Irish historical drama, ‘Camelot’ will receive its Irish TV premiere on Friday, May 13th. The broadcast comes ahead of the series’ June broadcast on Channel 4 and will launch with the back-to-back transmission of the first two episodes of the show at 9:30pm and 10.30pm on RTÉ Two.
‘Camelot’ is based on Thomas Malory’s 15th century book, ‘Le Morte d’Arthur’ and looks to bring the saga of King Arthur to modern audiences. The series’ starry cast includes Joseph Fiennes (Flash Forwad), Eva Green (Cracks), Jamie Campbell Bower (Sweeney Todd), Tamsin Egerton (St Trinians), Claire Forlani (Meet Joe Black) and Peter Mooney (Summer’s Blood).
The show’s RTÉ broadcast will pre-cede that of Channel 4 by a month. The British broadcaster secured the UK premiere broadcast rights to ‘Camelot’ at the start of October and RTÉ claimed their broadcast rights in November. The show has also sold to several other broadcasters including RTL (Netherlands), DBS (Israel) and Sony AXN (Pan-Asia). GK-TV has additionally sold all rights in numerous other territories and regions including; France, Germany, Russia & CIS, Pan Eastern Europe, Pan Latin America, and Pan Middle East.
Premiering in the US on April 1st, ‘Camelot’ brought in the largest ever opening for a new drama series on Starz, exceeding the highly successful Spartacus premiere. Speaking with IFTN in April, producer Morgan O’Sullivan explained that a second series of the show was likely to be commissioned depending on US audience figures. It has not yet been confirmed if a second series of the show is to be commissioned.
Speaking at the time of RTÉ’s November acquisition of the show’s broadcast rights, Dermot Horan, RTÉ’s Director of Broadcast & Acquisitions commented that: “This is a key acquisition for Irish audiences. The production values are extremely high, the calibre of acting impressive. That it is employing Irish crews, shooting in Irish locations and thus supporting local industry is particularly satisfying.”
- The first episode of ’Camelot’ will broadcast on RTÉ Two at 9:30pm followed directly by the second series at 10:30pm.
