RTÉ's Independent Commissions and Production Unit have published their Annual report for 2019. RTÉ cut funding to scripted drama and comedy by 29% to €3.2million. The report also shows that RTÉ's decision to move Children's programming out of the broadcaster has cause the broadcaster to continue to under fund the children's content. 2019 saw a slight rise in children's content spend of €248,000, bring the spend to €3.6 million, this compares to RTÉ's overall cost in 2015 of €9.4 million for children's content. €300,000 worth of Drama was commission for Radio in both years, with no children's commissions for Radio in either year.

Last night the Irish Film and Television Academy announced the winners of its annual awards for 2020. The ceremony taking place via online video conferencing platforms and hosted by Deirdre O\'Kane from Dublin. Not too unusually the winners were unable to attend tonight but sent the following message from ... LA ... well perhaps not. Black 47, Ordinary Love, Rialto, The Virtues, Never Grow Old and Arracht each took two awards each. Black 47 and Ordinary Love picking up Best Film with Blood taking best Drama series.

HBO (Home Box Office) took 30 awards at this years Emmys last night. Netflix, Pop TV and Disney + were next in line, while NBC took home just 8 awards as the cable and streamers continue to out to tranditional television. The big winner of the night was HBO\'s Watchmen which was awarded 11 gongs, following by the Comedy Schitt\'s Creak with 9 awards. Succession and The Mandalorian both took home 7 awards each. Daniel Levy took home 4 awards on the night for Director, Executive Producer, Performer and Writer for Schitt\'s Creek. Normal People\'s Paul Mescal (acting), Lenny Abrahamson (directing), Sally Rooney and Alice Birch (Writting) and Louise Kiely unfortunately did not take home an award.

RTÉ\'s latest co-production lacks life. The problem is an uninteresting and uninspired local story that lacks the drama of the Water Charges or the Corib gas pipeline protests. A rural town is divided with the arrival of a Norwegian firm\'s plan to build wind turbines of the coast of Count Cork. The shows characters are not bad, but they are one dimensional, there might have been an opportunity for The South Westerlies to be something more that a series with a very blunt plot or they could have gone down the road of a lighthearted drama like ITV\'s Doc Martin. As a drama looking to explore local politics, national politics and international trade, it has no bite. The series is billed as a Comedy-Drama.

Ireland's Film and Television Academy have announced the nominees for the IFTA Awards 2020. Film and Scripted TV Drama awards sees Irish Language film Arracht gain the most nomination in the film category with 11 nominations, while Blood gets 5 nominations in the Drama category. Other films nominated include: - Rosie with 9 nominations, The Hole in The Ground 7, Black 47 6, Calm with Horses and Ordinary Love both receive 5 and Float like a Butterfly, Never Grow Old and The Dig receives 4 Nominations.

Taxi Brooklyn is based on the French film franchise Taxi. The premise of the French film a bumbling police detective (Frédéric Dienfenthal) unable to drive is driven around the city by a Taxi Driver (Samy Nasri) in a supped up car is reduced to a police detective being driven around by a taxi driver. The frenetic pace of the films is lost in this TV adaptation, which decides that it is a straight forward police procedural drama.