New Irish TV Drama The Hardacres airs on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player from Sunday 22nd March
Posted: 10th March 2026
From Playground, the award-winning production company behind the internationally acclaimed hit series All Creatures Great and Small, comes a new six-part period drama, first aired on Channel 5, based on CL Skelton’s best-selling series of novels ‘The Hardacre Saga’.
Filmed on location in Ireland in Dublin and Wicklow, The Hardacres chronicles the sweeping rags to riches story of a working-class family in 1890s Yorkshire. A sprawling family saga, the series follows the lives, loves and fortunes of the Hardacre family as they move from a grimy fish dock to a vast country estate.
When an accident at work on the docks lands Sam and Mary Hardacre – along with their three kids Joe, Liza and Harry, and Mary’s inimitable mother Ma – unemployed and destitute, they have to think fast. In a bid to avoid the workhouse, the driven and determined Hardacres put their last penny into a radical business venture they hope will free them from their harsh existence on the quays of the North Yorkshire coast.
A bold, gutsy ensemble family drama full of heart, The Hardacres places an ordinary family in an extraordinary position and explores the age-old question – can money ever buy true happiness?
The UK & Irish cast features Claire Cooper (Mary Hardacre), Liam McMahon (Sam Hardacre), Julie Graham (Ma), Adam Little (Joe), Shannon Lavelle (Liza), Zak Ford-Williams (Harry), Cathy Belton (Emma Fitzherbert), Owen Roe (George Fitzherbert), Ingrid Craigie (Mrs Dryden), Holly Sturton (Adella Fitzherbert), Siobhán O’Kelly (Lena Temple), Sarah Agha (Betsy Temple) and Mark Doherty (Beesley).
The Hardacres has been created for television by Amy Roberts and Loren McLaughlan (The Winter King, Call the Midwife) who also served as Lead Writers and Executive Producers. They were joined by Emma Reeves (Gifted, The Worst Witch) who wrote episode 3, and Liz Lake (Waterloo Road, The Chelsea Detective) who wrote episode 4.
Lead Director of Episodes 1-3 is Rachel Carey (Obituary 2, Deadly Cuts) with Kieron J. Walsh (The Racer, The Savage Eye), directing Episodes 4-6. Producer is Alex Jones (The Dry S3, Witness Number 3) with JJ Rolfe (The Walsh Sisters, Kin) as Director of Photography, Derek Wallace (The Dry, Hidden Assets) as Production Designer and Allison Byrne (Rialto, Resistance) as Costume Designer.
The series was produced by Playground (Wolf Hall, Howards End) in association with Screen Ireland, Red Berry Productions, and Newgrange Pictures. Global partners Banijay Rights are handling international distribution.
The Hardacres (6 x 60mins episodes) starts on Sunday, 22nd March at 1:40pm on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player.