AS ANOTHER FRIDAY night rolls around, a bit of light banter might help to break up the monotony.

With the evenings getting darker, there’s no better night to sit on the couch and enjoy 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

It’s a new season of the Late Late, and that can only mean one thing, new guests (kind of).

Kicking off tonight is Kerryman Donie O’Sullivan – his coverage of the riots at the US Capitol for CNN earned him national recognition and a call from Late Late producers for a Zoom appearance back in January. 

This time around Donie will be in the studio, and he’s not alone. For the first time in 18 months, the Late Late will welcome back a live audience. However, Tubridy told his RTÉ Radio 1 show during the week that tonight’s audience will be “very small”, about 28 people out of the usual 200.

Soon we’ll be back to full capacity, and moments like Crystal Swing’s Derek Burke hucklebucking up and down the aisles for a packed out Studio 4. Simpler times.

While we wait, let’s get back to tonight’s lineup.

Ireland’s Olympic heroes – including Kellie Harrington, Paul O’Donovan, Fintan McCarthy, Aidan Walsh, Afric Keogh, Eimear Lambe, Fiona Murtagh, Emily Hegarty – will chat to Ryan about their lives since returning from Tokyo and the heroes’ welcome they all received.

Then, Sophie Toscan du Plantier’s son, Pierre Louis Baudey-Vignaud, will be on to tell Ryan about the impact of his mother’s brutal murder and why he still visits the home in west Cork where she was murdered.

Culture Club’s Boy George also will be live in the studio to talk about his music career and his, you guessed it, “special connection to Ireland”.

There are also plenty of musical options tonight, and first up is The Script who’ll be performing their new single I Want It All. They’ll also be chatting to Ryan about their forthcoming greatest hits collection and why they’re so excited to get back on the road with a new tour.

Eileen O’Riordan will be performing a musical tribute to her daughter Dolores on what would have been The Cranberries singer’s 50th birthday. Eileen will be joined by Fergal Lawler from the band to chat with Ryan about Dolores’ incredible talent and mischievous nature.

Ahead of tonight’s show, here’s Dolores back in 1999 chatting to Pat.

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