slavery.
Helen George returns as Trixie Franklin, Jenny Agutter is back as Sr Julienne and Linda Bassett reprises her role as nurse Phyllis Crane, with Teddy Berriman returning after melting viewers’ hearts as Andrew Trottwood, a youngster who is severely disabled after contracting measles as a toddler (there’s topical for you).
Room to ImproveSunday, RTÉ One, 9.30pm
Room to Improve: Louis and Norita O’Donoghue. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill
This week on Room to Improve, Dermot Bannon meets a couple whose home in Raheny is badly in need of renovation – and could do with a complete retrofit to fully insulate it and eliminate the mould. Louis and Norita O’Donoghue and their three kids have lived here for eight years, and they could simply sell up and move home, but they love this old house too much, particularly its sunny, south-facing garden, so they’ve decided to go for a complete transformation of their living space, and no better man than Bannon to help them reimagine their home.
His plan is to totally modernise the interiors and build a pavilion-style extension to connect the house with the back garden. But of course, nothing is as straightforward as it seems, and soon the couple’s €270,000 budget is being put under stress as Bannon and his team uncover more underlying problems, and QS Claire Irwin struggles to keep costs down and manage expectations.
Neven’s English Food TourWednesday, RTÉ One, 8.30pm
Neven Maguire at Bamburgh Castle
In the second programme of his English foodie excursion, Neven Maguire heads to the country’s northernmost county, Northumberland, to seek out some undiscovered delights in a place known for its rugged countryside and dramatic coastal scenery. Maguire drops into a number of restaurants where he meets some of the finest chefs working in the region, and enjoys some superb slap-up meals. Along the way, he learns the art of smoking kippers, and gets a sidecar ride on a vintage motorcycle. He also visits such popular attractions as Bamburgh Castle and the holy island of Lindisfarne.
Any Given Day: Cork University HospitalWednesday, RTÉ One, 9.35pm
Staff at Cork University Hospital face huge challenges on any given day, and in this second episode, doctors and medical workers take on another round of emergencies and interventions to save lives. Among them are a four-year-old girl who is having prolonged seizures and is being rushed to the hospital, where emergency consultant Rory O’Brien and his team are waiting to try to save her life. Also in the emergency department, doctor Jason Van Der Velde is called out to an incident in which a 49-year-old man, James, has been kicked in the chest by a horse. And Tim (64), who has advanced lung cancer, is being brought to the operating theatre to have the tumour in his lung removed.
Lorraine Kelly’s Norwegian OdysseyThursday, Channel 4, 8pm
Scottish TV presenter Lorraine Kelly has always dreamed of seeing the Northern Lights, and finally she gets her chance via her new three-part travel series, in which the Gorbals girl travels to her neighbouring country across the North Sea and discovers its spectacular coastlines, fjords, mountains and volcanoes. Kelly immerses herself in Norwegian culture and traditions, and learns all about Friluftsliv, which means embracing nature in the way you live – that includes taking a nice, cooling dip in the chilly waters of the Hjorundfjord, followed by a warm-up in a floating sauna. Kelly sails into Trondheim, once the country’s Viking capital, and goes kayaking along the river Nid. While in the region, she samples Norway’s food culture, learning to cook a veritable feast from foraged ingredients, and getting to see if the country’s renowned mussels can measure up to Scotland’s Orkney variety.
Streaming Hijack, season twoFrom Wednesday, January 14th, Apple TV+
Hijack: Idris Elba in season two, on Apple TV
It’s getting a bit Die Hard around here, as Idris Elba, fresh from foiling an airline hijack in season one, finds himself at the centre of another high-octane hostage situation, this time in Berlin. When one of the city’s underground trains, carrying more than 200 commuters, is hijacked, Sam Nelson, Elba’s corporate negotiator, is uniquely placed to help the passengers get out of this alive. But the authorities start to wonder why, out of all the trains in all the towns in all the world, Nelson just happens to be aboard this one.
Agatha Christie’s Seven DialsFrom Thursday, January 15th, Netflix
Helena Bonham Carter and Martin Freeman star in this new three-part Agatha Christie adaptation by Chris Chibnall, the Broadchurch creator and Doctor Who writer. But where’s Poirot – or Miss Marple, even? Seven Dials introduces one of Christie’s lesser-known sleuths, Lady Eileen “Bundle” Brent, a bright young aristo who makes up with enthusiasm and determination what she lacks in experience. The crime scene is, unsurprisingly, a grand country house, where a lavish party has ended in murder. The ever-sharp and inquisitive Bundle takes it on herself to solve the mystery and unmask the murderer, but she’ll be working against the clock – several clocks, actually – to crack this case. Mia McKenna-Bruce stars as Bundle, with Bonham-Carter as Lady Caterham and Freeman as favourite recurring Christie character Supt Battle.