RT and Screen Ireland have announced the eight Storyland projects which are in development (see below). Since its inception over a decade ago, Storyland has acted as a launch pad and support for Irish writing, directing, producing, and acting talent throughout Ireland to develop and further their careers. This is part of RT 's ongoing strategy to increase its development in drama output, by investing in the Irish creative industry and showcasing the best of Ireland by filming right across the country. This strategy also supports the employment of hundreds of people across the industry, in order to bring more Irish drama series to television, and importantly to RT Player where scripted series dominate viewing.
Of the eight dramas developed, three single dramas of 25 minutes duration will be commissioned for production and will be broadcast on RT 2 and RT Player. The three winning projects will be announced next week and will roll straight into production.
The eight stories tell of a young woman meeting the man of her dreams, a futuristic motel where people go to end their lives, a dying woman intent on marrying her son off, a young father with artistic aspirations, a woman struggling to make a decision on her pregnancy, neighbours thinking about embarking on an affair, a mother and son's tangled relationship and cocaine smugglers hoping to leave their pasts behind.
Following on from RT 's recent homegrown drama hits including Kin, Smother and The Dry, which all have local storytelling at their core, the chosen eight dramas in Storyland feature stories that will resonate with Irish audiences and give a platform to an impressive standard of diverse and exceptional talent.
David Crean, Acting Head of Drama RT , said: This announcement follows on from the success of last year's Storyland on RT 2 and RT Player where Mustard, Balor Hall and Every Five Miles had an enormous impact. The point and purpose of Storyland is to foster new talent both in front of and behind the camera and we're very excited help develop eight new dramas, with eight new teams. Three of these dramas will be on our screens in the Autumn and I can't wait to share them with Irish audiences.
Andrew Byrne, Head of Television at F s ireann/Screen Ireland, said: We are delighted to continue Screen Ireland's partnership with RT on Storyland and our congratulations to the eight finalists selected this year. Storyland is an incredible opportunity to showcase original and diverse new voices, and we're looking forward to working closely with the RT team on the next stages of development - right through to seeing the final three projects on our screens later this year.
Find out more about the eight selected projects in the Editor's Notes below.
STORYLAND 2023 FINALISTS
Falling for the Life of Alex Whelan (Pure Divilment Pictures)
Writer Nell Hensey
Producer Claire Mooney
A young Chinese Irish woman meets the man of her dreams at a foreign language film club. She discovers the next day through social media that he has died. Piecing together who he was through his online life, she begins to wonder what could have been.
The Quiet Ocean (Tile Media)
Writer Barry Smyth
Producer Fiona Kinsella
The Receptionist of a futuristic motel where people go to end their lives falls in love with a newly arrived guest.
Paddy (Cluster Fox Films)
Writer Thomas Connors
Producer Tiernan Williams
Mrs Connors is dying, but before she does, she will get her son Paddy hitched. It may take a village to raise a child, but it requires a halting site to get an idiot married.
Far (EZ Films)
Writer Shannon Welby
Producer David Power
A young woman back home in rural Ireland struggles to decide whether to keep her pregnancy, while uncovering her trusty brother's dark devotion to a far-right group.
The Cousin (MDV)
Writer Stevie Russell
Producer Michael Donnelly
A young father is accepted into a prestigious art college and must tell his cousin he is leaving a life of crime behind.
The Arrangements (Copper Alley Productions)
Writer Jack Hickey
Producer Lara Hickey
Neurotic Neighbours Ben and Maggie, disillusioned with their respective marriages, embark on a tentative affair only to discover their care-free spouses might have beaten them to the punch
Human Tupperware (Pale Rebel Productions)
Writer Joanna McClurg
Producer Tamryn Reinecke
Living together in rural Northern Ireland, a queer, socially anxious young man and his stubborn, disabled mother thirst for independence and purpose. Their tender but tangled relationship is increasingly corrupted by the technology they rely upon to escape limitations of their modest lives.
Wrapped ( (Pipedream Productions & Alfonso Films)
Writer Tracy Martin
Producer Claire McCabe
Two Irish women travel through airport security with thousands of euro worth of cocaine strapped to their bodies, hoping to leave their past behind.
Europe Stories
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
01/04/2026
January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION
Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...
21/01/2026
Wednesday 21 January 2026
Backing Britain on the global stage: Sky becomes an o...
21/01/2026
Fox Corporation Executives to Discuss Second Quarter Fiscal 2026 Financial Resul...
21/01/2026
Baselight v7 brings colourists and post-houses smarter mattes, faster workflows and deeper control
FilmLight, known for its detailed colour toolset and longsta...
21/01/2026
RT News is pleased to announce the appointment of Jackie Fox as its new Washington Correspondent. Jackie is a multimedia journalist with RT News and has repor...
19/01/2026
Monday 19 January 2026
Sky News reinvents News at Ten for the modern audience with The Wrap
Sky News today announces The Wrap, a bold evolution of its 10pm ou...
19/01/2026
DPA Microphones is striking a new chord in piano miking with the debut of its DPK2015 Piano Stereo Kit, an out-of-the-box, plug-and-play miking solution that ta...
19/01/2026
DPA Microphones will present its 4099 CORE Instrument Microphone and redesigned...
19/01/2026
Trianel relies on Arvato Systems for future-proof data center operations
Moving to the cloud: Arvato Systems implements extensive IT migration project
Migrat...
19/01/2026
Celebrating 21 Years of the RT Choice Music Prize
RT Choice Music Prize
In association with IMRO and IRMA
Irish Album of the Year 2025 - Shortlist Announce...
18/01/2026
January 18 2026, 21:30 (PST) Dolby Cinema Arrives in Bengaluru: Dolby Laborator...
16/01/2026
The start of a new year brings fresh possibilities. Whether you're diving in with big goals or simply setting new intentions, audiobooks can bring inspirati...
16/01/2026
In 2025 we launched the Spotify Partner Program to give creators more ways to tu...
15/01/2026
The SGL Carbon site in Bonn has a long tradition of training. For many years, young talent has been successfully trained here, regularly achieving excellent exa...
15/01/2026
The JEC Composites Innovation Awards annually honor the most innovative and ambi...
15/01/2026
X-energy Reactor Company, LLC ( X-energy ) and SGL Carbon LLC ( SGL ) have signed a 10-year framework agreement to provide graphite for the deployment of X-ener...
15/01/2026
RT is tonight announcing that Mari Hurley has decided to leave her role as RT 's Chief Financial Officer to take up a new position outside RT . Mari will r...
15/01/2026
15 Jan 2026
VEON's Kyivstar Reaches 3.0 million Customers with Starlink Dir...
15/01/2026
Views to free streaming service U grew by 15%, average monthly active users by 23% and registrations by 18%
UKTV's channels achieved record viewing share, ...
15/01/2026
Thursday 15 January 2026
Sky Sports to show Final Stage of inaugural FIFA Women's Champions Cup
Sky and FIFA have agreed an exclusive new partnership whi...
15/01/2026
Thursday 15 January 2026
The official trailer for the second season of Seth Mac...
15/01/2026
Wuppertal January 15, 2026
Riedel RefCam Takes Center Court in German Basketba...
15/01/2026
Arvato Systems Named Launch Partner for AWS European Sovereign Cloud
As a launch partner for the AWS European Sovereign Cloud, Arvato Systems enables customer...
14/01/2026
Staines-upon-Thames, UK, 13th January, 2026 ITV, one of the UKs leading broadcasters, has selected Yospace, the global leader in Dynamic Ad Insertion (DAI), to ...
14/01/2026
Steiger Media's adoption of Calrec's compact Argo M console not only makes its innovative new hybrid truck faster, more efficient, and agile, but also e...
14/01/2026
Press Release: The Boston Globe Names Cartesian a Top Place to Work in 2025
January 14, 2026
News
Cartesian - January 14, 2026 - EINPresswire.com - Sp...
14/01/2026
Comscore and Marcus Theatres Announce Five-Year Extension for Cinema ACE and Ent...
14/01/2026
Comscore and Santikos Entertainment Announce Five-Year Circuit Wide Commitment t...
14/01/2026
Wednesday 14 January 2026
Sky News announces Cathy Newman to lead flagship new political programme
Sky News today announces that award-winning journalist and ...
14/01/2026
The first stamp of An Post's 2026 Stamp Programme, marking 100 Years of Broadcasting, was unveiled at the GPO by Patrick O'Donovan TD, Minister for Cult...
14/01/2026
It's official! Beverley Callard has landed in Carrigstown. The beloved actor, known for her unforgettable roles and iconic screen presence, is joining the c...
13/01/2026
Independent media in Brazil and Colombia is facing an urgent crisis of traditional business models alongside a deteriorating security environment, according to ...
13/01/2026
Luxembourg, December 17, 2025 - SES S.A. ( SES or the Company ), a leading spa...
13/01/2026
Written and executive produced by Steve Lightfoot and Angela LaManna, produced b...
13/01/2026
New updates to Hitmaker Expansion from Celemony and Softube Edit pitch-perfect vocals with Melodyne Essential and get radio-ready guitar tones from Softube...
13/01/2026
Live broadcasts from RT 2FM Breakfast with Carl, Roz & Aisling, RT Radio 1 Tod...
12/01/2026
Spotify's new co-CEOs, Alex Norstr m and Gustav S derstr m, start off the new year with a message of renewed leadership, creative responsibility, and what&#...
12/01/2026
At Spotify, we listen to a lot of music. And every year, our global editors and artist partnerships teams come together to spotlight the emerging voices we beli...
12/01/2026
Spotify's global editors and Songwriter & Publisher Partnerships team spend their days immersed in new music, tracking the writers behind the songs breaking...
12/01/2026
Rohde & Schwarz opens larger office in Japan and increases its support for the J...
12/01/2026
X-Rite and Rhopoint Launch Rhopoint PANTORA Aesthetix to Streamline Creation of...
12/01/2026
12 Jan 2026
VEON's Kyivstar Launches 5G Pilot in Lviv Lviv, January 12, 2026 - VEON, a global digital operator (Nasdaq: VEON), today announces that Kyivsta...
12/01/2026
Monday 12 January 2026
The ultimate betrayal: Harry and Jamie Redknapp, Paul Me...
12/01/2026
Rohde & Schwarz opens larger office in Japan to increase its support for the Jap...
12/01/2026
Welcome to the AVECO team: introducing new members of management
At AVECO, we are continuing to implement our #newAVECO strategy, which aims to build an even s...
12/01/2026
For the first time in the nine-year history of Dancing with the Stars, the first...
RT and Screen Ireland have announced the eight Storyland projects which are in development (see below). Since its inception over a decade ago, Storyland has acted as a launch pad and support for Irish writing, directing, producing, and acting talent throughout Ireland to develop and further their careers. This is part of RT 's ongoing strategy to increase its development in drama output, by investing in the Irish creative industry and showcasing the best of Ireland by filming right across the country. This strategy also supports the employment of hundreds of people across the industry, in order to bring more Irish drama series to television, and importantly to RT Player where scripted series dominate viewing.
