Hot Picks: The Walsh Sisters

The ups-and-downs of Claire, Maggie, Rachel, Anna and Helen Walsh have finally been adapted in this loving adaptation of Marian Keyes’ bestselling novels.

This darkly funny and emotionally raw series draws primarily from Keyes’ novels Rachel’s Holiday and Anybody Out There, which focus on Rachel and Anna respectively, with Rachel’s (Caroline Menton, All Creatures Great And Small) spiralling addiction setting off a chain of events that shakes the family to its core.

While she is forced into rehab, her sisters face challenges of their own, with Anna (Louisa Harland, Derry Girls) enduring a profound personal crisis, eldest sister Claire (Danielle Galligan, House Of Guinness) struggling to redefine herself as a single mother, Maggie (Stefanie Preissner, lead writer) trying to start a family of her own and Helen (Máiréad Tyers, Extraordinary) hiding inner battles.

Cineflix Rights senior vicepresident, scripted sales and development, Tom Misselbrook says the series reflects the “youthful, poppy, entertaining” tone of Keyes’ work and the “sharp humour” that runs through it.

He says it was a “straightforward” decision to join the project based on the strength of the IP, which was the initial draw for the distributor. This decision was then solidified by two “fantastic” scripts, which “really backed up our belief in what this project could be”.

He adds: “Cuba Pictures has been working on this for seven years – it’s a labour of love – and we are big fans of what they’ve been doing and their creative vision for the series.”

Cineflix Rights boarded the project soon after RTÉ commissioned it and helped broker the deal to get the BBC on board as a UK partner.

Misselbrook acknowledges that comparisons to Bad Sisters (Apple TV+), another Ireland-set comedy drama about dysfunctional but loving siblings, may be inevitable, and says that show, along with Normal People and Derry Girls, were used as reference points for The Walsh Sisters.

“Those are big standout Irish series that have gone on to have huge success internationally, which is certainly our hopes for this show,” he adds. “The Walsh Sisters deals with topics people understand and have a connection with. Ultimately, it’s a story about family, which everyone can relate to.”

As well as appealing to fans of Irish drama, The Walsh Sisters comes with an in-built audience of devotees of Keyes’ books, which have sold 39 million copies around the world and been translated into 36 languages.

“Keyes has real authenticity in what she writes about: big, sweeping themes that are relatable to a wide audience,” Misselbrook explains.

The international popularity of Keyes’ work has already resulted in Australian streamer Stan snapping up the series and Misselbrook anticipates similar interest in other territories where the author is popular.

Such is the strength of belief in the show, the team is already developing a second series, despite it not yet being commissioned.

Misselbrook adds: “We are looking at using two of the other Walsh sister books as the central narrative to the story, with some artistic licence to go into new areas with the characters.”