From Fleabag to Prince Andrew – the best and worst of television in 2019

November saw the passing of Gay Byrne, Ireland’s greatest broadcaster for almost fifty years — a verdict that remains true whether you marvelled at his command of the airwaves or whether he infuriated you.

Some people managed both reactions simultaneously, but there were no dissenting voices on The Late Late Show tribute special, transmitted in the week of his death — although some of the RTÉ and other showbiz attendees used the occasion to speak as much of themselves as of the man they were supposedly honouring. The viewer, meanwhile, was left musing that none of them was fit to tie his shoelaces.

November was also notable for Prince Andrew’s car-crash interview with Emily Maitlis on BBC1. Forget Maria Bailey’s defence of her swing debacle on Sean O’Rourke’s radio show earlier in the year — that was just a minor prang compared to the arrogance, entitlement, stupidity and blithe disregard for Jeffrey Epstein’s victims displayed by the Queen’s second son. No wonder she hurriedly put him out to pasture.

It was riveting television, though, as was Leaving Neverland (Channel 4), a two-part documentary in which two young men who’d been preyed on and abused by Michael Jackson told their stories. So stark, detailed and eloquently matter-of-fact were their accounts that it was impossible not to believe them.

The year came up with other fine documentaries, not least Kevin Roche: The Quiet Architect (RTÉ1), screened in March to mark the death of a visionary Irishman who had found fame in America. Mark Noonan’s exemplary film paid as much attention to the arresting public buildings Roche created as to the man himself and was all the more engrossing for it.

Dermot Bannon, of course, remained Ireland’s only architect, at least as far as RTÉ was concerned, and so we had yet another season (the 12th!) of Room to Improve as well as Dermot Bannon’s Incredible Homes, which really was incredible, given the number of times he said “Wow!” on this junket around the globe — more often even than the ecstatic judges on that other property-porn show, Home of the Year, also on RTÉ1.

But the same channel also came up with Colm Nicell’s charming film Under the Clock, feauring reminscences from couples whose first dates began by meeting under the Clery’s timepiece in the 1960s and 1970s. There were some lovely stories here and a few poignant ones, too.

John McEnroe: Still Rockin’ at 60 (BBC1) had lots of charm, too, in its profile of the bad boy of tennis who became a treasured Wimbledon pundit, while in Shoulder to Shoulder (RTÉ1), Brian O’Driscoll proved to be a thoughtful and enquiring presenter as he explored the different rugby traditions north and south of the border. He asked some hard questions, too, in an absorbing documentary.

It wasn’t a good year for comedy on RTÉ (it never is), but over on BBC2 the second season of Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Fleabag was sublime, funnier and deeper than the first season and with Andrew Scott’s priest (“So hot!”) an inspired addition.

I liked, too, Aisling Bea’s sitcom, This Way Up (Channel 4), with lovely interplay between herself and Sharon Horgan, who also excelled in a third season of Catastrophe (Channel 4). And Bea was easily the best thing about Living with Yourself (Netflix), an otherwise disappointing sitcom featuring Paul Rudd as a guy who gets himself cloned.

But the second season of The Kominsky Method (Netflix) was the real deal, with Michael Douglas and Alan Arkin having a ball as two Hollywood guys dealing with the indignities of old age.  Terrific script, too.

And there were fine dramas to be savoured, though the much-vaunted Dublin Murders (RTÉ1/BBC1) wasn’t among them – when it wasn’t impenetrable, it was simply implausible. But Line of Duty (BBC1) continued to exert its grip, while Spiral (BBC4) did likewise, and viewers can look forward to new seasons of both series.

I also liked Dead to Me (Netflix), a smart and funny drama with Christina Applegate as a grieving Californian widow who comes to discover that her late husband wasn’t quite the paragon of virtue she’d assumed before he was killed in a hit-and-run accident. 

The Virtues (Channel 4), created and scripted by Shane Meadows, was a hard watch, but Stephen Graham was astonishing as a man who’d been abused as a child in Ireland and whose life had completely unravelled. Helen Behan was excellent, too, as his long-lost sister, but this was Graham’s drama and you couldn’t take your eyes off him.

Killing Eve (RTÉ1/BBC2) returned for a second season, but that turned out to be a mistake. Yes, Jodie Comer had been brilliant in the first season and Sandra Oh had been very good, too, but enough had been enough and there was the sense here of something been rehashed just because everyone had loved it first time around. Certainly what had originally seemed excitingly new suddenly seemed tired and formulaic.

But the third season of Mr Mercedes (RTÉ2) was as ferociously good as its predecessors and the mystery remains why this outstanding crime series, adapted from Stephen King’s trilogy of novels, hasn’t been snapped up by the BBC, Channel 4 or whoever. Kate Mulgrew was a terrifying psychopath in the final season, while Brendan Gleeson, Breeda Wool, Justine Lupe and Holland Taylor were as winning as ever.

But the year’s finest drama was Unbelievable (Netflix), which concerned the pursuit of a serial rapist in Colorado by two dogged police women from different jurisdictions but both intent on identifying the perpetrator and bringing him to justice. These were wonderfully played by Toni Collette and Merritt Wever, while Kaitlyn Dever was remarkable as the teenager whose disbelieved story set the investigation in motion. What could have been lurid was handled with great finesse and empathy in an eight-part series that managed also to be a real thriller. If you missed it, you can rectify that over the Christmas.

Finally, a word of praise for RTÉ’s sports department, which is nearly always very good and was excellent in its coverage of the FIFA Women’s World Cup. This featured a panel of women, players and former players, who conveyed their knowledge and insights without any of the grandstanding traditionally favoured by  RTÉ’s revered male pundits.

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