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.

• The Late Late Show, RTÉ One, 9.35pm  

Joining Ryan in the studio and via Zoom will be Glen Hansard, U2′s Bono and The Edge, Imelda May, Hozier, John Sheahan, Finbar Furey, Shane MacGowan, Danny O’Reilly, Roisin O, Declan O’Rourke, Lisa O’Neill, and Kodaline’s Steve Garrigan.

All involved are expected to perform and have chat about memories of the busk from down the years, and the importance of the work of the Simon Community

“This will certainly be a night to remember with the best of Irish talent in one room coming together for some incredible performances,” Tubridy said.

“In return, our friends here are asking viewers to dig deep to donate to the Simon Community and to help our brothers and our sisters who are currently homeless to get off the streets, to be safe, to be warm, to be treated with dignity and decency and ultimately to get the type of secure housing that everyone deserves.”

Ryan will also interview special guest Philip Powell, who was staying in a hostel when he struck up a friendship with Glen Hansard and became a staple performer of the Grafton Street busk. Philip will speak of his experiences of being homeless on and off for two decades.

• The Graham Norton Show, BBC One, tonight, 10.45pm

Unlike the Tubridy, Graham will be back on our screens for a New Year’s Eve special alongside Tom Hanks, Emily Blunt, Jamie Dornan, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Nish Kumar and Jessica Chastain.

But tonight, you’ll have to settle for George Clooney, Michael Sheen and David Tennant,  Viola Davis, Daisy May Cooper, and Vanessa Kirby.

Michael Ball and Alfie Boe will be performing a rendition of Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. 

Across the pond 

Joe and Jill Biden sat down with Stephen Colbert for their first joint interview since last month’s presidential election. 

The future first lady said she was surprised at the tone of recent attacks on her doctorate degree, after an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal called for her to drop Dr from her title (she earned a doctorate of education from the University of Delaware in 2007).

When Colbert asked Joe his thoughts on the matter, he said: “I’ve been suppressing my Irish-ness for a long time.” We’ll take that as a compliment then…

Colbert also spoke with Whoopi Goldberg about the third instalment of Sister Act. 27 years on the nuns are having another go around, but Goldberg was tight-lipped about possible plot lines. 

If you’re still doing some last-minute Christmas shopping, Jimmy Kimmel has the gift for you. The mayor of Atlantic City is auctioning off the chance to blow up one of Donald Trump’s former casinos. Whoever donates the most money (to charity) gets to press the detonator next month. Kimmel says a much a simpler way to make a Trump casino implode is to put Trump back in charge of it again. 

Kimmel also spoke with Viola Davis about her new movie Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, and acting alongside the late Chadwick Boseman. And for the season that’s in it, here’s Alanis Morissette performing Happy Xmas (War Is Over). 

Ahead of the release of his new album today, Paul McCartney told Jimmy Fallon it came about while he had some time on his hands during lockdown. It was only after he finished eleven songs he thought “this might be an album”. 

Watch the interview below if you want to feel like you accomplished nothing this year. 

Graham Norton makes another appearance on the list, this time as a guest of Fallon. Talking about filming his show during the pandemic, Graham said nothing fills the void of his missing audience (not even the laugh track from the last season, shudder). 

And if you were wouldn’t whether Santa Claus is a savage, he is. This Megan Thee Stallion remix is, naturally, not for the kids in your life.

From the archives 

Despite being released 26 years ago, Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas Is You is currently top of the charts around the world.

Here she is in 1994 talking about her new “peppy Christmas number” before it became a staple of the season.