Julius Caesar: The Making of a Dictator
Sunday, RTÉ2, 8pm
In a week in which wannabe autocrat Donald Trump is inaugurated as the 46th president of the US, it’s worth reminding ourselves how easily a democracy can tip over into a dictatorship. Caesar was an early adopter of populism, stoking up division and distrust in the Roman republic, and ignoring the rules of political engagement, using intimidation and bribery to get what he wanted – total rule over Rome. This three-part docudrama, previously aired on BBC, shows how Caesar took just 16 years to dismantle his country’s democracy. Can Trump beat that record?
Out There
Sunday, UTV, 9pm; Monday, Virgin Media One, 9.35pm
Deep in the Welsh countryside, one man must fight to protect his home and family from dark and terrifying forces, but this is no supernatural thriller. Martin Clunes stars as widowed farmer Nathan Williams, and the monsters at his door are county lines drug dealers: urban gangs targeting rural communities and coercing young people into working as mules and runners for the big city druglords. Now they’ve come for Nathan’s son, Johnny (Louis Ashbourne Serkis), and Nathan must abandon his fantasy of a rural idyll and hit back against this very real threat to everything he holds dear.
Tartan Tales
Sunday, BBC Two, 10pm
Where do Ulster Scots folk go to get kitted out with a new kilt? This two-part documentary series takes a peek behind the scenes at one of Northern Ireland’s most popular kilt shops, on Sandy Row in Belfast, where Grahame Harris and his mother, Kim, lead a team of skilled craftspeople who are passionate about helping their clients connect with their traditions and heritage via the wearing of the tartan. We meet expert tailor Samir from Syria, whose precision and attention to detail are legendary in the world of tartan, and see how the company created kilts for such occasions as Ulster-Scots weddings and Burns Night celebrations.
Geantraí
Sunday, TG4, 10.30pm
The traditional music show is back for its 19th series, and eagle-eyed viewers may notice a few tweaks in the format. Says presenter Pauline Scanlon: “We’ve focused on capturing not just the music, but the environments where these sessions happen – places where the heart of Irish culture beats strongest.” Scanlon will travel the country from Donegal to Cork to uncover the musical talent to be found along the high roads and byroads. The journey begins at Cryan’s Pub in Carrick-on-Shanon, Co Leitrim, hub of a trad music scene famed for its talented flute players.
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US president Trump’s Inauguration
Monday, BBC One, 3.30pm
And so it comes to pass that Donald J Trump will be inaugurated as the 47th president of the United States, and us woke, liberal snowflakes will just have to suck it up as the Donald returns in triumph to the White House following his definitive election win last November. The swearing-in ceremony takes place on the West Lawn of the US Capitol in Washington, DC at noon Eastern Standard Time, where Trump will take the oath of office along with vice-president-elect JD Vance, and that’s followed by the inaugural address from 47 himself – that should be a real doozy. Then it’s time for the ceremonial parade from the Capitol to the White House, and no doubt billionaires Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg will be strewing hundred-dollar bills in the path of the new president’s cavalcade as it winds its way along Pennsylvania Avenue. Who’ll be performing at the ceremony? Definitely not Bruce or Gaga, but there’s bound to be a few right-leaning country singers lined up.
Video Nasty
Monday, Virgin Media One, 9pm
We missed this when it aired on BBC earlier this month, but now Virgin Media One are bringing us back to the 1980s with this comedy-horror series set in the world of cheap cult horror and slasher videos. Misfit teenagers Billy, Con and Zoe are building up a nice library of banned video nasties, and only need one particular VHS to complete the collection. But their quest for this coveted videocassette leads them down a very different rabbit hole, and soon they are accused of murdering a fellow horror aficionado known as Fangoria Fangirl.
High Road, Low Road
Tuesday, RTÉ One, 7pm
Two celebs, one holiday, two very different experiences – in this episode of the travel show with a twist, telly chef Donal Skehan and Dancing with the Stars judge Arthur Gourounlian visit the island of Madeira, birthplace of Cristiano Ronaldo, but which of the two will enjoy top-tier luxury, and which one will be relegated to the b-division? While one of them gets to play a nice round of golf, sample some gourmet cuisine and take a jeep tour of the island, the other will have to settle for a hop on, hop off bus tour and a visit to a banana museum. Both celebs will, however, get to go tobogganing and canyoning, but can they curb their envy/smugness?
How to Win the Champions League: Real Madrid
Tuesday, BBC One, 11.10pm
What sorcery lies behind Real Madrid’s domination of Europe’s biggest football competition? This special documentary charts the evolution of the club to become kings of Europe, and examines the magic ingredients that go into making a top-tier team that can step up to the plate and vanquish all opposition just when it matters the most. The programme looks at how the club’s president Florentino Perez and masterful coach Carlo Ancelotti built Los Blancos into a powerhouse team, with players including Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Junior and Luka Modric, and how the club made a Lazarus-like comeback in 2014, going on to win six Champions League titles over the next decade, culminating in last year’s contest, when they lifted the European Cup for a record 15th time.
Dragons’ Den
Thursday, BBC One
Have you got a boffo business idea? You better make sure it’s a sure-fire winner, because the Dragons’ Den has got bigger and more sharp-toothed than ever. Series 22 sees the return of battle-hardened dragons Peter Jones, Deborah Meaden, Touker Suleyman, Sara Davies and Stephen Barrett, with three more dragons joining the den in the form of fitness guru Joe Wicks and fashion businesswomen Trinny Woodall and Emma Grede. This series will feature “some of the most outrageous and emotional pitches we have ever had”, promises Peter Jones. Will a new batch of entrepreneurs persuade the dragons to part with their cash, or will they get chewed up and spat out? Either way, it promises to be a highly entertaining business altogether.
Amanda & Alan’s Spanish Job
Friday, BBC One, 8pm
Fresh from restoring old properties in Italy, best mates Amanda Holden and Alan Carr head to sunny Spain to embark on a new project. This time Amanda has set her sights on renovating a rundown three-storey town house in a small village in Andalucia, and turn it into a boutique b & b, but will Alan join her for some sun, sangria and elbow grease? To get some design inspiration, the pair visit one of the architectural wonders of Granada – the Alhambra Palace.
Streaming
Prime Target
From Wednesday, January 22nd, Apple TV+
If you’re studying hard to improve your maths grades, don’t bother: it might get you killed. Leo Woodall stars in this brainy conspiracy thriller series as a brilliant young mathematician, Edward Brooks, who is on the verge of a huge breakthrough in his search for a pattern in prime numbers. If he finds this magic formula, there’d be no computer system on earth he couldn’t hack into. And no shortage of bad guys willing to kill for that knowledge. It’s like Good Will Hunting meets The Bourne Identity, with added decimal points.
Whiskey on the Rocks
From Wednesday, January 22nd, Disney+
In October 1981 the world teetered on the brink of Armageddon after a Russian whiskey class nuclear submarine ran aground in a restricted military zone on the Swedish coast. With the world’s superpowers on high alert, tensions ramped up between US president Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev, and it was left to the Swedish prime minister, a laid-back former sheep farmer, to keep the two sides from making any rash decisions that could spark a third World War. So an obvious candidate for a screwball comedy in the vein of The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming. This cold war satire may be played for laughs, but the show’s director says he won’t lose sight of the “frighteningly topical” nature of the story.
High Potential
From Thursday, January 23rd, Disney+
Morgan (Kaitlin Olson) is a single mom who is also a high-potential intellectual, which makes her pretty damn good at solving crimes. She’s working at the LAPD, but she’s not a cop – just a cleaner. It’s not long, though, before her singular talent is spotted and she’s recruited to help the police track down a fiendishly clever killer. Cue a clash of cultures as Morgan arrives at crime scenes with a baby buggy, and generally drives her policing partner – hard-boiled detective Karadec – to distraction with her irritating irrepressibility.
