Love is in the air this week, with not one but two dating shows!
This week's best telly includes the return of First Dates and Emma and Matt Willis host the UK version of Love Is Blind on Netflix.
Elsewhere, Channel 4's award-winning anthology series On The Edge returns with three new short drama, The Umbrella Academy returns for its fourth and final season and ITVX bring us Slip, a new comedy from Zoe Lister-Jones.
Here are 5 TV shows you can't miss this week...
1. On The Edge
Monday 5th August at 10pm, 10.35pm and 11.10pm on Channel 4
RETURNING ANTHOLOGY DRAMA
Channel 4's anthology drama On The Edge, which sees up-and-coming storytellers write and direct a short drama, returns this week for its fourth series, with three episodes which all touch upon the importance of care and caring.
Wet Look, written by Toby Parker Rees and directed by B Welby, tells the story of young couple Gwynn and Rob, played by Tanya Reynolds and Iwan Rheon, as they navigate the highs and lows of their burgeoning relationship. But there's a twist: while Rob is a human millennial, Gwynn is a mermaid who's struggling to adjust to life on dry land.
Letting Go, written by Beru Tessema and directed by Mitch Kalisa, tells the story of Gabriel, played by Anthony Welsh, a foster father who can't bear to let go of Faith, played by Luna Mwezi, the teenage girl who's been in his care for years. When the authorities decide that Faith's birth mother is well enough to take her back, Gabriel struggles to process this massive change and becomes convinced that Faith will be in danger. He hasn't understood that his complex feelings about his own father are affecting his judgement. Will Gabriel's behaviour lead to him losing Faith altogether?
The Final Countdown, written by Natalie Burt and directed by James Doherty, tells the story of Ray, played by Paul Copley, a septuagenarian with a wicked sense of fun and a fondness for a pint, and devoted long-time husband to Dora, played by Eileen Davies, who has dementia. Their stoic grandson Terry, played by Joseph Payne, has become Dora's primary caregiver while Ray buries his head in the sand and refuses to admit that Dora might need professional help. Can Terry persuade Ray that Dora needs to go into residential care before something terrible happens?
1-3/3 All episodes available at launch
2. First Dates
Tuesday 6th August at 10pm on Channel 4
RETURNING REALITY TV
As Fred Sirieix opens the doors to the First Dates restaurant for its 22nd series, the flames of passion are burning in the restaurant as fire performer Hayley meets business owner Glen who confesses if he was to be someone in a movie it would be Christian Grey from Fifty Shades of Grey.
Temperatures continue to rise in an unforgettable rendezvous of playful encounters and steamy surprises. The sexual attraction is undeniable but will Hayley and Glen's chemistry lead to a lasting connection?
Welsh 36-year-old Sarah is tattooed from head to toe. She has low expectations when it comes to her match: 'I just want to find someone that's not an arsehole' and 'who'll take my bins out on a Tuesday.' Enter the equally inked Dan who seems to tick the non-arsehole box.
Twenty-four-year-old William has never kissed a girl and is on his first date ever. His match is 23-year-old Zara, also on her first ever date. William has been hindered in romance by his stutter but he and Zara bond over a mutual interest in the royal family. T
And finally, thirty-four-year-old Ashauna and 38-year-old Kurt are the last couple in the restaurant today. Kurt lends a sympathetic ear when Ashauna tells of her self-esteem taking a hit after facing dating discrimination over her albinism. Could Kurt be the gentleman Ashauna needs?
1/ Continues weekly. Next epsiode available after this episode airs
3. Love Is Blind: UK
Wednesday 7th August on Netflix
BRAND NEW REALITY TV
Following the huge success of Love Is Blind, it's time for the UK to fall back in love with love as Emma and Matt Willis host a social experiment where British singles look for love and get engaged before meeting in person. But who will say "I do"?
UK singles who want to be loved for who they are have signed up for a less-conventional approach to modern dating, and will choose someone to marry without ever meeting them.
Over several weeks, the newly engaged couples will move in together, plan their wedding and find out if their physical connection matches their strong emotional bond developed in the Pods. When their wedding day arrives, will real-world realities and external factors push them apart, or will they marry the person they fell blindly in love with?
This series will uncover whether looks, race or age do matter, or if love really is blind.
1-4/11 Continues weekly with 5 episodes on the 14th and 2 episodes on the 21st
4. The Umbrella Academy
Thursday 8th August on Netflix
FINAL SEASON
As The Umbrella Academy returns for its fourth and final season, the Hargreeves siblings have scattered after the climactic showdown at the Hotel Oblivion led to a complete reset of their timeline.
Stripped of their powers, each is left to fend for themselves and find a new normal — with wildly varying degrees of success. Yet the trappings of their uncanny new world prove too hard to ignore for very long.
Their father Reginald, alive and well, has stepped out of the shadows and into the public eye, overseeing a powerful and nefarious business empire. A mysterious association known as The Keepers holds clandestine meetings believing the reality they’re living in is a lie and a great reckoning is coming.
As these strange new forces conspire around them, the Umbrella Academy must come together one last time and risk upsetting the shaky peace they’ve all endured so much to secure, to finally set things right.
1-6/6 All episodes available at launch
5. SLIP
Thursday 8th August on ITVX
BRAND NEW COMEDY
Having first aired on The Roku Channel in 2023, Zoe Lister-Jones' comedy SLIP comes to the UK on ITVX. It stars Zo as Mae, who we follow through a surreal journey of parallel universes, married to different people, trying to find a way back to her partner, and ultimately, herself.
Mae is restless in a life and marriage that works. There is love between her and her husband, but little romance. When Mae "slips" and has a one-night stand with Eric, a handsome man she meets at a bar, she wakes up the next morning in a panic, only to realize she's entered a parallel universe in which she and Eric are married.
This is the start of her surreal journey as she slips into other realities and relationships, trying to find a way back to her husband, and ultimately, herself.
1-7/7 All episodes available at launch
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