{"id":561010,"date":"2026-07-21T16:17:21","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T16:17:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/561010\/"},"modified":"2026-07-21T16:17:21","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T16:17:21","slug":"rte-announces-record-irish-drama-investment-as-kin-returns-for-season-three","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/561010\/","title":{"rendered":"RT\u00c9 announces record Irish drama investment as Kin returns for season three"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.irishexaminer.com\/maintopics\/rt%C3%A9_topic-5097644.html\">RT\u00c9<\/a> has announced its largest-ever investment in original Irish drama, with a record 160 hours of homegrown programming commissioned or in production for 2026, led by the long-awaited return of  Kin.<\/p>\n<p>The national broadcaster said the expanded slate, which is up from 142 hours last year, represents its most ambitious commitment yet to Irish storytelling.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">The additional productions are expected to support hundreds of jobs across the industry.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Among the headline announcements made on Tuesday is the long-awaited return of  Kin for a third series.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">The popular crime drama, produced by Metropolitan Pictures and House of Juno, will see the Kinsella family reunited as \u201cburied betrayals and festering rivalries\u201d threaten to tear the criminal empire apart from within.<\/p>\n<p class=\"contextmenu caption\">Returning favourites and new dramas<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Also returning is the second series of  The Walsh Sisters, which follows the lives of Rachel, Claire, Maggie, Anna and Helen as they navigate addiction, grief, motherhood and mental health following the dramatic events of the first season.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">RT\u00c9 has also confirmed new productions, including  Tall Tales &amp; Murder, written by  Love\/Hate creator Stuart Carolan and co-created with Chris Addison, as well as  The Yank (working title), a crime drama centred on an NYPD detective who returns to Ireland and becomes embroiled in a murder investigation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">The broadcaster said additional Irish drama projects already in production will be announced in the coming months.<\/p>\n<p class=\"contextmenu caption\">&#8216;Biggest ever year for new Irish drama&#8217;<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Director of Video at RT\u00c9 Steve Carson described 2026 as \u201cour biggest ever year for new Irish drama\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">\u201cNumerous productions are currently filming across the country delivering significant economic and cultural impact to communities nationwide whilst showcasing Ireland\u2019s exceptional talents to audiences at home and internationally,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">He said productions are taking place in locations including Galway, Dublin and Cork, supporting regional production while creating employment opportunities throughout the industry.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">\u201cThe scale of the 2026 slate will support hundreds of jobs across the Irish screen industry, including writers, directors, producers, crews, post-production teams, designers and technical specialists, reinforcing RT\u00c9\u2019s central role in the continued growth of Ireland\u2019s audiovisual economy,\u201d Mr Carson added.<\/p>\n<p class=\"contextmenu caption\">Children&#8217;s and radio drama expanded<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Alongside the new commissions,  Fair City will continue as the broadcaster&#8217;s flagship soap, with around 100 hours of programming during 2026.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Children\u2019s output will also expand with new dramas, including  The Unreal,  Do Not Watch Alone and  Tales of Terror, while RT\u00c9 Radio 1&#8217;s  Drama on One will feature six new original productions this autumn.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">A spokesperson said RT\u00c9&#8217;s drama output continues to attract international audiences, with many productions securing overseas sales while promoting Irish stories and talent around the world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"RT\u00c9 has announced its largest-ever investment in original Irish drama, with a record 160 hours of homegrown programming&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":561011,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[93,61,60,6085],"class_list":["post-561010","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-rte"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/561010","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=561010"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/561010\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/561011"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=561010"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=561010"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=561010"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}