A new four-part series promising a fascinating insight into the process that led to the signing of the Belfast Agreement begins on RTE 1 tomorrow night. Endgame in Ireland? was two-and-a-half years in the making. The programmes include interviews with many of the key players involved in the tortuous negotiations and interviews with Bill Clinton, John Major, Albert Reynolds, George Mitchell and John Hume as well as senior civil servants involved in drafting the document. Endgame in Ireland? will be broadcast tomorrow at 10.20 p.m. on RTE 1.
Vincent Browne is set to return to RTE television with a new series for broadcast this summer. Browne left his position as presenter of RTE's flagship current affairs programme Prime Time earlier this year, after a series of disagreements with the department's management. The former presenter of RTE radio's Tonight With Vincent Browne spent just eight months with the current affairs department. His new programme is an eight-part series called Dilemmas, in which the presenter will interview two guests of polar opposite views on moral and political issues. The topics up for discussion include genetic engineering, atheism, the legalisation of drugs, sleaze in Irish politics and the position of men in Irish society. The series is being produced by Cian O hEigeartaigh. The programmes are being will be recorded over the next two weeks and will air weekly from July 17th.
It looks like the ninth series of the massively popular US sitcom Friends could be the last. David Schwimmer, who plays Ross, has indicated that the six central cast members have agreed to move on after filming on the series ends later this year. "It's sad, but enough is enough. We've all agreed this will be the final year," he told a US newspaper. The series has been incredibly lucrative for the six actors. Last year, they negotiated a record $1 million each per episode. It's unclear what direction their careers will take after the success of Friends. They have all taken time out from the series to appear in Hollywood movies, but Lisa Kudrow, who plays Phoebe, is the only one to have gained anything close to critical acclaim. The final programme in the current series of Friends, in which Chandler and Monica tied the knot, was watched on Network 2 by 70 per cent of all 15-24 year-olds available to watch television at the time.
An RTE co-production has picked up a special award at this year's Banff television festival in Canada. The Gold Rush, produced under the aegis of the EBU Documentary Group, was a co-production between no fewer than seven European broadcasters: from Sweden, Germany, Norway, Denmark, Belgium, Finland and Ireland.
The three-part documentary series, which takes a critical look at the financial aspect of sports and the price paid by athletes striving for excellence, received the Special Jury Award for outstanding achievement given to productions deemed worthy of special recognition.
The BBC is to make an hour-long documentary on Madonna to coincide with the arrival in London of her Drowned World tour on July 12th. There's Only One Madonna will focus on the performer's relationship with Britain, where she is now based.
The broadcaster has been given exclusive access to Madonna on the European leg of her world tour, which opened in Barcelona last month. The programme will include interviews with fashion designers Stella McCartney and Jean-Paul Gaultier, as well as music producers William Orbit and Mirwais.
Madonna's live shows have been getting rave reviews, as much for the spectacular visuals as the music. She appears variously as a cowgirl, a kilt-wearing punk, a geisha girl and an air-borne Samurai warrior with 50-foot arms. Despite rumours to the contrary, the singer did not include an Irish date in her world tour diary, but for a glimpse of the show fans here can watch the BBC documentary which is set to air on July 4th.
mkearney@irish-times.com