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Sofa Watch: Irish Olympic hopefuls join Ryan as the Late Late wraps up for the summer

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.

Here’s our latest round-up of talk show content, there should be plenty here to keep anyone occupied.

  • The Late Late Show, RTÉ One, 9.35pm

Tonight is the final episode of the season for the Late Late Show, before it shuts down for the summer – and it’s jam-packed with sport.

The Olympic hopefuls of the Irish team will be taking a break from their final preparations to join Ryan and discuss their journey to Tokyo 2021 (which, at the time of writing, is still set to go ahead).

The Team Ireland athletes set to sit on the Late Late stage include flyweight boxer Brendan Irvine, marathon runner Aoife Cooke, badminton player Nhat Nguyen, gymnast Rhys McClenaghan and Natalya Coyle from the modern pentathlon.

Trica Heberle, Chef de Mission Team Ireland, and Peter Sherrard, CEO of the Olympic Federation of Ireland, will also be in the studio.

Katie Taylor will also be making an appearance, in her first in-depth Late Late interview since she turned professional five years ago.

Sonia O’Sullivan will also be joining the show from the US, as she looks back on her silver medal victory from the Sydney 2000 Olympics.

Adam King, who stole the spotlight (and our hearts) in last year’s Toy Show, will also be back in  studio once again. 

The music will be from the Late Late Show Soul Band, with Irish-Zimbabwean singer Lucia Evans joining them.

We normally include a round-up of the Graham Norton guests at this point in Sofa Watch, of course, but Graham is also finished up for the summer (and hopefully putting his feet up with a nice glass of wine after a busy Eurovision). 

Across the Pond

The Governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, is backing a new law that will fine social media companies if they remove anyone who is running for office in the state. The law could result in fines of up to $250,000 a day if the candidate is removed.

The removal of former US President Donald Trump from Twitter had a “tiny hand” in the law’s creation by the Governor, host Jimmy Kimmel reckons. 

Jimmy Kimmel Live / YouTube

Jimmy Fallon was joined this week by chief Foo Fighter Dave Grohl. The pair engaged in a gripping “Song-Off” that led to Fallon losing his voice.

Fallon also hosted musical acts St. Vincent and Mustafa, and spoke to Lil Nas X, Kevin Hart and Michael Douglas, who talked about his “way over the top” acting in the Ant-Man movies.

Meanwhile John Oliver covered sponsored content (where advertising is blended directly into the broadcast on local TV news stations in the US) and how easy it is for anyone to pay for sponsored content on a show.

From the archives – Are you talkin’ to me?

Today, 45 years ago, Martin Scorsese won the Palme d’Or at Cannes for Taxi Driver.

The classic movie tells the story of Vietnam vet Travis Bickle (played by Robert de Niro) and his mental state as he works nights driving a cab. 

The film received wide critical acclaim in its day and today still holds a 96% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Robert de Niro was also nominated for Best Actor for his role in the film and Jodi Foster was nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. She later went on to win a BAFTA for Best Supporting Actress.

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