Significant year for Irish drama with 142 hours of original production coming to RTÉ
– Nine major RTÉ dramas will be shot in 2025
– 142 hoursof high-quality, homegrown storytelling
– International salessecured in 27 territories and regions worldwide
– Investment in Irish talent, culture, and the broader creative economy
– Filming taking place across Ireland’s city streets and coastal towns, featuring the beauty of our native landscapes
RTÉ has announced an unprecedented slate of original Irish drama in production in 2025, which will deliver 142 hours of high-quality, homegrown storytelling across screens in Ireland and around the world, firmly placing great local Irish drama on the international stage.
Working with a number of national and international co production partners, this significant level of original RTÉ drama production represents a sizable investment in Irish talent, culture, and the broader creative economy. Nine major RTÉ dramas will be shot in 2025, all featuring emerging and established Irish acting talent with filming taking place across Ireland’s city streets and coastal towns, showcasing the range and reach of Irish storytelling and featuring the beauty of our native landscapes. Productions are also underway in international locations in Spain, Belgium, and Tenerife.
Together with our broadcast partners, currently in production areFair City,Hidden AssetsSeries 3(made by Saffron Moonfor RTÉin association withScreen Ireland/Acorn/DCD Rights),The Walsh Sisters(made by Cuba Pictures and Metropolitan Filmsfor RTÉinassociation withScreen Ireland/BBC/Cineflix),These Sacred Vows(made by Treasure Entertainmentfor RTÉin association with Banijay Rights and Screen Ireland),The DrySeries 3(made by Element Picturesfor RTÉin association withITV/ Coimisiún na Meán/Screen Ireland),ObituarySeries 2(made byMagamediafor RTÉin association with APC, Screen Ireland, Hulu,Coimisiún na Méan, WRAP fund, Creative Europe MEDIA and AMC Spain)SisterSSeries 2(made by Pressurefor RTÉin association withAMC+/Shaftsbury/Fremantle)andfour newStorylandindividual dramas commissioned byRTÉ and Screen Ireland.And within weeks another brand new dramaand another comedy are set to be announced. The increase in volume means that RTÉ is able to deliver a real range and variety of productions featuring a compelling mix of returning favourites, new voices and diverse storytelling, while all reflecting the truth and reality of life in Ireland.
Collectively, these dramaswill employ over 1,800 people including scriptwriters, directors, producers, actors, hair and make-up teams, wardrobe and various other creative talents, underpinning RTÉ’s commitment to ongoing investment in the Irish creative economy and the independent production sector.
In addition to bringing powerful Irish stories to local audiences, RTÉ has already secured international sales for these productions in 27 territories and regions worldwide. This ensures reaching out to the Irish living abroad andcapturing an international audience, once again reinforcing the promotion of great local drama on an international stage.
Director of Video at RTÉ, Steve Carson,said;“Irish drama is making an impact on the world stage, and RTÉ is delighted to play our part in this surge of Irish creative talent. The range and quality of Irish drama in production this year is driven by ournew direction strategy, working with partners across the creative sector to develop and showcase the Irish stories for audiences at home and abroad.”
Ends
Date: Wednesday 30 April 2025
RTÉ Communications:
Maureen Catterson
Notes to Editor :
RTÉ Dramas in production
Fair City
Fair City, which first debuted in September 1989, is Ireland’s longest running drama series. Set in the fictional Dublin suburb of Carrigstown, the series delves into the daily lives, relationships, and challenges of its residents. The show features a diverse array of characters, including families, friends, and local business owners, all navigating community life.
The show provides a window into Irish life, mixing heartfelt and light-hearted moments while also tackling serious societal issues. Over the years,Fair Cityhas shown domestic abuse, mental health, and LGBTQ+ themes, reflecting the evolving dynamics of Irish society. Notably, it introduced Ireland’s first transgender character in 2017 and almost aired the first gay kiss on Irish television in 1996, though it was interrupted.
Hidden Assets
In Bilbao, investigative reporter Olatz Alzola and her family are attacked by a lone gunman, only her young daughter survives. In Dublin, DS Claire Wallace deals with the fallout when the death of Portfolio Manager, Nick Heaslip during a CAB raid shatters the lives of his wife, Alice and her sister Dr. Niamh Bennett. The hunt for €27 million that Heaslip embezzled from his clients leads Claire and her team to the Basque country and reformed ex-con, Anto Pearse now a successful restaurateur. When the discovery of yet another body connects CAB’s case to Inspector Jon Beitia’s investigation into Olatz Alzola’s murder, Claire and Jon endeavor to decipher disturbing evidence indicating a sophisticated scheme using Niamh Bennett’s charity, Tar Le to mask human trafficking and the transport of drugs: a story about shady people in sunny places.
The Walsh Sisters
Set in their suburban Dublin hometown,The Walsh Sistersfollows the lives of Claire, Rachel, Maggie, Anna and Helen as they navigate the peaks and troughs of their 20s and 30s. Following a weekend of drama, Rachel is sequestered away in Cloisters to try to get clean and sober, away from her family as each tries to navigate their own dramas. We follow single mother Claire struggling and juggling the maternal load, Maggie tracking her ovulation and her husband’s ambivalence about having a baby. Helen is stuck in her childhood box room, navigating college and craving freedom from her family and Anna is reeling from heartache.The Walsh Sistersis a comedy about serious things – it is a pacey, brutally honest and uncompromisingly funny expose of the realities of being an Irish woman, but more importantly, an Irish sister. Based on the hilarious and heart-breaking books of Marian Keyes,The Walsh Sisterscaptures the beloved family and feeling of those bestsellers we all know and love.
These Sacred Vows
The morning after an Irish wedding in Spain, the body of an Irish priest is found floating face-down in the swimming pool. Over the course of six episodes, we jump back in time and revisit the events of that chaotic week from the perspective of six different characters.These Sacred Vowsis a dramedy about the pressure cooker of a boozy week-long Irish wedding in the sun, and how chasing the dream of “happy ever after” can kill you stone dead.
The Dry
The Sheridan’s are back and they’re about to face their biggest challenge yet. The third series unearth a huge family secret that throws everyone off kilter. Will this shocking revelation upend already fragile relations for good, or could this be the missing piece that will finally fix the Sheridans’ broken puzzle? Amongst all this emotional upheaval, the Sheridan’s must face the fact that change is inevitable. As the family desperately try to forge new lives amidst the betrayals of the past, destructive patterns start to emerge, and soon it’s Shiv who might not want to face some hard truths. As the family gathers for the series finale, Shiv realises there’s only so long she can blame her family, her bad ex and even the drink: what if the real problem in Shiv’s life is just…herself?
Obituary
Struggling with the death of her beloved father, Elvira seeks relief in killing, but is beaten to the act by a mysterious new murderer in town. Ironically, Detective Rose (Noni Stapleton) suspects Elvira of the crime she hasn’t committed, pressurising Elvira to solve the murder and meet these potential kindred spirit. But her secret life is under threat when the eccentric new editor Vivienne (Máiréad Tyers) pits her against boyfriend Emerson (Ronan Raftery) in the newsroom, the disgraced former editor Hughie (David Ganly) sets out to reveal her as a killer, and Emerson is on the cusp of unravelling an investigation that could tear them apart.
SisterS
The second series ofSisterStwo picks up in Dublin, eighteen months after Sare (Sarah Goldberg) had abandoned her sister Suze (Susan Stanley), who has just discovered she can’t have the biological child she has just figured out she wants. Meanwhile in Canada, Sare realises she is floating in the dreamy haze of denial about who she is but thinks she has managed to board the ‘perfect life’ train, just in the nick of time. When an invite to Sare’s wedding lands on Suze’s doorstep, Suze travels to Canada in the hope of reconnecting with her sister. Then, the sisterly drama ensues.