This week's must-see telly includes a Eurovision celebration, some entertaining challenge shows as well as two new gripping dramas from the US.
Here are 7 shows you can’t miss this week...
1. Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light
Saturday 16th May at 8pm on BBC One
This weekend should have seen the Grand Final of the 2020 Eurovision Song Contest take place in Rotterdam but unsurprisingly, the outbreak of Coronavirus has meant the annual competition has been postponed this year. But that hasn't stopped organisers putting on a night of entertainment for Eurovision fans.
Broadcast simultaneously across Europe and beyond, Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light will honour all 41 songs that would have competed in the 2020 contest but in a non-competitive format. Whilst the night will be hosted by the original Dutch presenters for 2020, Chantal Janzen, Edsilia Rombley and Jan Smit, Graham Norton will be providing his unique commentary throughout the evening for us in the UK.
There will also be an unforgettable virtual sing-a-long where fans from across the world will dress up and form a huge Eurovision choir performing Johnny Logan's winning song for Ireland in 1980, What's Another Year.
And if you can't wait until 8pm to get into the Eurovision spirit, then fear not because at 6.25pm, Graham Norton will host Eurovision: Come Together in which viewers can vote from a shortlist of 19 previous Eurovision entires from a range of countries, decided by a panel of experts and super fans, to determine the the UK’s favourite Eurovision song.
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2. The Fantastical Factory of Curious Craft
Sunday 17th May at 8pm on Channel 4
There's no shortage of challenge shows on telly, The Great British Sewing Bee is proving popular on BBC One, The Big Flower Fight launches this week on Netflix (see below) and last week Keith Lemon and Anna Richardson opened the factory doors for The Fantastical Factory of Curious Craft on Channel 4.
Each week, four skilful amateur crafters create prop-like, mic-drop crafts of epic proportions, using their artistic talent to create spectacular makes and impress factory boss Keith Lemon as well as a celebrity client who sets a brief and then takes home their favourite craft.
This week, the four crafters must create animal headdresses with articulated moving parts and Katherine Ryan later challenges the three remaining crafters to build a catropolis, or cat house, for her beloved feline.
Read my interview with Keith Lemon and Anna Richardson here.
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3. The Big Flower Fight
Monday 18th May on Netflix
Natasia Demetriou and Vic Reeves hosting a show on Netflix in which ten pairs of passionate amateur gardeners have to create spectacular, large-scale flower installations? Sure. Why not?
Each team will be pushing their talents to the limit for a chance to design their own sculpture at London’s Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Facing elimination with every task set, these international teams of plant-obsessed artisans will be judged by florist to the stars, Kristen Griffith-VanderYacht.
The first challenge is to build giant insects including butterflies, bees and beetles, planted with pollen-packed flowers designed to attract insects.
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4. The A Word
Tuesday 20th May at 9pm on BBC One
If you haven't already indulged in every episode of The A Word on BBC iPlayer, then you're in for a treat this week as Maurice and Eddie lock horns on a kids' camping trip.
Elsewhere, Paul tries to forge a connection with Joe and Rebecca interrupts Alison’s date with Ben to confront her about motherhood.
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5. Homecoming
Friday 22nd May on Amazon Prime Video
Homecoming returns with a fresh new mystery as Janelle Monáe plays Jackie, a woman who wakes in a rowboat adrift a lake, with no memory of how she got there or even who she is. Her ensuing search for identity will lead her into the heart of the Geist Group, the unconventional wellness company behind the Homecoming Initiative.
Series one of Homecoming, the psychological thriller based on the podcast of the same name, launched to much fanfare towards the end of 2018, thanks to the small-screen debut for Julia Roberts as caseworker turned waitress Heidi Bergman whose true reasons for leaving Homecoming, a Geist Group facility helping soldiers transition to civilian life, come under the microscope.
Reprising their roles from season one will be Stephan James as Walter Cruz who is trying to build a new life following the traumas of war and the Homecoming Initiative. He begins to realise that there’s an even more insidious version of the programme underway. If only he can remember. And Hong Chau returns as Audrey Temple, an anonymous underling at Geist who finds herself thrust into unexpected positions at the top of the corporate ladder.
Also joining the cast alongside Janelle Monáe are Chris Cooper as Leonard Geist, the company’s eccentric founder and Joan Cusack as Francine Bunda, an equally eccentric military woman.
6. Little Fires Everywhere
Friday 22nd May on Amazon Prime Video
The highly-anticipated adaptation of Celeste Ng's 2017 bestseller of the same name, Little Fires Everywhere, starring Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington finally makes its way to the UK this week after launching in the US on Hulu in March.
The series follows the intertwined fates of the picture-perfect Richardson family and an enigmatic mother and daughter who upend their lives.
The story explores the weight of secrets, the nature of art and identity, the ferocious pull of motherhood and the danger in believing that following the rules can avert disaster.
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7. Big Zuu's Big Eats
Friday 22nd May at 10pm on Dave
Last week, Grime MC and passionate cook Big Zuu made his television debut on Dave with Big Zuu's Big Eats where he's joined by childhood friends Tubsey and Hyder in his food truck to cook ultimate meals for touring comedians.
This week, he's cooking for Rosie Jones who's on tour in Portsmouth and is desperate for fish and chips just like her Nanna made and a sausage roll that can beat the ones she used to eat at school.
After fishing for the first time, hoping that they'll catch some fresh fish, Zuu, Tubsey and Hyder return to the food fan to design a fresh twist on traditional chips with a nod to Nanna’s Spanish heritage and devise a Lebanese alternative to the traditional sausage roll.
But Rosie has her own ideas too – she wants Zuu to try her unique pre-gig cocktail, which she claims tastes the same as a cheeseburger...
Read my interview with Big Zuu here.
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