The return of KIN, RTÉ’s biggest-ever Irish drama slate, new home-grown comedy and a second season of The Traitors Ireland are among the highlights of RTÉ’s new season of programming.
More than 160 hours of Irish drama are either in production or scheduled to air during 2026, with new series including Tall Tales & Murder from Love/Hate creator Stuart Carolan and the west of Ireland-set crime drama The Galway Bay Murders.
A third season of KIN has been confirmed for 2027, reuniting the Kinsella family as tensions within the crime dynasty begin to threaten its grip on power.
Elsewhere, Hardy Bucks is returning with a new series, Joanne McNally will feature in a new documentary, Garron Noone is heading to America and former State Pathologist Dr Marie Cassidy will investigate Ireland’s last witch trial.
The season comes as RTÉ marks 100 years of public service broadcasting in Ireland, a milestone that will also be reflected in programming across television and radio.
Here’s our guide to some of the highlights.
Big year for Irish drama
More than 160 hours of Irish drama are either in production or scheduled to air during 2026, making it RTÉ’s biggest drama slate to date.
Among the major new arrivals is Tall Tales & Murder, a six-part dark comedy created by Stuart Carolan and Chris Addison.
Tall Tales & Murder – From left to right, Ma Baker (Philippa Dunne), Grinner (Aidan Gillen), Bridget (Ella Lily Hyland), Paul (Casey Walsh) and Wesley (Packy Lee)
Based on Caimh McDonnell’s Dublin Trilogy books, the series stars Ella Lily Hyland, Aidan Gillen, Casey Walsh, Philippa Dunne, Brian Doherty, Aisling O’Sullivan and Packy Lee.
It combines a present-day story involving bent cops, kidnapping and Dublin’s criminal underworld with an eighth-century tale of monks, Vikings, buried treasure and a priceless holy book.
Also on the way is The Galway Bay Murders., which follows seasoned NYPD detective Nora Savage as she takes a career break on the west coast of Ireland and unexpectedly finds herself drawn into a murder investigation.
Meanwhile, the Kinsellas will be back.
A third season of KIN will air in 2027, with Charlie Cox returning as Michael, Clare Dunne as Amanda, Emmett J Scanlan as Jimmy, Maria Doyle Kennedy as Birdy and Sam Keeley as Viking.
Yasmin Seky, Mark McKenna Jr, Jack Meade and Öykü Karayel also return, while Alex Deegan and Diyar Bozkurt join the cast.
The new season will see the Kinsellas attempting to consolidate their power as old betrayals and rivalries within the family begin to pose an increasingly serious threat.
The Walsh Sisters is also in production, while Fair City begins a new run of storylines in September.
Traitors, Late Late and returning favourites
The Traitors Ireland returns to RTÉ One and RTÉ Player on Sunday 30 August.
Siobhán McSweeney is back at Slane Castle with a new group of Faithfuls and Traitors, while Kevin McGahern will host companion programme The Traitors Ireland Uncloaked.
Patrick Kielty returns with The Late Late Show on Friday 18 September, with The Late Late Toy Show following later in the year.
Dancing with the Stars reaches its tenth season in January 2027, with Jennifer Zamparelli and Doireann Garrihy presenting.
Donncha O’Callaghan and Emma Doran in Finland
There is also a new travel-entertainment series for Donncha O’Callaghan. Donncha’s Away Games will see the former Ireland rugby international take a different celebrity abroad each week to tackle a series of unusual challenges.
Ireland’s Fittest Family, The Tommy Tiernan Show, The 2 Johnnies’ Late Night Lock-In and First Dates are among the other returning shows.
RTÉ Player is also expanding its box-set offering, with international titles including This City Is Ours, Reunion, Death Valley, The Lady and another season of Colin From Accounts joining its Irish drama and comedy offering.
Hardy Bucks leads comedy return
One of the more eye-catching announcements is the return of Hardy Bucks.
The new series catches up with the Castletown gang in middle age, with the characters discovering that life has not quite turned out as they might once have hoped.
PJ Kirby and Kevin Twomey will front Kevin and PJ Obsessed, which sees the I’m Grand Mam hosts immerse themselves in some of Ireland’s most passionate and unusual communities.
No Worries If Not also returns with Emma Doran, Justine Stafford, Killian Sundermann, Seán Burke and Michael Fry, alongside guests including Pat Shortt and Siobhán McSweeney.
Joanne McNally in What An Absolute Joke
New comedy Foul Play, from Ross McCarney, Ryan Carrick and the team behind Comedy Joe, is centred on a GAA club in a Dublin commuter town.
Joanne McNally will meanwhile be the subject of What An Absolute Joke, a feature documentary following her life on and off stage.
Storyland will focus on comedy this season, with new work from writers and performers including Enya Martin and Michael Fry.
There is also a comedy pilot from Pat Fitzpatrick, Reggie’s Farm, while Oliver Callan returns at the end of the year with Callan Kicks the Year.
From Garron Noone to Roscommon UFOs
Some of the more unusual new commissions can be found in the factual slate.
In Garron Noone – You’re Welcome America, the online star makes his first trip to the US for a three-part series exploring Ireland’s influence on American music, food, storytelling and culture.
The Lights Above the Lake heads in a rather different direction, as astronomer Dr Eamonn Ansbro joins residents of Boyle, Co Roscommon, to investigate mysterious lights reported over the area.
Busted has access to the Irish Coast Guard, Customs and Naval Service for a three-part examination of some of the biggest drugs seizures in the history of the State.
Former State Pathologist Dr Marie Cassidy will investigate the last witch trial in Ireland in Dr Marie Cassidy Investigates The Witch Trial of Islandmagee.
Brendan O’Connor and Kevin Whelan
Brendan O’Connor presents Able, following six people with disabilities as they navigate the world of work, while Miriam O’Callaghan examines Ireland’s falling birth rate and changing demographics in the two-part Births, Deaths, and Crisis.
Irish Olympian Shane Ryan is the subject of Enhanced, which follows his decision to compete at the Enhanced Games in Las Vegas, where athletes are permitted to use performance-enhancing drugs.
Elsewhere, PJ Gallagher joins former driving tester Brian Harnett for The Random Driving Test, James Patrice explores changing ideas of masculinity in What Makes A Man, and Dáithí Ó Sé marks turning 50 with the European adventure he never had in Dáithí’s Gap Year.
Claire Brock and Sophie Morris will also examine rising grocery costs and ways households can cut their food bills in the two-part How To Shop Well Now.
Returning factual favourites include The Zoo, On the Beat, Any Given Day: Cork University Hospital and Futureville Ireland.
Homes, culture and Gaeilge
Dermot Bannon returns with new series of both Room to Improve and Dermot Bannon’s Celebrity Super Spaces, while Maggie Molloy and Tadhg Casey are back with Cheap Irish Homes.
Two special episodes of The Great House Revival will pay tribute to the late Hugh Wallace and his contribution to Irish architecture.
DIY SOS – The Big Build Ireland, Home Rescue: The Big Fix and Build Your Own Home will also return.
In food, Donal Skehan travels through Italy for new series Donal’s Italian Kitchen, while Nico Reynolds is back with Fire & Flavour.
Donal’s Italian Kitchen, Donal Skehan, RTE One and RTÉ Player
RTÉ’s centenary will be explored in RTÉ100: Points of View, looking at the broadcaster’s evolution from the launch of 2RN in 1926 through Raidió Éireann and Telefís Éireann to RTÉ today.
A radio and podcast series, Sounding Ireland: Radio and the Making of Us, will also trace the story of Irish radio over the past century.
Other arts programming includes an Other Voices 25th anniversary special, the RTÉ Radio 1 Folk Awards and Culture Night coverage in September.
New Irish-language programming includes Ceol le Chéile, bringing established Irish artists together with musicians from migrant backgrounds, and Slán le Rang a 6, which follows pupils through their final year at Dublin’s Gaelscoil Choláiste Mhuire.
There will also be a documentary celebrating the life and career of Fionnula Flanagan.
Sport, News and RTÉ Listen
Katie Taylor’s Croke Park fight will be shown free-to-air on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, with coverage also on RTÉ 2FM.
September will bring live coverage of the Irish Open from Doonbeg, while RTÉ’s autumn sporting schedule also includes the Republic of Ireland Women’s World Cup qualifying play-off against Kazakhstan, UEFA Champions League football, the Men’s FAI Cup and Ireland’s UEFA Nations League matches.
The broadcaster’s GAA and racing coverage continues through the winter, while the Men’s Six Nations returns in February 2027.
Katie Taylor poses inside Croke Park / Image: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile
In current affairs, RTÉ Investigates: Fertility Uncovered will examine Ireland’s fertility sector 40 years after the birth of the first baby in Ireland through IVF.
Prime Time is also planning reports on concerns about inappropriate behaviour within health services, the use of peptides by young people and the impact of artificial intelligence on the music industry.
RTÉ will also launch RTÉ Listen, a new app bringing its live radio stations, on-demand programmes and podcasts together in one place.
Among the new podcasts are true-crime series Unsolved with Katja Mia and Barry Cummins, Built Different with Joe Canning, a daily sports podcast presented by Ger Gilroy and dating format Get My Mum a Boyfriend.
There will also be two new investigative series from RTÉ Documentary On One and Behind the Story, in which RTÉ journalists and guests will take a deeper look at major news stories.