Smother (TV series)

Smother is an Irish

Set in a small town on the wild and rugged coast of County Clare, Val Ahern, a devoted mother, is determined to protect her family and particularly her three daughters—Jenny, Anna and Grace—at any cost. When Val's husband Denis is found dead at the foot of a cliff near their home the morning after a family party, Val attempts to investigate the events that unfolded the night before.

Cast

Main

• Dervla Kirwan as Val Ahern
• Gemma-Leah Devereux as Anna Ahern
• Seána Kerslake as Grace Ahern
• Niamh Walsh as Jenny Ahern
• Justine Mitchell as Elaine Lynch

Supporting

• Stuart Graham as Denis Ahern
• Conor Mullen as Frank Ahern
• Hilary Rose as Alanna Hutchins
• Kevin McGahern as Michael Foley
• Michael Patric as Sgt. Paudie Manning
• Thomas Levin as Carl Jensen
• Hazel Doupe as Ingrid Jensen
• Lochlann O'Mearáin
  as Rory Dwyer
• Éanna Hardwicke as Joe Ryan
• James O'Donoghue as Calum Dwyer
• Elijah O'Sullivan as Jacob Dwyer
• Ayoola Smart as Cathy Cregan
• Carrie Crowley as Mairead Noonan
• Dean Fagan as Finn Ahern (series 2)
• Jason O'Mara as Paul Madigan (series 3)
• Fionnula Flanagan as Caro Noonan (series 3)

Episodes

Series overview

Series 1 (2021)

Series 2 (2022)

Series 3 (2023)

Production

Filming began in February 2020 in and around Lahinch.^[4][5] On the series' way of writing and storytelling, lead actress Dervla Kirwan said that "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[Kate O'Riordan] has created a riveting thriller that will wake the world up to contemporary Ireland and rewrite an outdated narrative that has been peddled about the Irish for years."^[6] She also relates the series' setting to the character in the series, in particular to the Ahern family:

Even if you just look at their beautiful house, which is also a character in our story — it dominates the skyline, the horizon of that village. It's all about corruption, privilege and wealth, and how that breeds a dysfunction. That dysfunction acts as a poison, creating a sense of entitlement in those women. They lie and cheat to get what they want, and their behaviour's upheld by their privilege. They're all a piece of work, as we'd say in Ireland. They're all quite dark, really damaged women.^[7]

In March 2020, production was halted due to social restrictions being imposed nationwide to combat the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. On the filming halt, cast member Niamh Walsh states:

Actors are basically idiot children. We blunder round the world feeling feelings for money – those of us who are lucky enough to get paid to do it. Sure, we'll sell you the fear or excitement or whatever hanging off the cliff edge requires, but we are absolutely the last step in the process. Before any of those feelings can be caught on camera, this invisible army has to mobilise to make it happen.^[8]

On 4 April 2021, it was revealed that comedian Kevin McGahern has joined the cast in episode 5, portraying Michael Foley.^[9]

On 26 December 2021, it was announced that former Coronation Street star Dean Fagan will be starring as Denis Ahern's estranged son in the show's second series.^[10][11]

Awards and nominations

References