AS ANOTHER FRIDAY night rolls around, a bit of socially distant light banter might help to break up the monotony.
As we all stay in (again), there’s no better night to sit on the couch and watch some quality chat shows.
Here’s our latest round-up of talk show content, there should be plenty here to keep anyone occupied.
President Michael D Higgins turns 80 this Sunday, and to mark the milestone Ryan headed over to Áras an Uachtaráin during the week to sit down and discuss the President’s hopes for Ireland’s future.
Does this call for a rendition of happy birthday mister president? We hope not.
President Higgins’ big day will also be marked over on TG4 with an hour long music and arts special at 9.30pm on Sunday night.
But back to tonight’s viewing, as Ryan will be joined by Oscar-winning actress and star of Misery Kathy Bates.
She’ll be ‘zooming’ by to tell Ryan how she’s getting on trying to perfect a Ballyfermot accent for her latest role in the Miracle club – an upcoming film about three Dublin women who win a pilgrimage to Lourdes.
Filming was due to start in Dublin this month, so we can expect an update from Kathy on when we can see her in the fair city alongside Maggie Smith and Laura Linney.
Also tonight, Ireland rugby captain Johnny Sexton will be chatting about his chances of making the Lions team, the return of Simon Zebo to Munster, and lending his support to DEBRA Ireland – the charity providing support services to patients and families living with the debilitating skin condition epidermolysis bullosa (EB).
Claudia Scanlon, who has EB, will be joined by her mother Liz to speak about living with the condition.
Music tonight is courtesy of Imelda May, who’ll be performing Don’t Let Me Stand on My Own off her new album.
Plus, Noel Hogan and Bronagh Gallagher will be performing their single Crybaby.
Graham’s red chairs are getting a break this week as tonight’s episode is just a highlight reel.
Good news if you missed this season of the chat show, you can catch up on previous appearances from George Clooney, Tom Hanks, Jamie Dornan, Viola Davis, Bruce Springsteen, Jessica Chastain, and Dolly Parton.
We all know that the Gleeson family are an incredibly talented bunch, but Seth Meyers wasn’t aware the brothers were so particular about the pronunciation of their names.
While promoting their new show Frank of Ireland on Late Night with Seth Meyers, Domhnall and Brían teased the host over his attempts at the names, which he doesn’t do too bad at.
“We saw you trying to pronounce our names before the show started… you went through Domhnall four times, you had them change the name on the card… then you tripped up on Bríon because it looks like Brian,” Domhnall joked.
Meyers quipped that he preferred their brother Fergus’ name “because you say it the way it’s spelt”.
Joking aside, the brothers also explained the process of making the Channel 4 comedy set in Malahide and revealed how they got their father and brother to participate in the project – it wasn’t out of courtesy.
Meanwhile, the recent conduct of Trump ally and Florida congressman Matt Gaetz has been a hot topic for late-night hosts this week.
Gaetz has denied the allegations of sex trafficking and having sex with a minor, and claims he is the victim of an extortion scheme.
With the scandal still swirling, Jimmy Kimmel pulled no punches in breaking down the odds of Gaetz “ending up in prison” after one of Gaetz’s associates told prosecutors that he had encounters with women who were given cash in exchange for sex and that he had wild parties with Republican officials.
“The odds of Matt Gaetz going to prison are now higher than his hair,” Kimmel joked.
“Has Matt Gaetz learned nothing from Donald Trump? You’re supposed to have your lawyer pay the women, after you have sex with them, in secret.”
Kimmel also had President Joe Biden’s son Hunter on to promote his new book, Beautiful Things, detailing his struggle with addiction.
During the interview, Hunter is asked about Donald Trump Jr and whether he had ever met the son of the former president who repeatedly smeared him in the run-up to last November’s election.
“Not that I know of, but I’ve been in some pretty rough places,” Hunter Biden said in response, adding that he doesn’t spend too much time thinking about Donald Jr’s “wildly comical” comments.
Stephen Colbert meanwhile revealed this week that he hasn’t said Trump’s name since last November after he falsely declared victory.
“I’m not trying to scrub him out,” Colbert said. “It’s just that legend has it, now that he’s out of office, if you say his name three times, he appears in your bathroom mirror and then uses your toilet while complaining that it’s low flush.”
Colbert asked viewers to help him find a new name for the old president, prompting several responses under the Twitter #HeWhoShallNotBeNamed.
“I’m looking for a reliable substitute for his name,” Colbert said. “Maybe I should just call him ‘Melania’s husband,’ or ‘Jeff Epstein’s dance partner’ or something really insulting, like ‘Don Jr’s father.’”
Over on Last Week Tonight, John Oliver took a deep dive into the industry behind nursing homes and assisted living facilities in the US, and why long-term care overall needs fixing.
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