The arrival of September means a new series of the popular, locally made soap opera Ros na Rún.

The Connemara based drama enters its 17th season on TG4, following a tense final episode last season when ex-pimp Barry attempted to attack Frances, who now runs the pub with her husband Tadhg. Viewers will find out this week if Tadhg and his son, Jason arrived in time to save her.

The programme makers are promising some scandalous episodes to keep people enthralled every Tuesday and Thursday night at 8.30pm, with an omnibus edition on Sunday nights at 10.30pm.

Ros na Rún remains the only television drama series set in rural Ireland and it aims to portray the realities of contemporary Gaeltacht and rural living with humour and intelligence. This season’s dramatic storylines will continue to explore themes of love, lust, family troubles, murder, lies, secrets and affairs, and will highlight the issues of steroid addiction, adoption and foster care. Happily, some comic relief is also promised.

“This is the most exciting series yet,” says series producer Deirdre Ní Fhlatharta. “There is such a great diversity of storylines and a real development of the characters. We have an amazing team working on the series, and their dedication to the show reflects this.”