Tommy Tiernan ended his latest RTÉ run on a high as the future of his long-running talk show remains uncertain
Saturday night’s finale of the eighth season of the popular RTÉ series, saw the Irish comic him meet comedian Róisín Conaty, musician Mik Pyro and weightlifter Thammy Nguyen.
While the show which sees Tommy interviewing guests without any prior knowledge to who will be sitting across from him has see-sawed in ratings over the course of the year, the final episode was a ratings winner.
With the episode prior receiving an average viewership of 335,000 on RTÉ One and RTÉ One + 1 and an audience share of 30%, the finale gained 46,000 viewers.
An RTÉ spokesperson confirmed: ‘Saturday, April 20, Episode 16 of The Tommy Tiernan Show had an average viewership of 381,000 on RTÉ One and RTÉ One + 1 and a share of 39%.’
Premiering back in January with 388,000 people tuning in, the series dropped to a low of 308,000 viewers for Easter Saturday’s episode.
Despite the series being amongst the most reliable and successful for the national broadcaster, it has yet to be confirmed if Tommy will be back for a ninth season.
An RTÉ spokesperson told Extra.ie: ‘RTÉ’s schedule for next year will be announced in due course.’
It’s set to be a summer of touring for Tommy, who announced earlier in the month that his popular podcast with Laurita Blewitt and Hector Ó hEochagáin was coming to an end.
‘This wonderful podcast started during the pandemic when all three had clear work schedules and although it has been hugely successful and a wonderful experience for all involved, it became tougher to find time to record together allowing for each of their individual careers and schedules.
‘Thank you for listening, The Hen House Team,’ the trio said in a social media post.
With RTÉ One’s 9.40pm slot opening up for the summer, Pat Shortt will be premiering his brand-new music show Songs of Ireland on Saturday, April 29 at 9.15pm.
