Bleedin’ deadly. Cable TV version of Love/Hate set to be broadcast in the US

We already knew that the show’s popularity extended far beyond Ireland and now it seems as if an American cable channel are going to broadcast their own version of Love/Hate.

It’s hard to think of a show that has garnered more popularity and success and made as much of an impact in Ireland as Love/Hate has in recent years and such is the consistent excellence and entertainment provided by Nidge, Fran, (the late) Darren and company that it has already aired in numerous other countries across the world, including the UK, Australia and the US. Now, according to Newstalk, the production company behind the show, Octagon Films, have confirmed that it is to be sold to an American cable channel, with an American version of the show planned to go on air on cable TV Stateside within 18 months. In an interview with Bobby Kerr on Newstalk’s Down to Business, James Flynn of Octagon Films confirmed the news and told Kerr: "The hope is that in about 18 months’ time there will be a Love/Hate USA, not dissimilar to what happened with Shameless." The US version of Shameless earned decidedly mixed reviews so one would hope that the new version of Love/Hate would fare a bit better; but the fact that it has been sold in America is a recognition of its popularity and its success, as is the fact that nearly a million Irish people watched the first episode of the new season, with just short of 900,000 tuning in for the second episode last Sunday night. Coola-boola indeed.