TV picks: New crime-drama with a trove of Irish talent and secret buried treasure

Plus the award winning feature documentary about the lives of three deaf couples

Aistear an Amhrá¡in looks at the story of The Auld Triangle, Saturday, RTÃ One, 8.20pm

Fri, 25 Sep, 2026 - 12:00

Aoife Barry

An Grá Ciúin/A Quiet Love

Saturday, TG4, 9.30pm

If you missed this stunning Irish documentary in cinemas, make sure to catch the multi-award-winning feature documentary An Grá Ciúin (A Quiet Love) when it makes its television premiere this week. The film centres around the stories of three deaf couples: A Catholic and Protestant couple who met as schoolchildren during the Troubles; a same-sex couple from Cork and Belfast who are parenting both deaf and hearing children; and a deaf boxer and his hearing partner from Dublin who are facing a life-altering choice tied to his career. The film celebrates the couple’s lives and love, and gives a much-needed insight into experiences of people in the deaf community. Plus, it cleverly and beautifully weaves subtitles into the documentary in a way that really adds to the experience. Notably, it’s the first feature film in Irish sign language and was produced by a deaf and hearing team. Its director, Garry Keane, was also behind In the Shadow of Beirut and Gaza. Have a few tissues to hand for the inevitable tears.

Home Truths: Crisis in the Classroom with Eric Roberts

Monday, Virgin Media One, 9pm

Home Truths is a new four-part documentary strand from Virgin Media that sees some of its familiar TV faces look at issues that have impacted their own lives. The first, Crisis in the Classroom with Eric Roberts, looks specifically at special education support in Ireland. While demand is rising, many families are struggling to access the services and school places their children need. Ireland AM presenter and former special needs assistant Eric Roberts examines the issue by speaking to families, principals and SNAs across the country. Among them are Alison Field, who has applied to 19 schools in order to find a place for her son James, but is still waiting for him to be able to start his education. A timely documentary about a pressing issue for many families across the country.

Jamie’s 20 Minute Meals

Monday, Channel 4, 8pm

There’s an interesting concept for the latest Jamie Oliver cookery show. As the name suggests, it’s dedicated to showing us how to whip up an easy and nutritional meal in 20 minutes flat. And to prove that it’s possible, each of the eight episodes is filmed in real time, in one continuous shot. So there will be no editing to gloss over how long the process actually takes.

In the first show, we’ll learn how to make camembert and onion rice served with crunchy croutons, followed by crispy golden breadcrumbed chicken, accompanied by charred broccoli on a bed of garlic creamy beans. At the very least, it’ll get your mouth watering.

Michael Palin in the Philippines

Monday, 5, 9pm

Ex-Monty Python star and traveller extraordinaire Michael Palin could totally take a rest and no one would complain about it — he is 83, after all.

But he’s showing us that age is no barrier to adventure, and has filmed a new series where he heads off to the Philippines in Southeast Asia to do some exploring.

His journey begins in the country’s capital, Manila, where he witnesses a protest march. Then he spends time with some locals before heading off to a remote island on a traditional Bangka boat. You can always bet on him to bring us fascinating stories, and perhaps inspire your next holiday.

Blue Lights

Tuesday, BBC One, 9pm

Blue Lights is back for a fourth season, and if by now you haven’t become a fan of this excellent cop show, it’s a chance to get stuck into the action. It’s set in Belfast and brings us the experiences of fictional PSNI officers as they deal with small and large (mostly large) threats to their lives and the force.

It’s now three years since Grace Ellis (Siân Brooke), Stevie Neil (Martin McCann) and Annie Conlon (Katherine Devlin) began working as response officers, and things have not become an iota easier.

This series, they face a new threat on the streets of Belfast. Meanwhile, a murder trial exposes a dangerous secret that will have ramifications for police and criminals. The show also tackles many contemporary issues: tonight’s episode involves tensions provoked by opposition to the opening of a new migrant resource centre.

The Case I Can’t Forget

Wednesday, RTÉ One, 9.35pm

In the first episode of this new series, gardaí recall the investigation into the murder of 36-year-old childcare worker Elaine O’Hara.

Elaine disappeared in 2012, and in September 2013 the discovery of human remains on Killakee Mountain revealed that she had not, as believed, taken her own life. Keys and phones later recovered at Vartry Reservoir proved vital to the case. Many will remember the terrible and upsetting details about Elaine’s death as revealed in the subsequent murder trial of her killer, Graham Dwyer.

Detective Sergeant Grace O’Boyle was among those who worked on the case, using CCTV footage, phone data, witness statements and online activity to shape a timeline helping to explain how Elaine’s body had ended up on the mountain.

We also meet Detective Sergeant Kevin Duggan, who reconstructed Elaine’s final movements, and senior crime analyst Sarah Skedd who examined crucial phone records and text messages. O’Boyle, Duggan, Skedd, and the wider team detail their work on the case, and the search for justice for the much-loved Elaine.

The 2 Johnnies Late Night Lock In

Thursday, RTÉ 2, 10.10pm

Yes, the 2 Johnnies — that would be Johnny Smacks and Johnny B, to the uninitiated — are back for a fourth season of their popular show, which is set in a packed pub.

There’ll be the usual mix of live music, celebrity chats, comedy moments, games, and encounters with fans. In this first episode, the boys will be joined by broadcaster Jennifer Zamparelli and comedians Paddy McDonnell (Paddy the Dagger) and Jarlath Regan.

The Celebrity Traitors

Thursday, BBC One, 8pm

Yes, Traitors fans, you have yet another show to enjoy: The return of Celebrity Traitors.

Its first run was a huge success for the BBC (15 million viewers watched the final), and no doubt celebrities were lining up in their droves to star in round two. Who can we expect?

Only the best in British celebs, including Bella Ramsey, Jerry Hall, Miranda Hart, Michael Sheen, Richard E Grant, Ross Kemp, Rob Beckett, and Romesh Ranganathan.

But who will host Claudia Winkleman choose to be Traitors this time around? We’ll find out in this first episode.

Small Prophets

Wednesday October 7, Apple TV

Mackenzie Crook’s acclaimed comedy for the BBC has been renewed for a second season, to air in 2027, so it’s handy that Apple TV has bagged the first season of this acclaimed series, just to give us a chance to recap on this gentle and surreal suburban drama.

Pearce Quigley stars as Michael Sleep, an eccentric type who lives alone, and has never got over the disappearance of his beloved partner Clea seven years ago. When his dad, Brian (Michael Palin), gives him an ancient recipe, he discovers he can conjure up strange water-dwelling creatures in his shed — not sea monkeys but homunculi, magical spirits with the power to predict the future. Crook co-stars as Gordon, the dislikeable manager at the DIY store where Michael works, with Lauren Patel as Michael’s co-worker Kacey, with whom he strikes up a friendship.

East of Eden

Thursday October 1, Netflix

John Steinbeck’s epic 1952 novel was made into a Hollywood blockbuster starring James Dean, and directed by Elia Kazan. It tells the story of the Trask family as they build themselves a new life in California’s Salinas Valley in the years leading up to the first World War, with biblical themes abounding, including the stories of Jezebel and Cain and Abel.

Now Kazan’s granddaughter, Zoe Kazan, has turned her lifelong passion for Steinbeck’s magnum opus into a wide-ranging drama series for Netflix, starring Florence Pugh as the novel’s amoral antihero Cathy Ames. She arrives into the lives of Adam and Charles Trask like a storm, driving a wedge between the two brothers and casting a shadow that will reach into the next generation. Adam thinks she’s an angel sent from heaven; Charles believes she’s the devil’s daughter. Soon Adam and Cathy are wed, but Adam’s dream of a perfect family turns to dust when Cathy abandons him and their twin sons, Caleb and Aaron. The boys grow up thinking their mother has died, but the shocking truth will open a chasm between the two brothers and bring past demons back to the surface.

Pick of the Week

Tall Tales & Murder

Sunday, RTÉ One, 9.40pm

There’s a stellar team behind this new series: It’s co-created by Stuart Carolan (creator of Love/Hate) and Chris Addison (of The Thick of It), it’s adapted from writer Caimh McDonnell’s novels and its directors include Addison and Neasa Hardiman. Plus it stars a heap of Irish talent, from stalwarts like Aidan Gillen and Philippa Dunne to relative newcomers like Ella Lily Hyland.

The juicy story centres around a patient (played by Gillen) at a Dublin nursing home who wakes from a long coma, only to claim he’s a gangster who knows where treasure is literally buried.

Handily enough, there to hear the news are his quirky nurse, Bridget, and a vulnerable young employee named Paul who’s in debt to a crime boss.

Both Bridget and Paul have their own reasons for wanting to get their hands on the treasure, and hopefully it’ll be a thrill watching them try.

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