Fans forced to wait for ‘Reeling in the Years’

Popular social history show won’t hit our screens until 2021 at the earliest

FANS of Reeling In The Years have to wait until at least next year before the past decade becomes part of the RTÉ news history series.

RTÉ is planning to make a 10-part series covering the years 2010 to 2019, but the forthcoming election could delay production.

A spokeswoman for the national broadcaster said a new decade of the series was planned but had not yet been commissioned.

Reeling In The Years puts subtitles with archived news footage, set to a backdrop of pop music from the year being covered.

The format has proven hugely popular with viewers, with the series now stretching back to 1962, when Teilifís Éireann, the predecessor to RTÉ, was launched.

‘There are plans for a future series but no broadcast dates or details are confirmed at this time,’ the spokeswoman said.

The show’s long-running producer John O’Regan is also responsible for special events coverage at RTÉ, having overseen large-scale spectacles such as elections and the papal and UK royal visits.

The veteran producer is currently busy preparing for the forthcoming general election, which is expected to be called in the coming weeks. The MoS understands discussions surrounding the next series of Reeling In The Years will not begin until after the election, meaning it is likely to be at least 2021 before it appears on screens.

Once commissioned, it typically takes around eight months to make the 10 half-hour episodes. Mr O’Regan is assisted by a small team consisting of one or two researchers, a video editor and a sound engineer, and has produced all five series of the programme.

TODAY, the MoS selects a moment from each year from the last decade, which would be worthy of inclusion in the latest instalment of the household favourite show.