Pick of the week
Generation Z
Sunday and Monday, Channel 4, 9pm
So, your grandparents have turned into marauding zombies with a taste for teenage flesh – what’s a kid to do? In this gory new comedy-horror series, teens in the fictional town of Dambury must fight for survival when residents of a local care facility start acting strangely after an army truck crashes nearby, releasing some weird chemicals into the air. Suddenly the old folk are shuffling down the high street and moaning – no change there, only this time they’re not looking for the post office, but are on the hunt for tender human flesh to rip apart and devour. It’s bad enough that the older generation have sold Britain’s youth down the Brexit swanee - now they’re looking to actually eat their young. It’s up to Charlie, Kelly, Steff and Finn to stop this OAPocalypse before everyone becomes granny fodder. Think EastEnders meets Shaun of the Dead. Robert Lindsay, Johnny Vegas and soap stars Anita Dobson and Sue Johnson star in this blood-soaked Brexit satire written and directed by Ben Wheatley.
Highlights
Na Féilte Tine
Monday, RTÉ One, 6.30pm
Ireland boasts not one, not two, but four fire festivals, one for each season, and this four-part series explores the history and significance of Samhain, Imbolg, Bealtaine and Lúnasa, looks at what makes each festival distinctive, and asks if they still have relevance for 21st-century communities. Integral to the series is seeing locals in towns across the country coming together to celebrate these festivals, as people have done for millenniums. We start with Samhain, which marks the arrival of winter, and also celebrates the Celtic new year. But how did the ancient Celts celebrate Samhain? We’ll get a glimpse into Halloween parties of the past.
More than a Whistle
Tuesday, RTÉ2, 10pm
It takes a lot more than just blowing a whistle to be a high-level referee. This programme joins three women – rugby ref Joy Neville, retired football ref Michelle O’Neill and GAA ref Maggie Farrelly – as they work hard to stay on top of their game. The programme will follow each woman as she prepares for a match, and bring us an insight into their busy lives and schedules as they juggle sporting events with their daily lives. All three have taken different routes to refereeing, and the programme will delve into the women’s motivation to make positive changes in their respective sports.
The Overlap on Tour
Tuesday, Sky Max and Now, 9pm
The award-winning football podcast is off on another figary to a foreign land, and who could turn down the chance of a trip abroad in the company of Gary Neville, Jamie Carragher, Ian Wright and the total ledgebag himself, Roy Keane? The footie foursome can’t get enough of each other’s scintillating company, and in this new series they visit some of Europe’s finest cities, looking for new adventures while trading old anecdotes about their Premier League days. Their first stop is Turin, where Keano gets to relive his epic performance for Manchester United against Juventus in the 1999 Champions League semi-final.
Public Enemies: Kendrick vs Drake
Tuesday, Channel 4, 10.20pm
It’s the rap beef of the year but the bad blood between megastar rappers Kendrick Lamar and Drake has been simmering since the early 2010s, blowing up this year into a full-on feud, with the pair exchanging openly hostile diss tracks and trading outrageous accusations. But how did it all kick off, and is there any danger that this beef will get out of hand, like Biggie and Tupac? This programme looks at how LA poet and visionary Lamar and Toronto actor turned rapper Drake became two of the biggest names in hip-hop, how the former friends and collaborators fell out, and how other hip-hop stars such as J Cole and Kanye West have become embroiled in this increasingly toxic spat. The programme will also ask the question: is this beef long past its sell-by date?
Donal’s Real Time Recipes
Wednesday, RTÉ One, 8pm
Making dinner during a busy work week can be more stressful than your actual job, but don’t panic: celebrity chef Donal Skehan is here to help you work up quick and tasty meals using ingredients readily found in your larder. In this first episode, Skehan takes a pantry staple – pasta – and works up a one-pot wonder in the form of a chicken and mushroom pasta, a flavoursome dish of spiced meatballs and burst tomato pasta, and a ragu bianco with sausages and crispy sage. Meanwhile, if you’re having trouble getting the kids to eat their greens, Skehan has the perfect solution: a chopping board pesto pasta.
Leathered
Wednesday, RTÉ One, 9.35pm
The recent scoping inquiry into historic sexual abuse in Irish primary and secondary schools has uncovered another national scandal that has never been properly addressed: rampant corporal punishment in the classroom and its devastating legacy. An entire generation of Irish children have suffered the trauma of extreme physical abuse, as teachers and priests were given carte blanche to beat, assault and torture innocent children, leaving physical and mental scars that have stayed with them for life. In this harrowing documentary, survivors of physical abuse in schools talk about their experiences and how the culture of violence by authority figures has poisoned their worldview. Among those sharing their testimony are poet and author Theo Dorgan and his childhood friend Mick Hannigan.
Prince William: We Can End Homelessness
Wednesday & Thursday, UTV, 9pm
Prince William says he wants to put an end to the homeless crisis in the UK. Throw open the doors of Bucky Palace, then, says you. However, it’s probably not as simple as that, and this documentary follows the prince’s efforts as he sets out his vision to make sure everyone in Britain has a roof over their head via his Homewards programme. “I think everyone having a right to a safe and stable home benefits us all,” he says. “I come with no other agenda than desperately trying to help people who are in need. And I see that as part of my role ... Why else would I be here if I’m not using this role properly to influence and help people where I can? And I like a big challenge, I do like that, but I can’t do it on my own.”
Storyland: Shush
Thursday, RTÉ2, 10.35pm
The Storyland series of one-off dramas aims to put the spotlight on new Irish talent in writing, acting and film-making. Shush is a psychological drama written by and starring Liv O’Donoghue, about a desperate young mother, Ruth, who is trying to keep her baby, Fia, safe despite a difficult domestic situation. Lonely, stressed out and afraid, Ruth makes a spur-of-the-moment decision that will have huge implications for both mother and child. Mark Huberman co-stars as John, with twins Bella and Capri Neville as baby Fia.
Hammer Films: The Heroes, Legends and Monsters
Thursday, Sky Arts & Now, 9pm
Looking for a terrifying treat on Halloween night? There’s nothing like an old-fashioned Hammer horror to deliver some good, clean, scary fun, and this feature documentary celebrates the 90th birthday of Hammer Films with a look back at the history of the London-based production house, which made such creepy classics as Dracula, The Curse of Frankenstein and The Quatermass Xperiment, and spawned such stars as Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing.
Streaming
Tú También lo Harías
From October 30th, Apple TV+
Translated as “you would do it too”, this fast-moving Spanish-language thriller picks up the action in the aftermath of an armed robbery on a bus near Barcelona. But police are not prepared for what greets them at the scene: three dead robbers and six witnesses whose stories and timelines are completely inconsistent. Detectives have to sift through several versions of reality try to get to the truth of what really happened.
The Diplomat
From Thursday, October 31st, Netflix
If you think being a diplomat is just an endless round of cocktail parties and state banquets, spare a thought for Kate Wyler, whose posting as US ambassador to Britain has given her enough excitement and danger to last a lifetime. Still, Kate is back for more in series two, and she has a seemingly insurmountable task: proving that it’s Britain’s own prime minister and not a rogue nation who is behind the deadly attacks on London that brought her to the job in the first place. Keri Russell returns as Kate, with Rufus Sewell as her husband, Hal, who was almost killed in the explosion at the end of series one, and who is now her only ally in a world where no one can be trusted.
