RTÉ & BBC Studios Ready Thriller Smother

Smother, a thriller commissioned by RTÉ from BBC Studios, has commenced filming in Ireland with Dervla Kirwan (The Stranger, White Dragon) leading the cast.

Written by Kate O’Riordan (Mr Selfridge), Smother is set in a small town on the coast of Clare and centers on family matriarch Val (Kirwan), who is determined to protect her family—particularly her three daughters—at any cost. When her husband is found dead at the foot of a cliff close to their home the morning after a family party, Val investigates the events that unfolded the night before as well her late husband’s relationships with his kids and siblings, unearthing family secrets in the process.

Joining Kirwan in the cast are Niamh Walsh (Good Omens, Jamestown), Seána Kerslake (Can’t Cope, Won’t Cope, The Hole in the Ground), Gemma-Leah Devereux (Judy, The Tudors), Stewart Graham (The Cure, Hunger), Thomas Levin (Borgen), Hilary Rose (The Young Offenders) and Justine Mitchell (Cheat).

Developed by BBC Studios Drama North and Scotland in partnership with Dublin-based Treasure Entertainment, Smother is directed by Dathai Keane (An Klondike). BBC Studios is distributing the series internationally.

Kirwan said: “It’s been a long time since anything this well written about an Irish family has come my way. In Smother, Kate O’Riordan has created a riveting thriller that will wake the world up to contemporary Ireland and rewrite an outdated narrative that has been peddled about the Irish for years. Val is such a complex, layered character and a ferociously protective mother and I’m really excited to be playing her in such a powerful Irish drama. Smother has so much to say about modern families, and it says it in a compelling and gripping way.”

Kerslake added: “I am delighted to be a part of Smother, a compelling modern Irish family drama. It’s great to have County Clare, one of the most beautiful and dramatic parts of our country, as a backdrop. I play Grace Ahern, a complicated and passionate character with a lot of depth and history to explore, which is always dynamic and fun to play. We have a stellar cast involved and some of Ireland’s finest crew so I’m really excited to see how it all comes together.”