Irish Drama Goes Global
RTÉ Drama continues to grow its international reach as Series Two of Hidden Assets prepares to air on BBC Four this weekend, while Kin Series One continues its run on BBC One.
David Crean, Acting Head of Drama for RTÉ said “What a treat for UK audiences to be able to watch these two great Irish dramas. It’s confirmation that Irish dramas have huge appeal, both in Ireland and internationally.”
At home, The Gone has just finished its six-week run on RTÉ One on Sunday nights. The story of young Irish people missing in the New Zealand has also been nominated for nine New Zealand Television Awards, including Best Actress, Best Actor and the coveted Best Drama award.
The Gone joins recent series KIN, Smother, Hidden Assets, Clean Sweep, Obituary and The Dry in offering quality drama to Irish viewers. RTÉ Drama has endeavoured to provide our audiences with more high quality drama than ever before. From 20 hours of drama in 2020, the drama department has delivered 43.5 hours in 2023. The plan is to increase those numbers even further, getting more Irish stories on our screens and out to international audiences.
Many of these series are produced with international partners who help get these stories made, and then help to send original Irish drama across the world. New thriller The Boy That Never Was has just finished shooting, and international distributor Abacus have announced that it will appear on France TV and UK TV. Other Irish dramas are available in the UK on itvX, on Acorn in North America, as well as Hulu and numerous other channels and streamers across the globe.
RTÉ actively develops projects that will meet the objectives of the various funding bodies on the Island of Ireland: BAI Sound and Vision Fund, Screen Ireland, the WRAP fund, Northern Ireland Screen as well as projects that are suited to international co-funding, pre-sales and co-production.
RTÉ has also established relationships with British, European, Canadian, American, Australian and New Zealand broadcasters, as well as all the major international distribution companies. RTÉ has a presence at all important international markets including MIPCOM, Series Mania and Content London. The global television drama sector now recognises Ireland and RTÉ as a significant source of quality international drama.
Looking to the future of the industry here in Ireland, we’re also providing a ramp for new talent to come through with the growing reach and stature of RTÉ and Screen Ireland’s joint venture, Storyland. This series focuses on emerging writing and producing talent in the drama space. Many of the Storyland creators have gone on to work on established primetime dramas including Smother and Hidden Assets, while others are actively developing their own series with the RTÉ Drama team.
The goal is to continue to develop and strengthen RTÉ’s growing reputation for creating high-quality drama that works for the Irish audience and the world.