'Bad Sisters' on Apple TV

Three episodes in and loving it. Bibi (Sarah Greene) is hilarious.

Are there really men as HORRIBLE as that prick husband?

Daryl McCormack has gorgeous eyes... and other bits

Bono's daughter Eve stars in this.

I have just started watching this and am really enjoying it. I'm 4 episodes in and am always left really looking forward to the next episode. It's funny and heartbreaking all at once. Anne Marie Duff plays an abused pitiful wife almost too well. Bono's daughter is slaying her role, she's excellent.

I love Sharon Horgan and her writing, but I'm starting to see now that she basically plays herself in every role. Luckily I like her, so don't mind.

I finished the sixth episode yesterday and am taking it slow because I don't want it to end, it's just too delicious. The thought of watching JP's flashbacks in every episode made me queasy at the start, but now I'm excited to discover each new layer of evil and nastiness inside him. What a great turn by Claes Bang.

One of the best looking shows on TV currently, and I'm not just talking about the insane interiors. The gay guy is hot, too.

Claes Bang plays malignant sociopaths a bit too well! Check him out in The Burn Orange Heresy film where he stars with Elizabeth Debicki and the improbably good Mick Jagger. Donald Sutherland is in it too.

He's also in the Stephen Merchant TC show Outlaws, another excellent show.

Anyway, back to Bad Sisters!

* TV show

LOVE this show. The mixed race guy is so hot!

Sharon Horgan is a comedy goddess.

Love love love her!

I'm in LOVE with the murdered prick. He's so my type. (I mean physically. Not his character.)

I don't know - I wanted to like it and I liked Bibi - but considering what an asshole JP is, the stupid sisters keep falling into his trap: the Horgan character announces a job she wants in front of JP when it's obvious from the word go that he'll try to fuck her over; the sister having an affair knows JP' is on to her but does this incredibly bone headed thing that plays right into his hands and the younger sister - who know should JP will never give her the $$ - gets played as well. Anne Marie Duff is good in this role, but it's hard to square a woman who on one had has no self-esteem, yet is surrounded by strong women who would support her if she got the stones to tell JP to fuck off (and looked pretty well off themselves). The insurance investigators are ridiculous fun and it's kind of amusing that the idiot brother is actually onto something, but the whole thing just seemed tedious.

I'm devouring this show. Love Sharon Horgan and the other sisters but I can't stand Bono's daughter's character. She fucks up one thing after another. Characters that are written to do a series of stupid things make me nuts.

Yeah, Eve Bono is just playing a cute, dumb Zoomer.

Claes Bang is particularly skilled at playing a particular kind of horrible.

I didn’t expect the ginger Claffin to be so annoying.

And the mixed race Claffin is wearing coloured contact lenses.

[quote]And the mixed race Claffin is wearing coloured contact lenses.

Five seconds of googling is all you needed before embarrassing yourself.

Those pisshole in the sand beady pupils are a hallmark of coloured contacts.

First two episodes of the second season out November 13th, with a weekly release afterwards.

Worst idea for a sequel since And Just Like That?

Second season of Big Little Lies was kinda shit, too. AJLT can't really be compared since so much time elapsed between the original and the continuation.

We'll see what the showrunner came up with, could be interesting. I'll watch it for the Irish setting alone, I don't really watch any Irish shows.

They must have had fun writing the part of JP (and Claes Bang must have had fun playing him), but he really is cartoonishly horrible (I do understand why, for the purposes of the show, he must have no redeeming qualities whatsoever).

Great locations, though: I live right in the area where it was filmed: Glasthule/Dalkey, in South County Dublin. The Forty Foot (also featured in DL fave novel "At Swim, Two Boys", by Jamie O'Neill) has been a popular swimming spot for many years.

That swimming spot location was my favourite! I've never really seen Irish people swimming on Irish beaches, so that was nice to see.

[quote]Are there really men as HORRIBLE as that prick husband?

Yes, yes there are…

[quote] Are there really men as HORRIBLE as that prick husband?

I have met many.

You'd be surprised what absolute monsters women will put up with, if they have enough charm and/or money. Of course, the reverse is also true, although men care more about guaranteed pussy and their deep fear of having failed at being a man by not settling down and breeding, than charm or money on the frau's side.

[quote] Bono's daughter Eve stars in this.

She really earned this you all, you know, being born and all.

I like ponies.

She's one of those nepo babies who are actually good at their job, so I don't mind her. She's lowkey magnetic to watch.

Nepotism in Ireland, being such a small country, is particularly blatant. I won't make any judgments about his talent one way or the other, but one of Cillian Murphy's sons is also venturing into acting.

"To be or not to be... a nepo baby."

Sharon Horgan is a great comedy writer but quite uninteresting as a performer.

To me, the show only started to get a bit more interesting after the taxidermy-loving, castrating father of the JP character was introduced towards the end of the series, and you began to see him in a different light.

The other sisters were more intriguing, I agree.

Season one could’ve been six or eight tight episodes. Ten was dragging it out. I lost interest halfway through.

The only thing I didn’t like about this was the big revelation that JP bad raped Sharon Horgan. It felt completely unrealistic bearing in mind their extensive interactions and simply a device for Sharon Horgan’s For Your Consideration clip.

r32 That felt so over the top, I agree. But then he was such a cartoon villain to begin with, you could say the same about most anything that came out of his mouth.

R12, late to the discussion but that's how I feel. The dingbat younger one is dickmatized and screwing one of the insurance guys, not smart when you're trying to hide something, and the adulterous one acts like she wants to get caught and keeps compromising herself with the evil prick.

He really was evil. That poor neighbor.

Didn't the prick husband play a vampire in some weird mini-series?

Yes, a BBC production of "Dracula" a few years back. Very good it was too.

First episode was great, second decent, and third laughable garbage. At least that seems to be the consensus whenever it pops up on the main TV subreddit.

And DL consensus too, I recall discussing it in a now archived thread when it aired originally.

He is always one step ahead of those dumb twats.

Fiona Shaw features in the trailer for the second series which has triggered memories of The Black Dahlia.

Fiona Shaw at her Fiona Shawiest, love her!

I never clocked until just now that she's Irish, shame on me.

I mentioned this show in the thread where someone was asking to watch. I enjoyed from a purely entertainment perspective. It's not Shakespeare but it was good for mindless TV watching. Sadly, I gave up my AppleTV+ subscription.

Even better than the first season!

November 19th.

r44 here and that article I posted fucked up good – first two episodes are out today, not on the 19th. I think it also violated the reviews embargo, no wonder it's been deleted.

Anyway, I just watched the premiere and it was excellent! Fiona Shaw was the best part about it, although I'm so unaccustomed to her sporting an Irish accent, I almost jumped when she first opened her mouth, she sounded like a leprechaun. The sisters still have the same familiar banter I loved so much in the first season. New young detective is a great addition to the cast – actress was one of the first international adoptees in Northern Ireland. Could have done without the Dune-esque Middle Eastern woman screaming in the score, though.

Peter Claffey is a very tall drink of Irish water. He's Becka's new boyfriend in this show, but was also glimpsed earlier this week in the HBO teaser about their upcoming lineup – he's playing the lead in the GoT spinoff A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. A charmed life, it seems.

The detective is very fuckable so it was nice to have a naked scene at the start of episode 2.

And 30 years after Cracker it's lovely to see Lorcan Cranitch back in the force.

Barry Ward (the detective) is indeed very sexy and he looked even more fuckable in The End of the F***ing World. One of those guys who somehow have the body of a teenager. Though that was back in 2017, I wonder what it looks like these days. We need another shirtless shot of him!

[quote]I wonder what it looks like these days.

Watch episode 2 and enjoy the scene of him in the bath.

So far I’m enjoying this second season more than the first—the multiple attempts to kill the bad husband in season 1 got tiresome.

r48 Yes, I've already seen that episode, but it wasn't the best shot of his torso as he was submerged in water.

r49 Same, it's so good! There's this constant tension of getting busted, I just love the sisters being on the verge of a heart attack at all times. And of course it helps there's no JP anymore. He was so consistently vile, I hate-watched most of the first season.

Glad they actually killed off [SPOILER] and not put her in a coma as many people suspected they would, that would have been such a copout. Fiona Shaw is just incredible in this, she wields that sing-songy Irish accent like a boss. She's also slowly turning into a JP-level Big Bad. The beautiful Daryl McCormack appears with a non-speaking cameo. Will he return or is he too busy with Hollywood now?

Does anyone know where that cemetery is located? It looked so beautiful, I want to explore it on Google Maps. The TV display with the candles was naff, though I loved everything else about the funeral scene.

We finally get a drone shot of that delightful little natural cove they use for swimming, with a rainbow on top.

Enormous Irish jock stud

r52 He's so fucking tall, he towered over Owen McDonnell, who is himself a tall mofo. I feel like he could blow up big after his GoT show, if he plays his cards right.

As for Owen, I first became aware of him last year when he played this hot lumberjack daddy in Great Expectations. Ten times hotter with the stache and the beard, he's pretty average looking otherwise. Vaguely reminds me of Chris Messina.

What on earth is going on with Eva Birthistle's eye/face? In this week's episode it looked like she could barely open her eye. Google brings up a thread about a glass eye from 2 years ago. I've never noticed before. This photo

3 good episodes so far and Fiona Shaw has never been better. The scene with Ursula when she casually asks for the money. A masterclass.

R46 Was Lorcan also in PRIME SUSPECT? I remember him being a murderer? Always love spotting English and Irish actors and trying to remember where I first saw them.

I don’t remember him in Prime Suspect

Love that Eva quit her job, those workplace scenes were my least favourite in season one. And there's really no reason to be there anymore now that JP's gone.

[quote]The scene with Ursula when she casually asks for the money. A masterclass.

That was SO GOOD, I had to watch it three times in a row. Easily the best part of the episode for me, with close second being Bibi cracking up at the priest and then immediately jumping in to support Roger when he was singing Grace, to cut out the awkwardness. What a touching moment, especially coming from her.

Had no idea Birthistle had a glass eye, just thought it was (severe) amblyopia. But yeah, it's been super noticeable as of late. It does go great with her being fucked up mentally from everything that's been going on, though. She could not look more distraught if she tried.

*Okay, it's definitely not a glass eye. I just rewatched the scene where she tells Angelica to change seats and both eyes move in the same direction, which doesn't happen with a prosthetic. I think it's just a droopy eyelid situation.

I don't think Birthistle has a glass eye but someone else has noticed it previously, which I didn't until episode 3. I wondered if it was botox gone wrong.

Or maybe she was stung by a wasp on her forehead, which happened to me this summer, and I could barely open my eye.

Not overly keen on the Nurse Jackie sub plot but it gives her something to do.

Thaddea Graham as the young female detective is very good.

Trying to track down the damn cemetery, so I was looking at the credits for this episode and I noticed double credits for Ireland and the UK – Bib's place was apparently shot in Skerries in Northern Ireland.

Also, Eva's wonderful house where most of season one took place was demolished shortly after the filming of that season. That's why we aren't getting any scenes at her place anymore. The neighbours bitched about the constant disruption during the filming, not knowing this was going to be the best thing to come out of Ireland since... Normal People? I'd say Derry Girls, but that was filmed in Belfast.

I guess I'm in the minority but I don't care for this season so far. JP was a good villain because he was so devious. Fiona Shaw just comes across as annoying. I also can't stand the junior detective. Maybe some of it is a residual dislike from the actress's prior role on Sex Education where I despised her character, but I groan every time she comes on screen.

R60: Skerries is actually a town in North County Dublin--I live not too far from there. It's known for its sailing school and its seals!

I didn't know that about the Eva character's house; interesting.

Meet the new characters:

r62 Yeah, I got that one wrong. The author of this article – which btw Google uses as a source to throw out a little digest about filming locations for season 2 – can't write clearly for shit.

[quote]In the same GQ interview with Sharon Horgan, she said the team did some of its filming in parts of London, especially for John Paul's, in Northern Ireland for Bibi's house, which also involved the coastal town of Skerries.

They used Northern Ireland for Warrenpoint, not Skerries.

Eve Hewson started cracking up when Fiona was pulling faces after she was told to move pews. One of the extras in the back was also stifling a laugh during Bibi's church giggles.

Anyway, watching the new episode now. That opening theme gets me pumped every single time, it's so good.

So many reviews of season 2 are negative, but I really like it. It feels to me like what the aftermath of a murder would be like, if too many people were involved.

More of Becca's big slab of a (seemingly) nice boyfriend, please. And Fiona Shaw, who's pretty much walking away with this season while the sisters dither. (If you have the streamer National Theatre at Home and want to see Shaw playing a character who is the tonal opposite of The Wagon, watch London Assurance. Her character doesn't show up until Act Two, but she's worth the wait, as you'd expect from someone named Lady Gay Spanker.)

Joe looked so feckin' dreamy in that scene on the beach, what with his blue windbreaker matching his blue eyes, and the green sweater complementing his ginger hair and stubble. He's a bit too clingy for an artistic girl like her. Perfect for me, though!

Fiona Shaw acted her ass off in that short choir scene, where she shined more than in the whole season of Jodie Foster's True Detective misfire. A national treasure. And that photo of her – an avowed lesbian – at the anti-SSM march back when they had their constitutional referendum cracked me up (a homophobic wagon!). As did her little neck brace act.

What the hell was happening with Ian at the end there? Was he the one blackmailing Grace? Such a creepy vibe all of a sudden.

r65 I'm enjoying the second season as well, the sisters are in a panic mode and making mistakes left and right. Becka is barely breathing at this point, she just wants to run away. There was lots of running in general portrayed in the first two episodes – both by the actors and the extras – which really gives you a sense of just how cornered the sisters must be feeling right now.

Ding dong, the wagon is DEAD to me!

I am going to miss her though, she was such a delicious villain.

We don't know that she's dead. There's no corpse (yet). Sure, it's highly unlikely that a woman of her age without a life preserver and undoubtedly with a concussion would survive, but we've all seen TV before. In other news, these ladies need Tom Ripley.

She did have a life preserver, it's just that she couldn't pull to inflate it because she was knocked unconscious by the boom. I also got Ripley vibes from that scene.

I think it would be too fantastical to have her survive floating in the Atlantic. She gone. And I think Roger just might lose it now.

Sorry, but I think this season sucks. Why is Angelica so obsessed with Grace and Blanaid? Why is Blanaid giving this random old lady the time of day? It makes no sense at all. The romance between Eva and Ian feels forced and out of nowhere, Bibi’s 180 on wanting a baby was completely unexplained, and Becka’s boyfriends seem to come and go for no rhyme or season. It’s like someone put plot points on a board and each episode is written by throwing darts at it.

[quote]Why is Angelica so obsessed with Grace and Blanaid?

She's a single older church lady with nothing better to do than to insert herself into other people's lives. That's the very definition of the slur "wagon" in Ireland, which is why they keep calling her that.

[quote]The romance between Eva and Ian feels forced and out of nowhere

I think he's working her the way he worked Grace, he's s swindler.

[quote]Why is Blanaid giving this random old lady the time of day?

I agree, this part is weird. Might be because she knows it'll trigger the sisters, so she's rebelling in a way.

Too draggy

Blanaid is such a weird name. Especially the nickname: BLAH.

Yeah, some of those weird names only make sense in their local Irish context, but that nickname still makes me cringe every time they say it.

I like it but I'm finding this season to be much darker. Almost like a different show. My guess is that Angelica has been a red herring all along and that Ian will be the bad guy. In fact, we don't know what happened between him and Grace after Grace hit him in the back at the end of the first episode. He may very well be someone who was connected to JP or had something to do with Grace's car crash.

I looked it up. Apparently the Irish term "battlewagon" is the equivalent of the US "battleaxe," often abbreviated to just "wagon."

I really thought Ian was gonna turn out to be JP's long lost brother or some shit.

Love that the episode was titled "who by water", the second line of the theme song. Ian telling Eve "you'be been married to the couch and the remote long enough" was so rude, I couldn't believe my ears. He then redeemed himself later on by appearing in boxers. Seeing Fiona Shaw – an Irish national treasure – floating in the Irish Sea was quite morbid and surreal.

Anyway, can't believe I missed the most recent episode yesterday, gonna go watch it now.

So, I guess they'll kill Ian/Cormac, which will be the story arc for Season 3.

I can't believe the wagon survived! It was totally worth it just for that look she gave to Roger when he came to visit. As if the whole thing was his fault, lol.

How the hell is Detective Loftus retiring? The actor is 43(ish)!

Ian is turning out to be just as evil as JP, I did not see that coming at all. He could obviously scam me anytime, I'm way too gullible.

Did you see that beach under Eva's house? Like paradise on Earth, so lush and green and mossy. This show makes me want to move to Ireland so bad. Even the storm scene with the fog looked glorious.

Oh, and Joe looked like an Irish elf in this scene, I genuinely can't wait to watch his HBO show now.

(no spoilers)

Well, that was a good finale and the best ep of the season. Fiona Shaw (the wagon) can really play comedy and drama at the same time like a master. And the young woman who played Garda Houlihan got a chance to flesh out her character.

I first noticed Owen McDonnell (Ian) when he played Sandra Oh's husband Niko in Killing Eve. He was kinda rough-shaggy there but oddly handsome. I thought he looked great with the beard in this.

I do hope it comes back for S3.