Fair City - Production

Production

Each week rehearsals for the four episodes take place on Saturday and Monday. From Tuesday to Friday, the interior scenes are recorded on two RTÉ sound stages. The schedule runs from 08:00 to 18:30. The exterior scenes are filmed on Thursday and Friday either on the lot within the grounds of the RTÉ headquarters, or in various locations in Dublin. The series is planned in blocks of 16 episodes. The first stage is the development of story and plot, which is done by a team of writers. Once the stories have been fleshed out and agreed, a scene breakdown is created. The episodes are then assigned to script writers, who create the dialogue and stage directions for the actors.

Running in parallel with the writing process is the production process, which includes: casting, wardrobe, make-up, design and construction of sets, purchase of props, finding locations, booking facilities, developing schedules, and other administrative tasks involved in managing a large production. From 1989 until 1994, all interior shots were filmed at Ardmore Studios in Wicklow. In 1994, the show moved to a RTÉ studio specifically adapted to cater for this flagship drama. All exterior shots were initially recorded in Drumcondra on Dublin's northside, where residents were politely asked to stay indoors during shooting. Two years later, Carrigstown moved south of the Liffey to RTÉ where set designers replicated the façades and interiors of the original houses.

The show has had four different opening sequences and three different theme songs. The opening features several scenes of contemporary Dublin, while the closing credits show a frozen image of the River Liffey.