{"id":651837,"date":"2026-08-23T06:55:12","date_gmt":"2026-08-23T06:55:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/651837\/"},"modified":"2026-08-23T06:55:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-23T06:55:12","slug":"tv-guide-the-best-new-shows-to-watch-starting-tonight-the-irish-times-15","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/651837\/","title":{"rendered":"TV guide: the best new shows to watch, starting tonight \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pick of the weekThe Murder Detective Wednesday, Channel 4, 9pm\"LyraLyra McKee <\/p>\n

In April 2019, 29-year-old journalist Lyra McKee<\/a> was killed while observing a riot in Creggan, Derry<\/a>. Earlier this month, three men were found not guilty<\/a> of her murder seven years ago, leading her family to say the justice system had \u201ccompletely failed\u201d her and them. Now comes a three-part observational documentary from Channel 4 which focuses on the investigation into McKee\u2019s murder, as led by PSNI<\/a> senior investigating officer Jason Murphy. The case became a years-long quest to find justice for Lyra\u2019s family, as well as taking on the New IRA, who claimed responsibility for Lyra\u2019s murder. This first episode looks at the reaction to Lyra\u2019s shocking death, and the beginnings of the hunt for a masked gunman who appears to have disappeared without a trace. <\/p>\n

Highlights <\/b>An Irish Atlantic Rainforest Sunday, RT\u00c9 One, 6.30pm<\/p>\n

In 2009, Eoghan Daltun and his family moved to Eyeries in the Beara Peninsula, where he set about rewilding their 73-acre farm. A sculptor conservator by trade, he delved right into conserving his wild land along the Atlantic coast, watching as a rainforest emerged when he let the earth do its thing. He went on to write about his experiences in the books An Irish Atlantic Rainforest and The Magic of an Irish Rainforest, and now comes this two-part documentary series about his life and journey, and the challenges he faces in his quest to spread the word about rewilding. <\/p>\n

Beat the LottoMonday, RT\u00c9 One, 9.35pm\"RayRay Bates of the National Lottery in Beat the Lotto <\/p>\n

Film-maker Ross Whitaker knows a great yarn when he sees one \u2013 he\u2019s already brought us documentaries about the last phone boxes in Ireland (Bye Bye Now) and explored the lives of boxer Katie Taylor<\/a> and explorer Mark Pollock, among many other projects. His latest feature documentary is a cracking story about an attempt to \u201cbeat\u201d the Irish National Lottery<\/a> during the doldrums of the 1980s. Whitaker introduces us to Cork-based mathematician Stefan Klincewicz, who found a flaw in the Lotto system and recruited others to help him with his plan to win millions. But, as Whitaker shows us with wit and verve, the plan was soon discovered … and the nation made its opinions known. <\/p>\n

Bellie and Whizz at Big SchoolTuesday, RT\u00c9 One, 10am\"BellieBellie and Whizz in Big School <\/p>\n

If you\u2019re looking for something to entertain the smallies at home, the second episode of the series Bellie & Whizz at Big School is a nice choice. This new series is about a puppet duo \u2013 a badger and a hare \u2013 who are about to join Big School. So if there\u2019s a young person in your life who\u2019s on a similar journey, they might enjoy watching the twosome as they deal with first-day jitters and the joys and pains of making new friends. As a bonus, real children also feature \u2013 and their parts are unscripted. In this episode, Bellie struggles with the button on his schoolbag. It\u2019s the little things that get you sometimes.<\/p>\n

Policing Dublin CityTuesday, Virgin Media One, 9pm\"GardaíGarda\u00ed on the beat in Policing Dublin City <\/p>\n

What is it really like on the frontline of policing in Ireland\u2019s capital? That\u2019s what Virgin Media News\u2019 crime<\/a> correspondent Paul Quinn sets out to discover as he joins garda\u00ed<\/a> dealing with complex issues and incidents on Dublin<\/a> city\u2019s streets. He witnesses everything from public order incidents and antisocial behaviour to addiction and homelessness<\/a>. But, crucially, the programme also looks at the relationship between addiction, homelessness and crime, and the challenges of dealing with vulnerable people while also taking care of public safety. Plus, it explores whether the perceptions about crime on Dublin\u2019s streets are reflected in reality. <\/p>\n

We Only Want the Earth: The Life & Ideas of James ConnollyWednesday, RT\u00c9 One, 9.35pm\"ActorActor Stephen Rea features in We Only Want the Earth: The Life & Ideas of James Connolly <\/p>\n

Director Alan Gilsenan (Meetings With Ivor) delves into the writings of iconic socialist and trade union leader James Connolly<\/a> in this documentary. Taking Connolly\u2019s writings as a jumping-off point, it explores his social vision for Ireland, his ideas and political achievements, as well as his role in the 1916 Easter Rising. These are all put against the backdrop of contemporary Ireland, and a wealth of commentators, union activists and historians contribute their thoughts. Expect songs and poems from Christy Moore as well as input from actor Stephen Rea, piper David Power, singers Eoghan \u00d3 Ceannabh\u00e1in and Esosa Ighodaro, and Connolly\u2019s great-great-grand-daughter Tamsin Iona Connolly Heron. In addition, actor Terry O\u2019Neill performs the words of Connolly, bringing fresh life to his words.<\/p>\n

FightlandThursday, Sky Atlantic, 9pm\"HowardHoward Charles as Duke in Fightland <\/p>\n

One of the executive producers on this new series is Curtis \u201c50 Cent\u201d Jackson. The story focuses on a fictional British-born boxer named Duke Kilroy (Howard Charles) who becomes world heavyweight champion on the very night that his brother Calvin is killed during a vicious assault. Duke\u2019s reaction to the incident lands him in jail in the US. When he\u2019s released eight years later, he seeks vengeance against the criminal kingpin and former promoter Kingsley Marshall (Nicholas Pinnock), who he believes set him up … but Kingsley is nowhere to be found. Duke\u2019s quest for revenge sees him trying to destroy Kingsley\u2019s empire, but no doubt he\u2019ll have to pull on all his resources to succeed. <\/p>\n

Fontaines DC @ Reading Festival 2026 Friday, BBC One, 10.40pm<\/p>\n

Reading Festival takes place across the Bank Holiday weekend, and if you\u2019re in the mood for enjoying some live music, you could do worse than throwing on the BBC\u2019s coverage of proceedings. As a bonus, the first headliners at the festival are our own Fontaines DC <\/a>\u2013 that would be Grian Chatten, Conor Curley, Conor \u201cDeego\u201d Deegan III, Tom Coll and Carlos O\u2019Connell. The band have been going since 2014, but it was their debut album Dogrel that introduced them to the world in 2019. Three more albums later (the most recent of which was Romance, in 2024), they\u2019ve become one of indie rock\u2019s biggest bands. Also headlining across the weekend are Charli XCX, Dave, Florence + The Machine, Chase & Status Live and RAYE.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Pick of the weekThe Murder Detective Wednesday, Channel 4, 9pmLyra McKee In April 2019, 29-year-old journalist Lyra McKee…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":651838,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[265],"tags":[956,6016,40651,955,18,117,34759,24081,19,17,103285,183199,14730,952,145104,128,12844],"class_list":["post-651837","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-an-garda-siochana","tag-channel-4","tag-christy-moore","tag-derry","tag-eire","tag-entertainment","tag-fontaines-dc","tag-homeless-crisis","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-james-connolly","tag-lyra-mckee","tag-national-lottery","tag-police-service-of-northern-ireland-psni","tag-stephen-rea","tag-tv","tag-tv-guide"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/117143518963880715","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/651837","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=651837"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/651837\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/651838"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=651837"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=651837"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=651837"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}