AS WE ENTER another month where sitting at home remains the in-demand social activity of the moment, you might be getting a little sick of your own sofa.
Not so over in TV land. Celebrities are still lining up to appear as virtual guests in Ireland, the UK and around the world – some things never change, eh?
In reality though, we’re grateful. Where would be if health officials, politicians and world-famous Irish boy band members weren’t rubbing shoulders – metaphorically, of course – on the Late Late Show?
It’s a thought barely worth considering. So here’s what you can look forward to on RTÉ and the BBC tonight, alongside a roundup of what you might have missed from the US shows this week.
Fresh from his big announcement on Ireland’s next steps in the battle against Covid-19, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar will be on the show to talk about, well, coronavirus.
His last big TV interview was with Miriam O’Callaghan on Prime Time, where the focus was largely on key issues like nursing homes and the government’s handling of the crisis.
Perhaps expect less of that tonight and instead more of a forward-looking discussion about how exactly Ireland might look in a post-pandemic world.
On a lighter note – or perhaps not, if you’re a sex scene sceptic – Paul Mescal of Normal People fame will be on the show to chat about the show everyone is talking about, while Picture This will be live in studio to play some songs and talk about their support of The LauraLynn Foundation.
It looks set to be a big GAA episode too, with Evanne Ní Chuilinn, Henry Sheflin, Aidan O’Shea and Kieran Donaghy all signed up to chat about how the sport has been impacted by the current crisis – and how the community is coming together.
And – perhaps most special of all – Toy Show star Tom Cullen, the eight-year old who spoke about how much he loves his granny – will be on the show to talk about how they’re coping with cocooning.
On that note, enjoy Dermot Kennedy singing ‘All My Friends’ on the Late Late Show last week.
Louis Theroux will be on the show tonight – and expect him to chat about Tiger King.
Theroux, who years ago was one of the first people to interview Joe Exotic – has already made his thoughts about the show public.
“I did think the tiger perspective was slightly lost, that was my little quibble,” he said.
Theroux will be joined by the wonderfully odd pairing of Jeff Goldblum and Imelda Staunton – two actors who deserve, one day, to be in the same film.
Mentalist Lior Suchard will also be on the show, bringing a touch of the supernatural to the virtual sofa.
And the music? Singer-songwriter Mabel will be on hand to provide a musical interlude to the still very strange Graham Norton show.
Over in the US, they’ve also been having something of a difficult time. Stephen Colbert introduced Billions star Paul Giamatti last night on the premise that he’d done some pretty spectacular drawings while stuck in quarantine.
Now, the drawings are impressive – but the real attraction is the strong bookshelf game from Colbert and his guest, who definitely found the whole experience more than a little odd.
Apparently Giamatti’s first dream was to be a cartoonist – and you know what, he ain’t half bad.
Always a man you can rely on for good anecdotes, Chris O’Dowd popped up to chat to Conan O’Brien.
Wearing a fantastically floral shirt, he detailed how his kids thought that he did the voice overs for all of TV after watching the O’Dowd-narrated TV show Puffin Rock.
“Maybe that’s an idea,” O’Dowd mused. And honestly, who wouldn’t have their day brightened up by a bearded man from Boyle narrating these strange times?
John Lennon and Yoko Ono sat down with Dick Cavett back in September 1971 when smoking on TV was still a thing.
Lennon answered the questions that we’ve always wondered, such as – did he sell his own hair?
You’ll have to watch to find out.
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