The IFTA Awards are now less than a week away (this Sunday May 24) and we continue our coverage with a look at the Best Television Drama category, which is run in association with the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI).
The nominees this year are political mini-series ‘Charlie’, crime procedural drama ‘The Fall’, epic fantasy series ‘Game of Thrones’, gangster drama ‘Love/Hate’ and period drama series ‘Vikings’.
Three-part mini-series ‘Charlie’ chronicled the rise and fall of controversial former Taoiseach Charlie Haughey. The show starred Aiden Gillen in the titular role (with Gillen garnering an IFTA nomination for his performance) with the ensemble cast including Tom Vaughan Lawlor, Risteard Cooper and Peter O Meara. Colin Teevan’s script was widely praised and landing the screenwriter his first IFTA nomination this year.
The mini-series, produced for RTÉ by Touchpaper and Element Pictures, aired in January 2015 to highly positive reviews with the Irish Times praising the show’s “frenetic pace” and stated that it perfectly “mirrors the mad, manic and dangerous pace of the year in Irish political life that it portrays”. The Independent said the show “demonstrated tremendous confidence – as if some of Haughey's supreme chutzpah had somehow seeped into its marrow.”
Also nominated this year is crime procedural drama series ‘The Fall’. The second series was written and directed by creator Allen Cubitt and has received acclaim with The New York Times calling it a “fine show” after it streamed on Netflix last year.
The series follows investigator Stella Gibson (Gillian Anderson) who is on the hunt for serial killer (Jamie Dornan) who continues to terrorize Belfast.
The show, produced by Julian Stevens (Artist’s Studio) for BBC 2 and airing in Ireland on RTÉ, last year won the IFTA in this category. It is also nominated this year for Best Actor Drama (Jamie Dornan) and Best Supporting Actress Drama (Aisling Franciosi).
Next up is epic fantasy series ‘Game of Thrones’. Nominated for its’ fourth season, the show is shot in Belfast and has won many awards since premiering in 2011 including Golden Globe and Emmy Awards. It has also received widespread acclaim along with commercial success with The Guardian calling it “the most talked about show on television.”
The series features a slew of Irish actors including Aiden Gillen, Ciaran Hinds and Liam Cunningham (who is IFTA-nominated for his performance this year).
Also up for an IFTA this year for his work on the show is Production Sound Mixer Ronan Hill who has won also won a Primetime Emmy Award for his work on the show, among other accolades.
Nominated every year since it first aired in 2010, the Octagon Films gangster drama series ‘Love/Hate’ is up for the award once again this year.
The show has also been a hit internationally too selling to over 30 countries including the UK, Norway, Australia, Middle East (including over 20 countries from India to Yemen), Singapore, South Korea, Israel, Brazil along with Hulu, Netflix and Amazon in the US. There is also a US remake currently in development with Dennis Lehane slated to pen the script.
Also nominated this year for the show are Tom Vaughan Lawlor (Best Actor), Charlie Murphy (Best Actress), Mary Murray (Best Supporting Actress), David Caffrey (Best Director) and Stuart Carolan (Best Script).
Last on the list is historical drama series ‘Vikings’. ‘Vikings’ is inspired by the sagas of Viking Ragnar Lothbrok, one of the best-known legendary Norse heroes and notorious as the scourge of England and France. It portrays Ragnar as a former farmer who rises to fame by successful raids into England.
Shot in Ashford Studios in Ireland, ‘Vikings’ is produced with funding from the Irish Film Board and creator-writer Michael Hirst executive produces the series with Irish producer Morgan O’Sullivan. The show has received favourable reviews since its’ inception with The Washington Post labelling it as “compelling and robust”.
Nominated for the show this year is Ciaran Donnelly (Best Director), Joan Bergin (Costume Design), PJ Dillon (Cinematography), Tom Conroy (Production Design) and Mark Geraghty (also Production Design).
The IFTA Film & Drama Awards takes place on Sunday, May 24 with TV3 airing a one hour special on the ceremony on Monday, June 1st.
