Acorn Boards RTÉ Comedy Finding Joy

Acorn Media Enterprises (AME) has partnered with RTÉ and Treasure Entertainment as the North American co-producer on the new comedy Finding Joy.

Created, written and starring Irish Film & TV Academy winner Amy Huberman (Striking Out, The Clinic), the series follows a single woman, Joy, after a painful breakup who looks for happiness in all the wrong places. The six-part comedy series, which is produced by Rob Walpole and Rebecca O’Flanagan of Treasure Entertainment and directed by Kieron J Walsh, begins shooting in Dublin this month.

AME has secured all rights in North America, Australia, New Zealand and the U.K. and secondary rights in Ireland. RLJ Entertainment’s international division, Acorn Media International, will distribute the series in English-speaking territories. Following RTÉ’s premiere, Finding Joy will make its North American debut as an Acorn TV original on the streaming service in fall/winter 2018.

Huberman said, “I’m thrilled and excited to be starting on this adventure, Finding Joy. I’ve thoroughly loved the writing process and now can’t wait to start filming and see the world and all the characters come to life. I’m delighted to continue my collaboration with Treasure Entertainment with whom I’ve had a long-standing working relationship and am thrilled that both Acorn TV and RTÉ are partnering with us on this venture.”

Shane Murphy, managing director of Acorn Media Enterprises, noted, “With her screen presence as well as her friendly and down-to-earth personality, Amy remains one of the most beloved actresses in Ireland and is creating a rapidly growing fanbase in North America with last year’s debut of her legal drama Striking Out. Amy is a complete joy to be around, so we know our subscribers will enjoy spending time with her first scripted series. She has crafted a very funny and relatable lead character as well as a fun group of supporting characters. Given the overwhelming popularity of RTÉ’s Striking Out and Acceptable Risk with Acorn TV subscribers, we’re thrilled to co-produce another series with our friends at RTÉ.”

Justin Healy, executive producer for comedy in RTÉ, said: “Amy is naturally a very funny person, and in Finding Joy she brings that comedy gene to the fore. Her writing is sharp, witty and smart, and in this six-part series, she has created engaging relatable characters that will go down very well with the audience. Once again it is our key objective to support and develop Irish talent on and off screen, and with Treasure Films producing it promises to a cracker of a series. We are absolutely thrilled to be bringing Amy’s comic voice, not just to the Irish screen, but also internationally with our U.S. production partners Acorn TV.”