This looks like it will be appointment viewing.
A new RTÉ series is set to celebrate Roddy Doyle’s Barrytown trilogy of books – The Commitments, The Snapper and The Van – and the iconic movies they inspired.
Titled Back to Barrytown and airing on Sunday nights from 16 May, the three-part documentary series will be hosted by Colm Meaney, who featured in the trilogy of films.
Three decades after Alan Parker’s movie adaptation of The Commitments became a global phenomenon, the actor will be exploring the fictional world of Barrytown, specifically “the people who populated it, the real lives that inspired it and those who helped create it”.
The show’s synopsis reads: “Back to Barrytown is a series of three documentaries that will focus on the stories, themes and characters of each of the three books, capturing the fanciful daydreams of escape and prosperity and the down-to-earth realities of family, friendship and community.”
Along with Doyle and Meaney, the series will feature many of the well-known cast and crew from the film trilogy including Angeline Ball, Brendan O’Carroll, Robert Arkins, Ruth McCabe, Stephen Frears and many more.
To coincide with the series, RTÉ One will also be airing The Commitments on Saturday, 22 May after the Eurovision final and The Snapper on Saturday, 29 May at 9.30pm.
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