Dublin Murders is winning the battle of gangland TV shows with 650,000 tuning
in for its debut.
The RTE show, featuring Love/Hate stars Tom Vaughan-Lawlor and Killian Scott, blew ratings out of the park during the two-hour special on Wednesday.
An RTE spokesperson told the Irish Mirror: “We are overwhelmed by the reaction, it has been brilliant. Long may it last.”
They also revealed the feature-length opener, which was episode one and two together, was watched by an average of 240,000 – with a total reach of 650,000 on the night.
On Virgin Media new drama Darklands, which launched the week before, reported a total viewership of 409,000 on all platforms over seven days.
This figure includes repeats, catch-ups and views on the Player following its launch episode.
Virgin Media’s director of content Bill Malone said he is happy with the figure and revealed it was the most-watched programme on the station’s Player last week.
He added: “Darklands was one of four new Irish dramas announced at our recent Upfronts and it is great to see it being watched in such large numbers. It will get its premiere in the UK next month.”
Despite figures, reaction to both shows has been mixed.
The Apprentice star Alan Sugar tweeted: “Any one know what the Dublin Murders is about? Plot too complicated. I am out.”
And a Twitter user posted: “What on earth is this #Darklands?”
