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 Blackshore in the Spring with The Dry, The Gone series 2 and an exciting new limited series from Jo Spain, The Boy That Never Was, starring Colin Morgan, Toni O Rourke and Simon Callow later in the year.

We aim to build on that success and continue to develop Irish-owned IP, expanding our commissioned drama offering into 2025 and beyond.

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.

We want our returning series on a rolling annual basis so audiences can come back to their favourite characters and locations. Usually these are 6x1 hours 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 our audience 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.

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
• Genre pieces (No hospital precincts, Garda station-based cops and robbers’ stories, for now)

RTÉ ONE

Dramas for RTÉ One must have broad appeal and these slots are all post-watershed. Sunday night dramas speak to the nation 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 6x1 hours, and usually renewable for three series.

THE DRY has been hugely successful on Wednesday nights as half hours on both RTÉ One and Player. Series 2 is coming up later in the year.

We have some half hours in development at the moment and we are looking to develop more for midweek for nights for 2026 and beyond.

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.

All the Storyland dramas made an impression on audiences and gave fresh talent a prime-time slot on RTÉ 2.

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.

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 you finding deficit finance through our international contacts.
• 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.