The best drama is local.

2023 was a bumper year for RTÉ drama with Smother, KIN and The Dry airing on RTÉ One in the spring; Clean Sweep in the summer; and Hidden Assets, The Gone and Obituary all airing in the autumn along with three dynamic new Storyland dramas on RTÉ 2.

In 2024 we have had Blackshore in the spring with series 2 of The Dry. For autumn 2024 we have an exciting new limited series from Jo Spain, The Boy That Never Was, starring Colin Morgan, Toni O Rourke and Simon Callow, and a trip back to New Zealand for series 2 of The Gone.

2025 is now full and we aim to build on that success and continue to develop Irish-owned IP, expanding our commissioned drama offering into 2026 and beyond.

Dramas for RTÉ One must have broad appeal and these slots are all post-watershed. Sunday night dramas are for everyone and should provoke conversations, challenge our assumptions or beliefs, and entertain all the way through. This should be TV for drama-lovers of all ages, like Kin, Hidden Assets, Blackshore.  Dramas on Sunday nights are usually 6x50 minutes, and usually renewable for three series.

The Dry has been hugely successful on Wednesday nights as half hours on both RTÉ One and Player.

We have some half hours in development at the moment and we are looking to develop more for midweek nights in 2026 and beyond. The Dry series 1 and 2 have been hugely successful on Wednesday nights as half hours on both RTÉ One and Player.

We want our returning series on a rolling annual basis so audiences can come back to their favourite characters and locations. Usually these are 6x50 minutes and renewable for three series. But we also need to develop national statement pieces that have their time and place, that capture or spark a national conversation, but may not be returnable. Note that these statement pieces could be limited series of four or six hours.

The goal of RTÉ Drama is to increase the quality and volume of Irish-made television drama for Irish audiences to enjoy. This means seeking projects to encompass both the traditional, live, linear audience and viewers primarily utilising the RTÉ Player, ultimately driving the growth to VOD.

RTÉ’s drama strategy is dual purpose: to showcase Irish talent to Irish audiences; and to develop Irish writers and producers to create Irish-owned IP.

What we are not looking for: 

• Supernatural stories – no ghosts, vampires or mummies
• Science fiction / Space Fantasy
• Biopics (better as features or documentaries)
• Period drama (anything after the late 90s is ‘contemporary’)
• Sitcoms
• YA (12-18) – Great to have dramas that skew younger, but remember all ideas still need to appeal to the wider audience. Consider 21-35 as a target audience instead.
• Animation
• Straightforward genre pieces (no hospital precincts, Garda station-based cops and robbers’ stories, for now)

In 2022, a supersized Storyland series moved to RTÉ 2 and RTÉ Player with great success. We repeated this in 2023 and, in both years, we were able to commission dramas that were all very different from each other in tone, pace, and appeal, but they all worked on their own terms.  We have just commissioned three new Storyland dramas for 2024 and we intend to commission four in 2025, one being in Irish.

The point and purpose of Storyland dramas is to give fresh talent a primetime slot on RTÉ 2 and Player.

RTÉ actively develops projects that will meet the objectives of the various funding bodies on the Island of Ireland: Sound and Vision Fund, Screen Ireland, the WRAP fund, and Northern Ireland Screen as well as projects that are suited to international co-funding, pre-sales and co-production.

If helpful, RTÉ will work closely with producers in attaching financing partners. As all our dramas are co-produced, we suggest producers talk to us early about any projects they have in mind. RTÉ has established relationships with British, European, Canadian, American, Australian, and New Zealand broadcasters, as well as all the major international distribution companies. RTÉ attends all the important international markets like MIPCOM, Series Mania, and Content London, and can arrange meetings and pitching sessions.

Should you wish to submit an idea for development investment you will need to register and submit on RTÉ's e-commissioning system. Drama staff members are available to discuss ideas in advance of formal submission. A brief pitch from the writer and producer is useful at an early stage.

Some key points to keep in mind when submitting ideas to RTÉ Drama:

• All submissions need to be submitted by an independent production company and/or individuals or partnerships with previous production related experience.
• Keep pitches concise. Make sure that they are well thought through and have a considered point and purpose.
• Avoid following trends or mimicking what others have done: we always look for something we haven't seen before. RTÉ dramas should create their own trend.
• Our audiences respond to contemporary drama. Stories that resonate will capture the essence of modern Ireland and what it’s like to be living in Ireland today.
• Co-production and co-financing are a high priority - be prepared to discuss financing options when you pitch, though we don’t expect you to have a fixed plan, and we are ready to assist successful applicants in finding deficit finance through our international contacts if required.
• If you are a producer new to drama, or starting off on your drama journey, consider whether you need to team up with a more experienced producer.

History of the Fund

In November 2016, RTÉ and ARTE G.E.I.E., the Strasbourg branch of the Franco-German public broadcaster ARTE, joined forces to develop and co-fund exceptional documentary projects, aiming to bring more Irish content to European audiences. Since then, ARTE G.E.I.E. and RTÉ have invested in a diverse range of Irish documentaries covering factual topics, current affairs, history, and the arts. The collaboration between ARTE commissioning editors and Irish production companies has flourished, creating numerous opportunities for Irish creative talent.

Practical Information

The fund operates on a rolling basis, with projects being developed and funded continuously. We seek standout single documentaries that have secured development or broadcast commitments from an RTÉ Commissioning Editor, which can then be pitched to ARTE’s specific documentary strands. Most documentaries for ARTE are 52 minutes long and do not include commercial breaks. The RTÉ version of the programme should be a 50 minute duration with two commercial breaks as agreed with the RTÉ Commissioning Editor.

RTÉ and ARTE welcome ideas from all genres, including Factual, Specialist Factual, Science and Natural Science, History, Archaeology and Human Endeavour, Current Affairs/Geopolitics, and Arts, Culture, and Music. We are particularly interested in compelling Irish stories with international appeal, whether they focus on ancient or contemporary history, arts, or society/current affairs. Ambitious factual, specialist factual, and arts documentaries that resonate with both Irish and European audiences are highly valued.

Given that ARTE documentaries are broadcast in multiple territories, projects led by voiceovers that can be revoiced in several languages are preferred. Presenter-led documentaries or series are generally not suitable for ARTE, except in rare cases where the presenter is a global icon, such as Angelica Huston on Joyce by Blueprint Films.

Completed projects must be delivered to ARTE 6-8 weeks before the broadcast date to allow time for translation, subtitling, and revoicing in French and German, as well as Polish, Spanish, and Italian for on-demand services. The costs for revoicing and subtitling are covered by ARTE and should not be included in the programme production budgets.

How To Apply

Production companies interested in submitting a programme proposal for the fund should initially submit their proposal through RTÉ’s e-Commissioning system Login | RTE (rtegroup.ie) . Indicate that the idea is suitable for co-production with ARTE and provide information on any other third-party funders if applicable. If the proposal is approved for further consideration, Sarah Ryder, RTÉ’s ARTE lead, will present it to the relevant ARTE commissioning executives.

Further information

For more details on the RTÉ / ARTE G.E.I.E. co-production fund, please contact Sarah Ryder at sarah.ryder@rte.ie.