10 TV & streaming shows for August: Lord of the Rings, Kaos, Miriam Margolyes
L-R: Lord of the Rings, KAOS, Miriam Margolyes
A major new animated series that promises to emphasize the noir-ish side of the classic comic character. Familiar voices in the cast include Christina Ricci as Catwoman, while JJ Abrams is involved in the backroom team.
The English actress charmed all round on a recent trip to West Cork Literary Festival, and in this three-part series she’s venturing to other far-flung locations. As well as visiting Perth, Broken Hill and Byron Bay, the 83-year-old is doing some self-reflection along the way, wanting to embrace change as she enters the final stages of her life.
Has there ever been a TV show to stagger so far beyond its sell-by date as The Walking Dead? Despite widespread slating of the zombie show in its latter years, the economics presumably stacked up, and even in the depths of its shonky scripts and uninteresting additions, the character of Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus) just about kept many viewers engaged. The decent-skin hillbilly is the subject of the third spinoff series, and he finds himself washed up in France, a country decimated by the undead plague.
In a country where even playing cricket might still be frowned upon in some parishes, Dubliner Eoin Morgan thrived at his chosen sport and even ended up captaining England, the homeland of his mother. This documentary traces his remarkable tale from early days in Rush through his defection from the Irish team and achievements that have seen him recognised as one of England’s greatest ever captains.
If you’re missing your Love Island fix, perhaps this new dating show can fill the gap. Based on the equivalent US show, participants – including two Irish people - choose somebody to marry without ever meeting them. We then watch them move in together and plan their weddings, deciding on the final day whether to actually go through with the ceremony.
The ridicule from some quarters about this show seems to have faded as the fourth season readies to launch with a loyal audience who just ‘get’ this particular brand of romantic comedy. In the restaurant, Emily and Gabriel have challenges in their pursuit of a Michelin star, while both also face major complications in their respective love-lives.
The Klitschko brothers get a documentary here, and you’d imagine it’s just one of a number of factual treatments and feature films the Ukrainian siblings will be the subjects of. Kevin Macdonald (Touching the Void, Marley) digs into Wladimir and Vitali’s childhood in the Soviet Union, their incredible boxing successes, and talks to the brothers as they face what is perhaps their greatest challenge as they help their homeland in its fight against Russia.
The incredible summer of sport continues on Friday, August 16, when the English soccer season returns with Man Utd v Fulham. There’s an interesting campaign ahead, with Liverpool adjusting to a post-Klopp era, Man City possibly reaching the end of the Guardiola years, and both Man Utd and Arsenal among the sides desperate to step up.
This big-budget adaptation of JRR Tolkien’s tales met with a mixed reaction in its opening series, not least from viewers in this country who raised eyebrows at the who raised an eyebrow at the awful Oirish accents of the O’Hobbits. Apparently, there’s a lot of Saurun in this season (he disguises himself as an elf), and we’ll also see Tom Bombadil, the character who was omitted from the film adaptations. Three episodes in the first week, followed by individual episodes dropping weekly.
Possibly one of the biggest shows of the summer, Jeff Goldblum plays Zeus in a six-part tale of conflict between the gods and humans. There’s also a decent Irish presence with Killian Scott (Tommy in Love/Hate) playing Orpheus, and Stanley Townsend also popping up.
