THE REMOTE IS our weekly look at the upcoming TV listings. What With Everything, people are at home a bit more than usual these days so we’ve got you covered whether you want a solo TV night or one for all the family.

We’ll focus mainly on free-to-air TV and freely available streaming services – with the occasional recommendation from subscription services too.

Something that’s got people talking

Netflix’s hit show is pretty simple in its concept but exceptionally expensive in its execution. The Crown follows the life and reign of Queen Elizabeth II and the new fourth season is probably the most anticipated yet. 

That’s because we’ve now reached the Charles and Diana years with Gillian Anderson joining the cast as Margaret Thatcher.

For Irish viewers, the first episode has caused a stir online as it features a depiction of the IRA bomb attack in Sligo that killed Louis Mountbatten and three others. 

When’s it on? Streaming now on Netflix

Something gross out

Twitter / ITV Twitter / ITV / ITV

There are some things that just cannot be stopped, even by Covid-19. I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! has been going since 2002 and is back this year in a slightly different format. 

While the ITV show usually jets the famous and not-so-famous faces off to to a jungle setting in Australia, this year they’re heading to a castle in Wales instead.

Apart from that, don’t expect much to change. 

When’s it on? Nightly at 9pm on Virgin Media One

Something familiar

The return of The Den was up there with the most unexpected TV events of 2020 but two weeks in and the return appears to have been a successful one.

The iconic show has morphed from a daytime rolling kids programme to become an hour-long family show on Sunday evenings. 

Phone-in interviews and chats were always central to The Den, so in that sense it’s perfect for Covid-era programme making. 

When’s it on? Sundays at 6.30pm on RTÉ One

Something lovely in lockdown

Speaking of Covid-era, another show that’s very 2020 scale is TG4′s Grá faoi Ghlas, which features Irish couples documenting their own lives during lockdown. 

This show starts tomorrow and, according to the promotional blurb, the couples will “answer a series of progressively awkward questions that they’d rather not deal with in normal circumstances”. 

In a year when First Dates is pretty much off the agenda, this is probably the closest we’re going to get. Eoghan McDermottt narrates the show. 

When’s it on? Wednesdays at 8.30pm or online at TG4.ie

Something political

More than anyone else, I wrote my book for young people—as an invitation to once again remake the world, and to bring about, through hard work, determination, and a big dose of imagination, an America that finally aligns with all that is best in us. https://t.co/1yZrYWuckX

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) November 12, 2020

Former US president Barack Obama has a new book out. The memoir is called A Promised Land and it’s the first autobiographical account of his presidency. 

It comes out just as his vice president Joe Biden gets ready to assume the loftier office, and indeed just in time for Christmas. 

Ahead of its release Obama is likely to be doing a series of interviews, but one good one to watch will be a 30-minute special with UK historian David Olusoga. 

When’s it on? Tomorrow at 7.30pm on BBC One