AS ANOTHER FRIDAY night rolls around, a bit of socially distant light banter might help to break up the monotony.
With the drop in temperatures, 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 from the week and what will be on tonight. There should be plenty here to keep anyone occupied.
After an emotional interview two weeks ago, Vicky Phelan is back tonight via video link to update Ryan on her first week of treatment in Maryland, which she hopes will be a process that will prolong her life and afford her more time with her family.
Veteran broadcaster Tommie Gorman will be joining Ryan following the announcement today that he is to retire after four decades as a reporter with RTÉ. Northern Correspondent Vincent Kearney will replace Gorman as its Northern Editor this spring.
Gorman will be discussing Covid-19 and the border issue, and looking back at the standout moments from the four decades he has spent bringing news reports to Irish viewers and listeners.
Performances of sea shanties (nothing to do with Ashanti, unfortunately) have become commonplace in recent weeks on TikTok. It can be traced back to a 26-year-old Scottish man Nathan Evans performing a 19th-century folksong from New Zealand on the short-form video app.
Evans will be chatting about his rise to fame which resulted in him quitting his job and landing a record deal in the space of one week.
Dublin footballer Shane Carthy’s new book Dark Blue, due out next month, details his battle with mental health and experiencing suicidal thoughts. He’ll be telling Ryan about how he got through the darkest of days.
Also on tonight’s show, this year’s Axa Community Heroes finalists will be honoured for going above and beyond to help others and doing it against all odds over the past year.
Music tonight is courtesy of Niamh Regan, the RTÉ Choice Music Prize nominee from Galway.
Joining Graham tonight: Actor Sam Neill, in new Australian comedy drama Rams; actor Billie Piper, talking about her film Rare Beasts, which she wrote, directed and stars in; Cold Feet star James Nesbitt, in new Northern Ireland-set BBC series Bloodlands; and comedian Andi Osho, promoting her debut novel Asking for a Friend; and music legend Tom Jones, who also chats and perform his new single No Hole in My Head.
Politics is thankfully taking a back seat for late-night talk show hosts this week. If you’re looking for someone to thank for this respite, look no further than the Reddit users who have been buying some of the most bet-against stock on US markets.
They are using apps like Robinhood and eToro, which offer easy access to stock markets and commission-free trading, to make a significant impression on stock markets in recent days, sending Wall Street insiders into a tailspin.
If you’re finding it a bit confusing still you can check out this explainer here or watch Trevor Noah channel his inner Margot Robbie in The Big Short.
Likewise, Jimmy Kimmel breaks down the GameStop stock market drama with the help of an expert in video games and money.
We did say no politics this week but the following is important:
Kimmel took a moment out of his monologue to play an awkward moment US Senator Lindsey Graham had during a live interview on Fox News.
Graham can be seen staring at his finger and quickly looking up at the camera with a smile when he realises the show has come back from an ad break.
Kimmel says that if Graham wasn’t picking his nose then he was “just in there searching for election fraud.”
Kimmel also spoke to Michelle Pfeiffer about her new movie French Exit, and looked back at her starring role in the music video for Coolio’s classic Gangsta’s Paradise.
To the other Jimmy now. If you have young people in your house or are young yourself then you’ve likely heard of or seen the HBO drama Euphoria (no judgement if you’ve watched it and are over the age of 25).
One of its stars Hunter Schafer joined Jimmy Fallon last week to talk about the latest episode (which she co-write) of the hit series following teenagers as they navigate addiction, sex, and family.
And lastly, it’s always nice to see some Irish faces among the thumbnails. Grammy-nominated Dublin band Fontaines D.C. performed A Hero’s Death for Fallon earlier this week.
Pioneering actress Cicely Tyson passed away yesterday aged 96, known best for Emmy-winning television movie The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman and her Academy-nominated turn in 1972 film Sounder.
She played other legendary Black female historical figures, including Harriet Tubman and Coretta Scott King, the activist wife of Martin Luther King, Jr, frequently turning down roles she saw as reinforcing negative Black stereotypes.
In this 2014 interview, Cicely explains how her natural hair inspired a movement and why hairstylists were none too pleased.
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