Our TV Picks: Reading Festival to feature Fontaines DC, Charli XCX, and Florence + The Machine

If you’re in the mood for enjoying some live music, you could do worse than throwing on the BBC’s coverage of Reading Festival.

Grian Chatten of Fontaines DC, who are among those headlining Reading Festival 2026

Fri, 21 Aug, 2026 - 12:00

Aoife Barry

An Irish Atlantic Rainforest

Sunday, RTÉ One, 6.30pm

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.

Beat the Lotto

Monday, RTÉ One, 9.35pm

Filmmaker Ross Whitaker knows a great yarn when he sees one — he’s already brought us documentaries about the last phone boxes in Ireland (Bye Bye Now) and explored the lives of boxer Katie Taylor and explorer Mark Pollock, among many other projects.

His latest feature documentary is a cracking story about an attempt to ‘beat’ the Irish National Lottery during the doldrums of the 1980s.

Whitaker introduces us to Cork-based mathematician Stefan Klincewicz, who figured out 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.

Bellie and Whizz at Big School

Tuesday, RTÉ One, 10am

If you’re 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 — a badger and a hare — who are about to join Big School.

So if there’s a young person in your life who’s on a similar journey, they might enjoy joining the two-some as they deal with first-day jitters and the joys and pains of making new friends.

As a bonus, real children also feature — and their parts are unscripted. In this episode, Bellie struggles with the button on his school bag. It’s the little things that get you sometimes.

Policing Dublin City

Tuesday, Virgin Media One, 9pm

What is it really like on the frontline of policing in Ireland’s capital? That’s what Virgin Media News’ crime correspondent Paul Quinn sets out to discover as he joins gardaí dealing with complex issues and incidents on Dublin city’s streets.

He witnesses everything from public order incidents and anti-social behaviour to addiction and homelessness. 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’s streets are reflected in reality.

We Only Want the Earth: The Life & Ideas of James Connolly

Wednesday, RTÉ One, 9.35pm

Director Alan Gilsenan (Meetings With Ivor) delves into the world of the writings of the iconic socialist and trade union leader James Connolly with this documentary.

Taking Connolly’s 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 Ó Ceannabháin and Esosa Ighodaro, and Connolly’s great-great-grand-daughter Tamsin Iona Connolly Heron.

In addition, actor Terry O’Neill performs the words of Connolly, bringing fresh life to his words.

Fightland

Thursday, Sky Atlantic, 9pm

One of the executive producers on this new series is Curtis ‘50 Cent’ 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’s reaction to the incident lands him in jail in the US.

When he’s 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’s quest for revenge sees him trying to destroy Kingsley’s empire, but no doubt he’ll have to pull on all his resources to succeed.

Fontaines D.C. at Reading Festival 2026

Friday, BBC One, 10.40pm

Reading Festival takes place across the bank holiday weekend, and if you’re in the mood for enjoying some live music, you could do worse than throwing on the BBC’s coverage of proceedings.

As a bonus, the first headliners at the festival are our own Fontaines D.C. — that would be Grian Chatten, Conor Curley, Conor ‘Deego’ Deegan III, Tom Coll, and Carlos O’Connell. The band have been going since 2014, but it was their debut album Dogrel that introduced them to the world in 2019.

Three albums later — the most recent of which was Romance, in 2024 — they’ve become one of indie rock’s biggest bands. Also headlining across the weekend are Charli XCX, Dave, Florence + The Machine, Chase & Status Live, and RAYE.

Dark Matter

Apple TV, from Friday

Apple TV Joel Edgerton returns as physicist Jason Dessen in the mind-blowing sci-fi thriller series based on the bestselling novel by Blake Crouch, and the second series is guaranteed to have even more time twists and reality tangles than the first series. To recap: Jason is living a perfect family life with his wife Daniela (Jennifer Connelly) and their son Charlie (Oakes Fegley), when he is abducted one night and wakes up in an alternative reality. He has to find a way to get back to his own reality before whoever abducted him takes over his family and his identity. But could the mystery kidnapper be ... himself? The key lies in a mysterious box about the size of a 40ft container, but it opens the door into so many alternative realities that soon there are multiple Jasons on the loose – and they’ve got more than kidnapping in mind

Our pick of the week

The Murder Detective

Wednesday, Channel 4, 9pm

Belfast Journalist Lyra McKee was killed when observing a riot in Derry in 2019

In April 2019, 29-year-old journalist Lyra McKee was killed while observing a riot in Creggan, Derry.

Earlier this month, three men were found not guilty of her murder seven years ago, leading her family to say the justice system had “completely failed” her and them. Now comes a three-part observational documentary from Channel 4 which focuses on the investigation into McKee’s murder, as led by PSNI Senior Investigating Officer Jason Murphy.

The murder case became a years-long quest to find justice for Lyra’s family, as well as taking on the New IRA, who claimed responsibility for Lyra’s murder.

This first episode looks at the reaction to Lyra’s shocking death, and the beginnings of the hunt for a masked gunman who appears to have disappeared without a trace.

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