CinÉireann / May 2018 13
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RTÉ has announced that it and UKTV have co-commissioned Women on the Verge, a brand new scripted six part comedy drama which will air on RTÉ2 and on UKTV’s entertainment channel, W in the UK. The six-part series, which has just rolled into production, will be filmed in London and Dublin and is being co-produced by Merman and House Productions.
Created by IFTA award-winning writer and actress Sharon Horgan, and Lorna Martin (on whose book Woman on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown the series is based), Women on the Verge is set in Dublin. The series tells
he darkly comic tale of three friends, all career women in their 30’s at
various stages of their lives, who share the same nagging concern – that whilst their friends and colleagues seem to be increasingly in control of their lives, their own seem to be moving in the exact opposite direction.
The series will star Kerry Condon (Three Billboards, Rome, Better Call Saul), Eileen Walsh (Catastrophe, Pure Mule, The Magdalene Sisters) and Nina Sosanya (Marcella, W1A, Last Tango in Halifax). Kerry Condon will play Laura, who is in the process of potentially ruining her career in investigative journalism by sleeping with her boss. Her ambitions take a knock however when she appears to be supplanted in his affections by a bright and talented young blogger called Samara. Laura is persuaded by Katie, played by Nina Sosanya, to seek professional help for her many issues in the form of a long-term commitment to intensive psychotherapy with the enigmatic ‘Dr F’ – who will be played by Sharon Horgan. Meanwhile, Alison, played by Eileen Walsh, completes the trio as a character who, after a series of disastrous and border-line scary Tinder-based one-night stands finds herself back together with her ex Martin. Alison is hooked up to an electronic device that measures her fertility cycle and describes sex with Martin as ‘not too bad really, now that there’s some sort of point to it’.
The series has been ordered by UKTV’s director of commissioning Richard Watsham and Steve North, genre manager for entertainment and comedy. It is directed by Annie Griffin (The Book Club, Fresh Meat) with Gavin O’Grady (Popatron, I Don’t Like Mondays) as producer. Clelia Mountford and Sharon Horgan will executive produce for Merman alongside Juliette Howell and Tessa Ross for House Productions, while commissioning editors for scripted content Pete Thornton and Joe McVey executive produce for UKTV.
Acorn Media Enterprises, the UK-based development division of American subscription streaming service Acorn TV, has joined RTÉ and Treasure Entertainment as co-producer on Amy Huberman’s new TV series Finding Joy.
The six-part series, written and starring Irish Film & TV Academy winner Amy Huberman, follows a single woman, Joy, who looks for happiness in all the wrong places after a painful break-up. Finding Joy explores the many amusing ways we
seek happiness and fulfilment in these modern digital times by following 34-year-old Joy, who is just trying to get on with her life after a recent break up from her long-term boyfriend, Aidan.
Finding Joy is currently shooting in Dublin with director Kieron J Walsh (Jump). It also stars Aisling Bea, Laura Whitmore, Lochlann O’Mearain, Jennifer Rainsford, Catherine Walker, Paul Reid, Hannah Scott, and Mark Doherty. The series is being produced by Rob Walpole and Rebecca O’Flanagan for Treasure Entertainment and Director of Photography is Cathal Watters (Peaky Blinders, Viva).
As part of the deal Acorn gets the rights to air the series in North America, Australia, New Zealand and the UK, as well as acquiring secondary rights in Ireland. RTÉ will air the series first in Ireland later this year. Acorn has previously aired RTÉ dramas Striking Out and Acceptable Risk, the former also starring Amy Huberman.
Acorn is part of RLJ Entertainment, who have released Irish films Pilgrimage and I Kill Giants in the U.S. AME in the UK is run by Shane Murphy, who previously worked for Irish production company Deadpan Pictures and as co-production consultant at RTÉ, as well as head of acquisitions and development at FremantleMedia and commercial director at UK production company Tiger Aspect