RTÉ and Northern Ireland Screen today launched five brand new dramas, for the new season of Storyland on RTÉ Player. Now in its sixth season, Storyland brings original stories to audiences and showcases a great breath of Ireland’s creative talent across writing, acting, producing and directing.
This season features five brand new dramas; a gripping crime drama Costigan, a chilling dystopian drama Dinosaurs, a dark coming of age drama Hot Knives, and comedies Smitten and Quinn & O’Grady.
New and emerging talent featured include the debut of nine year old Ballymena native Luke Walford in Dinosaurs and a directing debut for Brown Bag Films animator Diarmuid Donohoe for Hot Knives.The five Storyland series also feature established names including, actor Rory Keenan in Costigan, currently starring in the BBC drama War and Peace, while the Costigan writer Gary Duggan also wrote RTÉ drama Amber and Costigan’s Director of Photography Tim Fleming is the Director of Photography for Rebellion. Actress Mary Murray who played Janet in Love / Hate stars in Hot Knives, while Smitten actor Gus McDonagh is currently appearing in Rebellion and played Bertie Ahern in RTÉ drama Charlie. Also starring in Smitten is Clare Monnelly who played Fidelma Moone in all three series of Moone Boy. The female leads in the irreverent comedy Quinn & O’Grady are played by Riona O’Connor and Sharon Sexton, also known as the comedy duo The Craic Whores.
For the sixth series of Storyland, RTÉ and Northern Ireland Screen commissioned five single dramas of up to twenty minutes duration. The five production companies awarded the commissions are Against the Grain Films, Mycrofilms, Out Left Productions, Six Mile Hill Productions and Two Hungry Fish Productions.
The five Storyland dramas are available exclusively on RTÉ Player www.rte.ie/player
The dramas commissioned for the sixth season of Storyland are:
Costigan – Crime Drama by Against the Grain Films
Costigan is a female-led crime drama that centres on Vi Costigan, an ex-Garda detective who is released from prison after unjustly serving time for a crime she didn’t commit. Her chequered past is unpeeled as she tries to mend broken relationships and seeks out new opportunities that have dark repercussions. She quickly realises she must adapt her old skills to survive in the radically shifted world she now finds herself in. Costigan is produced by Ailish Bracken and Against the Grain Films. It is written and directed by Gary Duggan. The production took place in Dublin.
Smitten – Comedy Drama by Mycrofilms
Bronagh discovers she’s pregnant on the same day her ex-boyfriend Dave goes missing after a drunken night out. Her new life is put on hold as she searches for him. Can she find him before the news does? And will she be able to reconcile her past with her future? The production company is Mycrofilms and the producer is Ruth Carter. The writer and director is John Morton and the production took place in Kilkenny.
Hot Knives – Coming of Age Drama by Out Left Productions
Hot Knives’ is a ‘coming of age’ drama set in 1995, deep in suburban Dublin. Fourteen year-old Charlie lives for his skateboard. To him everything else fades in comparison. But he is forced to take action when his wayward older sister Sam steals vital medicine for their dad. The production company is Out Left Productions and is produced by Richard Keane and Rebecca O’Malley. It is written by Stephen Walsh and directed by Diarmuid Donohoe.
Dinosaurs – Dystopian Drama by Six Mile Hill Productions
In five years everyone and everything on the planet will die. Until then, all we can do is find a way to survive. Dinosaurs is a gripping ‘pre-apocalyptic’ dystopian drama chronicling the final years of one family on earth as they try to adapt to an ever changing and increasingly dangerous world in an bid to outrun the inevitable. Dinosaurs is produced by Brendan Mullin and Belfast-based production company Six Mile Hill Productions. It is written by Aaron Gray & Paul Skillen and directed by Chris Baugh. Filming took place in Northern Ireland (Belfast and surrounding areas).
Quinn & O’Grady – Comedy Drama by Two Hungry Fish Productions
Quinn & O’Grady is an irreverent comedy about a couple of mismatched cops and their efforts to solve the strange goings on in the village of Blackhill. Quinn & O’Grady is produced by Ivan McMahon and Molly O’Driscoll from Two Hungry Fish Productions. It is written by Janet Hayes and Ivan McMahon also directs. The production took place in Offaly.
Fancy creating your own webseries? Story consultant and script editor Eilish Kent gives three tips for creating a web series here.
