User:Cinccino/Red Rock (TV series)

Red Rock is an Irish television soap opera. Developed as a co-production between Element Pictures and Company Pictures, the programme was originally devised by Peter McKenna who served as the initial showrunner. The first series, consisting of eighty 22-minute episodes, premièred on TV3 (now Virgin Media One) in Ireland on 7 January 2015 as a primetime fixture in the schedule. The programme was renewed for a third series, which began airing on 13 March 2017 and is set to conclude in 2019. It is the first soap opera that has been launched in Ireland since Ros na Rún in 1996.

Set in a fictional seaside suburb on the northside of Dublin, the programme features an ensemble cast and primarily follows the domestic and professional lives of the police force working at the local garda station as well as two feuding families, the Kielys and the Hennessys, whose differences often involve them getting into trouble with the gardaí. New main characters have been both written in and out of the programme since its inception. The programme aims to explore some of the issues facing modern day Ireland, and has tackled subjects such as drug addiction, gang violence, garda corruption, statutory rape and racism.

The programme's debut on TV3 attracted one of the highest viewership ratings for a première on the network's video on demand service, 3Player (now Virgin Media Player). Despite a slump in ratings in its home country, the show has maintained strong viewership oversees, becoming one of Ireland's most successful television exports. Red Rock has received positive reviews by critics throughout its run and has won numerous awards, including the IFTA Gala Television Award for Best Soap and Continuing Drama in 2015, 2016 and 2018. Cathy Belton, Andrea Irvine, Sean Mahon, Jane McGrath and Patrick Ryan have also received IFTA Gala Television Award nominations for their performances in the show.

The programme was previously filmed at John Player Factory in Dublin, as well as on location in Kimmage, Dún Laoghaire and Howth. On 25 August 2017, TV3 announced that the lease on the current set allotment at John Player Factory had expired, effectively putting the production of the programme on an indefinite hiatus. However, on 30 August 2017, it was announced that a two-part special episode would be filmed later in the year to wrap up all of the ongoing storylines, with production for a future series still under negotiation.

Production and development
In August 2013, Jeff Ford, the director of programmes for TV3, announced that he would be inviting a number of British and Irish production companies to pitch ideas for a twice-weekly primetime soap opera to compete against the established Fair City. The broadcaster received a total of 16 applications from various production companies including Lime Pictures, but in March 2014 the contract was eventually given to Element Pictures and Company Pictures as a joint production, with John Yorke acting as one of the programme's showrunners. In May 2014, the programme was given the working title Red Rock, which was later kept as the official title and the producers for the programme stated that they expected it to air by January 2015. The programme was officially commissioned on 4 March 2014 and to date, 200 episodes have been ordered by the broadcaster.

Broadcast and distribution
In the United States and New Zealand, series 1 and 2 of the programme can be streamed on Amazon Video.

Television ratings
The première episode of Red Rock was watched by a cumulative audience of 410,800 viewers on its opening night. Its original screening averaged 323,000 viewers, attaining an 18.3% audience share. The repeat on TV3 +1 attracted an additional 18,300 viewers and the episode has become the most streamed première episode ever on the video on demand service, 3Player. The second episode attracted a combined 398,500 viewers, with the initial broadcast receiving 302,900 viewers (17.5% audience share) and beating both episodes of rival soap opera Emmerdale which were watched by 285,300 and 266,500 viewers, respectively.