Un ‘other yellow series (or “murder mystery“) The feminine is added to the large list of recent television productions: è Bad Sisters, British production from 19 August on Apple Tv + in ten weekly episodes (the first two debuting today).
Bad Sisters however, it differs from its American cousins and in general from other similar recent productions – from Big Little Lies to Sharp Objects passing through The Undoing And Little Fires Everywhere – dedicated to a group of women grappling with dark family secrets.
This is thanks to an element typically Made in Uk: an irresistible, provocative and pungent black humor, rampant in this remake of a Flemish series entitled Clan and built in 2012.
Five sisters
Grace’s (Anne-Marie Duff) family is grieving after that her husband died in gory circumstances. The widow cries nonstop as she prepares for the home wake, including vain attempts to camouflage the post-mortem erection of Jp (Claes Bang), the departed.
The latter, nicknamed The prick (the infamous) was one of the meanest, most manipulative, arrogant and bullying men who ever walked the lush Irish soil trodden by his family and those of the Garvey sisters, the relatives of the unconsolable Grace.
These are the wise and protective older sister (Sharon Horgan), the sarcastic Ursula (Eva Birthistle), the impulsive Bibi (Sarah Greene) and the fickle Becka (Eve Hewson). All viscerally detest Jp – from which they have suffered some wrong -, all of them they have cherished the intention of eliminating it and worked out plans to make it happen.
The prospect that Jp is the victim of a crime is at the center of the narrative – alternating between present and flashback – and of the investigations of the Claffin brothers, determined to find the truth to prove insurance fraud and save a large sum.
Sharon Horgan, eclectic artist
Bad Sisters is the creation of one of the interpretersSharon Horgan. The 52-year-old Irish actress, writer and producer boasts a rich career that has led her to sign several series, including Pulling (2006-09), Catastrophe (2015) and Divorces (2016-19).
Actress in numerous British productions since the early 2000s, she is alongside screenwriter Dennis Kelly who has become famous as an author thanks to the bold and irreverent show Pulling, centered on a manager who escaped the wedding at the last moment.
This is followed by other female productions such as the aforementioned Divorces with Sarah Jessica Parker. In 2014, Horgan further expands its role in the world of television by founding the production company Merman (the “little mermaid”), the same behind the creation of Bad Sisters.
This latest work is also typical of the rest of his filmography for him ironic style, the centrality of the female characters, the provocative register and the strong authorship that sees her engaged both as a producer and as a screenwriter and interpreter.
A spectacular cast
A cast of well-known faces from the British show stalls Bad Sisters. Beside the mentioned Horgan stands out Anne-Marie Duff as Grace, the submissive sister Garvey whom Jp’s abuse has reduced to a subdued and unhappy woman.
London-based Duff boasts an enviable career, having starred in memorable English series as the historian The Virgin Queen 2006 filmed opposite Tom Hardy as a young and enamored Queen Elizabeth I.
Also worth mentioning is his participation in the long-lived cult series Shamelessinaugurated in 2004, where she plays the elder sister of an absurd and dysfunctional family together with James McAvoy (X-Men) with whom she was married until 2016.
Next to her stands Claes Ban, a shady Danish actor made famous from the original miniseries by Bbc Dracula.
Claes Bang and Anne Marie-Duff in Bad Sisters. Cr. Apple Tv +
An irresistible malice
British and Irish are among the few who can pack extremely dark stories and mottle them with a merciless dark humor without this being forced and inappropriate.
If valuable and award-winning productions like Big Little Lies are to be admired for their wit and elegance, Bad Sisters it is a breath of fresh air thanks to the brilliant and pungent dialogues and to the protagonists, a supportive and very affectionate sister.
Duff’s skill in returning the image of an abused and exasperated woman and Bang – who deserves credit for being able to paint one of the most ignoble and toxic husbands and fathers on the small screen – make it Bad Sisters an exciting product.
However, it is mostly the Garvey sisters together, Little Women grown up and embitteredto be so close and united as to persuade the public to cheer for them until the end, even if they are potential killers.
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