Belfast-based Green Inc, is to make a fourth season of RTÉ2 entertainment format ‘The 2 Johnnies Late Night Lock In’, alongside a competitive RTÉ tender win for live GAA entertainment show ‘Up For The Match’.
Fronted by Irish entertainment duo, ‘The 2 Johnnies Late Night Lock In’ (7 x 50′) is shot as-live in a genuine rural Irish pub in front of a rowdy and enthusiastic crowd. Each show mixes celebrity chat, live music, comedy, outrageous games and surprise encounters with members of the public from across the country and beyond.
The format has won the RTS NI Award in the Best Entertainment category for the last two years in a row. Previous seasons have more than doubled the slot average for RTÉ2 in the 9.35pm slot, with a viewership that builds consistently across the 50 minutes while the show is on air. Past guests include Joanne McNally, Iain Stirling, Russell Kane and Kimberley Wyatt.
‘The 2 Johnnies Late Night Lock In’ was commissioned for RTÉ by Alan Tyler, Group Head of Entertainment & Music, and Katherine Drohan as Commissioning Editor. Stephen Stewart is Executive Producer for Green Inc, with Jeremy Salsby as Series Producer and Paul McKay as Director.
“Late Night Lock In is a brilliantly simple comedy entertainment format fronted by two simply brilliant hosts. It immediately resonated right across platforms and has thoroughly deserved the audiences and awards that have come its way. We are thrilled to be back at the bar for a further series.” said Alan Tyler, Group Head of Entertainment & Music at RTÉ.
“The Lock In works because it taps into the massive Irish heartland rural audience who resonate with the 2 Johnnies and enjoy a good night’s craic with them and their guests. We shoot in a real pub with a real crowd, and the TV audiences clearly love the pure fun and energy that the boys bring, which is why the numbers build across the hour. The 2 Johnnies are undoubtedly Ireland’s hottest entertainment talents and this fourth season lets us keep growing the format and audience around them,” said Stephen Stewart, Founder and MD of Green Inc.
Green Inc has also won a highly contested RTÉ tender to produce ‘Up For The Match’, one of the first major RTÉ studio entertainment productions to be opened to the independent sector after being made in-house since the nineties.
The two 90-minute programmes transmit live from Croke Park Stadium on the eve of the two All-Ireland GAA finals in hurling and football, in front of 300 passionate fans from the finalist counties. The new hosting team retains Jacqui Hurley alongside RTÉ stalwart Dáithí O’Sé and relative newcomer Louise Cantillon.
Each live show features interviews with legends and players from the worlds of GAA hurling and football, along with games and chat with the fans. The programmes also include short films celebrating the passion of the counties of the finalist teams and behind the scenes VTs starring the staff of the iconic Croke Park Stadium.
‘Up For The Match’ was also commissioned for RTÉ by Alan Tyler, Group Head of Entertainment & Music, and Katherine Drohan as Commissioning Editor following a detailed tender process. Stephen Stewart is Executive Producer for Green Inc, with Jeremy Salsby as Series Producer and Simon Staffurth as Live Director.
Jon Creamer
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