RTÉ has unveiled a New Year schedule jam-packed with new shows, new faces and returning favourites that promises something for everyone.
As another year beckons, take a look at the entertainment, comedy, new documentaries and sensational sports coverage to look forward to.
TELEVISION
The New Year will kick off with a much-needed dose of glitz and glitter when Dancing with the Stars makes a welcome return to RTÉ One on Sunday January 9.
The series will feature a host of well-known faces including Aengus Mac Grianna, Gráinne Seoige and Billy McGuinness.
Tommy Tiernan is back in January with a brand new series of his chat-show with a difference. The Tommy Tiernan Show is full of surprises for Tommy as well as his viewers and sees the comedy star meeting with people from all walks of life for unique and intimate chats.
There’s more comedy with the return of Clear History on RTÉ2 fronted by comedian Kevin McGahern, joined by Joanne McNally and Jason Byrne each week, where the past is rewritten purely in the name of comedy.
A new series of the hit noir-thriller Smother premieres on Sunday January 9 and will see plenty of drama for Val (Dervla Kirwin) and the rest of the Ahern family on the rugged west coast of Ireland.
There is lots of brand-new Irish language programming in store in the New Year including Bog Amach, Le Chéile and An Tír Tairngire.
Operation Transformation is returning to screens on Wednesday January 5 and will provide plenty of motivation to transform our bodies and our minds.
There’s a different level of physical challenge ahead for those taking part in Ultimate Hell Week, which is back with a new batch of recruits diving headlong into the New Year in the biggest, baddest, maddest series yet.
Suzanne Jackson is back delivering more Style Counsellors make-overs, as six new candidates get the fashion and lifestyle transformation that they deserve.
Financial planner Eoin McGee will help us get our finances in order when he returns with How to be Good with Money. Faoi Bhláth is a new series for weeknights that celebrates Ireland's rich biodiversity.
For home style and inspiration, turn to Room to Improve which returns to RTÉ One for its 13th season in February.
Home of the Year is also back for its eighth series with judges Hugh Wallace and Amanda Bone at the helm along with a new judge who will be announced soon.
First Dates Ireland will also return to light up our Thursday nights and this year the team has a new face - chirpy cheerleader and barman Neil - the new resident mover, shaker and cocktail maker.
Documentaries on our screens in early 2022 will include Donie O’Sullivan: Capitol Man, a brand new one-hour documentary that tells the story of journalist Donie O’Sullivan and how he went from a small town in Co. Kerry to become an international household name at CNN.
And as January 7 marks 100 years to the day of the Anglo-Irish Treaty, Treaty Live with David McCullagh and Sinead Carroll re-imagines how this event might have been reported through the medium of modern television.
Seven years after playwright Brian Friel's death, a landmark film for RTÉ and BBCNI, Brian Friel - Shy Man, Showman, takes a look at his literary legacy.
In a brand new six-part series, Droichid Na hÉireann, presented by Lochlann Ó Mearáin, tells the story and history of Ireland's beloved bridges.
SPORT
2022 will see top sporting action across RTÉ channels and we start the New Year with live racing action from Gowran Park in Kilkenny followed by the Dublin Racing Festival from Leopardstown live in February.
The GAA Club Championships return with the Leinster Football final on RTÉ2 on January 8 and the first of eight GAA Hurling and Football National League Games to be shown exclusively on Saturday nights on RTÉ2 sees Dublin face Armagh on January 29.
In rugby, live URC action continues on January 8 featuring the interprovincial meeting of Munster and Ulster from Thomond Park. Against the Head will also return with highlights and analysis of all the top games.
There’s more top international rugby when RTÉ, in collaboration with Virgin Media Television, will provide Irish audiences with a fantastic serving of Six Nations action across TV, radio and online.
Football returns to screens with the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 ties live on RTÉ2 in February and March while the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division also kicks-off in February with live games throughout the season.
RTÉ PLAYER
New content for 2022 on RTÉ Player includes The Talk, starting on January 18 and from January 24 weekly on RTÉ2. An RTÉ Player Original, The Talk is and open and honest conversation about real life issues like racism, body image, IVF and Surrogacy.
A series of short but essential Women’s Health Guides will be available to watch in March to coincide with International Women’s Day, presented by Dr Monica Peres Oikeh. For St Patrick’s Day, Our Land - a follow up to This Land - is a three-part documentary series that explores the changes within Irish identity, focusing on Asian, Black, Eastern European and Traveller communities.
Box sets on RTÉ Player include Peaky Blinders series 1-4 and US drama Friday Night Lights. If you're after comedy, the Player also features every single episode available of Father Ted, Frasier and Community. The noughties revival is here with every episode of Skins, The O.C., Gossip Girl and Pretty Little Liars.
RADIO
Over on RTÉ Radio 1, from New Year’s Day, the number may have changed but the Liveline is still open. Listeners can still Talk to Joe on the new number 0818 715 815. Liveline continues to capture the hearts and reflect the views of the nation weekdays from 1.45pm on RTÉ Radio 1.
On New Year's Day at noon a one-off documentary If This Is Rock And Roll, I Want My Old Job Back sees broadcaster Anne Marie Kelly meet the original Saw Doctors members. They discuss the inception and legacy of their debut album 30 years on.
In a new six-part series starting January 9, Supercharged with Anna Geary will address health and wellbeing in the current climate and react to its ever-changing status. It will debunk health myths, but mostly it will provide tangible and attainable advice for everyone.
2FM RISING
2FM Rising is back for a fourth year and launches on January 17. The initiative continues to endeavour to support chosen Irish artists and music on their journey in a number of ways across RTÉ platforms including on-air, online, digital/social, live events and ancillary projects.
The RTÉ Choice Music Prize will return in 2022 and continues its principal role in championing Irish music. It will be celebrated in an exclusive live broadcast on RTÉ 2FM, along with a TV-special on RTÉ2 later that month.
