Hidden Assets, Obituary, The Gone, The Dry and Blackshore part of over 30 hours of new drama produced in partnership with the Independent production sector.

WATCH our promo here. 

RTÉ today released a first look at upcoming homegrown dramas as part of its New Season, with previews of Hidden Assets, Obituary, The Dry Series 2, The Gone, Blackshore, and new single dramas from Storyland.

This new season, RTÉ is continuing its strategy to increase its development of drama output, by investing in the Irish creative industry and showcasing the best of Ireland by filming right across the country. Partnerships both in Ireland and internationally continue to enable the production of these great original Irish dramas.

Brand-new series this season include The Gone, Obituary, and Blackshore, as well as the return of Hidden Assets and The Dry, all supported by Screen Ireland.

Hidden Assets  

Hidden Assets returns to our screens this Sunday, September 3rd, on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player, with a six-part second season, set between Limerick and Antwerp, Belgium. Over a year has passed since the events in season one and the stage is set for an exciting season full of twists and turns. Claire (Nora-Jane Noone) is new to the fold as the lead Detective Sergeant in charge at the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) and faces a sudden challenge – a coordinated cyber-attack targeting CAB and the Belgian Counter-Terrorist Unit (CTU), with a connection to the Brannigan case.  Bibi (Simone Kirby), under threat from Richard Melnick’s business partner Swann, resurfaces with some new and crucial information unveiling dark details on how Richard ran his company Trestford  and reveals there’s a mole in CTU.

In the face of growing violence and ever higher stakes, Claire and Christian must join forces to uncover the mole and expose the truth about Trestford and Swann: it’s a race against time to stop the sale of Antwerp Port.

Cast includes the return of Simone Kirby (His Dark Materials, Jimmy’s Hall), Wouter Hendrickx, Cathy Belton (Red Rock, Philomena) and Aaron Monaghan (The Banshees of Inisherin, Redemption of a Rogue). Nora-Jane Noone joins the cast (Wildfire, Magdalene Sisters).

Obituary 

Obituary, which begins on September 26th on RTÉ,  is a dark comedy crime drama in which the newspaper that 24-year-old Elvira Clancy works for, falls into hard times and she is now being paid per obituary. When deaths trickle to a halt and work dries up, Elvira soon discovers that by murdering the unpleasant residents in her small town, she will not only earn more money but discovers she has an untapped bloodlust. The only problem for her lies with the paper’s new hire, Emerson Stafford, a suspicious crime correspondent who she begins to develop feelings for.

Starring a line-up of renowned Irish actors – Siobhan Cullen (The Dry) who takes the lead as Elvira Clancy, Michael Smiley (Bad Sisters, Bloodlands) as Elvira’s protective and troubled father Ward Clancy; Ronan Raftery (The Rook, Mortal Engines, The Terror) as ambitious new crime correspondent Emerson Stafford.

Directed by John Hayes (Dublin Murders, Bancroft) and Oonagh Kearney (Vardy V Rooney: A Courtroom Drama, Womens’ Christmas Night).

The Gone  

Beginning in October, The Gone is a new six-part thriller set in New Zealand written by Anna McPartlin and Michael Bennett. The Gone sees, a young Irish couple Ireland go missing, with a potential Irish crime family involved in their disappearance, leading to a joint New Zealand and Irish crime investigation. The lead Irish detective is played by Richard Flood, most recently starring in Grey’s Anatomy. The Gone is co-produced by Keeper Pictures and Kingfisher Films, in association with Southern Light Films (New Zealand) for RTÉ and TV New Zealand, with international distribution handled by Red Arrow Studios.

The Dry – Season 2  

We now meet the Sheridan’s in their new normal. To all outward appearances, it seems like the family is relatively content: Shiv’s been sober, celibate, and solvent for six months, Ant has hung onto his job at the estate agents and his relationship with Max, and Caroline’s making up for a lost time by shagging everyone she meets on Tinder. So far, so normal… Or is it? After all, how normal is it for three grown adults to still be living at home with their parents? And are the Sheridans really happy with this new status quo, or have they just rearranged their dysfunction and found another groove of denial to fit into? Shiv is determined to get sobriety right this time, to cut the toxic influences out of her life for good. But what if the biggest threat to Shiv’s stability turns out to be closer to home? Giving up alcohol is one thing…but what about giving up your family?

Season two of the eight-part comedy drama written by BAFTA-nominated screenwriter Nancy Harris (Dates) and directed by Paddy Breathnach (Viva, Rosie) will see the return of Roisin Gallagher (The Fall) as recovering alcoholic Shiv Sheridan, accompanied by an exciting array of new cast arrivals. Michael McElhatton (Game of Thrones) joins the series as Finbar, Bernie’s new close companion, whilst Thommas Kane Byrne (Derry Girls) plays Billy, Ant’s new nemesis. Could real love also finally be in the air for Shiv, with the arrival of charming barista Alex, played by Sam Keeley (Kin)? Additional newcomers include Seán Doyle (Normal People), Helen Norton (Cracks) and Ruth Codd (The Midnight Club). Familiar faces also reprising their roles include Ciarán Hinds (Belfast) as Tom, Pom Boyd (Vanity Fair) as Bernie.

Blackshore  

From the creators of Smother comes a new mystery thriller Blackshore follows DI Fia Lucey (Lisa Dwan), a laser- focused, ambitious detective who is haunted by her tragic past – a past she keeps locked away and unexplored.

After a series of “undue force” allegations, Fia is banished from her high-octane position to a rural backwater – uncomfortably close to her hometown. While there, she is charged with investigating a missing person case: a woman from Blackshore who has disappeared in mysterious circumstances. The case brings a reluctant Fia face to face with her traumatic past and back into the fold of a community who are still processing the unwelcome attention that her historical case brought to the town: a town that remains steeped in its own secrets and lies.

Blackshore is a dark thriller that explores the DNA of one town’s relationship with shame, guilt and the price of success.  Created by writer Kate O’Riordan (Smother, The Bay) and directed by Daithí Keane (Smother, An Klondike), the series is produced by Treasure Entertainment/BBC Studios and stars Lisa Dwan (Top Boy, Bloodlands), Rory Keenan (Striking Out, The Duchess), Stanley Townsend (The Tunnel, Redwater), Andrew Bennett (An Cailín Ciúin, Resistance) Amy De Bhrún (Line of Duty, Vikings), Jade Jordan (You Are Not My Mother, Rosie) and Aidan McArdle (Deadly Cuts, Mr. Selfridge)

STORYLAND

RTÉ continues its Storyland initiative focused on nurturing creative acting, writing and directing talent to cultivate new voices and perspectives in Irish drama. Previous Storyland winners have gone on to write for Kin, Hidden Assets and Smother.

Wrapped (Pipedream Productions & Alfonso Films) 
Two Irish women travel through airport security with thousands of euro worth of cocaine strapped to their bodies, hoping to leave their past behind. Starring Ella Lily Hyland (Fifteen Love, A Thousand Blows) and Lauryn Canny (Normal People, Dating Amber). Written by Tracy Martin, produced by Claire McCabe and directed by Mia Mullarkey.

Falling for the Life of Alex Whelan (Pure Divilment Pictures) 
A young Chinese Irish woman meets the man of her dreams at a foreign language film club. She discovers the next day through social media that he has died. Piecing together who he was through his online life, she begins to wonder what could have been. Starring: Chris Walley (Young Offenders, Bloodlands, 1917, The Last Voyage of the Demeter), Lila Coleman (Normal People) David Rawle (Moone Boy, Song of the Sea) Written by Nell Hensey and produced by Claire Mooney.

The Cousin
Dan, a young artist, submits to a prestigious art college with his project The Saints of Fairfield, an installation using projection mapping and archival photography. In the park close by where he lives, Dan projects portraits of people who lived in his neighbourhood over the years but have passed on due to old age, crime, overdose, suicide or emigration. When his application is successful an opportunity arises for him to escape a predetermined life path. But first he needs to sit down and get his cousin’s blessing, which might be easier said than done. Written and directed by Stevie Russell and produced by Michael Donnelly, The Cousin will be broadcast later in the year on RTÉ2 as well as RTÉ Player. Casting was directed by Dawn Mac Allister with several discoveries including leading man Adam Lennon-Collery lining up alongside established talent such as Fionn Ó Liongsigh (What Richard Did, Cardboard Gangsters) and Sharon Mannion (Bridget & Eamon, Prosperity). Cinematography is by JJ Rolfe (Kin, Witness No. 3) and Production Design by Mark Kelly (Blackshore, Smother).