THE GENTEEL lives of Downton Abbeyand the not-so-genteel lives of a group of seven Tallaght 20somethings who share a house will feature heavily in TV3's Christmas schedule, which has just been announced.
TV3 has high hopes for Tallafornia, a "scripted reality" TV series that features real people and is akin to Jersey Shore and its UK equivalent Geordie Shore.
It will first be broadcast on Sunday, December 11th, after the X Factorfinal. The full series will be shown in the new year.
Viewers will be able to sate their appetite for something perhaps a little more highbrow when the Christmas episode of Downton Abbeyis broadcast on St Stephen's Day.
The home-grown programmes due to be shown over the Christmas period include commissioned documentaries on Dublin’s football and Kilkenny’s hurling All-Ireland wins, a documentary about emigration and Vincent Browne honouring the best and worst in his Political Awards 2011.
TV3's movie slate is heavily weighted towards blockbusters, including Public Enemies, The Taking of Pelham 123and The Bourne Identity, along with Irish films Man About Dogand The Snapper.
Their musical offering features an evening with Westlife, programmes on Justin Bieber, Susan Boyle and Michael Bublé, and a special celebrating 40 years of Brendan Grace.
TV3 are also hoping their bought-in competition programmes will deliver big ratings. These include the finals of I'm a Celebrity . . . Get Me out of Here!and The X Factoralong with the final of the homegrown version of The Apprentice.
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