Britain's Got Talent goes live!
This week's best telly includes the return of Stephen Merchant's The Outlaws, the return of Channel 4's We Are Lady Parts and Britain's Got Talent counts down to this year's final with a week of live semi-finals.
Elsewhere, Benedict Cumberbatch stars in Netflix's newest thriller, Eric and Mark O'Sullivan delves deep for a sitcom project with a difference.
Here are 5 TV shows you can't miss this week...
1. Britain's Got Talent
Monday 27th to Friday 31st May at 8pm on ITV1
LIVE SEMI-FINALS
Ahead of Saturday's live final in which the 17th winner of Britain's Got Talent will be named, weeks of jaw-dropping auditions continue with five live semi-finals as performers who previously wowed the judges in London and Manchester return to win a spot in the final and walk away with both the life-changing £250,000 prize and that coveted place at The Royal Variety Performance.
9-13/14 Continues nightly
2. My Sexual Abuse: The Sitcom
Tuesday 28th May at 10pm on Channel 4
BRAND NEW DOCUMENTARY
In what promises to be an incredibly personal and moving documentary, My Sexual Abuse: The Sitcom follows writer and comedian Mark O'Sullivan as he creates a sitcom about the sexual abuse he survived as a child, and the court case that led to the conviction of the man who abused him.
The documentary will chart the writing, rehearsals and eventual filming of an episode of the 1980s-style family sitcom in front of a studio audience, which will be available to stream on Channel 4 straight after. It will explore why Mark has chosen to deal with his abuse in this way and see him ask whether comedy really can be used to confront some of the worst parts of the human experience?
As the sitcom begins to take shape with an all-star cast including Cariad Lloyd, Rufus Jones, Ellie Taylor and Sam Underwood, Mark reveals his daring decision to play a 12-year-old version of himself, and the unusual portrayal of the paedophile.
In order to make the sitcom, Mark delves into his past, meeting a range of people who help him understand what he went through as a child - from a friend of his late parents to a psychotherapist and his wife Jenny. Through these encounters, Mark also examines what happened when, as an adult, he revealed the abuse to his family, the court case that took place when Mark was in his thirties, and the ways that being a survivor of abuse continues to shape his life and mental health.
With his comedy partner and best friend, Miles Chapman, Mark weighs the role of humour in dealing with trauma, and with fellow abuse survivor, broadcaster and comedian-turned-counsellor Iain Lee, Mark is challenged about what he's doing and why.
Culminating in the studio recording of the sitcom in front of a live audience, the documentary builds into what promises to be an audacious, heartfelt and, at times, funny exploration of the effects of childhood sexual abuse, and the redemptive power of creativity.
Mark O'Sullivan's My Sexual Abuse: The Sitcom (The Actual Sitcom) will be available to stream on Channel 4 straight after this documentary has aired.
1/1
3. Eric
Thursday 30th May on Netflix
BRAND NEW DRAMA
Benedict Cumberbatch leads Abi Morgan's new Netflix emotional thriller Eric, which is set in 1980s New York and follows the desperate search of a father when his nine-year-old son disappears one morning on the way to school.
Vincent, one of New York's leading puppeteers and creator of the hugely popular children's television show, Good Day Sunshine, struggles to cope with the loss of his son, Edgar and becomes increasingly distressed and volatile.
Full of self-loathing and guilt around Edgar's disappearance, he clings to his son's drawings of a blue monster puppet, ERIC, convinced that if he can get ERIC on TV then Edgar will come home.
As Vincent's progressively destructive behavior alienates his family, his work colleagues, and the detectives trying to help him, it's Eric, a delusion of necessity, who becomes his only ally in the pursuit to bring his son home.
1-6/6 All episodes available at launch
4. The Outlaws
Thursday 30th May at 9pm on BBC One
RETURNING COMEDY
Stephen Merchant's The Outlaws is back for a third series and with The Dean awaiting trial, the outlaws are moving on with their lives.
Ben runs his own food shack and is dating. Myrna is rekindling a romance with Sean, an old flame. John has a new-found Zen outlook, although his marriage is on the ropes. A shock diagnosis makes Gabby consider having a baby, while Greg has been roped into winning back her inheritance from her father, The Earl.
Diane, now a fully qualified PCSO, is training up an eager protégé, Stan. But everything changes when Rani shows up with a terrible secret and needs The Outlaws to help bury it. The gang are hurled back into the heart of crime and once again become targets of The Dean.
1/5 Continues weekly. All episodes available at launch
5. We Are Lady Parts
Thursday 30th May at 10pm & 10.30pm on Channel 4
RETURNING COMEDY
After 3 years, hit Channel 4 comedyWe Are Lady Parts is finally returning for its second series as Anjana Vasan returns to play Amina Hussain, who in the first series was recruited to be the unlikely lead guitarist of Muslim punk band Lady Parts, alongside Saira, Ayesha, Bisma and Momtaz.
After the high of their first UK tour, series two sees the band return with a renewed artistic mission, only to find a rival band threatening their delicate status quo. But as the reality of chasing success sets in, Lady Parts embark on recording their first album, juggling personal ambitions and questioning whether ‘making it big’ is really what they want.
The second series will feature cameos from Malala Yousafzai, education activist and co-founder of the Malala fund as well as comedy legend Meera Syal.
1-2/6 Continues weekly. All episodes available at launch
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