Bad Sisters (TV series)

Bad Sisters
Genre	Black comedy Thriller
Based on	Clan by Malin-Sarah Gozin
Developed by	Sharon Horgan and Dave Finkel & Brett Baer
Starring	Sharon Horgan Anne-Marie Duff Eva Birthistle Sarah Greene Eve Hewson Claes Bang Brian Gleeson Daryl McCormack Assaad Bouab Saise Quinn
Opening theme	"Who by Fire" by Leonard Cohen, performed by PJ Harvey
Country of origin	Ireland Belgium United Kingdom United States
Original language	English
No. of series	1
No. of episodes	10
Production
Executive producers	Sharon Horgan Dave Finkel Brett Baer Faye Dorn Clelia Mountford Dearbhla Walsh Bert Hamelinck Michael Sagol Malin-Sarah Gozin
Running time	49–58 minutes
Production companies	Merman Productions Caviar Films ABC Signature
Release
Original network	Apple TV+
Original release	August 19, 2022 (2022-08-19) – present (present)

Bad Sisters (originally titled Emerald) is an Irish black comedy television series developed by Sharon Horgan, Dave Finkel, and Brett Baer. Set in Dublin, it is based on the Flemish series Clan, which was created by Malin-Sarah Gozin. The series was filmed in Ireland. The first two episodes aired on 19 August 2022.

Premise[]

After their brother-in-law, John Paul, dies under unexpected circumstances, the Garvey sisters - Eva, Grace, Ursula, Bibi and Becka - find themselves at the center of a life insurance investigation. The series flips between timelines - one before John Paul's death, in which we see Eva, Ursula, Bibi and Becka plot to murder John Paul for his treatment of Grace, and one after John Paul's death, in which a determined insurance agent tries to prove the sisters' malicious involvement to save his struggling business.

Cast[]

Main[]

• Sharon Horgan as Eva Garvey, the eldest sister of the Garvey family who is protective over her younger sisters, having taken care of them after their parents' death. Eva is single, with her infertility playing a role in the failure of her past relationships. She comes into conflict with John Paul primarily due to his treatment of Grace, but also at work where they are both applying for the same promotion.
• Anne-Marie Duff as Grace Williams, the second eldest sister of the Garvey family, John Paul's wife, and Blánaid's mother. Although she is in love with her husband, Grace is suffocated by her traditional roles as wife and mother, and is granted minimal independence by John Paul. Her relationship with her sisters becomes distant due to her need to defend her husband's poor behavior.
• Eva Birthistle as Ursula Flynn, the middle sister of the Garvey family, Donal's wife and mother of three children. Ursula works as a nurse, and is having an extramarital affair with Ben. She comes into conflict with John Paul after he discovers her affair and threatens to inform Donal.
• Sarah Greene as Bibi Garvey, second youngest sister of the Garvey family, wife of Nora and mother to an adopted son. She comes into conflict with John Paul after he is responsible for the car accident that resulted in the loss of her eye. She wears an eyepatch, and is the impetus for the sisters' decision to murder John Paul.
• Eve Hewson as Becka Garvey, youngest sister of the Garvey family. She is a massage therapist with aspirations to open her own studio. She comes into conflict with John Paul after he reneges on his agreement to invest in her business. She begins a relationship with Matthew, not realizing that his insurance company is investigating John Paul's death.
• Brian Gleeson as Thomas Claffin, insurance agent at Claffin & Sons. He takes over his family's business after the suicide of his father, who has mismanaged the business to the brink of bankruptcy. He opens an insurance investigation into John Paul's death as a last-ditch attempt to save the insurance agency, and comes to suspect the Garvey sisters of murder.
• Daryl McCormack as Matthew Claffin, brother of Thomas. He is a musician who joins his brother to work at Claffin & Sons after his father's death, and begins a relationship with Becka, not realizing that she is a suspect in his insurance investigation.
• Assaad Bouab as Gabriel, Eva and John Paul's co-worker. He develops a friendship with Eva, which she mistakes as romantic interest. He reveals to her that he is gay, although not out at work.
• Claes Bang as John Paul Williams, Grace's husband and Blánaid's father. He is a cruel, vindictive and abusive person, who exerts complete control over his wife and daughter's lives, and comes into conflict with the rest of the Garvey sisters. He is depicted as recently deceased at the beginning of the series, but the circumstances of his death are not certain.

Recurring[]

• Yasmine Akram as Nora Garvey, Bibi's wife.
• Peter Coonan as Ben, an artist who is having an affair with Ursula.
• Lloyd Hutchinson as Gerald Fisher, Eva and John Paul's boss.
• Seána Kerslake as Theresa Claffin, Thomas' pregnant wife.
• Nina Norén as Minna Williams, John Paul's mother who has dementia.
• Jonjo O'Neill as Donal Flynn, Ursula's husband who is a paramedic.
• Saise Quinn as Blánaid Williams, Grace and John Paul's teenage daughter.
• Michael Smiley as Roger Muldoon, Grace and John Paul's neighbor.
• Barry Ward as Fergal Loftus, Garda detective.

Episodes[]

No.	Title	Directed by	Teleplay by	Original release date
1	"The Prick"	Dearbhla Walsh	Sharon Horgan and Dave Finkel & Brett Baer	August 19, 2022 (2022-08-19)
2	"Explode a Man"	Dearbhla Walsh	Dave Finkel & Brett Baer	August 19, 2022 (2022-08-19)
3	"Chopped Liver"	Dearbhla Walsh	Sharon Horgan	August 26, 2022 (2022-08-26)
4	"Baby Becka"	Josephine Bornebusch	Karen Cogan	September 2, 2022 (2022-09-02)
5	"Eye for an Eye"	Josephine Bornebusch	Ailbhe Keogan	September 9, 2022 (2022-09-09)
6	"Splash"	Josephine Bornebusch	Daniel Cullen	September 16, 2022 (2022-09-16)
7	"Rest in Peace"	Rebecca Gatward	Perrie Balthazar	September 23, 2022 (2022-09-23)
8	"The Cold Truth"	Rebecca Gatward	Paul Howard	September 30, 2022 (2022-09-30)
9	"Going Rogue"	Rebecca Gatward	Sharon Horgan & Ailbhe Keogan	October 7, 2022 (2022-10-07)
10	"Saving Grace"	Rebecca Gatward	Sharon Horgan	October 14, 2022 (2022-10-14)

Production[]

Development[]

In September 2021, it was officially announced Sharon Horgan would co-write, produce and star in what was then titled Emerald for Apple TV+ as developed by her production company Merman. Malin-Sarah Gozin, the creator of the series' inspiration Clan, joined the project as an executive producer alongside Bert Hamelinck and Michael Sagol for the Belgian Caviar Films. Other producers were Faye Dorn and Clelia Mountford for Merman as well as Brett Baer and Dave Finkel.^[1] The series was created as part of Horgan's Apple TV+ deal.^[2]

Casting[]

The cast was initially believed to include Assaad Bouab, Eve Hewson, and Brendan Gleeson in early reports.^[3] The cast was later confirmed in March 2022, with Anne-Marie Duff, Eva Birthistle, and Sarah Greene, and Hewson set to star alongside Horgan. Claes Bang, Brian Gleeson, Daryl McCormack, Bouab, and Saise Quinn complete the ensemble.^[4]

Filming[]

Principal photography took place in 2021. Cast and crew were reported filming in and around Dublin at locations such as Sandycove, the Forty Foot, Howth, and Malahide in August.^[5] They would also film in Belfast.^[6]

Reception[]

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 100% approval rating with an average rating of 8.2/10, based on 51 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Dark secrets are a family affair in Bad Sisters, a riotously funny murder mystery that makes fine use of its gifted ensemble while exemplifying creator and star Sharon Horgan's penchant for salty warmth."^[7] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 79 out of 100 based on 22 critics, indicating "generally favourable reviews".^[8] IndieWire graded it B and says:

Aside from a few minor red herrings, “Bad Sisters” sets a trajectory and sticks to it for much of the run. As a dramedy of errors, “Bad Sisters” doesn’t always feel like the freshest or most elegant execution. But as a family showcase, the engine is there to power this show through an ordeal of any length.^[9]

The Hollywood Reporter called it "Fun but Empty" and said:

...it’s a bit of an oddity — easy to breeze through but a little too mordant to be sincere, a little too heavy to be hilarious, a little too sour to be purely fun.^[10]

The Atlantic called it "a semi-comic murder caper" and said:

The setup of Bad Sisters is deliberately absurd, a throwback to sillier shows such as Desperate Housewives and Why Women Kill. The ease with which the Garvey sisters decide to kill John Paul, and their resoluteness when their attempts repeatedly and catastrophically fail, are pure fantasy.^[11]

Variety (magazine) said:

Bad Sisters is less about the mystery than its cutting, empathetic take on all the relationships that tangled into such an overwhelming knot along the way.^[12]

References[]

External links[]

• Bad Sisters at IMDb