IFTN journalist Nathan Griffin sat down to talk with the two guys who play the mischievous duo of ‘Conor McSweeney’ and ‘Jock’, Chris Walley & Alex Murphy who discussed the success of the low budget box-office hit film, the new BBC Three series, and reprising their roles as the Cork’s loveable rogues.
The much-anticipated ‘The Young Offenders’ debut on RTÉ2 recorded an audience of 277,000 viewers, and was the top programme for 15 to 44 year olds last night – Thursday, February 8th.
The first episode of the brand new six part series had a share of 36% among 15-34s and a massive 68% share among males aged 15 to 24. In addition, there were 16,600 live and on-demand streams of The Young Offenders on RTÉ Player last night (84% live, 16% on-demand), with catch-up over the weekend likely to increase figures even further.
Written and directed by Peter Foott, the six part series follows the coming-of-age adventures of lovable rogues Conor & Jock (Alex Murphy and Chris Walley) as they navigate their awkward teenage years, hatching plans and adventures to help distract from their tough home lives and their inability to stay out of trouble at school. Conor's long suffering mother Mairead (Hilary Rose) tries to keep both her son and his best friend on the straight and narrow, with varying degrees of success.
‘The Young Offenders’ was commissioned for BBC Three and is made in association with RTÉ. Yesterday, BBC Comedy announced that it has ordered a further six episodes of the hit comedy from producers Vico Films. RTÉ said it welcomed the opportunity to work with BBC Comedy and Vico Films on series two.
Actors Alex Murphy, Chris Walley, Hilary Rose, and PJ Gallagher are set to feature as guests on ‘The Late Late Show’ tonight for their first broadcast interview this week.
The second episode of ‘The Young Offenders’ series will air on RTÉ at 9pm next Thursday, February 15th.
