‘Fáilte Towers’, ‘Sex and Sensibility’ and ‘The Big Money Game’ are some of the new titles set to reach our screens in the coming months as part of RTÉ’s summer line-up.
From RTÉ Entertainment, new reality show ‘Fáilte Towers’, produced by Adare, will see 12 familiar Irish faces attempt to manage a hotel for two weeks, while four-part series ‘Sex and Sensibility’, produced by Midas Productions, examines how Irish people’s attitudes to sex have changed over the last five decades. Miriam O’Callaghan’s live chat show ‘Saturday Night with Miriam’ kicks of on Saturday 7th June, and Laura Woods fronts new National Lottery gameshow ‘The Big Money Game’ from June 14th. A four-part series ‘The History of Irish Comedy’, produced by Midas, takes a look at Ireland’s history in comedy, featuring comedians from Brendan Grace to Pat Shortt.
A range of new lifestyle and factual series are also in the line-up, with Dermot O’Neill presenting ‘Super Garden’, produced by Vision Independent Productions. The series follows five budding garden designers as they compete for the chance to exhibit in 2009’s Bloom in the Park. Chefs Kevin Thornton and Kevin Dundon will compete in ‘Heat’, produced by Loosehorse, as they mentor a group of amateur cooks who fight for the title of ‘Heat’ Champion.
‘Use it or Lose it’, produced by Stirling, will see former sports stars reunite with the teams of their heyday, as they focus on diet and fitness issues to get back to peak performance.
RTÉ Archive Unit has turned out two new series reflecting on dramatic events in Ireland’s history, ‘Disasters’ and ‘Hostage’. Popular series ‘Consuming Passions’, produced by Wildfire Films, and RTÉ’s ‘Corrigan Knows Food’ and ‘O’Gorman’s Summer’ return to our screens along with Coco Television’s ‘Room to Improve’, Sideline’s ‘Baby on Board’ and Waddell Media’s ‘How Long Will You Live Revisited’.
A new three-part crime series ‘Heist’, produced by Independent Pictures, looks at infamous Irish crimes and ‘Customs’ is a six-part observational documentary, produced by Open Eye Television, gives an insight into the lives of Ireland’s Customs Officers. A six part series from Animo Productions entitled ‘This is Me’ will highlight disability issues.
Feature length drama ‘Little White Lie’, produced by Element Pictures, stars Andrew Scott and Elaine Cassidy and tells the story of a failing actor whose life and career have gone down hill since he was dumped by his highflying girlfriend.
RTÉ will broadcast coverage of international sporting events including ‘Euro 2008’ and ‘The Olympics’, as well as Ireland’s own GAA Championships. A new five-part series ‘Ireland's Olympians’ features in-depth interviews with leading Irish athletes and international experts from the world of sport - including Derval O'Rourke, Eileen O'Keeffe and Alistair Cragg.
RTÉ Music brings three new series throughout June and July alongside the returning ‘The Symphony Sessions’. RTÉ Young People’s ‘The Buzz’ and energetic game show ‘Quizone’ will both return on RTE Two.
"Our focus in recent years has been on bringing quality home-produced programming to Irish audiences all year round,” said Noel Curran, MD of RTÉ Television. “Special attention has been given to the summer period over the last few years and this trend will continue for summer 2008."
