Traitors Ireland season 2 leads RTÉ’s biggest ever drama slate

Traitors Ireland season 2's drama unfolded

As the second season of The Traitors Ireland is on the way, it arrives as part of a new RTÉ season that the broadcaster is billing as its biggest-ever slate of Irish drama, more than 160 hours either in production or scheduled to air during 2026.

Everything below will land on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player, so there is no waiting on an international release date.

The dramas: Kin, Love/Hate's creator and a Galway murder mystery

The headline commission is Tall Tales & Murder, a six-part dark comedy drama created by Love/Hate's Stuart Carolan with Chris Addison, based on Caimh McDonnell's Dublin Trilogy books.

It stars Ella Lily Hyland, Aidan Gillen, Casey Walsh, Philippa Dunne, Brian Doherty, Aisling O'Sullivan and Packy Lee.

It splices a present-day story of bent cops, kidnapping and Dublin's criminal underworld with an eighth-century tale of monks, Vikings, buried treasure and a priceless holy book.

If you want a sense of the tone, Tall Tales & Murder has the background you need.

Also coming is The Galway Bay Murders, which follows seasoned NYPD detective Nora Savage as she takes a career break on the west coast of Ireland and is promptly dragged into a murder investigation. 

Traitors Ireland, Hardy Bucks and a witch trial

Beyond the drama, the returning entertainment slate is where RTÉ has quietly built a habit.

Hardy Bucks, still one of the most googled Irish shows going, returns with a new series.

Joanne McNally features in a new documentary as Garron Noone is heading to America.

As well, former State Pathologist Dr Marie Cassidy will investigate Ireland's last witch trial.

There is a platform change too: RTÉ is launching a new audio app, RTÉ Listen, promising the "best live and on-demand listening experience" across its stations and podcasts, as The Journal reported.

Where to watch in Ireland

All of the above is RTÉ commissioning, which means RTÉ One and RTÉ Player for Irish viewers, free to air.

Release dates for Tall Tales & Murder and The Galway Bay Murders have yet to be confirmed; Kin season 3 is pencilled in for 2027.

RTÉ has published its full new-season guide.

The pitch is fairly blunt, and fairly welcome: after a decade of Irish audiences waiting for streamers to greenlight Irish stories, the national broadcaster has decided to make 160 hours of them itself.

Traitors Ireland season 2 will get the shouting started again, the rest is the actual bet.