Three of this year’s most talked-about TV shows filmed in NI
THE body which promotes Northern Ireland as a filming location is celebrating after the region hosted three of the most talked-about TV shows of 2019.
These included the second series of Derry Girls, filmed on location around Northern Ireland, and the fifth instalment of Line Of Duty, filmed mostly in Belfast.
HBO’s Game Of Thrones also brought its stars back to Belfast in April for the European premiere of its final season.
In its review of the year, NI Screen found that the third episode of the fantasy tale was the most tweeted-about TV episode of all time.
The final episode of Game Of Thrones went on to become the biggest series finale ever for Sky with a cumulative audience of 5.8 million viewers, and broke HBO viewership records with 19.3 million watching in the US.
The first season of Lisa McGee’s Derry Girls picked up a Bafta nomination before its second season premiered in March.
The second series attracted 3.2 million viewers for its first episode, making it Channel 4’s biggest UK comedy launch for 15 years.
Line Of Duty returned to BBC One in March for a fifth series. The first episode was, at the time, the year’s most watched programme in the UK with 13.2 million viewers tuning in.
However, Northern Ireland also played host to scores of other productions across 2019, including much of the popular murder mystery Dublin Murders.
NI Screen chief executive Richard Williams said the organisation is looking back on 2019 with a “great sense of pride”.
He said there is much to look forward to in 2020, including the new BBC drama Bloodlands.