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nights in

Sofa Watch: Not just the usual suspects tonight as Gabriel Byrne and Andrea Bocelli join Ryan

All you need to know about your Irish and international chat show options.

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 this weekend. There should be plenty here to keep anyone occupied. 

  • The Late Late Show, RTÉ One, tonight, 9.35 pm  

Late Late Show critics rejoice. You won’t find the usual suspects in tonight’s line-up. Well, maybe one or two. 

After a two year absence from Montrose, Gabriel Byrne will be chatting to Ryan about why he decided to write his new autobiography which has lifted the lid on many private aspects of his life.

Next up is Late Late first-timer, US chat show host Conan O’Brien. He’ll be talking about his podcast, politics and, you guessed it, his Irish heritage. 

Italian Opera Singer Andrea Bocelli will also join for what producers have promised is a ‘very special performance’. 

Former US ambassador to the UN Samantha Power will be on to chat about being a close colleague of the now US President-elect Joe Biden, discussing the man behind the headlines and what we can expect from his term in office.

We did say there were no usual suspects but immunologist Luke O’ Neill is back in the studio, a month since we last saw him. He’ll be chatting about the latest developments in the search for the Covid vaccine, so we’ll let this slide given it’s a good news story. 

To mark the centenary of Bloody Sunday next weekend, the Croke Park museum will be moving part of their exhibition into the Late Late studio, where Michael Foley author of The Bloodied Field will talk through the seismic events of that day and how it shaped our country.

The Coronas will also be in the studio, performing their latest single.

The Late Late Show / YouTube

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

Panic reigned this week after fans of Graham’s tv talk show got wind of his imminent departure from BBC radio after over a decade in the job. He says he’s not leaving the red chair behind just yet, so fear not. 

Tonight his line-up is jam-packed with Hugh Grant, Nigella Lawson, Jamie Foxx, Tina Fey, Romesh Ranganathan, and Amy Adams all joining Graham for a chat – both virtually and in person. 

Music tonight comes courtesy of Dua Lipa, who’ll be performing her single Levitating.

The Graham Norton Show / YouTube

  • Deirdre O’Kane Talks Funny, RTÉ One, Saturday, 9.10 pm  

After a popular debut last week - watched by 433,000 – Deirdre O’Kane is back this Saturday night, this time with comedian PJ Gallagher. 

They’ll be chatting about everything, from his stand-up days, Naked Camera, to his radio career today.

In the clip below, PJ compares his life growing up to a comedy college. He tells O’Kane how his mother, who was a nurse, invited six people affected by severe mental illness into their home where she cared for their every need.

RTÉ - IRELAND’S NATIONAL PUBLIC SERVICE MEDIA / YouTube

Across the pond

As it turns out the election results didn’t turn down the political heat in the US, with Trump contesting the battleground states he didn’t win.

Jimmy Kimmel thinks the solution is letting Trump become the first president of Alaska: “It’s big, it’s white, it’s melting down, and it has lots of crabs just like Donald Trump.” His words, not ours.

Jimmy Kimmel Live / YouTube

Also, if you’re missing CNN’s John King and his magic wall after last week, he told Jimmy how much he really loves those touchscreen maps and his TikTok fan cam. 

The last mention of US politics now. Stephen Colbert spoke to filmmaker Michael Moore about why he’s optimistic that Biden’s Catholicism will help restore America’s moral compass and ‘reverse some of the atrocities’ committed by the Trump administration. 

Ahead of the release of season four of Netflix’s The Crown, Olivia Colman, who plays Queen Elizabeth, and Gillian Anderson, who plays Margaret Thatcher, told Stephen about their character’s wigs that ‘could survive reentry into orbit’. 

And if you’re looking to perfect your Thatcher impression, Anderson says it’s all in the teeth placement and breathing out as you speak. The more you know. 

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert / YouTube

You might remember a story a while back about a Sicilian town that was selling homes for €1, well Goodfellas and The Sopranos star Lorraine Bracco bought one, “and it was a sh*thole”.

She told the other Jimmy (Fallon) how renovating the 200-year-old Italian house landed her a tv show. 

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon / YouTube

From the archives

The Yorkshire Ripper serial killer, who was serving life in prison, died aged 79 today. 

Peter Sutcliffe was locked up for murdering 13 women across Yorkshire and the North West between 1975 and 1980.

Actor Bruce Jones, best known as Les Battersby on Coronation Street, told Piers Morgan back in 2008 about the trauma he experienced after finding one of Sutcliffe’s victims, and how he was accused of Sutcliffe’s crime. 

GriefTourist / YouTube

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