Raw

RAW is an Irish drama television series which was broadcast on RTÉ. The show focuses on the staff at a Dublin restaurant. The first season featured six episodes shown on RTÉ Two in September 2008 and the second season of six episodes was shown on RTÉ One from 10 January 2010. The third season of six episodes was broadcast on RTÉ One from 9 January 2011. Season 4 was broadcast on RTÉ One from Sunday, 8 January 2012. Season 5 began on RTÉ One on Sunday, 6 January 2013 at 21:30, while also available on RTÉ One+1 at 22:30 and RTÉ Player. The Season 5 finale aired on 10 February 2013 with Charlene McKenna and Damon Gameau departing the series. In April 2013, it was confirmed by RTÉ Television that Raw had come to an end and would not be renewed for another season. Prior to this announcement both Charlene McKenna and Damon Gameau had confirmed that they would not reprise their roles in further seasons. On the week beginning 15 April 2013, the cast and crew were informed of the show's cancellation. Some cast members had expected the show to return for another season. Production The series was created and written by Derry writer Lisa McGee, based on an idea by Simon Ashdown. Ashdown wrote the TV drama Kitchen for Channel Five, which was also set in a restaurant, and in which Charlene McKenna, who plays the protagonist of Raw, Jojo, also appeared (in a different role). However the plot and focus of Kitchen was substantially different from Raw. The first season was broadcast on RTÉ Two from Monday 8 September 2008 to 13 October 2008, while season two was broadcast on RTÉ One on Sundays from 10 January 2010. Filming for the second season took place on Camden Street in Dublin in March 2009. Season 3 broadcast on RTÉ One from Sunday, 9 January 2011 featuring six new episodes. Season 3 ended on 13 February 2011 on RTÉ One. Season 3 was the most successful season in terms of audience figures, reaching on average of 577,000 viewers per episode. Filming of Season 4 finished up production on Friday, 21 October 2011. Season 5 of Raw began production on Monday, 20 August 2012, with the six episodes taking ten weeks to produce. Season 5 had new characters played by Irish actors Dermot Murphy and Michael Malarkey. Other newcomers included French-British actor Cristian Solimeno (from ITV drama Footballers Wives) and Scottish actress Amy Manson (from Being Human).