This week's best telly includes something for music, comedy and drama fans with an exclusive interview with Billie Eilish, the return of Channel 4's award-winning anthology series I Am and comedy from Iain Stirling, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Tim Renkow.
Here are 5 TV shows you can't miss this week...
1. Billie Eilish: Up Close
Saturday 31st July at 10.30pm on BBC Three
To celebrate the release of her new album, Clara Amfo meets the global music phenomenon Billie Eilish for an exclusive interview in her home town of Los Angeles.
In just three years, Billie Eilish has gone from recording music in her bedroom to becoming one of the biggest music stars in the world. At just 19 years old she has already amassed countless accolades and awards, as well as making history with her second Record Of The Year Grammy win in March 2021.
In this 45-minute entertainment special, Clara will talk to Billie about her latest album Happier Than Ever, her extraordinary rise to fame, the people who helped her get there and the pressure of being a role model for millions. As well as the effect her remarkable success has had on her life and her role as an inspiration for young people all over the world.
This new film will be followed at 11.15pm by Radio 1 Live Lounge: Billie Eilish Special on BBC iPlayer which will see Billie make her debut for the world-famous Radio 1 Live Lounge to perform a selection of tracks.
1/1
2. Jerk
Sunday 1st August on BBC Three
Jerk, the BBC Three comedy in which acclaimed stand-up Tim Renkow, plays a heightened version of himself, returns for a second series with Sharon Rooney and Rob Madin back as Tim's friends Ruth and Idris and Lorraine Bracco also back as Tim's mom.
Tim is a man who uses the fact that he has cerebral palsy to try and get away with anything. He knows that he makes other people uncomfortable, and he knows that because he does it on purpose.
He knows that having cerebral palsy means he can get away with saying and doing what others can’t. But that’s his issue: time spent taking aim at easy targets means Tim takes his eye of life’s bigger prizes.
In the first episode, Tim has enrolled himself on a uni course, not that he has any intention of going, but a student visa means he can stay in the UK and wreak more havoc!
1-4/4 All episodes available at launch
3. I Am Victoria
Thursday 5th August at 9pm on Channel 4
Created, written and directed by BAFTA-winning filmmaker Dominic Savage, Channel 4's female-led anthology series, I Am, returns this week with three brand new films, each developed with the leading actors.
With improvised dialogue and themes including relationships, mental health, and empowerment, the trilogy explores the experience of three women in moments that are emotionally raw, thought-provoking and personal.
The first film, I Am Victoria, stars Suranne Jones as Victoria who seems to have a perfect family, job and home. But something is wrong. The pressure she feels is becoming unbearable. We see her struggle with mental health and the effect that has on her and her family.
I Am Victoria explores the anxieties that often lie beneath a veneer of happiness and success. It portrays a woman weighed down by life's pressures and in need of help, but unable to seek it. It also stars Ashley Walters and Alice Feetham.
The second film in the series, I Am Danielle stars Letitia Wright and the final film in the series, I Am Maria stars Lesley Manville.
1/3 Continues weekly. All episodes available at launch
4. Buffering
Thursday 5th August at 10pm on ITV2
ITV2 have had a tricky relationship with sitcoms in the past, Plebs undeniably their best, until Buffering, a smart, funny and warm sitcom written and created by voice of Love Island Iain Stirling and Steve Bugeja.
Buffering follows Iain, played by Iain Stirling, a children’s TV presenter with an aversion to kids and in an up and down relationship with TV producer Olivia, played by Elena Saurel. In the first episode, Iain has broken up with Oliva and launches himself into the dating scene until the news comes that they're about to be co-parents.
Jessie Cave, Paul G Raymond, Rosa Robson and Janine Harouni star as Iain's housemates Rosie, Greg, Ashley and Thalia whilst Sean Sagar joins later on in the series as Ashley’s old flame Robbie.
They're all navigating that age where they’re too old for nightclubs but too poor for mortgages. Part of a generation who are told they must live the perfect life, these friends discover it’s not only ok but healthy to fail, over and over again.
Buffering's guest stars include Lolly Adefope. Vicky Pattison, Michael Spicer, Joel Dommett, Sam Womack, Alistair Green, Nigel Ng and Phil Fletcher.
Read my interview with Steve Bugeja here.
1-2/6 Continues weekly. All episodes available at launch
5. Mr. Corman
Friday 6th August on Apple TV+
Joseph Gordon-Levitt returns to our screens this week in Mr. Corman, a brand new comedy-drama for Apple TV+ which follows the days and nights of Josh Corman, an artist at heart but not by trade.
Things haven’t been going his way lately – his lifelong dream of a career in music didn't pan out and he finds himself teaching fifth grade at a school in the San Fernando Valley, his ex-fiancé Megan has moved out and his high school buddy has moved in.
Aware that he still has a lot to be thankful for, Josh struggles nevertheless through universal feelings of anxiety, loneliness and self-doubt.
It's a comedy-drama which speaks for the contemporary generation of 30-somethings, rich with good intentions, poor with student loans and working to become grown-ups sometime before they’re senior citizens.
1-2/10 Continues weekly