As scheduling changes are made to ITV soaps Coronation Street and Emmerdale, and as the 40th anniversary of EastEnders is celebrated with a live special on BBC One, how is the future looking for continuing drama on TV? Former Executive Producer of EastEnders John Yorke and Entertainment Journalist Emma Bullimore discuss the impact of the audience's viewing habits on commissioning. Renowned Irish novelist Joseph O'Connor talks about his latest historical book, The Ghosts of Rome, a story of heroism set in Italy during World War Two. And we hear about Vanishing Point theatre company's stage adaptation of acclaimed writer Haruki Murakami's short stories Confessions of a Shinagawa Monkey, which is a co-production with the Kanagawa Arts Theatre of Japan. Presenter: Kirsty Wark Producer: Mark Crossan

Front Row continues to look at how culture has changed in the first 25 years of this century with an edition focusing on books.Tom Sutcliffe is in the Front Row studio with two writers who've helped to shape the literary landscape over those years – the novelists Zadie Smith and Andrew O'Hagan. They are joined by the presenter of Radio 4's A Good Read and World Book Club, Harriett Gilbert, who's chosen Smith's White Teeth as one of her key books so far this century. Plus Editor of The Bookseller Philip Jones joins the discussion to reflect on the changes in publishing and the impact of technology on our reading habits Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe Producer: Ciaran Bermingham

Hollywood legend Robert De Niro explains why he's starring in his first ever TV series Zero Day, where he plays a former US President out to find the culprits behind a deadly cyber-attack on America. He's joined by the show's screenwriter Eric Newman. With the British Council facing financial pressures it is considering the sale of its art collection, we hear from Jenny Waldman, Director of the Art Fund about what this might mean. Mark Anthony Turnage and Lee Hall talk about their new opera Festen, based on the Danish film by Thomas Vinterberg, which explores the impact of a dark family secret revealed at a birthday party. And, curator Anna Villi and author Elodie Harper discuss the British Museum and Colchester and Ipswich Museum's Gladiators of Britain exhibition. Presenter: Samira Ahmed Producer: Ruth Watts

Tom is joined by the writer and broadcaster Octavia Bright and the Observer's theatre critic Susannah Clapp to review another version of the Greek classic Oedipus, this time at the Old Vic in London and starring Rami Malek.Also reviewed: The Last Showgirl, which has Pamela Anderson starring as Shelley with Jamie Lee Curtis as her good friend. Shelley's Vegas cabaret show is closing and the imminent change forces her to confront her life choices. And: We Do Not Part, the new novel by Nobel Prize for Literature winner, the Korean writer Han Kang. We also hear about the Japanese collaborative SANAA, founded by Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa, which has won the Royal Institute of British Architects' Royal Gold Medal for architecture, from Professor Sadie Morgan. Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe Producer: Corinna Jones

Writer Holly Walsh and actor Lucy Punch on the Motherland spin-off series, Amandaland which also stars Joanna Lumley Director, screenwriter and producer of September 5, Tim Fehlbaum about his new film that explores what happened at the 1972 Munich Olympics from the perspective of the sports journalists who found themselves broadcasting the story As the Slapstick Festival returns to Bristol for its 20th anniversary, we look at the history of this enduring form of comedyPresenter: Kirsty Wark Producer: Fiona McLellan

Front Row continues to look at how culture has changed in the first 25 years of the century with an edition focusing on film and TV.Samira is joined by Radio 4's Screenshot presenters Mark Kermode and Ellen E. Jones, Jane Tranter, who relaunched Doctor Who in 2005 and co-founded Bad Wolf productions and Boyd Hilton, the Entertainment Director of Heat magazine. From reality TV to superhero franchises and the rise of binge-watching, the panel discuss how transformations have changed what we watch, how we watch it and who makes it.Presenter: Samira Ahmed Producer: Claire Bartleet

Coralie Fargeat has been nominated as best director for her film The Substance which stars Demi Moore. She tells Samira about her inspiration for the satirical horror about a Hollywood star who takes a dangerous drug to create a younger version of herself. Josephine Baker’s memoir has been translated into English for the first time, fifty years after the death of the iconic performer. Cultural historian Dr Adjoa Osei and translator Anam Zafar discuss Baker's incredible life and legacy. The story of Greek heroine Electra has been written in play form by Sophocles, was made into an opera by Richard Straus and inspired Marvel comics and films. A new production, based on Sophocles' Electra which was translated by Canadian poet Anne Carson has just hit London’s West End starring Brie Larson and Stockard Channing. Anne joins Samira to talk about the translation.Presenter: Samira Ahmed Producer: Paula McGrath

Tom Sutcliffe is joined by writer Dreda Say Mitchell and critic Scott Bryan to assess the week's cultural releases, including a new stage version of the hit TV series Inside Number 9. They've also been watching Mike Leigh's first film in 6 years, Hard Truths, which has reunited him with Marianne Jean-Baptiste who was nominated for an Oscar in his hit film Secrets and Lies. Finally they review Saturday Night, the new film about the beginnings of the cult TV series Saturday Night Live which launched the careers of many comedians including Tina Fey. Presenter: Tom Sutcliffe Producer: Claire Bartleet

We celebrate the centenary of the publication of F Scott Fitzgerald's seminal novel The Great Gatsby, with Fitzgerald experts James West and Sarah Churchwell, Writer and performer Matthew Zajac talks about his new theatre production The Testament of Gideon Mack, based on James Robertson's acclaimed book about a Minister who doesn't believe in God, but then meets the Devil, And news of a new prize for contemporary dance productions, from SIr Alistair Spalding of Sadler's Wells, and one of the judges of the prize, Dame Arlene Phillips. Presenter: Kirsty Wark Producer: Fiona Maclellan

As new BBC One drama adaptation, Miss Austen, shines fresh light on Jane Austen's sister Cassandra, Gill Hornby, who wrote the eponymous novel on which Miss Austen is based, and Claire Harman, author of Jane's Fame, How Jane Austen Conquered The World, discuss how perceptions of Cassandra's burning of her sister's letters have been changing.Paris-based journalist and cultural critic Agnès Poirier reports on President Macron's announcement at the Louvre.Artist Chila Kumari Singh Burman reflects on weaving together personal, historical, and social stories in her exhibition , Chila Welcomes You, at Imperial War Museum North in Manchester.Alex Allison and George Harrison on their new novels which centre on football. Alex's Greatest of All Time is a tender gay love story set among a fictional premiership team in the North East while George Harrison's Season is a cross generational tale of two dedicated football fans that stretches over a season.Presenter: Nick Ahad Producer: Ekene Akalawu