Sky Ireland launched their 2019 schedule with an event at the Westbury Hotel this afternoon, February 12.

The event was led by a speech from JD Buckley, Managing Director of Sky Ireland, who stressed that, with competition in the television industry coming from both modern day streaming services - like Netflix and Amazon Prime - and the increasingly big budgets from terrestrial channels, Sky has had to adapt its model in the last five years in terms of producing quality content.

For the event itself, Sky had amassed an impressive list of acting and production talent to take part in a series of panels, chaired by Dierdre O'Kane, which looked ahead towards the next 12 months on the channel.

The first panel saw A League of their Own stars Jamie Redknapp, Rob Beckett and new member, Romesh Ranganathan, talk about the continuing success of the comedy show, as well as their experiences playing hurling for the first time with Kilkenny legend, DJ Carey. This paved the way for Beckett and Ranganathan to talk about their new docu-comedy series Rob And Romesh Vs, which sees the duo getting to know more about their celebrity and sporting idols, including Usain Bolt, Anthony Joshua, Celine Dion, and David Gandy.

Rose Williams, Jamie Redknapp,Rob Beckett,Romesh Ranganathan, Yasmin Akram , Damien Molony and Juliet Stevenson at the Sky 2019 Content Showcase which took place today [Tues 12 Feb] at The Westbury Hotel, Dublin. The event was held to showcase some of its new and returning series which are set to hit screens this year including Sky original dramas Curfew, Riviera, Chernobyl and Temple. A host of well-known faces were present at the showcase including BAFTA nominated actress Juliet Stevenson, BAFTA Rising Star nominee Jessie Buckley, Damien Molony, Yasmine Akram, Rose Williams, Mark O’Rowe and A League of their Own stars; Jamie Redknapp, Rob Beckett and Romesh Ranganathan

Following this, Romesh proved why he's one of Sky's integral comedy assets as he talked about the return of another new show, The Reluctant Landlord. For this, he was joined by Irish actress Yasmine Akram, who plays a pivotal role in this semi-fictionalised comedy.

DRAMA

Sky also revealed a truly impressive drama line-up for the year ahead. Former U2 manager Paul McGuinness was on hand to talk about the second series of the lavish, glamorous, Cote d'Azur-based drama Riviera. The show's behind-the-camera story has been one of big risks and big rewards, with Paul revealing the show's first season had cost a mind-boggling 40 million euro alone, while Sky have stressed that the show had garnered over 20 million downloads on Sky Player.

Paul McGuiness at the Sky 2019 Content Showcase which took place today [Tues 12 Feb] at The Westbury Hotel, Dublin. The event was held to showcase some of its new and returning series which are set to hit screens this year including Sky original dramas Curfew, Riviera, Chernobyl and Temple. A host of well-known faces were present at the showcase including BAFTA nominated actress Juliet Stevenson, BAFTA Rising Star nominee Jessie Buckley, Damien Molony, Yasmine Akram, Rose Williams, Mark O’Rowe and A League of their Own stars; Jamie Redknapp, Rob Beckett and Romesh Ranganathan

Elsewhere, Irish actor Damien Molony talked the audience through his new gritty comedy-drama Brassic, where he'll play a leading role alongside Michelle Keegan and Joe Gilgun (of This Is England fame).

Rising Irish actress and BAFTA Rising Star nominee Jessie Buckley (who made a name for herself on BBC's War and Peace and in the brilliant Wild Rose), talked about the powerful new real-life drama Chernobyl, which documents the 1986 Ukrainian nuclear power disaster and looks certain to be a must-watch, groundbreaking drama.

Actress Jessie Buckley at the Sky 2019 Content Showcase which took place today [Tues 12 Feb] at The Westbury Hotel, Dublin. The event was held to showcase some of its new and returning series which are set to hit screens this year including Sky original dramas Curfew, Riviera, Chernobyl and Temple. A host of well-known faces were present at the showcase including BAFTA nominated actress Juliet Stevenson, BAFTA Rising Star nominee Jessie Buckley, Damien Molony, Yasmine Akram, Rose Williams, Mark O’Rowe and A League of their Own stars; Jamie Redknapp, Rob Beckett and Romesh Ranganathan
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There was also a panel interview with Rose Williams, star of new drama Curfew. Featuring an ensemble cast of Sean Bean, Adam Brody, Billy Zane and Miranda Richardson, it looks set to be an entertaining dystopian thriller.

For more details about Sky's 2019 schedule, go to https://www.sky.com/ireland/