The Tudors Gets Go-Ahead For Second Series

The major TV series ‘The Tudors’, starring Irish Golden Globe winner Jonathan Rhys-Meyers (Match Point), John Kavanagh (The Tiger’s Tail), Nick Dunning (Alexander) and Maria Doyle Kennedy (Tara Road) has been green-lit to return to shoot a second series in Ireland this Summer.
The Tudors focuses on the turbulent early years of King Henry VIII's reign as King of England, and will shoot for five months in Ardmore Studios and key locations around Dublin and Wicklow from June 4th. The budget of the series is €25 million with the Irish spend of the project expected to be in the region of €15 million.
The first series of the film is currently being broadcast on the Showtime channel in the US and opened to the largest audience ever received by a Showtime series in the history of the channel. Previous locations on the series include Christchurch Cathedral, Kilruddery House, City Hall and Kilmainham Jail.
The series is in receipt of the IFB International Production Fund and as a result of this funding, there will be two Irish directors attached to direct episodes of the series again this year.
"The return of the US company Showtime and The Tudors to Ireland is testament to the creative talent of the Irish producers and crew who helped produced a world class series. The Tudors is the first of a number of TV series we expect to film in Ireland this year," said Naoise Barry, Film Commissioner, Bord Scannán na hÉireann/the Irish Film Board.
"We’re delighted that The Tudors has been re-commissioned. Having such a large US production shooting on location in Ireland can only create a very positive picture of Ireland as an excellent film location around the world," said Morgan O’Sullivan, Executive Producer on the series.
Melinda Benedek, Showtime Networks, stated: "Over the last several years Showtime has been involved with or commissioned a number of movies in Ireland, which have always worked well both artistically and economically. The Tudors was a much larger undertaking than any of the previous movies. Not only is it a full ten episode series but it is the most expensive series that Showtime has been involved with. Nevertheless, our trust in the Irish creative staff and crew paid off both creatively and financially. The scope of the show - in terms of construction, wardrobe, locations, set dressing, animals, extras, and visual effects - shows clearly in the completed series and proves to Showtime that Ireland was the right place for such a huge project."
The project was produced by TM Productions and PA Tudors, with the support of Morgan O’Sullivan’s production company World 2000 Entertainment. It is an official Irish/Canadian co-production and co-financed Bord Scannán na hÉireann/the Irish Film Board through the IFB international production fund. The second series of The Tudors will be broadcast on Showtime in 2008.
(DS)