Eight television shows to watch this week

Modern Family
Monday, Sky1, 8.30pm
It may have settled into comfortable middle age, but for its loyal fans, Modern Family is still the daddy of all family comedies. The show returns for its seventh series and the producers promise a changed family dynamic, as Alex goes off to college and Mitch goes through a midlife crisis.

Fargo
Monday, Channel 4, 10pm
When the Coen Brothers' 1996 classic Fargo was adapted for television, no one expected it to match up to the film-makers' uniquely dark vision, but it turned out to be a revelation. Billy Bob Thornton was superbly malevolent as hitman Lorne Malvo, and Martin Freeman's turn as spineless insurance salesman Lester Nygaard signalled that we definitely weren't in the Shire anymore. Box-set it now, why don't ya?

The second series of Fargo is set again in the cold expanses of North Dakota, but goes back in time to 1979, and features a new cast of stars, including Patrick Wilson as state trooper Lou Solverson, Ted Danson as sheriff Hank Larsson, and Kirsten Dunst as Peggy Blumqvist, a hairdresser who wonders if there's more to life than being the wife of a small-town butcher. Expect more gruesome murders, black humour and down-home accents. If it's anything like series one, it will keep you awake these winter nights.

Republic of Telly
Monday, RTÉ Two, 9.55pm
Kevin McGahern is back to eviscerate the week's TV in a new series Republic of Telly. Nothing is sacred as McGahern, aided and abetted by comedian Bernard O'Shea, dissects the latest offerings on the box and rips the proverbials out of the big telly stars. This season they welcome comedian Joanne McNally to the demolition crew.

The Muppets
Monday, Sky1, 8pm
It's time to play the music once again as The Muppets return to the small screen, older but none the wiser. This documentary-style series takes us behind the scenes at the making of their new talk show, Up Late with Miss Piggy, documenting the studio-set mayhem, backstage banter and dressing-room shenanigans. Kermit has a new porcine girlfriend, while Miss Piggy throws a diva strop when told her guest on the show is Elizabeth Banks. Just what has Piggy got against the Hunger Games star?

Angela Scanlon's Close Encounters
Tuesday, RTÉ Two, 10pm
Angela Scanlon has a list of people she wouldn't particularly like to interview, but she's setting aside all preconceptions for her new series, Angela Scanlon's Close Encounters. In each episode, she spends time with someone who either intrigues or irritates her. Her first interviewee is WWF champion Sheamus, aka Cabra man Stephen Farrelly, whose paddywhacking alter-ego has become a household name in world wrestling circles.

Bring the Noise
Thursday, Sky1, 9pm
Ricky Wilson of Kaiser Chiefs must have enjoyed his stint as a judge on The Voice: he's back to host music and comedy quiz show Bring the Noise, in which celebrity guests battle it out under team captains Tinie Tempah and Nicole Scherzinger, with added comedy from Katherine Ryan. I predict a laugh-riot.

Pit Bull: Reality Bites
Thursday, RTÉ Two, 9.30pm
They are considered the most fearsome and dangerous of all the dog breeds, but some owners feel pit bulls are getting bad press: if they get the right care and attention, they can make cuddly family pets. Pit Bull: Reality Bites looks at the world of Ireland's restricted dogs, which include Rottweilers, bull terriers, Alsatians and mastiffs, and finds out what attracts people to keep these breeds as pets, and even allow them to be around their children.

A Different Class
Thursday, RTÉ One, 10.15pm
What happens when a new school opens in one of Dublin's most ethically diverse areas? A Different Class, a two-part documentary, follows the first year in the life of Hansfield Educate Together secondary school in Ongar, Dublin 15. We meet the teachers, students and parents as they prepare for the school's opening, and find out how the school copes with the many challenges it faces during its first year.