TG4, RTÉ and TV3 have announced their summer schedules featuring highlights such as TG4’s coverage of Wimbledon and the Tour de France and new series, ‘Féilte 2010’ whilst RTÉ will present the World Cup and launch several new series and TV3 will introduce their new shows such as ‘Celebrity Salon’ and ‘Style Wars’.
TG4
TG4’s upcoming summer schedule welcomes Roland Garros, Wimbledon and Tour de France coverage alongside new series ‘Féilte 2010’ and CBS’ ‘Gossip Girl’. The TG4 audiences will also see return of series such as ‘Saibhair Ach Salach’, ‘The Running Mate’, ‘Brathadóirí’, ‘Paddywhackery’, ‘Féilte 2010’ and ‘Anam an Amhráin’ as well as another chance to see the IFTA nominated series ‘Bóthar go dtí an White House’.
New series ‘Féilte 2010’ starts on Thursday, July 15th and will come from nine coastal locations around the country, celebrating each location and looking at local scenery, characters, communities, activities, food and music. The series will be presented by Síle Ní Bhraonáin (Na Cloigne) & Sinéad Ní Loideáin (Toraiocht Taisce) and starts on Thursday, July 15th at 8.30pm.
TG4 will also look to keep Irish sports fans entertained with coverage of Roland Garros from early June and Wimbledon 2010 starting on June 21st, which is directed and produced by Rónán Ó Coisdealbha, and this year’s Tour de France which starts on July 3rd.
As to returning series ‘Saibhir Ach Salach’ is a four part documentary series profiling major Irish criminals and the methods they use to amass vast wealth and expand their criminal empires in the Irish underworld. Starting on Thursday, July 1st the first programme will chronicle the financial profits of John Gilligan who earned himself a healthy profit of E80m in less than three years as a professional drug trafficker.
Another series returning this summer on TG4 is ‘Brathadóirí’ (Informers). A Scun Scan Production produced and directed by Dónall Ó Maolfabhail (Fullerton), this six part dramatic visualisation of the role of informers in Irish society from 1798 looks to shed a rare light on an aspect of our heritage that is rarely discussed or chronicled. The series starts on Thursday, July 29th. Ar Stáitse from Christy King will return to the stage as of Sunday, June 6th at 10.30pm. The series sees legendary gigs of the 1970’s & 1980’s featuring Planxty, Horslips, na Dubliners, Dé Danann, Andy Irvine, Tommy Makem all of them digitally remastered to enhance the memories or inspire new ones.
Directed by Declan Recks (Eden) and produced by Paddy McDonald (The Eclipse) and Rob Walpole (I Went Down), ‘Running Mate’, a four part political comedy drama returns to tell the story of the skulduggery and intrigue that stems from a bid by a desperate politician to win a Dáil seat in South Kerry. The series stars Don Wycherley (Bachelor’s Walk), Dennis Conway (The Tiger’s Tail), Frank Kelly (Father Ted), Eamonn Hunt, Carrie Crowley, Linda Breathnach and Lesley Conroy. The series is based on an idea by Connor McPherson, directed by Declan Recks (Pure Mule) and written by Marcus Fleming, Nicky Murphy and Mark Canton.
Saturday, July 10th will see the return of ‘Paddywhackery’, a six-part comedy drama written by Paddy C. Courtney and Daniel O’Hara (Yu Ming is Ainm Dom) who also directs. ‘Paddywhackery’ follows the exploits of newly-unemployed Paddy Woods, played by Paddy C. Courtney and his friend Siobhán, played by Siobhán O'Kelly (The Daisy Chain) as they try to set up a variety of businesses through the Irish language to take advantage of the hefty grants available to promote the native tongue. Other cast members include ‘The Guard’ actress Fionnuala Flanagan as the ghost of Peig Sayers and Eoin MacDiarmuda (Rásaí na Gaillimhe) who plays Siobhán's sneaky ex-fiancé Seamus.
‘Laochra Gael - Na Coimhlintí’ directed and produced by Moira Sweeney aims to chronicle and celebrate the great GAA intercounty rivalries between the top teams of the 1970s and 1980s. A new angle for this popular series, looking back on epic rivalries and sagas in hurling and football, contributors include players, managers, commentators and analysts. Finally the July 25th broadcast of ‘Bóthar go dtí an White House’ will give audiences another chance to see Abu Media’s IFTA nominated series. The 6 part doc series chronicles the significant and colourful Irish contribution to US politics, from Tammany Hall to the White House. Taking the huge influx of Irish people into America after the Famine as the starting point, the series tracks the rich and sometimes controversial impact made by the Irish to the US political system at all levels.
RTÉ
The Summer months sees RTÉ launch several new series including ‘The PDs from Boom to Bust’, ‘Seahorseman’ and ‘Skippers’ for RTÉ Factual; ‘Take on The Take-Away’, ‘Tracks and Trails’ and ‘Animal Clinic’ for RTÉ Lifestyle and the return of ‘Saturday Night with Miriam’ as part of RTÉ Entertainment.
RTÉ Factual will this summer introduce several news series such as ‘The PDs: From Boom to Bust’ which starts on June 13th. A two-part series, it looks to chart the rise and collapse of the Progressive Democratic Party produced by Angela Ryan; ‘Skippers’ which starts on July 25th is a six-part observational documentary series from Martin Cronin which takes viewers aboard working fishing vessels in the Irish fleet to bring home the action and the turmoil, wave by wave, roll by roll, while meeting the men who lead these boats; the Skippers. New documentary series coming our way this summer on RTÉ include ‘Bombings’ a six-part inhouse documentary series which tells stories of paramilitary bombings, a horrific and frightening part of Irish life during the Northern Ireland troubles. ‘Life With…’ which starts on June 12th is a new six-part observational television series produced by Hilary Jones which focuses on Irish people living and coping with the realities and consequences for themselves and their families of life-changing medical conditions and illnesses. Finally ‘O’Gorman’s Summer’ starts on July 20th and sees Paddy O’Gorman return, in a new six-part series, to the country's streets to cover the true reality TV – stories from the coalface of ordinary people’s lives.
RTÉ audiences will also see the return broadcast of ‘Saviours’, a critically acclaimed and award-winning feature-length observational documentary film set in inner city Dublin which follows the roller-coaster fortunes of three boxers, Dean Murphy, Abdul Hussein, and the late Darren Sutherland, over an 18-month period as they battle to succeed inside and outside of the ring. The feature is directed and produced by Ross Whitaker (Bye Bye Now) and Liam Nolan.
Where RTÉ lifestyle programming is concerned new upcoming series include ‘Take on The Take-Away’ a brand new six-part lifestyle series starting in June in which six celebrity chefs are given a unique challenge: To beat the local, favoured and much-loved takeaway of six participating individuals/families. ‘Tracks and Trails’, a new six-part series about the joys and pleasures of walking in Ireland, presented by a different television personality each week, including Diarmuid Gavin, Packie Bonner and Kevin Thornton. Furthermore new six part series ‘Animal Clinic’ starts on June 11th and aims to give audiences unhindered access to all the highs and lows of a busy DSPCA clinic, following the fascinating, heart-warming and often heart-breaking stories of the animals and their carers.
‘Saturday Night with Miriam’ sees Miriam O’Callaghan returns for a sixth series of her hugely successful summer chat show, the most popular entertainment series each summer whilst ‘The Rose of Tralee’
Brand new host, Dáithí O Se, will interview thirty-one Roses over two nights of live television when the International Rose of Tralee Selection, directed by Pat Cowap (The Panel) will be broadcast from the Festival Dome on Monday 23 and Tuesday 24 August on RTÉ One. Also, to coincide with the 15th anniversary of Rory Gallagher’s untimely death on June 14th, 1995, documentary ‘Rory Gallagher’ is a study of the late lamented musician and icon to rock and blues enthusiasts around the globe, Rory Gallagher. Produced by Strange Music for RTÉ the documentary will show on Thursday, June 10th.
Where sport coverage is concerned RTÉ has secured the rights to the FIFA 2010 World Cup in South Africa, broadcasting 56 live matches across 25 days, introduced and analysed by RTÉ's unrivalled soccer team. With over 140 hours of live GAA Championship coverage, RTÉ will again expect high numbers of GAA fans this summer. RTÉ will bring rugby fans live coverage of Ireland’s last home game of the season as they face the star-studded Barbarians at Thomond Park, along with extended highlights of New Zealand v Ireland and Australia v Ireland. Tracy Piggot will present the broadcaster’s coverage of the RDS Horse Show and Con Murphy will present the Irish Open Golf in Killarney. Finally RTÉ Television will be broadcasting live across four days from the Ballybrit track this July at the Galway Races. There will also be coverage of the European Athletics Championships, The Super Cup and Champions League qualifiers within the summer months.
Finally, in a new series of ‘The View Presents’ which starts on June 12th, John Kelly will be joined by five well-known personalities from the world of literature and music: Pulitzer prize-winning author Richard Ford; Booker prize-winning novelist Roddy Doyle, author of the Barrytown trilogy and the now completed Henry Smart trilogy; singer-songwriter David Gray; playwright, screen-writer and director, Conor McPherson, author of I went Down, The Weir and The Seafarer; and musician Julie Feeney.
TV3
Where TV3 is concerned June 7th sees the first transmissions of ‘Celebrity Salon’ a reality TV show that features celebrities such as actress Leigh Arnold and presenters Brian Dowling and Pippa O’Connor take on the roles of Beauty therapists.
‘Celebrity Salon’ will see Brian Dowling, Pippa O'Connor, Leigh Arnold, Virginia Macari, Celia Holman Lee and Breffny Morgan, mentored and trained in new Beauty therapy skills as they compete to impress their mentor and a series of expert judges. Directed by Jules Benoiton (True Horror) and produced by John Norton and Steve McCormack the series will have all six celebrities living and learning together over an intensive two week period in order to win the series’ grand prize and the title of ‘Best in Beauty’.
TV3’s other big summer production, ‘Style Wars’ will begin on Tuesday, June 29th. The series, produced by Ruth Roden (The Irish Township) and Eoin Kavanagh (Total Exposure) of Toto productions will follow several aspiring fashionistas who will be faced with challenges judged by fashion designer Peter O’Brien, fashion expert Angela Wood and model, Caprice.
