The Greek gods are angry, war is brewing in Middle-earth and there are murders needing solved. As if that wasn’t enough to get the blood pumping, the Paralympics start this week.
Only Murders in the Building
Tuesday
Disney+
Your dad’s favourite comedians team up with your cousin’s favourite pop star for a fourth series of armchair detective work.
Charles-Haden Savage (Steve Martin, The Jerk), Oliver Putnam (Martin Short, Three Amigos) and Mabel Mora (Selena Gomez, The Big Short) are back. Their true crime podcast, which gives the show its name, is getting a film adaptation. With the sleuthing troika out in LA, the case of who killed Sazz (Jane Lynch, Glee) at the end of series three is yet to be solved. As suspicions mount, celebrity cameos abound, including Meryl Streep (The Devil Wears Prada).
Paralympics Opening Ceremony
Wednesday
Channel 4, 6.30pm
If you watched the Olympics and found yourself wanting more, have no fear: Paris 2024 isn’t over yet. Marketing for the Paralympics has encouraged viewers to stop thinking of the athletes as good, considering, and start thinking of them simply as good. If you want proof of Paralympic prowess, just watch any game of wheelchair rugby, also known as murderball, for its intensity and aggression.
Team GB will be sending 215 athletes to the French capital, 46% of them women, the highest proportion ever.
Kaos
Thursday
Netflix
Finally, a series that answers the question “what if Zeus was into tracksuits, and played by Jeff Goldblum?”
When the ruler of the gods finds a wrinkle on his forehead, he becomes convinced the end of his reign is over. As it turns out, Prometheus (Stephen Dillane, Game of Thrones) is plotting Zeus’s downfall.
Joining the ensuing chaos in supporting roles are Suzy Eddie Izzard (Culprits) and Billie Piper (I Hate Suzie).
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
Thursday
Prime Video
Amazon’s mega-budget Tolkien adaptation, set thousands of years before the original Lord of the Rings trilogy, is back for a second series.
At the end of series one, it was revealed that Halbrand (Charlie Vickers, Medici) is actually the Dark Lord Sauron. Now, with three Rings of Power forged, war is inevitable.
Series two will see the live action debut of Tom Bombadil, played by Rory Kinnear (No Time to Die), as well as the undead Barrow-wights.
The Voice UK
Saturday
ITV1, 8,00pm
The reality singing contest combining musical talent with the world’s most expensive swivel chairs returns.
will.i.am and Tom Jones will be both back as coaches. Joining them in the show’s first ever double chair are McFly stars Danny Jones and Tom Fletcher. Country icon LeAnn Rimes will also be judging, in her first Voice rodeo.
Last series, will.i.am was the winning coach, with protegees Jen & Liv, now known as HUNNI. Can the other judges unseat him?