TV3 officially launched their autumn schedule today in the Aviva stadium, appropriate considering they have the exclusive rights to the Rugby World Cup. We went along to see what new and exciting shows are headed to their schedule for the coming months.
There's a lot of the old favourites returning including The X Factor and Celebrity Big Brother, which have already kicked off on the channel, along with TV3's soap Red Rock, which returns tonight, as well as Britain's Got Talent, Broadchurch and the final series of Downton Abbey.
They also have just kicked off there new Saturday and Sunday morning live shows as Ireland AM takes to the weekends with presenters Anna Daly, Simon Delaney and Ivan Yates.
New faces to the schedule include food writer Lily Higgins (sister of comedienne Maeve Higgins) who has joined The Great Irish Bake Off as a judge. .
Brian Ormond will host a new game show on the channel called Wish List which sees couples playing to win the prizes of their dreams
Jonathan McCrea will present a new travel show series called A Rough Guide to the Future, while Keith Barry has landed a new show called Keith Barry: Hypnomagician where he visits some of the most amazing and unusual festivals, events, people and places around Ireland, performing some random mind tricks along the way that will no doubt baffle us all.
Donal MacIntyre will present a new show called Donal MacIntyre Assassins: Paid To Kill, where the journalist goes undercover bringing us inside the head of hit-men who are paid to kill and those who order the hits. While he also has a series called Donal MacIntyre Unsolved where he looks into some of the most famous unsolved cases in the country.
There will also be a new documentary series called The Joy which gives us an inside look into life inside Mount Joy, along with another interesting looking documentary series called Disclosure. As well as a 'Vincent Browne Investigates' special which sees the current affairs presenter look into the life of the controversial political figure that is Gerry Adams.
Conor Pope will also present a new series called Dodgy Dealers, while Off the Ball's Joe Molloy and comedian Andrew Maxwell present a new sports comedy show called The Sin Bin.
Commenting on the group’s programming plans, TV3 Group Director of Content Lynda McQuaid said: “Autumn 2015 is a very exciting time to be the Director of Content at TV3, the home of all 48 games of the Rugby World Cup, it is hard to remember such a hotly anticipated sporting occasion as this. We will continue to build the newest schedule on television filled with programming that has real depth and we will never fail to surprise when it comes to acquisitions. In 2016 myself and my team want to lead us into a new phase of cementing our position as Ireland’s leading commercial broadcaster by finding, producing, commissioning and acquiring the very best content for both our advertisers and audiences."
You can see more details of the autumn schedule below:
SPORT
RUGBY WORLD CUP 2015
The biggest sporting event of 2015 will be live and exclusive on TV3 this autumn, as TV3 broadcast the eagerly anticipated Rugby World Cup. Ireland will take on Canada, Romania, Italy and France in Pool D for a place in the knock-out stages. Head Coach Joe Schmidt has already delivered a Six Nations Title, hopes are high that his side can challenge for the William Webb Ellis Trophy. Matt Cooper will present TV3’s coverage and the panel will include Keith Wood, Shane Jennings, Peter Stringer, Malcolm O Kelly, with further announcements on the panel expected in the coming months.
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
After missing out on European action last season for the first time in 25 years, Manchester United return to the UEFA Champions League. After a summer of big name arrivals, United will be expected to make a big impression this season. TV3 will broadcast three of their group stage games live this autumn as well as featuring Premier League Champions Chelsea, Manchester City and Arsenal as well as Europe’s elite including Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. TV3 have been busy in the summer transfer market with Graeme Souness joining the team of experts, including ex Celtic manager Neil Lennon and Brian Kerr. Ex Ireland international Kevin Kilbane will join David McIntyre in a new look commentary team. Tommy Martin will present the coverage from TV3’s Sony HD Studio.
UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE FINAL
A place in next season’s UEFA Champions League and a European title will be up for grabs at the UEFA Europa League Final. Liverpool, Tottenham and Southampton, featuring Republic of Ireland striker Shane Long, will all be aiming to reach the European showpiece event. TV3 will be live at Basel’s St Jakob-Park in Switzerland for coverage of the first of the year’s major European finals.
FA CUP FINAL LIVE
The biggest day in English football, the FA Cup Final, will be live on TV3 again in May. Arsenal lifted the famous old trophy for a record 12th time last season with victory over Aston Villa. The Gunners, who also won the Cup in 2014, are now looking to become the first team in almost 130 years to win the FA Cup three times in a row.
UFC
As Conor McGregor goes for world domination in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, 3e will continue to broadcast the biggest UFC events from around the world on a delayed basis. McGregor’s much anticipated and rescheduled world title fight against Jose Aldo will be shown on 3e in December along with all the big US ‘Pay per View’ events featuring MMA’s biggest names and some of Ireland’s up and coming stars. 3e will also feature the build-up programming and new UFC magazine show content.
IRELAND’S CALL
In 1987 Irish Rugby International Nigel Carr was seriously injured in an IRA explosion while travelling with fellow team mates. Although not the target of the attack, Carr’s career was ended by the bomb blast and the landscape of Irish Rugby was changed forever. With team members from both North and South of the border and across the religious divide, the IRFU commissioned an anthem that would unify all supporters and players, while remaining politically unbiased. In 1995, as peace in Northern Ireland edged closer, one man was given the difficult task of unifying a nation through song and sport. This is the story of Phil Coulter’s iconic anthem “Ireland’s Call” and how twenty years on, it has stood the test of time and public opinion. As the nation gears up for Rugby World Cup 2015, we go behind the studio doors as Phil and ‘The High Kings’ prepare to record a new version of Ireland’s sporting anthem.
OFF THE BALL SPORTING HEROES
Off The Ball Sporting Heroes harnesses the edifying and entertaining components of the brand and creates a prime time television format. Each hour long episode is dedicated to a member of the team interviewing their sporting hero. For example Ger Gilroy talks to Roy Keane, Colm Parkinson gets close to Jim McGuinness while Joe Molloy spends time with Padraig Harrington. Intercutting archive and freshly shot VT inserts involving family and colleagues we witness these highly recognisable sports journalists conducting the most illuminating interviews with their sporting hero. A piece of television history devoted to some of our greatest sport stars.
ENTERTAINMENT
THE X FACTOR - EXCLUSIVE TO TV3
The biggest singing competition on the planet returns Exclusively to TV3 this autumn with a whole new presenting line up and judging panel. X Factor veterans Simon Cowell and Cheryl Fernandez-Versini are back to pave the way for new recruits, pop sensation Rita Ora and much-loved radio DJ Nick Grimshaw. Our favourite Xtra Factor duo, Olly Murs and Caroline Flack are making their return but this time it’s for the main show. The new series will also see the auditions move out of the rooms and straight into the arenas, with hopefuls having to perform in front of an arena audience from the start in the hope of making it through to the next stage.
THE XTRA FACTOR
TV Presenter and KISS FM Radio DJ, Melvin Odoom and pop star and TV presenter, Rochelle Humes will host the popular X Factor sister show - The Xtra Factor. The new presenting duo will be in the centre of the action, bringing the fun factor to the search to find a new music star. They will follow the auditions across the country, getting backstage gossip, unveiling unseen footage and getting unprecedented access to The X Factor judges, Cheryl Fernandez-Versini, Nick Grimshaw, Rita Ora and Simon Cowell.
AMERICA’S GOT TALENT
As a brand new 10th season of America's Got Talent continues on 3e with an incredible display of talent from the auditions, Judges Howard Stern, Mel B, Howie Mandel and Heidi Klum all agree that this year is the most exciting season to date. The main focus is on whether or not it was entertaining, providing for sometimes not so talented but hilarious acts getting through. America’s Got Talent features a colourful array of singers, dancers, comedians, contortionists, impressionists, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists and hopeful stars, all hoping to win viewers hearts as well as the prize fund.
The ultimate talent show will also return in 2016 with a brand new 11th series of contestants to wow both the judges and the audience in the competition with no restrictions to age or talent!
BRITAIN’S GOT TALENT
Returning for another year Exclusively on TV3, Britain’s Got Talent is a search for the next best talent act, featuring singers, dancers, comedians, variety acts, and other talents of all ages. Each year, judges are stunned, entertained and moved to tears on their hunt for the best talent around. They are joined by the nation’s favourite TV duo Ant and Dec, who are on hand to encourage the acts and to congratulate or commiserate with them following their auditions. The lucky act who is crowned the winner in the live grand final will secure a life changing cash prize of £250,000 and the opportunity to perform at this year’s Royal Variety Performance for the Queen.
YOU’RE BACK IN THE ROOM
Exclusive to TV3, comedy game show You're Back In The Room returns for a second series. Hosted by Phillip Schofield, the hilarious show sees complete strangers work together to complete incredibly simple challenges. But of course, there’s a catch! The only thing standing between them and the cash prize is their own minds... because our contestants are all hypnotised by master hypnotist Keith Barry! Packed with laugh-out-loud moments and celebrity guests, You're Back In The Room is not to be missed.
KEITH BARRY: HYPNOMAGICIAN
In this mind-messing Irish travelogue, Keith Barry visits some of the most amazing and unusual festivals, events, people and places around Ireland. Along the way he performs random unscripted close-up mind reading for a variety of ordinary and extraordinary people and discovers an Ireland full of characters as colourful and magical as his own imagination.
The show, which is a mixture of psychology, deception, trickery, escapology and of course comedy hypnosis, will be shot without camera tricks, stooges or elaborate set-ups. Throughout this ‘journey’, Keith talks candidly about his career, recounting his magical beginnings in a Waterford restaurant, to a life changing moment where he nearly died, to touring the World and headlining his own Las Vegas show.
CELEBRITY BIG BROTHER
Once the regular folk have served their time during the summer Big Brother, it can only mean one thing: more celebrities are heading into the BB house. Exclusive to TV3, the fly-on-the-wall fun begins once more as Emma Willis invites a fresh group of famous faces to move in together and have their every word and move recorded for the enjoyment of the viewing public. With one series airing in the autumn and another in the New Year, viewers won’t be short on celebrity fallouts, drama and maybe even some romance!
WISH LIST
The game show that sees couples playing to win the prizes of their dreams visualised in studio on a large LED floor. Pairs of contestants choose their dream prizes to make up their wish list, all of which has a connection to their shared history together. They face categories of questions to win each prize off their wish list. But also, between them, the couple must decide who will ask the questions and who will answer. Their strategy and judgment on who may know the answer will determine whether they win. This incredibly simple but highly addictive game show is packed with drama, excitement and nail-biting jeopardy but will the contestants be able to hold their nerve and win their ultimate Wish list?
ALL STAR FAMILY FORTUNES
All Star Family Fortunes, the classic family game show hosted by Vernon Kay returns to Irish screens. Families battle it out to try to guess the top answers and take control of the board in the hopes that they will win themselves a fortune. If a family fails to find the final correct answer on the board the opposing family gets a chance to steal the board and the points. Every point is worth a pound and therefore the higher the number of people who gave that answer, the more points you get! The family with the most points moves on to the final round Double Money. They need their thinking caps on and you do too as playing along at home is just as fun!
CATCHPHRASE
Say what you see, say what you see!
A British revival of the classic American game show has reared its head and is coming Exclusively to TV3. Contestants pick from a number of squares on the board to reveal part of a picture which conveys a well-known catchphrase and advance from the qualifying round, to the main round and finally the bonus round for their chance to win thousands of pounds!
TAKE ME OUT UK
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Paddy McGuinness returns to our screens once again in the hopes of match-making couples on the hugely popular dating show. The girls doll up and the guys try to show off their personalities and talents in the hopes the lovely ladies will keep their lights on. Each successful match goes on a holiday getaway to the beautiful Isle of Fernandos! And remember… No Likey, No Lighty!
FACTUAL ENTERTAINMENT
THE GREAT IRISH BAKE OFF
The Bake Off is back and with a new judge! So get ready for more floppy flans, burnt tarts and gorgeous buns, as 12 contestants compete once more to be crowned best amateur baker!
After two highly successful series, ‘The Great Irish Bake Off’ returns to TV3 this autumn. Joining host Anna Nolan and judge Paul Kelly from The Merrion Hotel will be a new face – food writer, blogger and Irish Times columnist Lilly Higgins. Cork native Lilly has published two books ‘Make Bake Love’ and ‘Dream Deli’ and appeared alongside her sister Maeve in the TV comedy cookery series ‘Fancy Vittles.’
Once again, the series brings together twelve amateur bakers from across Ireland, each aiming to impress the judges in the famous ‘Bake Off’ marquee with their Signature, Technical and Showstopper bakes. The series is produced by Sideline for TV3 and there will also be a Christmas special. ‘The Great Irish Christmas Bake Off’ will see Anna, Paul and Lilly offering some last minute bakes and tips for the festive season.
THE RESTAURANT
This year, the stunning new home of ‘The Restaurant’ will be Marco Pierre White’s Courtyard Bar & Grill in Donnybrook, with the world class chef himself joining the critics table alongside resident critic Tom Doorley and a guest critic each week. Six celebrities will once again don the aprons and take control of the kitchen in an effort to impress the critics and be awarded an almost unattainable five stars.
They will attempt to produce a top-class, three course menu with two value-for-money wines. During service, the celebrities in the kitchen will get instant feedback about their menu from remote cameras and microphones covering the dining room. The identity of the celebrities will remain a secret to the diners and the critics until service is over, at which point the celebrity will step out of the kitchen and face the critics in front of the diners.
THE GREAT IRISH MENU
The nation’s top chefs compete for the chance to cook a four-course banquet marking the 1916 commemorations. As the centenary approaches, the buzz of an historic and proud atmosphere hums across the country and the food of the commemoration banquet must be a reflection of the Irish Culture and a celebration of what we have become as a nation.
Every week the competing chefs will create an individual menu reflecting their unique tastes, style and technique which they will then present to the judging panel. Over the course of eight hour-long episodes the best chefs will continue on to the final where they will cook one final time for their chance to devise a menu curated by them for the celebratory banquet. Prepare yourself for a mouth-watering feast of great Irish television.
HOUSE RULES
An exciting new international entertainment format which sees six teams travelling the country renovating each other’s homes. Each week the home owner’s rules must be obeyed by the renovating teams and those who follow the rules and pull off the best home make-overs will emerge triumphant above the others. The teams must put their homes and skills on the line in the fight for supremacy. The competing team that fails to impress the judges however, will find themselves out the door. The couple who renovates to the highest standard and is the best in the eyes of the judges will win a life changing prize of a cleared mortgage.
THELMA’S COMMUNION GIRLS
World famous gypsy wedding dress designer Thelma Madine shows us the other side of her lucrative business – making extravagant mini wedding dresses for Holy Communions up and down the country.
Opening her order books, Thelma introduces us to the proud parents who only want the best for their little darlings and are prepared to pay for all the sequins and sparkle which will make every little girl’s dream come true.
We follow the preparations for six spectacular Irish communions from initial consultation to family celebration - with all of the trimmings!
IRELAND’S PROBLEM PETS
Dogs, cats, rabbits, and other furry foes, are wreaking havoc in homes across Ireland.
From home wrecking terriers, to scared cats that won’t stop urinating on the carpet ….
“Man’s best friends” are tearing families apart.
In this six part series, our crack team of Pet Behavioural experts are going head-to-head with Ireland’s most unruly pets, solving the most severe behavioural problems that we have ever seen on Irish TV.
DOCUMENTARIES
Disclosure: The Murder of Karen Buckley
“Every parent's nightmare" is how Karen Buckley's death has been described. It is also every woman's nightmare - a chance meeting with a stranger in a nightclub who turns out to be a deranged killer. ‘The Murder of Karen Buckley’ under TV3’s new Disclosure strand, will retrace the events of that fateful night and detail the police investigation which followed. Karen's death is a tragedy for her family and friends - but it also raises important questions about safety and security which affect us all.
Disclosure: The Elber Twomey Story
Elber Twomey's husband, infant son and unborn baby were all killed when a suicidal driver hit their car during a holiday in Torquay, England, three years ago. This programme tells the remarkable story of how she survived the crash and somehow found the strength to carry on with her life. She now campaigns to raise awareness about suicidal drivers, with the co-operation of police forces in Ireland and the UK. The programme includes interviews with Elber herself, her family and friends, senior police officers here and in England and the hospital staff who treated her family.
Disclosure: Screen Slaves
Do you wake up with Facebook or go to sleep with Twitter? Do you photograph or video every moment and share it on your newsfeed, YouTube or Instagram? Are you a #SocialMediaAddict? If so, you are not alone. Surveys estimate most of us pick up our phones around 150 times a day, often to check social media. In this brand new documentary for TV3, Adrian Weckler, Technology Editor of the Irish Independent, meets self-confessed social media addicts of a variety of ages, and sets them the challenge of doing a digital detox for a full week. Whether at locations like the music festival Castlepalooza, or at a Dublin TweetUp, Adrian also gets the views of a wide variety of social media users and experts about how Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat, are changing our relationships, our brains and our behaviours.
Disclosure: The State of Irish Soccer
Soccer is a game played by thousands and loved by millions more. It is also an industry employing vast numbers of people. Here, we take a good hard look at the game in this country from every level - our national team, the domestic league and underage divisions. Is it a theatre of dreams or a cruel, cynical trade ruled by money? Are our expectations simply too high? We talk to players, coaches and officials at home and abroad to assess where we are and what we should be doing to do justice to the beautiful game.
Disclosure: Homeless Crisis
Across our city streets Ireland is in the grip of an epidemic. Recognised as one of the most affable and friendly nations in the world, the homeless crisis which is taking root in our towns and villages offers a stark contrast to this ideal vision. It is a social problem which has affected the complete spectrum of our society with our main thoroughfares and public areas teaming with those who have found themselves out of luck and on the streets. This programme will explore the reason behind the sudden surge in homeless numbers and what is being done to combat this crisis.
3Studios
Disclosure: Holy War
Islamic extremism is now the single biggest threat to international security, as evidenced by recent atrocities in Tunisia, Turkey and France. This programme investigates who the jihadists are, where they come from and why they choose to pursue such a violent path. We speak to Irish citizens who have fought in Syria and Libya and assess the potential threat to Ireland. The programme includes interviews with members of the Muslim community, the Minister for Justice, academics and experts from home and abroad.
PARAMEDICS
They’re the people we hope never to need, but when an emergency occurs, they are all we depend on. From car crashes to cardiac arrests, our landmark documentary series Paramedics returns to TV3 for a second series. Series 2 of Paramedics sees us go behind the scenes with 999 call takers in the brand new national control centre, on the road with emergency paramedics and their patients, and for the first time on Irish television, take to the skies with the national aeromedical unit ‘MedEvac 112’. This is the story of the men and woman of the HSE National Ambulance Service. We introduce some new faces and some familiar returning characters too, as they face life and death scenarios across the country, in the most captivating, emotive and eye opening series yet.
INSIDE THE COOMBE
A personal and heartwarming account of pregnancy and childbirth seen from the perspective of the busy staff and patients at the country’s largest maternity hospital. .
Behind the smiles, flowers and cards from well-wishers, is the stress and sometimes heartbreak of one of life’s greatest and at times challenging experiences. In this groundbreaking series, staff and couples at the Coombe hospital record their day-to-day experiences in a series of video diaries- giving TV3 audiences a never before seen view of pregnancy and childbirth.
The Coombe Women’s and Infants Hospital provides the largest and most comprehensive gynaecology surgical services in the country. As well as a range of standard maternity services the hospital offers very specialized surgical procedures and intensive care not just for the babies born in the Coombe but from other maternity hospitals around the country.
In the hospital’s operating theatres surgeons and the medical staff provide life- saving operations for babies born with serious illnesses on a daily basis. Coombe video diaries will record the drama and private moments of these dedicated medics.
As well as capturing the drama behind the scenes of the operating theatre, maternity Video maternity diaries will also feature diary accounts captured by expectant parents. In this ground breaking series, TV3 audiences will witness the private moments of what the dedicated staff and parents at the Coombe experience when bringing new life into the world.
JOBSTOWN – THE EDGE OF TOWN
Jobstown is the follow up series to the controversial ratings smash Darndale - The Edge of Town which aired on TV3 last year. In this fly-on-the-wall series, cameras spend a year with the residents of one of Ireland's most notorious areas, Jobstown in Tallaght. For many years the area has struggled with high-unemployment, antisocial behaviour and crime. Yet, despite these challenges, most are proud to call Jobstown home. In this ambitious, observational documentary series, cameras follow local residents as they live out their everyday lives. Stories of hope and despair, triumph and disappointment, and the drama of everyday life unfold. Welcome to Jobstown – The Edge of Town.
DONAL MACINTYRE ASSASSINS: PAID TO KILL
Donal MacIntyre goes undercover once more, this time bringing us inside the head of hit-men who are paid to kill and those who order the hits.
Contract killings and gangland hits have transformed Dublin into one of the contract killing capitals of the world. More than 5 % of all homicides in Ireland have been delivered by specialist underworld killers paid specifically for the job. With a bubbling underworld and the legacy of trained ex-republican marksmen, Ireland has a growing business expertise in murder for hire.
In this new series, Donal MacIntyre and Professor David Wilson, two of the world’s leading experts on contract killers, reveal the anatomy of six of Ireland’s most infamous contract killings, dissecting the characters of the assassins and profiling the crimes in forensic detail.
DONAL MACINTYRE UNSOLVED
Each year there are multiple acts of horrific and brutal murder which go unsolved. Thousands of missing persons also slip out of radar each day. In this series, Donal Macintyre brings together an unrivalled team of specialists to investigate some of Ireland’s most infamous missing persons and unsolved acts of murder. Working with the original investigating team they reexamine the evidence, looking to bring some fresh information to light and some closure for the family and friends of the victims of some of the most shocking and impenetrable cold cases our nation has seen. From the disappearance of Annie McCarrick to Trevor Deeley and the brutal murder of Alan Wood in the UK, Donal Macintyre will seek to find justice and finally find answers to the myriad of questions around these cases.
VINCENT BROWNE INVESTIGATES: GERRY ADAMS
Gerry Adams is the most controversial political personality on the island, having led the IRA “war” for 20 years, a “war” that involved a myriad of atrocities, and then having led a peace process, which has gone a long way to resolving the “Irish problem”. The “war” would have happened without him but, almost certainly, the peace process would not have succeeded when it did without him.
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In a three-part documentary series, Vincent Browne explores the part Gerry Adams played in the “war” and his pre-eminent role in the peace process. It also explores the politics of Gerry Adams and of Sinn Fein from the perspective of whether the party and himself would make any appreciable difference to the welfare of the “ordinary” people of Ireland.
