Saving Notre Dame
Channel: National Geographic Channel (DStv 181 / StarSat 220)
TX Time: 19h00
Genre: Documentary, Factual
Notre Dame Cathedral draws millions of global citizens every year to worship and bask in the history of Paris.
On 15 April, 2019, during Holy Week, the same millions witnessed the horror of its near destruction by a blazing inferno, its spire atop falling to the ground.
Now, one year later, National Geographic's one-hour special Saving Notre Dame reveals the remarkable efforts to rebuild this French symbol of national pride and global iconic landmark.
Cameras were granted exclusive access into the cathedral, just days after the fire, embedding with the workers for over 10 months during the rebuilding efforts and capturing the most dangerous rescue and engineering operations.
Saving Notre Dame recounts the aftermath of the devastating fire and unprecedented one-year rescue mission to prevent the unstable Cathedral from collapsing.
The special not only brings you to the heart of the action to understand the steps of reconstruction, but also pays tribute to the bond of solidarity and know-how of the dedicated team of craftsmen and highly skilled workers.
Rebuilding efforts captured in Saving Notre Dame include:
The intrepid rope access technicians, suspended in mid-air, carefully removing debris above a damaged vault over the north rose window.
First-hand accounts from the workers on the tough challenges they faced: shaky scaffolding, intense storm winds and strict decontamination protocols due to the two-hundred tons of led released into the air by the fire.
Experts in their fields who offer perspective on topics such as history, religion and architecture.
Stacey Dooley: Face to Face with the Bounty Hunters
Channel: BBC Brit (DStv 120)
TX Time: 22h15
Genre: Documentary
Stacey Dooley investigates bounty hunters in the USA as they hunt down fugitives who have skipped bail, bringing them back to face justice.
On the outskirts of Denver Colorado, Stacey immerses herself in the world of a group of bounty hunters, led by husband and wife duo Scott and Lydia Gribble.
They hunt down fugitives every day, locking up as many as 11 bail dodgers a week. She sees them force their way into properties, interrogate accomplices and taser and handcuff defendants who've gone on the run.
Stacey sees the lengths the bounty hunters will go to capture a fugitive and get paid.
In America, defendants who are too poor to bail themselves out of jail rely on bondsmen to loan them their bail money.
But when they don't play by the rules the bondsmen can send bounty hunters to go find them and bring them back to court – so the bondsman doesn't lose his money.
These bounty hunters have sweeping powers and in all states but four (Wisconsin, Illinois, Kentucky and Oregon), nearly anyone, with very little training, can pick up a gun and hunt down fugitives who have gone on the run.
Bounty hunters have been part of the American justice system since the 1800s, a system which uses money to make sure people don't run away after they've been charged with a crime.
And if defendants do go on the run, paying bounty hunters to go get them means they won't get away.
It's a $14-billion private industry that does the job that in the UK falls to the government and police, with bondsmen making money from every defendant who needs their help and bounty hunters making money from every fugitive they capture.
Alongside the bounty hunting profession, Stacey learns how the commercial bail system works in America.
Robert Boykin is the owner of Hope Bail Bonds. He pays Scott and the gang to hunt down fugitives who have skipped on the bail he has loaned the defendants, for a price.
Robert says he is helping people - getting defendants out of jail who cannot afford bail on their own, while they wait for their trial.
Stacey meets and interviews the fugitives who Scott and his team arrest as well as the people around them. She learns that relatives and friends become 'co-signers' who play an important role in this system.
They sign a contract with the bondsman and are legally bound to help the bounty hunters find the defendant if they go on the run. They also have to pay for the bounty hunters and any other costs.
Stacey meets 29-year-old Keri, who lives with her husband, grandmother and children.
Keri was arrested for assaulting an ex-boyfriend, was bailed out by Hope Bail Bonds but then didn't go to court. So Scott goes to find her and bring her back to jail.
She follows the bounty hunters as they go after 21-year-old Bryce, who has missed numerous court dates but now has a job at McDonalds.
She sees Scott interrogate 17-year-old Image, whose mother is the co-signer for a fugitive on the run.
And in a run-down part of the city, Stacey sees the bounty hunters taser an aging meth addict who is hiding out in a drug house.
Stacey learns that defendants like these rely on bondsmen like Robert because they don't have enough money to bail themselves out.
And if they fail to play by the rules, she sees that they can soon find themselves in real difficulties, with their debts going up and bounty hunters at their door.
The bounty hunters and bondsmen believe this for-profit system is the most efficient way of getting people to face justice.
But it seems that the poorest and most vulnerable in society pay the highest price.
As more Americans than ever before rely on the bail industry, Stacey asks what happens when you put a price on people's freedom?
Ghost Nation
Channel: Travel Channel (DStv 179)
TX Time: 21h10
Genre: Supernatural, Docu-Reality
The "OG" paranormal investigators that started it all - Jason Hawes, Steve Gonsalves and Dave Tango - are back for all-new adventures to the other side.
Only this time, they're not alone...
Now, the pioneers of the genre respond to urgent calls from local paranormal investigators nationwide who have reached a dead end with their vexing personal cases.
The trio is getting back to its roots, helping homeowners who are dealing with harrowing hauntings and people whose lives have been overtaken and threatened by unexplained phenomena.
Each of the 10, hour-long episodes features a high-stakes case and a robust, multi-stage investigation that begins with a shocking paranormal story and a tantalising piece of evidence.
Stories featured include a couple who recently gained notoriety when their nanny-cam footage captured a ghostly shadow figure walking by their baby's crib; a local team that captured possible shadow people moving throughout a notorious haunt; and an investigator who is actually scratched by an unseen phantom.
Armed with brand new state-of-the-art technology and their meticulous methodology, the team, under its new banner, United Paranormal Research Organization (UPRO), will face the most challenging and dangerous paranormal mysteries the USA has to offer.
In every investigation, collecting evidence is just the beginning. The team isn't merely conducting a cursory review of the case.
With the help of their local contacts, team members will embed themselves in the community, conducting multi-day investigations in an effort to track down the true source of these hauntings and restore peace to the living... and the dead.
In the series premiere, the paranormal pioneers announce the formation of UPRO at the Fanboy Expo Event in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Amateur paranormal investigator Jessica Clevinger is in the audience and immediately asks for help with a local case that's over her head.
Single mom Brittany Totherow bought a White Pine, Tennessee, farmhouse because it was the perfect home in which to raise her young son.
But soon after moving in, she experienced unnerving phenomena and witnessed a female apparition.
Her future husband, Cory, eventually moved into the home with his own children, but it wasn't long before he began experiencing events himself.
Within days, Cory started hearing unexplained footsteps and captured video of an apparition standing behind Brittany. Now, their children are starting to have strange encounters.
At a loss for what to do, Jessica, Cory and Brittany turn to the UPRO team for help.
100 Day Dream Home
Channel: HGTV (DStv 177)
TX Time: 19h50
Genre: Reality, Home Improvement
Brian and Mika Kleinschmidt are a husband-and-wife team from Tampa, Florida, who make dream homes come true.
She's the realtor, he's the developer and together they help clients both design and build the perfect house from the ground up in just 100 days or less.
First, they find inspiration by shopping for ideas in inhabited properties, then they build a custom home from scratch in a fraction of the time it would take to build an average property.
From constructing the perfect love nest for a pair of soon-to-be newlyweds to fusing modern with rustic farmhouse charm for a young family of five, every project is unique.
For Brian and Mika, nothing is better than making dream homes a reality; and with their combined expertise they are on a mission to prove they can do it in 100 days.
Easy Ways to Live Well
Channel: BBC Earth (DStv 184)
TX Time: 19h00
Genre: Documentary Series, Food
Modern life is not good for us. Most of us know we are fatter, less fit and more stressed than ever before. And all of us want to be healthier, but with temptation everywhere, it's incredibly hard.
Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Steph McGovern are determined to help us all fight back, revealing the easy fixes to dramatically improve our diet, fitness and mental wellbeing.
In the series premiere, Hugh and Steph challenge one community to test out easy solutions for their compulsive snacking.
The doctors and nurses at Llandaff Surgery in Cardiff work such long hours that they live off an endless supply of cakes and biscuits to get through the day.
Hugh and Steph want to trial two contrasting solutions, adding a bit of competition to spice things up.
Hugh wants to test the latest science around the surprising power of peppermint, while Steph wants to test out a study that showed how putting a 25-second time delay on the snack cupboard could curb our cravings.
But if they're cajoling others to live well, then Hugh and Steph feel it's only fair that they walk the walk themselves.
Like 40% of us, Steph suffers from a dodgy stomach but doesn't know why. And Hugh wants to tackle what's been called the health epidemic of the 21st century – stress.
Helping them sift through the maze of scientific research is Dr Zoe Williams, who will be helping them find smart and surprising ways of tackling their health concerns.
For Hugh she suggests trying cold water therapy – essentially immersing yourself in freezing temperatures for three minutes at a time.
And after a rather intimate test of Steph's bowels, she embarks on a new regime to look after her gut health.
Steph also meets one young family struggling with screen time addiction, suggesting simple ideas to make it easier for the whole family to spend time together.
Meanwhile, Hugh investigates the multi-million pound industry of electric muscle toners, who effectively sell a six-pack in a box.
The question is, do they actually work?
Liar 2
Channel: BBC First (DStv 119)
TX Time: 20h00
Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Drama
Three weeks after damning evidence was uncovered proving Andrew Earlham sexually assaulted 19 women, his body is found in the Kent marshes.
As one of Andrew's more recent victims, Laura Nielson can't help feeling relieved by the news of his death. The last three weeks spent knowing Andrew was somewhere out there and missing have not been easy.
Yet the seaside community is rocked when the case quickly becomes a murder investigation.
Out of town officer DI Karen Renton is put in charge of the case, and together with DS Rory Maxwell, they begin to unpack the events of the three crucial weeks leading up to Andrew's death.
The news cast a shadow over those who knew Andrew, all of whom, like Laura, are trying to move on with their lives.
As the search to find Andrew's killer gains momentum, the community will be forced to face up to the secrets of their recent past, secrets many of them hope will stay buried.
Soon, Laura finds herself thrown deep in the mire of Andrew's destructive path, and once again must fight to be believed.
In the Season 2 premiere: Three weeks after his disappearance, Andrew's body is found on the Kent marshes. His throat slit, it's declared he was murdered.
Laura meanwhile is trying to move on from her ordeal. She's slowly growing in confidence in her new relationship with Ian and has returned to work.
Yet her initial relief upon learning of Andrew's death is cut short.
As DI Renton and DS Maxwell seek to determine who killed him, Laura finds herself drawn into Andrew's destructive path and once again must fight to be believed.
Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives 31
Channel: Food Network (DStv 175)
TX Time: 19h00
Genre: Food, Reality, Travel
Guy Fieri knows a thing or two about hearty, flavoursome food, and in this series he travels across America - and beyond - in search of the best "greasy spoon" eateries.
These diners, drive-ins and dives have been doing it right for decades, and these days they're booming again.
Run by a whole new generation of owners, these joints serve up delicious home-made food and Guy is hitting the road to check them out.
Whether it's a shack on the side of the highway or a sports bar in Vegas, Guy samples their best dishes and chats to the locals who are regulars in these iconic regional restaurants.
From a Jamaican joint serving fried chicken to an Ottawa eatery's 400-year-old cod cake recipe, these are the kind of places that make America great.
In the Season 31 premiere, "Guy's All-Star Guests": Guy has a rock-star lineup kickin' it with him in the kitchen.
First, in Kansas City, Missouri, Chiefs' head coach Andy Reid tackles pigskin at a joint meticulous about their meat.
Then, in Waltham, Massachusetts, rocker Sammy Hagar rolls into a spot servin' a crazy burger and pumpkin-bread French toast.
And in Boston, Chef Ken Oringer is divin' into a seriously unbelievable lobster roll.