TELEVISION
TAKEN DOWN
Love/Hate creator Stuart Carolan is back with what looks to be another gripping drama. Taken Down stars Lynn Rafferty and Brian Gleeson and follows the story of a detective investigating the death of a young Nigerian immigrant found close to a direct provision centre. The drama unfolds over three weeks as the twists and turns of the case and the lives of those involved intertwine. There are high hopes that this will be another massive hit for Carolan. RTÉ
BLOOD
VIRGIN Media are ramping up their schedule with dramas, news and reality shows to see off any summer blues this Autumn. Kicking off in October is Blood, starring Adrian Dunbar. He leads a stellar cast in this sixpart psychological thriller which focuses on a woman who returns to her rural Irish home following her mother’s seemingly accidental death. The whodunnit mystery will have the nation hooked as Dunbar plays a detective hell-bent on discovering the truth behind the mysterious death. Expect lots of twist and turns. Virgin Media One
TEMPLE
AFTER the success of Riviera, Sky is bringing a new drama to life this autumn, written by Irish playwright Mark O’Rowe. Mark Strong (Kingsman) heads a strong cast including Carice van Houten, (Game of Thrones) and Daniel Mays (Line of Duty) in this eightpart Sky original comedy thriller. Deep below the streets of London, descending past Temple tube in the beating heart of the city, lies a dark secret. An illegal clinic has been set up in an abandoned subterranean network of tunnels. Daniel, played by Strong, is a surgeon driven by personal tragedy to treat anyone who is willing to pay for medical help outside the system. He treats a variety of increasingly desperate and highly dangerous patients, as Daniel’s morality is tested to the limit. Sky
CITIZEN LANE
TOM Vaughan-Lawlor is at his best in this docudrama about the life of Hugh Lane. Citizen Lane will take viewers back in time and examine the life, loves and controversies of the Irish art collector, dealer and philanthropist – and namesake of Dublin’s municipal art gallery. Lane has been described as snobbish and egalitarian, frugal and generous, cerebral and yet unable to articulate his thoughts. RTÉ
HUTCH V KINAHAN: IRELAND’S DEADLIEST FEUD
Real-life crime in modern Ireland is explored in this special
investigation, which will attempt to uncover the dark and vicious nature of the State’s bloodiest on-going ‘war’ between the Hutch and Kinahan factions in Dublin’s north inner city and beyond. The programme will travel from Spain, where the murderous rampage began, back to Dublin to examine what turned these two families into national crime figures intent on wiping each other out. Virgin Media One
VANITY FAIR
Olivia Cooke stars as socialclimbing heroine Becky Sharp in Thackeray’s witty 19th-century classic, set against the backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars. Expect a lavish period drama with Tom Bateman, Martin Clunes, Suranne Jones and the everaffable Michael Palin. ITV, early September
LIVIN’ WITH LUCY
LUCY Kennedy is back for another series of her hit show, Livin’ with Lucy, which sees her move in with an array of personalities for a week. Who can forget her living with Michael Healy-Rae or going on holiday with disaster-prone Kerry
A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES
A closet witch and a secret vampire (now there’s a combination) embark on a forbidden love affair as they pursue the truth behind an ancient Katona?This season Lucy bunks up with ten new celebrities including Nathan Carter, Gemma Collins, Christy Dignam and Nadine Coyle. Virgin Media One
manuscript. The preternaturally charming Matthew Goode (Downton Abbey) and Teresa Palmer (Hacksaw Ridge) star in this bold, romantic drama. Sky One, September 14
THE LATE LATE SHOW
THE Late Late Show hits the road this year and Tubridy and Co. will travel to London for a special live programme celebrating the unique relationship between ourselves and our nearest neighbours. This is Tubs’s tenth year at the helm of the chat show and he told the Irish Mail on Sunday that this year’s Valentine’s episode is gearing up to be the best yet. There are also plans in place for a whopping country music special as he examines our love affair with Stetsons and steel guitars. And don’t forget about the Toy Show, his favourite night of the year, as he brings joy to boys and girls, big and small, ahead of Christmas. RTÉ
THE GOOD COP
Taxi’s Tony Danza plays Tony Sr, a former NYPD officer who never followed the rules and who now lives with son Tony Jr (Josh Groban), a brilliant straitlaced detective, in this oddcouple dramedy. Netflix, September 21
MOTHER’S DAY
Vicky McClure plays Susan McHugh, the Dublin mother who organised one of the largest peace rallies in Irish history in the wake of the 1993 Warrington bombing. Feature-length drama co-starring Daniel Mays. BBC2, September
PODGE AND RODGE
Scurrilous puppets Podge and Rodge are a blast from the past and are returning home to Ballydung Manor, bringing some light relief to RTÉ. The irreverent duo will be roasting some of our favourite celebrities, and generally scorching Irish culture this season. Doireann Garrihy joins the lads as their trusty sidekick. RTÉ
WANDERLUST
Nick Payne (The Sense Of An Ending) scripts his first TV series, an insightful, funny drama starring Toni Collette and Steven Mackintosh as a couple trying to keep the spark in their marriage from dying. BBC1, September
TRUST
Swaggering, heavily-trailed, starry ten-part drama based on the events surrounding the 1973 kidnapping of John Paul Getty III, executive produced by Danny Boyle and starring Donald Sutherland and Hilary Swank. BBC2, September
BLACK EARTH RISING
Breakout star Michaela Coel (Chewing Gum) portrays a legal investigator who takes on a case against an African militia leader in this international war crimes thriller co-starring John Goodman and Harriet Walter. BBC2, September
FINDING JOY
Amy Huberman returns to the small screen with this girlie comedy series. Written and starring Amy herself, alongside Aisling Bea and Laura Whitmore, Finding Joy is about a woman who finds herself thrust into the limelight as she tries to get over a breakup. The always likeable Amy channels a type of Irish Bridget Jones here. RTÉ
STRANGERS
John Simm plays a widower attempting to unravel the circumstances behind his wife’s death in Hong Kong. Emilia Fox co-stars in this conspiracy thriller from the producers of The Missing. ITV, September
SIX NATIONS RUGBY
The newly-rebranded TV3 will be scrumming down for exclusive coverage of the Six Nations as Ireland look to continue their formidable form and inspire the nation. Come on, Ireland! Virgin Media One
KIDDING
Jim Carrey reunites with Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind director Michel Gondry to portray a children’s TV star whose life implodes in a comedy drama that, Carrey says, ‘will remind people that amid all the chaos, there’s hope’. Sky Atlantic, September
DON’T LOOK BACK IN ANGER
LET’S face it, it’s pretty hard not to look back at the last decade in anger with the many scandals and major near-catastrophic events in recent Irish history. This major archive series will chronicle the news and highlights/ lowlights of the last 20 years. Virgin Media One