The Box Set
American Idol, 7.30pm, Tuesday, Three
After a short hiatus, the long-running US singing competition is back for its 16th season. While Ryan Seacrest returns as host but an all-new, all-star panel of judges will assess the aspiring talent – Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan.
Barry, 10pm, Fridays, SoHo
In this new, eight-part comedy, Saturday Night Live and Trainwreck star Bill Hader plays a depressed low-rent hitman from the US midwest who falls in love with acting while on a job in Los Angeles. ‘‘A funny, violent, gripping and masterfully melancholy half-hour show,’’ wrote Washington Post’s Hank Stuever.
Cinderella, 7pm, Saturday, TVNZ2
Kenneth Branagh’s 2015 live-action re-imagining of one of Disney’s classic animated adventures is a lavish-looking, finely nuanced take on Charles Perrault’s fairytale which will delight audiences of all ages. It might follow the traditional script of always helping an old lady and never trusting a grand duke, but there’s some lovely life-lessons about kindness, courage and punctuality among all the flowing frocks and talk of fairy godmothers. However, the film’s real stars are Downton Abbey’s Lily James – so luminous in powder blue – as the eponymous ashen-faced, but openhearted orphan Cinderella, and a bewitching Cate Blanchett as her scheming stepmother.
Eddie the Eagle, 7pm, Saturday, Three
Taron Egerton and Hugh Jackman star in this 2016 dramatisation of the story of Eddie Edwards, the notoriously tenacious British underdog ski jumper who charmed the world at the 1988 Winter Olympics. ‘‘Turns a long-running joke of British sport into a crowd-pleasing story of inspiration. It’s a solid-gold winner,’’ wrote Empire magazine’s Olly Richards.
Bear’s Mission with Rob Brydon, 7.30pm, Sunday, Choice
In this 2017 ITV documentary the Chief Scout takes the Would I Lie to You? host on an adventure in the mountains of Snowdonia. Situated in the north of Wales, it is described as being some of the UK’s harshest wilderness. ‘‘This is reminding me of when I was 6. I joined the Cubs for a week and I left because it was too rough,’’ comedian Brydon says.
Dara and Ed’s Road to Manderlay, 7.30pm, Monday, Choice
Three-part, 2017 BBC series in which Irish comedians Dara O’Briain and Ed Byrne embark on an expedition from the bright lights of modern-day Malaysia to the jungle of Myanmar. ‘‘We’ve learned to bicker at a low level the entire way through,’’ says O’Briain on how the pair stay sane in each other’s company.
The seven-day television listings are as accurate as possible at the time of publication. For the most up-to-date programme details, please see the newspaper’s daily listings.