LAST UPDATE | 25 Aug 2022
WAR IN IRELAND 100 years ago and Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine feature prominently in RTÉ’s new autumn schedule, along with a slate of gritty new dramas and a platform for some of Ireland’s new comedy stars.
The national broadcaster is set to offer a range of programming across TV, radio and online to mark the centenary of the Civil War.
Top billing is The Irish Civil War, a three-part documentary series narrated by Brendan Gleeson. Sean O’Rourke will make his return to RTÉ, following the Golfgate saga, to chart the diverging paths taken by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael after the war ended in Two Tribes.
Katie Hannon will front an archival examination of what Ireland did once it achieved statehood in Communism, Sex, and All That Jazz, while A Deal with the Devil will see Michael Portillo tell the story of the Civil War from the perspective of the British government.
The schedule includes over 40 hours of new Irish drama including a second season of Kin and the return of Smother as well as brand-new series North Sea Connection, SisterS, The Dry and Clean Sweep.
North Sea Connection is a thriller set within an isolated fishing community in Connemara, starring Lydia McGuinness, Sinead Cusack, Kerr Logan and Alida Morberg.
Clean Sweep sees Charlene McKenna take-up the role of a housewife married to a Garda detective who kills her former partner in crime when he threatens to expose her dark past.
SisterS is a dark comedy-drama about two women who discover they are half-sisters and embark on a road trip across Ireland.
The Irish response to the war in Ukraine will be examined in The War at Home, which captures the experiences and emotions of Ukrainians travelling to Ireland.
Meanwhile, DIY SOS Ukraine Special will feature Baz Ashmawy and his team of volunteers working to provide temporary housing for families fleeing the war-torn country.
We’re here at the RDS for RTÉ’s new season launch. Stay tuned for more details of the national broadcaster’s slate of shows for late-2022. pic.twitter.com/qheCIKhU7Y
— TheJournal.ie (@thejournal_ie) August 25, 2022
On the comedy front, No Worries if Not! on RTÉ 2 will provide a platform for a range of viral video stars including Justine Stafford, Emma Doran, Michael Fry, Killian Sundermann and Sean Burke.
The 2 Johnnies Do America has also been granted a second season which will see the Tipperary men travel to Nashville, Tennessee, and the home of country music.
Five well-known Irish people will travel back to the Gaeltacht to relive bunk beds, curfews and the no Béarla rule in Réaltaí na Gaeltachta.
Mise FRESHIN will combine various strands of Irish music and The Ultimate Irish Playlist will count down the songs that define Irish music and culture as voted on by over 100,000 2FM listeners.
The schedule also features a range of popular RTÉ programmes including the 61st season of The Late Late Show, The Tommy Tiernan Show and Angela Scanlon’s Ask Me Anything.
Tiernan’s Epic West also promises to take a contemplative and personal look at the culture and landscape of the west of Ireland.
Another documentary will see the Stardust disaster probed, in the context of fresh evidence being presented to the inquest.
Arthur Gourounlian and Brian Dowling will document their surrogacy journey and Saipan-Rebel Without a Ball asks how far the Irish team could have gone had Roy Keane stayed with Mick McCarthy’s team in 2002.
Dancing with the Stars will be back for series 6, with a new co-presenter as Nicky Byrne heads on tour with Westlife. There will also be a new coach on Ireland’s Fittest Family in the form of current Dancing with the Stars winner Nina Carberry.
Davy Fitzgerald will also put another group of teenagers through the mill in Davy’s Toughest Team.
Ultimate Hell Week: The Professionals will put a new line-up of well-known recruits through their paces, and the ever-popular First Dates Ireland will also make a return.
Award-winning author Colm Tóibín will examine the bog-inspired works of Heaney and other artists in Untameable.
RTÉ Director General Dee Forbes said: “With 40 hours of original Irish drama, this is RTÉ’s biggest drama slate to date and brings exciting new talent to our screens; live broadcasting remains central to our schedules and this is really to the fore in our selection of top class free-to-air live sport showcasing our national teams, national games and our athletes, and including all 64 games from the FIFA World Cup 2022.
“Our strong offering of factual programmes tells uniquely Irish stories which consider many facets of Irish life and culture, while our schedule of arts and culture programming connects audiences with some of the great artists and musicians we have here in Ireland,” Forbes added.
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