Republic of Telly is a TV review and magazine programme on Irish public broadcaster, RTÉ2. Presented by comedian Kevin McGahern, the programme is intended as a satirical examination of television, mocking various Irish and British TV channels, including sketches and special guests making an appearance from the shows. An added feature of the show is its correspondents Jennifer Maguire and Bernard O'Shea. Maguire conducts vox pops and celebrity interviews, whereas O'Shea conducts live 'on the spot' reports (filmed in front of a greenscreen). Series two also introduced comedians The Rubberbandits as reporters, bizarre weathermen and agony aunts. The series has contributed to the chart success of The Rubberbandits single "Horse Outside", as well as "Everybody's Drinkin'" and "Big Box Little Box" by Damo and Ivor.
| Republic of Telly | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Television comedy |
| Created by | James Cotter |
| Written by | James Cotter, Dermot Whelan, Shane Mulvey, Kevin McGahern |
| Directed by | Ashling Fallon Casey |
| Presented by | Neil Delamere (2009–2010) Dermot Whelan (2010–13) Kevin McGahern (2013–17) |
| Starring | The Rubberbandits Damo and Ivor Jennifer Maguire (2010–15) Bernard O'Shea Bláthnaid Ní Chofaigh Mairéad Farrell (2009–2010) |
| Theme music composer | Daft Punk |
| Opening theme | "Television Rules the Nation" |
| Ending theme | "Television Rules the Nation" |
| Country of origin | Ireland |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 7 |
| No. of episodes | 121 |
| Production | |
| Production locations | Studio 4, RTÉ Television Centre, Donnybrook, Dublin 4, Ireland |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | RTÉ2 |
| Release | 24 October 2009 – December 2016 |
In February 2017, it was announced by RTÉ that the show had been cancelled after an eight-year run.[1][2]
Series
editFirst series
editThe first series, which was presented by Neil Delamere began in 2009. The first series continued on 15 February 2010 and concluded in the spring of that year. The series featured Mairéad Farrell and had guests such as Marty Whelan, Kathryn Thomas, the cast of The Apprentice, and Dermot Whelan.
Second series
editThe second series, with Dermot Whelan taking over as host, began in October 2010. The second series continued in March 2011 and concluded in the spring of that year. RTÉ's political correspondent David McCullagh made a formal complaint to RTÉ after the programme caused rumours to spread of a government minister's resignation, an event that would have reduced the coalition's majority to two.[3]
Third series
editThe third series began on 17 October 2011, with an episode featuring Georgia Salpa, Damo and Ivor, Dead Cat Bounce and Darby the Leprechaun. The season continued until 24 April 2012.
Fourth series
editThe fourth series of the instalment began broadcasting on 22 October 2012 at 10 pm. Robogarda debuted and Georgia Salpa, considered by RTÉ to be a celebrity woman "who tends to pop up almost anywhere", returned.[4] In December *The Republic of Telly DVD was released. The season concluded in May 2013.
Fifth series
editThe fifth series of Republic of Telly started on 28 October 2013. After Dermot Whelan announced he would no longer be presenting the show, it was announced that comedian Kevin McGahern would be taking over as host. McGahern is best known for his role as 'Sim Card' on RTÉ's Hardy Bucks and also appeared on television adverts for Three Ireland.[5] The fifth season concluded on 12 May 2014 with a special 1980s edition, which saw the old RTÉ2 logo used onscreen as the DOG (Digital Onscreen Graphic), a 4:3 aspect ratio filter on the episode and a modified opening theme tune and graphics. Some regular parts of the show took on a 1980s vibe, including the Republic of Telly logo itself, Kevin McGahern's desk and Bernard's News (The Quarter to Tenish News), which was in the episode 'Bernard's Beat Box' referring to the old RTÉ music show BeatBox.
Sixth series
editThe sixth series of Republic of Telly debuted on 3 November 2014. From the beginning it was notable that Jennifer Maguire was absent and this was due to her being on maternity leave. This situation was overcome by the feature "Jen of the Week" where a person would stand in for Jennifer. Later on she made a few short appearances. For the first time since it began, Bernards' News didn't return, instead, News Republic took its place with a similar concept to Bernards' News. News Republic was originally headed by Al Porter but this changed to The Viper later in the series. The final episode in series 6 aired on 18 May 2015 and featured a beach party theme.
Seventh series
editThe seventh series of Republic of Telly aired on 19 October 2015 on RTÉ2 with Joanne McNally replacing Jennifer Maguire.
References
edit- ^ "Republic of Telly has been cancelled by RTE". Entertainment.ie. 1 February 2017. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
- ^ "Irish comedians and comedy fans alike are mourning the cancellation of Republic of Telly". Daily Edge. 1 February 2017. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
- ^ "Ireland debt crisis: TV resignation hoax causes further anguish – Comic posing as reporter starts rumour of minister's 'resignation', prompting fears for Irish coalition's slim majority", The Guardian, 17 November 2010.
- ^ "Robogarda set for Republic of Telly". RTÉ Ten. 22 October 2012. Retrieved 22 October 2012.
- ^ "REPUBLIC OF TELLY ***New Series***". RTÉ News. 28 October 2013. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
External links
edit- Republic of Telly at RTÉ