TV review: Surfing doc New Wave has the kind of optimism we need for 2026

Young surfers - 'groms', if you will - on RTÉ's New Wave.

We are intrigued by people who do stuff we could never imagine doing ourselves. 

And surfing definitely fits into that bracket for me, so I like New Wave (RTÉ Player), as it follows teenage surfers striving to represent Ireland in the European championships.

I have no idea how anyone surfs the giant waves that break at Mullaghmore in Sligo. I can barely watch it on TV.

But when U14s Isabella and Dylan start talking about how they took to the surf at ages four and six, you get an idea that these people are made of different stuff.

They are Groms, the word for young surfer, after Gromit, for reasons that nobody seems to understand. 

The action swings around the north, west, and south coast, from Bundoran to Tramore.

You wouldn’t know it from the accents. Most of the Groms have neutral posh accent that wouldn’t be out of place in South Dublin. 

(The only exceptions are the Donegal crew, there is no resisting that accent.) 

They are cheerful and optimistic, which probably helps when you are wiped out by a wave and churned around tumble-dryer style.

The narrator says learning to find peace in the chaos becomes second nature, which sounds easy in theory.

The one thing I learned from New Wave is the amount of dedication you need to ride a wave at all. These Groms are up at 5.30am to get the right conditions.

Honestly, I think this could be the self-help show to launch you in 2026. 

The Groms are an inspiration, with their posh cheerful accents and steely determination.

There’s no shortage of pleasing coastal shots and, say what you will about Ireland, we give great coast.

The whole thing is a giant metaphor. Some days are harder than others, but after each inevitable setback you have to keep getting back on the board.

The other thing I liked about New Wave is the narration.

Instead of a vaguely recognisable adult voice, it’s a teenage surfer from Kerry who sounds like a teenager surfer from Kerry.

She has the same lo-fi self-assured vibe I get from my own 13-year-old. They must have learned it from YouTube.

At the start of episode two, the Groms are surfing in Capbreton in France. I was there last year on holidays, my mouth half open in awe at surfers of all ages chasing barrels in the ocean.

How do they do it?

Well now I have a better idea. It’s their life. And I envy them.