RTÉ will deliver five new factual series, as well as two new documentaries and three new editions of returning factual series. ‘The Big Story’ is a brand-new six-part series for RTÉ One featuring Irish journalists discussing some of the major stories of their careers, while the new six-part observational documentary series ‘The Enforcers’ will follow the day-to-day activities of our health and environment officers.
Featuring sting operations, hidden cameras, food inspections, crime-scene cleaning, ‘The Enforcers’ exciting blend of overnight stakeouts and good old fashioned detective work promises to expose the rubbish swept under the rug …. ‘Traffic Blues’, a new six-part observational series, shines a light into six months of the life of the Traffic Corps, following them in their daily business and using footage from ground, mobile and airborne cameras, while new series Higher Ground follows the progress of eight rural entrepreneurs from all over Ireland as they attempt to diversify and take an innovative approach to new business.
Amid global concerns about the swine flu epidemic, the RTÉ Television Archive Unit launches the new series ‘Outbreak’, which tells the human stories behind disease outbreaks in Ireland over the last one hundred years.
Three new documentaries will also be delivered over the summer series. On the 30th anniversary of the assassination of Lord Louis Mountbatten, a new hour-long programme catches up with some of the key figures surrounding the tragedy and assesses how well the scars have healed. From the acclaimed ‘Hidden History’ series, ‘Sean Lemass: The Man Who Made Modern Ireland?’ explores the life and career of one of Ireland's most respected leaders, while the hour-long documentary ‘McBride’s Invincibles – The Rugby Lions of 1974’ tells the story of the 1974 British and Irish Lions tour. There will also be new episodes of returning global-equality series ‘What in the World’, documentary series ‘Flesh and Blood’, Paddy O’Gorman’s ‘O’Gorman’s Summer’ and disability series ‘This is Me’.
RTÉ Television will also deliver new drama. ‘Father & Son’, a major new four-part drama co-produced by RTÉ and ITV, is written by Emmy award winning Irish writer Frank Deasy and will star Dougray Scott, Stephen Rea, Sophie Okonedo, John Kavanagh, and Flora Montgomery. A gritty and compelling drama, ‘Father and Son’ depicts the complexity of modern inner city life where crime is now a global business, and where gun culture is an ever more entrenched part of everyday life. Ex-criminal Michael O’Connor (Dougray Scott) returns to Manchester from a quiet life in Ireland to save his teenage son from prison, but also to redeem his own troubled past.
‘Fair City’ will also deliver four new episodes each week throughout the summer season.
RTÉ Lifestyle will deliver two brand new series, ‘Trish’s Mediterranean Kitchen’ and ‘Clodagh McKenna’s Seafood Adventure’, as well as new series of ‘Off The Rails – The Complete Collection’, ‘Desperate Houses Revisited’ and a new series of ‘Room to Improve’, which sees Dermot Bannon tested to his absolute limits as he remodels eight homes, from concept to completion.
‘Saturday Night with Miriam’ returns for its fifth series with six brand-new episodes, while Derek Mooney returns with the National Lottery’s ‘Big Money Game’. To mark the 50th Anniversary of the Rose of Tralee, ‘Five Decades of Roses’, a specially commissioned documentary, will look at how the festival has mirrored Irish life down through the years, while Ray Darcy will present the 50th Rose of Tralee. RTÉ will also announce details in the coming week of a brand-new four-part summer reality series.
Music lovers will also be catered for over the summer months with three series on offer as well as an hour-long documentary on the AXA Dublin International Piano Competition. ‘The Full Set’ returns for a third series of superb Irish traditional music, while Aoibhinn Ni Shuilleabhain, Brian O’Connell and Blathnaid Ni Dhonnchadha present ‘The Reel Deal’, an upbeat traditional music series with a contemporary twist which features ‘up and coming’ performers. ‘Scόr 2009’ is a two part mini-series presented by John Creedon which looks back at this year’s All-Ireland finals on the occasion of its 50th anniversary.
This summer RTÉ Sport will offer a feast of live GAA Championship action and special programming to celebrate GAA125 while ‘The Road to Croker’ returns with a revised format, previewing the weekend’s action on Friday nights and reprising treasured GAA memories from yesteryear. Darragh Maloney presents all the action from the 2009 Confederations Cup in South Africa, a no doubt thrilling prelude to the country’s hosting of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Soccer fans can also watch the latest League of Ireland games on Monday nights with Con Murphy on ‘MNS’ and, as the Galway Races get underway in late July, viewers can look forward to a week of live horse racing from Ballybrit on RTÉ television.
RTÉ Young Peoples will also deliver 11 hours of programming each weekday throughout the summer with ‘Watch Your Language’, the rapid-fire language quiz show for 8-12 year olds from around the country presented by Roisín Ni Thomain, while Sinead Kennedy presents a new series of ‘Eye2Eye’ where youngsters meet and ask questions of people from the worlds of sports, literature, music, film, entertainment and theatre. ‘RED’, the award-winning, innovative and cutting-edge ‘vlogging series’ is the first of its kind in Ireland and allows viewers to follow the life of Stephen, through cameras in the Red apartment, with the on-line audience vlogging their views and comments.
‘Kazoo’ will return with a compilation of the best shows from the series, while Tony Lundon and Sinead Ni Churnain present 15 of the best programmes from ‘TOAST’.
In ‘Café Select’ Aidan Power brings us the best of this season’s ‘The Café’ while Brian Ormond, Sinead Kennedy and Rob Ross look at the funniest ‘ICE’ moments and best celebrity interviews.
