Pick of the weekGlúin ZThursday, TG4, 8pm
What do we know about Gen Z, the generation born between the late 1990s and early 2010s? Well, we know they’re pretty good at delivering a blank stare when asked a question they don’t consider worth answering. But what else do we know about the generation that is coming into young adulthood poised to inherit the world? This new four-part series introduces us to 12 actual “zoomers” at different stages in their lives as they try to navigate their way through an increasingly complex world, deal with the demands and responsibilities of modern life and try to secure their future in an uncertain environment. They’ll also freely answer questions (as Gaeilge) about their hopes and dreams, work and relationships and the challenges they face. The first episode examines the financial pressures facing Gen Zers in a cost-of-living crisis, where owning your own home is a distant dream. We’ll meet college student Colm, who is living in his van because he can’t find accommodation, and Sinéad, who is facing the double whammy of being jobless and without a place to call her own. We also meet Aoibhín, who is working hard to keep her business in the Gaeltacht running, but considers herself lucky to be able to work from home.
Highlights LionessSunday, UTV, 10.15pm
Zoe Saldaña in Lioness. Photograph: Paramount
Nicole Kidman and Zoe Saldaña star in this spy series that’s been touted as a sort of female Slow Horses, but Kidman’s character – a high-ranking CIA official – doesn’t look quite as scruffy as Slough House boss Jackson Lamb. In fact, she’s as immaculately turned out as you’d expect Kidman to be. She plays Kaitlyn Meade, the head of the agency’s Lioness programme, with Saldaña as the team leader on the ground, Joe McNamara. Their brief is to recruit agents to infiltrate terrorist organisations, using such tactics as befriending the terrorists’ wives and girlfriends, and even getting up close and personal with the terrorists themselves, in an effort to uncover and thwart planned attacks. It’s high-octane stuff, as McNamara tries to balance her personal life and her extremely dangerous job, while Meade must play a tense game of political chess to ensure her operatives get out alive. The eight-part series – created by Taylor Sheridan, the man behind Yellowstone, and based on a real-life CIA programme initiated during the Iraq war – also stars Morgan Freeman as US secretary of state Edwin Mullins. Lioness was first aired on Paramount+ in 2023 to strong reviews, and a second series was shown in 2024 – could we be looking at the new Homeland?
Global EyeMonday, BBC Two, 7pm
BBC World Service has an enviable reputation for getting to the heart of global news stories, and this weekly current affairs programme showcases the best reportage and analysis from the World Service’s crack documentary unit, BBC Eye. These experienced journalists will bring insight into some of the hot-button events happening around the world, including the deadly migration trail in Africa and the extremist settlers in the West Bank. BBC Eye investigations have had a positive impact, says Global Eye’s executive editor Liz Gibbons, raising awareness of urgent issues and giving voice to people affected by them, and also in some cases leading to perpetrators being arrested and laws being changed.
TaskMonday, Sky Atlantic & Now, 9pm
Task: Mark Ruffalo. Photograph: HBO
The working-class suburbs of Philadelphia are being rocked by a series of daring robberies. The FBI needs to put together a cross-agency task force to take down the perpetrators. So who do they choose to head this crack team? Why, the disgruntled, recently widowed old boy with a head full of demons, of course. Mark Ruffalo plays FBI agent Tom in this seven-part thriller series created by Brad Ingelsby, the co-creator of the hit series Mare of Easttown, starring Kate Winslet. Ingelsby has found another Hollywood heavyweight to head the cast in this new series, and Ruffalo is joined by Tom Pelphrey as Robbie, a garbage collector and separated dad who moonlights as a violent armed robber, with Emilia Jones as Robbie’s niece Maeve, and Jamie McShane as the leader of the Dark Hearts biker gang, who for some reason are being targeted by Robbie’s heist crew. Martha Plimpton stars as Tom’s FBI boss Kathleen McGinty.
Stacey & JoeTuesday, BBC Two, 8pm
Stacey & Joe. Photograph: Elisabeth Hoff/Optomen TV/BBC
Are you ready for another visit to Pickle Cottage? Think you can handle another adventure with celebrity couple Stacey Solomon and Joe Swash, and their blended family of teens and toddlers, plus their ever-expanding menagerie of pets? Course you can. Stacey and Joe are opening the cottage doors to the BBC camera crew once more, and they’re ready to share the next chapter in their busy lives, as they juggle the demands of media work and parenting, not to mention keeping their own romance alive amid all the madness and mayhem of family life. Come inside, sit down and watch as Stacey and Joe show you how they keep the whole circus running smoothly, and how they work hard to ensure their children get all the love and nurturing they need to thrive. You’ll be privy to the family’s everyday life and, as you’ll know from the first series, it’s a life far less ordinary. In this series, Belle is starting her first day of nursery school, while Zach is getting a driving lesson – from grandad Dave. Meanwhile, Stacey opens up to her sister about her health, while Joe makes some headway on his lake project. “We can’t wait to take everyone on this crazy journey we call life!” say the couple. We can’t wait to go on it.
The Donald Trump ShowWednesday, Channel 4, 9pm
I think it’s pretty clear by now that the world has become one big unreality TV show, and US president Donald Trump is the star. The rest of us are just extras, or NPCs, watching on helplessly as Trump upends society’s every norm, and turns the US into an authoritarian oligarchy. So what can we do? Just sit back, get the popcorn in, and watch it all play out. The Donald Trump Show is a new series that avoids pointless pontificating on Trumpism and its causes, and instead simply blends news and archive footage and dramatic storytelling to recount the first nine months of Trump’s second term in office. There’s no hand-wringing, impotent outrage or ineffectual criticism, just the real-life events, unfolding like a fast-paced political thriller, with a cast that could rival Dallas and Dynasty – including Melania Trump, JD Vance, Elon Musk and RFK jnr – and set to a classic rock soundtrack that includes Sam and Dave, Bachman-Turner Overdrive and John Lee Hooker. Episode one focuses on the doomed bromance between Trump and Tesla boss Musk, who took a chainsaw to the federal government, but soon found himself cut loose.
TaskmasterThursday, Channel 4, 9pm
The law of diminishing returns clearly doesn’t apply to Taskmaster, the fiendishly funny series in which comedy guests carry out surreal assignments overseen by Greg Davies and “Little” Alex Horne. The 19th series, aired earlier this year, was hailed by many as the best yet, so this 20th series will have to seriously up its game if it wants to outdo its predecessor. The new line-up of guests should be well up to the challenge: Reece Shearsmith from Inside No 9, Sanjeev Bhaskar from Unforgotten, and stand-up comedians Ania Magliano, Maisie Adam and Phil Ellis. They’ll be taking on some bizarre tasks in a bid to win the coveted Taskmaster trophy: the golden head of Greg Davies. As usual, Horne is coy about what challenges he’ll set for the hapless contestants, but we’ve been told it involves “codes, gym balls and disgusting noises”.
The Late Late ShowFriday, RTÉ One, 9.35pm
The Late Late Show: Patrick Kielty. Photograph: RTÉ
It’s been a turbulent summer for Late Late Show presenter Patrick Kielty, as he and his wife, presenter Cat Deeley, announced their separation in July. The couple have two children and live in London, with Kielty commuting to Dublin every week to present RTÉ’s flagship chatshow over the past couple of years. RTÉ has dispelled any doubts Kielty would be back for his third run in the hottest seat in Montrose, saying it is “looking forward to Patrick returning to The Late Late Show in September”. In fact, RTÉ reckons this could be his best season yet. Who will be Kielty’s first guests? There’s no word yet at time of going to press, but based on what’s been grabbing our attention in recent weeks, a few presidential candidates, the Ireland women’s rugby team and the Kneecap lads would be obvious choices.
StreamingOnly Murders in the BuildingDisney+ from Tuesday, September 9th
Only Murders in the Building: Selena Gomez, Martin Short and Steve Martin in series five. Photograph: Patrick Harbron/Disney
When they launched their crime comedy series, back in lockdown, Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez probably didn’t expect they’d be still going strong five years later, but the amateur sleuthing trio are back with their fifth series. At this stage the murder rate in the Arconia building might challenge even Cabot Cove, from Murder, She Wrote. In this new series, Lester, its beloved doorman, has been found dead, and Charles, Oliver and Mabel suspect he may have been murdered. Their investigations take them deep into the dark heart of the city, and soon the Mob have the trio in their crosshairs. But an even greater danger is in store: a bunch of billionaires who’ll stop at nothing to protect their wealth.
The GirlfriendPrime Video from Wednesday, September 10th
The Girlfriend: Robin Wright. Photograph: Amazon Content Services LLC
Is it a good idea to bring your new girlfriend home to meet your mom? Most Irish mammies either think no girl is good enough for her precious little prince or wonder why any self-respecting young lady would go out with a liúdramán like you. Rich and successful Laura (Robin Wright) is not an Irish mammy, but when her darling son, Daniel (Laurie Davidson), arrives with the beautiful Cherry (Olivia Cooke) in tow, Laura suspects this interloper may be a scheming, social-climbing gold-digger. Is she Daniel’s dream girl or a potential nightmare?
The Breslau MurdersDisney+ from Friday, September 12th
In the east German city of Breslau in 1936, a killer is on the loose. The Third Reich is not too happy about this, as the eyes of the world are on Berlin, which is hosting the 11th Olympic Games. The last thing they need is a brutal, sensational murder stealing the show. It’s up to Breslau’s unconventional police commissioner, Franz Podolsky, who is of Polish origin, to put aside his hatred of the Reich and catch the killer before they strike again. But time is not on his side.