Blindfolds, cloaks and secret taps on the shoulder get the new season of RTÉ programmes under way on August 31st as reality series The Traitors Ireland leads a line-up that also includes documentaries about Ryanair, Éamon de Valera and Tony Cascarino.
The national broadcaster has launched its upcoming line-up of programmes with the promise of “something for everyone”, as a beefed-up drama slate is led by The Walsh Sisters, adapted from the Marian Keyes novels Rachel’s Holiday and Anybody Out There?
It will be followed in 2026 by These Sacred Vows, a comedy drama about an Irish wedding in Spain, and the “darkly comic” crime series Tall Tales & Murder, which marks a comeback to RTÉ screens for Love/Hate writer Stuart Carolan. Also on the scripted front, Obituary is back for a second season and The Dry concludes with a third run.
Familiar reality and entertainment shows to feature once more include Dancing with the Stars, First Dates, Baz Ashmawy’s quiz show The Money List, The Tommy Tiernan Show, The 2 Johnnies’ Late Night Lock-In and a “revamped” Ireland’s Fittest Family, which introduces three new sporting mentors in Ellen Keane, Michael Darragh Macauley and Andrew Trimble.
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But it is The Traitors Ireland, presented by Siobhán McSweeney and filmed this year at Slane Castle, that will enjoy the most prominence this autumn. The show will air on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday at 9.35pm for four weeks, RTÉ said, resulting in a later broadcast time for the Tuesday edition of current affairs show Prime Time.
The World Athletics Championships, the Women’s Rugby World Cup and the Autumn Nations Series make this a busy period for live sport on RTÉ, while coverage of the “highly anticipated” presidential election will include candidate interviews by Katie Hannon.
The Late Late Show is back from September 12th, with this year marking the third of Patrick Kielty’s initial three-season contract to present the flagship chat show.
Factual programming includes true-crime series The Swindlers and The Ryanair Story, a behind-the scenes look at the airline. David McCullagh examines the life and legacy of ‘the Chief’ in the two-part De Valera’s Ireland, while Testimony follows the survivors of Magdalene laundries and mother-and-baby homes in their fight for justice.
Tony Cascarino: Extra Time traces the story of the soccer hero, Rory: How the Masters Was Won relives golfer Rory McIlroy’s victory at the US Masters, Caesar’s Palace explores the experience of “the new Irish” through the medium of hair and Trackers: The People vs The Banks recounts the financial scandal from the perspective of those affected.
The Employables is a three-parter in which Brendan O’Connor follows a group of jobseekers with disabilities as they seek to fulfil their full potential, while The Shift: Cork University Hospital is an observational documentary series filmed over a period of six months.
Housing challenges loom large in Who’s Building Ireland?, Home Rescue: The Big Fix and Cheap Irish Homes. Meanwhile, Dermot Bannon’s Celebrity Super Spaces gives viewers a glimpse into the homes of the famous, with Bannon also appearing in four new episodes of the highly watched Room to Improve.
In a new run of environmental docuseries The End of the World with Beanz, Martin Beanz Warde takes Samantha Mumba and comedian Enya Martin, among others, “out of their comfort zones and into the unknown”.
RTÉ is also plunging into the sea again this season courtesy of underwater cameraman Ken O’Sullivan and his series Dolphins: Wonders of the Ocean, while, above ground, Patrick Duffy’s Irish Pubs will see the Dallas actor finding out how Irish pub culture has evolved.
