Broadcaster releases details about the much-awaited comeback of the hit Dublin gangster show as part of its upcoming drama slateCharlie Cox in RTÉ gangster family drama Kin, which is returning for a third series. Photograph: RTÉ/AMC Tue Jul 21 2026 - 06:00 • 3 MIN READFour years after its last episode aired, RTÉ crime drama Kin will return to television screens in 2027, with the hit show’s third series poised to start shooting in Dublin in the coming weeks.“As buried betrayals resurface and internal rivalries intensify, the new series promises the darkest and most compelling chapter yet of the Kinsella story,” said RTÉ as it unveiled what it said was its biggest drama offering.Kin, created by screenwriter Peter McKenna, was RTÉ’s biggest scripted hit since Love/Hate when it launched in 2021. It returned for a second series in 2023. But the ratings magnet hit a stumbling block when its key financier, Canadian production company Bron Studios, filed bankruptcy proceedings in 2023, leaving the assets of Kin for sale.Dermot Horan, RTÉ’s director of acquisitions and co-production, likened the process to “trying to buy someone’s property in an executor’s sale”. Earlier this year he indicated he was still hoping to secure a financial partner to revive the drama, which revolves around the Kinsellas, a Dublin gangster family, and stars Charlie Cox, Clare Dunne and Emmett J Scanlan.It is understood the BBC has since come on board for the third series, which will once again be produced by Irish company Metropolitan Pictures. House of Juno, a production company cofounded by Cox, will also be involved.[ Marvel’s Charlie Cox: My Kin character has the same relationship to violence as DaredevilOpens in new window ]The first two series of Kin concluded with the deaths of characters played by high-profile cast members. RTÉ’s blurb for the third series, which it expects will be shown next year, hints that this high casualty rate could continue as “festering rivalries turn inward, and the greatest threat to the family empire becomes the family itself”.The show leads the charge on a slate of 160 hours of Irish drama announced by the broadcaster. This tally includes its in-house soap opera Fair City, which generates about 100 hours a year.The Walsh Sisters, an adaptation of the much-loved novels by Marian Keyes, will return for a second run and is back in production, while the previously announced Tall Tales & Murder, which was filmed in Dublin last year, will air this autumn.Tall Tales & Murder, co-commissioned by RTÉ and BBC Northern Ireland, is a darkly comedic drama from Stuart Carolan and Chris Addison and stars Ella Lily Hyland, Aidan Gillen, Philippa Dunne and Packy Lee. It will be joined on the schedule by The Yank, the working title for a series about a seasoned New York police detective who takes a career break in the west of Ireland but is unexpectedly pulled into a murder investigation.RTÉ also shared details of three scripted series for younger audiences – Do Not Watch Alone, Tales of Terror and a third series of The Unreal – as well as a number of upcoming radio dramas scheduled to air on Radio 1 on Sunday nights in October and November.[ Kin review: Dublin city is just a moody backdrop as gangsters bumble in the gloomOpens in new window ]“We’re heading into our biggest ever year for new Irish drama on RTÉ. Numerous productions are currently filming across the country delivering significant economic and cultural impact to communities nationwide whilst showcasing Ireland’s exceptional talents to audiences at home and internationally,” said RTÉ director of video Steve Carson. “The scale of the 2026 slate will support hundreds of jobs across the Irish screen industry, including writers, directors, producers, crews, post-production teams, designers, and technical specialists, reinforcing RTÉ’s central role in the continued growth of Ireland’s audiovisual economy.” IN THIS SECTION